Charlton, Massachusetts Through Time (America Through Time Series)

By the mid-nineteenth century 80 percent of Charlton land was used for agricultural purposes. The railroad arrived in 1838 giving the farmers new markets. The dairy industry, from which Charlton received it moniker “cow town”, expanded up to the First World War, then began a long decline, and has now vanished. As the twentieth century drew closer, small shops along the many waterways, began to be absorbed by larger mills which are now gone. Charlton’s excellent school system and its geograph…