Happy Birthday Norfolk County

By William O’Donnell, Norfolk County Register of Deeds

Everyone likes birthdays and this is going to be a really big one. On Wednesday, June 20, the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds will celebrate turning 225 years old. And we’d sure love to see you there to help us blow out all those candles.

Some of our oldest and dearest friends will be there, including John Hancock, who, when governor of Massachusetts back in 1793, signed the law to create Norfolk County. As many residents of the county will tell you, next to his being the lead signer of the Declaration of Independence, this was probably the second most important signature in Hancock’s life.

The new Norfolk County — there was a previous Norfolk County located north of the Merrimac River — may not go down in the annals of history with the Louisiana and Alaska purchases, but nonetheless it was a pretty good deal. Twenty-one communities were transferred out of Suffolk County to create Norfolk County; two of these communities, Dorchester and Roxbury, later went back to Suffolk County.

Today much has changed. Norfolk County is now 28 communities strong. It is considered a destination place to live and work and is ranked the 28th highest income-producing county in the United States according to the last census. As for the Registry of Deeds, gone are the days of the quill pen scriveners or the need to travel to the registry to review land documents. You can now do this from the comfort of your own home. You can even read the old cursive writings of land documents of Paul Revere and John Adams in an easy-to-read text format thanks to our “History Comes Alive” project.

And talking about history, it’s what we will be celebrating on June 20 from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds, located at 649 High Street in Dedham. Come and listen to the patriotic tunes of the Singing Trooper, Dan Clark. Meet up with some “really old fellow residents” of Norfolk County, including John Hancock, his lovely wife Dorothy Quincy, and our second president of the United States, John Adams.

Browse through our exhibits and learn why we are named the County of Presidents. Discover what citizens in the county won Nobel prizes and what others were elected governors of Massachusetts.

And as a special treat, view our Notable Land Records’ exhibit that highlights 28 remarkable people, representing one from each of the 28 communities comprising Norfolk County. This is a remarkable group of people from all walks of life, such as the woman from Sharon who disguised herself as a man to fight in the Revolutionary War or the U.S. Navy Cross recipient from Dover who commanded a submarine in World War II that sunk the largest and most heavily armored carrier ever built. There’s also the young woman from Quincy whose parents owned a department store and was nominated for a Tony and an Oscar and later had her name inscribed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

We hope you can make this event. It should be a memorable time. Admission is free. So come by and chat with some historical figures, listen to patriotic songs sung by Trooper Dan Clark, view some exhibits about Norfolk County’s history, and have some refreshments and birthday cake! Let’s acknowledge and celebrate 225 years of Norfolk County and the Registry of Deeds. I look forward to seeing you there.

If you have any questions about the event, please feel free to contact ksirois@norfolkdeeds.org or call us at 781-461-6116.

Around the Real Estate Block: Canton property sales totaled 56 for April 2018. The average property sale price (including residential and commercial) for April was $466,092. There were 34 Homestead filings and one foreclosure deed filed against a Canton property for the month of April.

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