Medfield, County of Old Norfolk, The Colony of Massachusetts Bay, British Colonial America (North America)

"Old Norfolk County" was one of the original four counties created in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The land was originally granted as separate from Massachusetts, but boundary disputes among the settlers led to their petitioning to join the colonial government to the south. It was created by the Massachusetts General Court on May 10, 1643, when it was ordered "that the whole plantation within this jurisdiction be divided into four shires" The county contained the settlements of Salisbury, Hampton, Haverhill, Exeter, Dover, and Portsmouth and it effectively encompassed all settlements from north of the Merrimack River to the Piscataqua River, and extending inland (west) about a dozen miles In 1680, the Province of New Hampshire was formally separated from Massachusetts, with Norfolk County forming the core The current Norfolk county was created on March 26, 1793 by legislation signed by Gov. John Hancock. Most of the towns were originally part of Suffolk County, Massachusetts. The towns of Dorchester and Roxbury were part of Norfolk County when it was created but, as Boston annexed each town, they became part of Suffolk County again. Hingham and Hull were originally part of the Norfolk County legislation but petitioned to remain in Suffolk county and in June 1793 their removal to Norfolk county was repealed [ See Suffolk county notes ]