Rockland Real Estate
Rockland is a quiet town tucked away 20 miles south of Boston. As its name suggests, its 10.1 square miles are dominated by rocky lands as well as a sprinkling of brooks and ponds, fringed by dense trees. While Rockland doesn’t have a shoreline like many of its neighboring towns, it is recognized as an affordable South Shore suburb just one town over from the ocean. Properties include a mix of antique homes from Cape-style farmhouses to colonials and Victorians. Many of the 17,000 residents have lived in Rockland for decades and cite its small-town charm and close-knit community as major draws. Read more about Rockland real estate.
Rockland Homes & Condos For Sale
More About Rockland Real Estate
Rockland Location
Rockland is bordered by Weymouth and Hingham to the north; Hanson to the south; Norwell and Hanover to the east; and Whitman and Abington to the west. Route 3 passes through the northeast corner of the town, serving as the gateway to Cape Cod in the south and Boston to the north. Commuter rail stations on the Kingston/Plymouth Line are available in Weymouth, Abington, and Whitman.
Rockland Recreation
Rockland supports a burgeoning art industry with many of its former mills being repurposed as lofts and artists’ dens. The 4th Floor Artists showcases artists working in all different mediums and host an open studios event once a year. Only steps away, the Rockland Switchboard and Telephone History Discovery Center is an old converted sandpaper factory housing all sorts of working telephones from a wooden crank model from 1904 to a bank of switchboards that recreate a telephone exchange from the 1940s. Available by appointment only, this quirky museum lets visitors touch and play with all the equipment and old technology.
Rockland History
Rockland was settled in 1673 as the northeastern region of neighboring Abington. Its rocky topology limited its farming production but Rockland later flourished as an industrial manufacturer, especially of shoes. As part of a seven-town shoe manufacturing district that saw its heyday between the 1880s and 1920s, Rockland helped make one quarter of all the shoes worn on American feet during that time period. It’s also estimated that Rockland provided approximately half of the shoes for the Union Army during the Civil War. Many of the shoe mills continue to take on new life as artist colonies and even housing.
Rockland also housed a “tramp house” in 1900 which was located along a rail line and offered an early form of social welfare with shelter and even food for vagabonds looking for work.
