There’s More to Dighton Than Jack Teixeira
The arrest of 21-year-old Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira has brought the sleepy town of Dighton, Massachusetts to the attention of the rest of the world.
Chances are townsfolk would probably have skipped all the fuss had they been given a choice.
The FBI arrested Teixeira at his home in the North Dighton neighborhood on Thursday, April 13, 2022, accusing him of leaking top-secret Pentagon documents.
According to media reports, Teixeira may have had top government security clearance. It's a good bet we'll learn much more about that and Teixeira himself in the days and weeks ahead.
But what about Dighton, where Teixeira lives? What do you know about Dighton? I confess I don't know a lot, so I decided to do some research.
Dighton is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, located on the western shore of the Taunton River. The "Old Bristol Path" through Dighton was a route used by the Pilgrims to visit Pokanoket Chief Massasoit in the 1600s.
Early travelers also passed through Dighton while on their way to Taunton from Fall River. Originally part of Taunton, Dighton separated in 1672 and incorporated in 1712. The town was named after Frances Dighton Williams, the wife of town elder Richard Williams.
A tax dispute with the British led to the Molasses Affair of 1765, a rebellion similar to the Boston Tea Party. Dighton was known for shipbuilding and was a port of call after the American Revolution.
Today, Dighton has an elected Board of Selectmen and an open town meeting form of government.
According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Dighton was 8,101 people.
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