[
481]
This county is bounded north-east by
Boston Harbor, north by
Suffolk County, west by the south-east corner of
Worcester County, south by the north-east corner of the
State of Rhode Island, and south and south-east by the counties of
Bristol and
Plymouth.
It has a maritime coast on
Boston Harbor of about twelve miles, which is indented by small bays and rivers.
Its surface is uneven, and parts of it, especially near
Boston, are highly cultivated.
The population of the county in 1860 was 109,150; in 1865 it was 116,334; being an increase in five years of 7,184.
Since 1865 the city of
Roxbury and the town of
Dorchester have been annexed to the city of
Boston, so that in 1870 the population of
Norfolk County was only 89,443.
The valuation of the county in 1860 was $86,800,899; in 1865 it was $91,308,287; being an increase in five years of $4,507,388. The net value of the productions of the county for the year 1865 was $36,771,397.
According to the returns made by the mayor of
Roxbury and the selectmen of the towns in 1866,
Norfolk County furnished thirteen thousand one hundred and four men for the war (13,104), which is very near the number that was actually credited.
Each place filled its quota upon every call of the
President, and each had a surplus at the end of the war, amounting in the aggregate to 1,042.
The same returns show that the aggregate amount of expenses incurred by the several municipalities on account of the war, exclusive of State aid to soldiers' families, was one million two hundred and five thousand three hundred and eighty-five dollars and twenty-nine
