The character and future of the community changed drastically when it became the county seat for Norfolk County and the court house was built in 1796. As local historians pointed out, this brought in lawyers and officials, trained, educated and ambitious men who changed the face of the community by investing in and supporting industrial development. Woolen mills were developed in Dedham and innovations such as power broadlooms were introduced. By 1830 there were two woolen mills, two cotton mills, four sawmills and five factories staffed by Irish and German immigrants who made up 27% of the Dedham population.

Everything from pianos to furniture was made in Dedham, including famous Dedham crackleware pottery. The town shows a rich and diverse architectural face to the world, with its monumental granite court house of Greek Revival design, its Victorian prison, its limestone Neoclassical Registry of Deeds, Romanesque Revival public library and Renaissance and Georgian Revival schools. In addition, Dedham has a remarkably well preserved town center, with many handsome, historic houses of which the community is very proud.

Dedham Massachusetts is located in Eastern Massachusetts, bordered by Needham on the northwest, Boston on the northeast and east, and Canton and Westwood on the south. Dedham is 10 miles south of Boston.

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