[2] Some governmental functions are performed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, others by the county, and others by local towns and cities.

Bristol County is part of the Providence metropolitan area, which is also included in Greater Boston.

The towns of Bristol, Barrington, and Warren were awarded to Rhode Island in 1746 as part of the settlement of a long-running boundary dispute (see History of Massachusetts), forming Bristol County, Rhode Island.

After the departure of Bristol, Taunton was made the shire town of the county.

In 1862, a part of Seekonk (that portion of which is now East Providence, Rhode Island) and the entirety of East Pawtucket were transferred to Providence County, Rhode Island.

At the same time, land ceded from Rhode Island was added to Fall River and Westport.

[5] The highest point in Bristol County is Sunrise Hill (Watery Hill) at 390 feet (120 m) above sea level located in World War I Memorial Park in North Attleborough.

It is also to note that Bristol, Plymouth and Taunton are all places in South West England.

[18][19][20] Bristol County has voted for the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in every election since 1960 and, with the exception of Dwight D. Eisenhower's victorious campaigns of 1952 and 1956, for the Democratic nominee since 1928, before which it was a Republican stronghold.

Jail facilities in the Dartmouth Complex include the Bristol County House Of Correction and Jail, the Bristol County Sheriff's Office Women's Center, and the C. Carlos Carreiro Immigration Detention Center.

The office also operates the Ash Street Jail and Regional Lock-Up and the Juvenile Secure Alternative Lock Up Program (JALP) in New Bedford.

[23] The Bristol County House Of Correction and Jail has room for 1,100 prisoners.

It houses men convicted of crimes who have been sentenced to 2+1⁄2 years or less.

In 1999 the sheriff received a federal grant to convert the pre-release center into a women's center, and he moved the pre-release program to modular units at the main jail.

The Ash Street jail houses over 200 pre-trial prisoners and a few sentenced inmate workers for the system.

Secondary: Elementary: Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational-Technical High School is also in the county.