Initially agricultural, Carver was known for the iron ore from its swamp lands used to make cooking tools by the 1730s.

The first iron works was "Pope's Point Furnace", built in 1732, which operated for a century by using the bogs and Sampson's Pond.

European settlers had also given the names "Colchester" and "Lakenham" to what is now North Carver, and settled in what was known as South Meadow.

As the market for iron ore declined in the latter part of the 19th century, Carver began cranberry farming as a new use for the town's swamp lands.

A railroad line connected Carver to New York and Boston in 1920, further establishing the town.

[2] Money from the iron helped the community to grow, as evidenced by several mansions still in existence in the town.

By the 1940s the cranberry harvest was the largest in the world, and today it is still a major business in town.

Because of the land taken for the bogs, however, growth is limited, giving the town a rural flavor it takes pride in.

It has long been a family tourist attraction in Southeastern Massachusetts, especially for its festival of lights around Christmastime.

Carver is bordered by Plympton to the north, Kingston to the northeast, Plymouth to the east, Wareham to the south, and Middleborough to the west.

The largest self-reported ancestry groups in East Carver are Irish (37.0%), Italian (26.5%), English (23.5%), French (6.8%) and Portuguese (5.4%)[19][20] There were 3,984 households, out of which 36.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.3% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.4% were non-families.

The town is represented in the Massachusetts Senate as a part of the First Plymouth and Bristol district, which includes Berkley, Bridgewater, Dighton, Marion, Middleborough, Raynham, Taunton and Wareham.

[21] The town is patrolled by the Fourth (Middleborough) Barracks of Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police.

[22] On the national level, Carver is a part of Massachusetts's 9th congressional district, and is currently represented by Bill Keating.

The junior (Class II) senator is Ed Markey, who was elected in 2013 to finish John Kerry's term when he became Secretary of State.

Carver has its own police, ALS ambulance and fire departments, with a central police station, central ambulance station and three on-call firehouses, located in the north, south and center of town.

For the middle-high school they used to run a late bus Monday to Thursday, and not on half days, but stopped in 2023.