It was officially separated from the town of Plympton and incorporated in 1734, and was named for Halifax, West Yorkshire, England.

The town was part of an early effort to create a canal between Buzzards Bay and Massachusetts Bay, when in 1795 a canal was proposed between the Taunton River and North River; the plan never succeeded, although the town's sawmills continued to grow, as did cranberry production, iron furnaces and a wool mill.

The railroad came in the nineteenth century, providing access for people from the city to the shores of Silver Lake and the Monponsett Ponds.

Statistically, Halifax is the 235th largest town in the Commonwealth by land area, and is eighteenth out of the twenty-seven communities in Plymouth County.

[15] Halifax is a part of Massachusetts's 9th congressional district, represented by Democrat William R. Keating since January 2013.

[16] The state's junior (Class II) senator, since July 2013, is Democrat Ed Markey.

The town is represented in the Massachusetts Senate as a part of the Second Plymouth and Bristol district, which includes Brockton, Hanover, Hanson, Whitman and portions of East Bridgewater and Easton.

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

[18] Halifax is a member of the Silver Lake Regional School District, along with Plympton and Kingston.

Halifax Elementary School is located between the library and fire station in the town center, and serves students from kindergarten through sixth grade.

The Kingston-Route 3 Line of the MBTA's commuter rail service passes through the northeastern corner of town, with a station just west of Route 36.