English settlers arrived in the area in 1634[6] and established the settlement of Rehoboth—which included the modern day municipalities of North Attleborough, Attleboro, Somerset, Seekonk, as well as parts of Rhode Island—from land sold to them by the Pokanoket Wamsutta.

The Woodcock-Garrison house was used as sleeping quarters for George Washington on his army's march to Boston to rid the city of General Thomas Gage's troops.

In about 1780, a French settler named Lazarus Periera set up a forge for working brass, beginning the industrial era.

During the 18th and early 19th centuries, small grist and sawmills were built along the Ten Mile River, and subsequently established nail factories were eventually eclipsed by cotton spinning mills.

Textiles and jewelry manufacturing were the staple industries of the town by 1832, but buttons became king, spurred by the American Civil War and U.S. Army orders for badges and medals.

In the twentieth century, North Attleborough was home at various times to the jewelry firms Jostens, the world's largest class ring manufacturer, and the Balfour Company, prominent maker of championship rings, including for the National Football League's Super Bowl champions and Major League Baseball's World Series winners.

In 2006, North Attleborough was rated in the top ten for professional sports communities in the entire country and was also listed as one of the most affordable and safest places to raise a family.

Today, North Attleborough is still home to many professional athletes due to its proximity to Gillette Stadium just five miles away.

It is bordered by Plainville to the north, Mansfield to the east, Attleboro to the south, and Cumberland, Rhode Island to the west.

World War I Memorial Park features a petting zoo, Petti Field for soccer and lacrosse and a ski/sledding hill with J-bar ski lift which is currently inoperative.

Scanlon won the 2020 election after incumbent Elizabeth "Betty" Poirier (R-North Attleborough), having served since 1999, announced she would not run for another term.

In the State Senate, North Attleborough was represented by Becca Rausch (D-Needham) as part of the Norfolk, Bristol & Middlesex district, which included the towns of Wayland, Sherborn, Millis, Norfolk, Wrentham and Plainville as well as sections of Natick, Wellesley, Needham, Franklin and Attleborough.

[22] North Attleborough is one of thirteen Massachusetts municipalities that have applied for, and been granted, city forms of government, though they wish to be known as "The Town of".

The town made immediate investments to advance school infrastructure projects and staffing, public safety and community services.

The Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority provides bus services between the local towns and cities.

The North Attleborough Police Department is located downtown in the old H.F. Barrows Manufacturing Company Building at 102 South Washington St.

[27][28] However, after an initial overhaul of the area's infrastructure, such as water mains and streets, the developers pulled out after being unable to finance the $40 million revitalization.

[26][29] In 2017, Boston Realty Advisors secured a loan that will allow them to completely develop the area of the old Balfour building into a Class A apartment complex that will have 193 units and 11,500 square feet of retail space.

[31] Though this infill of an old, abandoned building is beneficial in many ways and a useful response to blight occurring in the town, an oversight by planners and developers regarding the drainage of a swamp that used to exist beneath U.S. Route 1 shifted environmental burdens towards neighboring, lower-income households.

[32] In spite of these complaints, the city gave the developers permission to open two of three buildings, while they have sixty days to address the drainage problem;[32] this issue raised concerns and questions about the role of municipal governments in overseeing such large and impactful projects.