The town was named after Sir Robert Walpole, de facto first Prime Minister of Great Britain.

It also encompasses the entirely distinct entity of Walpole (CDP), with its much smaller area of 2.9 square miles.

[2] It started out as a territory that was claimed by the Neponset band of the Massachusett Native American tribe.

The town of Dedham was not included in this claim, so they began to negotiate with the Neponset tribe to gain land.

The mill was built and later owned by Joshua Fisher and Major Eleazer Lusher, two wealthy men of Dedham.

[4] When residents of the sawmill village asked to establish their own church, however, the Town voted not to allow it on March 7, 1721.

[7] These meetings were to discuss how Massachusetts was going to keep its residents safe and peaceful during the events of the American Revolutionary War.

[8] In December 1777, a British fleet of ships came into Narragansett Bay and anchored in Newport Harbor in Rhode Island.

[9] Starting around this time, several mills began to be built, largely on the Neponset River in order to harness the power of falls.

[9] The most notable of these was the Bird Company, which comprised a large complex on the river in East Walpole.

It was not public, and was built to provide books to Walpole that may, in the words of the society, "afford useful information to the mind and improvement to the heart.

[11] At a town meeting in 1922, local resident Maude R. Greeves said: Upon the town seal of Walpole is depicted an old watermill, presumably the old saw mill of Eleazer Lusher and Joshua Fisher on the Neponset River, with a forest of trees in the background, and in the margin are the words, 'Walpole, Mass., incorporated 1724.'

The red brick building, which features a neo-classical façade with whitewashed pillars, is still owned by the Town of Walpole and is used for a variety of activities throughout the year including children's theater production.

[13][14][15] To the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, Harriet Nevins also left $2500 to fund the construction of a fountain for horses and dogs.

The fountain is now dry yet still stands on School Street in Walpole opposite the Town Hall.

[18] According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 7.5 km2 (2.9 mi2), of which 7.4 km2 (2.9 mi2) is land and 0.2 km2 (0.1 mi2) (2.06%) is water.

[35] Much like the rest of the Northeastern seaboard, Walpole receives ample amounts of precipitation year-round.

[36] The town is sometimes vulnerable to Atlantic hurricanes and tropical storms, which infrequently threaten the New England region during the early autumn months.

Currently, there are three modular classrooms for the fourth grade to accommodate the growing student population.

The current members, Mark Gallivan, Benjamin Barrett, James O'Neil, Glenn Maffei, and Allyson Hamilton, were each elected to three year terms.

It is only partially accurate to say that Walpole is the location of Massachusetts Correctional Institution – Cedar Junction, a maximum security prison for males that was originally named "MCI—Walpole" until town residents successfully lobbied in the mid-1980s for the change.

Over three miles (5 km) of walking and biking paths wind through the park, traversing streams across old granite bridges and passing through rolling, grassy meadows punctuated with mature shade trees, tree groves, and ponds.

[53] Facilities at the park include bike racks, public restroom (open seasonally), a "tot lot" with children's play equipment, four tennis courts, a basketball backboard, and an outdoor stage.

A social reformer, Nolen believed that parks were critical to the health of urban residents and should be designed to provide a place of respite and relaxation in nature.

[citation needed] In his original design plan, Nolen wrote that this park should be:[54] ...a sequestered breathing place in the heart of East Walpole...a combination of broad, sun-swept meadow lands, speckled with shadowed glades, higher tree-screened knolls for the lover of shade, the whole set to the music of a babbling stream.

[53] Today the park is in excellent condition and several young ornamental trees such as cherry and Japanese maple have been added to the landscape, as have flower beds.

This win set the record for number of overall Championship titles for Massachusetts field hockey.

For many years, up until 1994, the song "Dixie" was commonly sung at football games, and even incorporated into the cheerleaders' cheers.

In June 2020, following the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota, which brought light to the national problem of racism and police brutality, Walpole residents started a petition to change the athletic team name due to its connection to the Confederacy and racist roots.

[61] Walpole is bordered by Dover to the north; Westwood, Canton, and Norwood to the northeast; Sharon to the east; Foxboro to the south; and Norfolk and Medfield to the west.