Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and political centre. The city proper had a population of 951,000 at the 2014 census.

As of 2010, the population of Freetown is estimated at 1.2 million. The city's economy revolves largely around its harbor, which occupies a part of the estuary of the Sierra Leone River in one of the world's largest natural deep water harbor.

As the capital of Sierra Leone, Freetown is the seat of the Government of Sierra Leone, as the city is home to the State House, the House of Parliament, and the Supreme Court.

The population of Freetown is ethnically, culturally, and religiously diverse, among Muslims and Christians. The city is home to a significant population of virtually all of the country's ethnic groups, with no single ethnic group forming a majority of the city's population. As in virtually all parts of Sierra Leone, the Krio language is Freetown's primary language of communication and is by far the most widely spoken language in the city.

Freetown is a future railroad station on the MBTA Commuter Rail's Providence/Stoughton Line located in Assonet, Massachusetts. It is being built as part of the state's effort to extend rail service to Fall River and New Bedford.

References

Freetown is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,870 at the 2010 census.

Freetown is one of the oldest communities in the United States, having been settled by the Pilgrims and their descendants in the latter half of the 17th century. The town once included the city of Fall River (1659–1803), and a portion of Acushnet (1659–1815). The town celebrated its tercentenary in 1983.

Freetown is currently divided into two villages, which historically developed almost entirely independent from one another: Assonet and East Freetown. Freetown lies on an old 18th century road and along old Indian trails from Freetown to Boston. Freetown is home to the Freetown-Fall River State Forest, and Profile Rock and is located approximately 50 miles (80 km) from Boston.

History

Freetown was first settled by the English on April 2, 1659 on the banks of the Assonet River, when the areas of Assonet and Fall River were purchased for 20 coats, two rugs, two iron pots, two kettles, one little kettle, eight pairs of shoes, six pairs of stockings, one dozen hoes, one dozen hatchets, and two yards of broadcloth from the Wampanoag Indians in an exchange known as Ye Freemen's Purchase. Its population slowly grew, and it existed as a Proprietary settlement until it was officially incorporated in July 1683. It remained a part of Plymouth Colony until that colony merged with the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1685. The town was the fifth municipal corporation established in Bristol County.