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is a municipality in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Although officially known as a town, Braintree adopted a municipal charter, effective 2008, with a mayor-council form of government and is considered a city under Massachusetts law. The population was 33,828 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Greater Boston area with access to the MBTA Red Line and, while it does not meet the strictest definition because it has no shoreline, is considered by some to be part of the South Shore because it is a member of the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission's South Shore Coalition. The first and current mayor of Braintree is Joe Sullivan.
In 1640, the town of Braintree was incorporated and named after the English town of Braintree. It comprised land that was later split into Randolph, Holbrook, and Quincy, as well as parts of Milton, Massachusetts. The "North Precinct" of Braintree, which is now the bulk of the city of Quincy, was the birthplace of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, as well as statesman John Hancock and General Sylvanus Thayer, the "Father of West Point".
Braintree is also the site of the infamous Sacco and Vanzetti murders as well as the retirement home of the co-inventor of the telephone Thomas A. Watson (See Watson Park).
In January 2008 Braintree converted from a representative town meeting form of government to a mayor-council government.