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The Town of Bridgewater was named by a native of Bridgewater, Massachusetts. It is located in the southeastern part of Oneida County and encompasses a large, fertile north-south valley with hills to the east and west. It is the valley of the Unadilla River.

Settlements in the northern part of the township, those of North Bridgewater and Babcock Hill, were more oriented towards Cassville, Sauquoit, and the Mohawk Valley.

As trade and travel increased at the junction of the Utica to New Berlin plank road and the westward reaching Cherry Valley turnpike (today's Route 20), the Village of Bridgewater prospered. In its own way, the turnpike was as busy in the early 1800s as today. Drovers accompanying cattle, horses, sheep and turkeys passed over it, heading to markets in the East. Taverns were equipped with stock pens, as well as quarters for human use, and were usually toll stations to collect money to maintain the roads. In 1796, a whiskey license cost $5 and the town fee collected was $30.

With the building of the D.L. and W. Railroad and the Unadilla Valley Railroad, which opened in 1893, these early uses of the turnpike declined rapidly.

Early schools were located at Farwell's Hill and North Bridgewater, as well as at Bridgewater. They were too small almost as soon as they were built. Many times more pupils would attend than there were desks and seats available. Records show that the school teacher in 1810 was paid $42 for his services.

Western Star Lodge is the oldest Masonic Lodge in Oneida County. It was chartered in 1797. Among the prominent signers of the charter were Robert R. Livingston, one of the five drafters of the Declaration of Independence and Dewitt Clinton. The current Lodge building was erected in 1816 on the site of the Cottage Hotel Barn on South Street. It was moved to its present location in 1964. Large Victorian homes make great B&B's and restaurants, this is the White House Berries Inn.

The Bridgewater train station is today an antique shop, a good use for old buildings as this is enroute to Madison-Bouckville, a large center for antiques in the state.

Bridgewater Central School was merged with area schools in 1969 to form the Mt. Markham Central School. The building served many years as an elementary school but once closed, has not found another use. The old Bridgewater Academy from the 1800s is today an apartment building.