Milton, Massachusetts

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Milton, Massachusetts
Location in Norfolk County in Massachusetts
Location in Norfolk County in Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°14′58″N 71°04′00″W / 42.24944, -71.066667
Country United States
State Massachusetts
County Norfolk
Settled 1636
Incorporated 1662
Government
 - Type Representative town meeting
Area
 - Total 13.3 sq mi (34.4 km²)
 - Land 13.0 sq mi (33.8 km²)
 - Water 0.2 sq mi (0.6 km²)
Elevation 130 ft (40 m)
Population (2000)
 - Total 26,062
 - Density 1,999.1/sq mi (771.9/km²)
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code 02186
Area code(s) 617 / 857
FIPS code 25-41690
GNIS feature ID 0619459
Website: http://www.townofmilton.org/
This section may contain original research or unverified claims.
Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the talk page for details.(February 2008)

Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and part of the Greater Boston area. The population was 26,062 at the 2000 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush and R. Buckminster Fuller. A distinguished American sculptor and author of art history books, William Ordway Partridge, lived in Milton and maintained his studio there for many years at the end of the nineteenth century. Milton also has the highest percentage of residents citing Irish lineage of any town in the United States per capita - 38%[1]. In 2007, Money Magazine listed Milton seventh on its annual list of the "Best Places to Live" in the United States.[2]

Contents

[edit] History

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Milton is located between the Neponset River and the Blue Hills. It is bordered by Boston to the north, Quincy to the south and east, and Canton and Dedham to the west. It has water access to Boston Harbor through the Neponset Estuary. Although the first English traders traveled in Milton as early as the 1620s, the earliest permanent settlement occurred in 1634, when colonists created an agricultural community growing barley, rye and Indian corn.[citation needed]

Milton was once part of Dorchester. Referred to as "Unquity", the term used by the Neponset Tribe of the Massachusetts Indians as meaning "Lower Falls," was translated into Lower Mills after the establishment of the Stoughton Grist Mill in 1634. In 1662, "that part of the Town of Dorchester which is situated on the south side of the Neponsett River commonly called 'Unquatiquisset' was established as an independent town and named Milton in honor of Milton Abbey, Dorset, England."[3]

A powder mill established in 1674 may be the earliest in the colonies, taking advantage of the town's water power sites. Boston investors, seeing the potential of the town and its proximity to the city, provided the capital to develop 18th century Milton as an industrial site with an iron slitting mill, paper and sawmills, and the first chocolate factory in New England (the Walter Baker Chocolate Factory) in 1764, which was converted from the old Stoughton Grist Mill. Laying of streetcar lines fueled the rapid expansion of residential development. Between 1870 and 1915, Milton grew into the community it is now: a streetcar suburb with some chocolates, biscuits and market produce to remind residents of the past. By 1929, many of the big estates were broken into subdivisions as the town's residential growth continued. Milton retains many elegant 19th century country houses and estates as well as 19th century workers' housing.[citation needed]

The Suffolk Resolves were signed in Milton in 1774, and were used as a model by the drafters of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. The Daniel Vose House, where the Resolves were passed, still stands and it is maintained as the current headquarters of the Milton Historical Society. The house was moved to a new location at 1370 Canton Avenue in West Milton in order to save it from demolition at its previous location in "Milton Village" at Lower Mills. See the external links below.

Two royal governors of Massachusetts, Jonathan Belcher and Thomas Hutchinson, had houses in Milton. The Governor Belcher House dates from 1777, replacing the earlier home destroyed in fire in 1776, and it is privately owned on Governor Belcher Lane in East Milton. Although Hutchinson's house is gone, Governor Hutchinson's Field (maintained by the Trustees of Reservations) today is a wide expanse of greenery on Milton Hill, with a view of the Neponset River estuary and the skyscrapers of Boston six miles away. See the external link.

The town was home to America's first piano factory. Revolutionary Milton is the setting of the opening of the 1940 bestselling historical novel "Oliver Wiswell" by Kenneth Roberts. The Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory is located in the town, home of the nation's oldest continuously kept meteorological records.[4]

The Granite Railway passed from Quincy to the Neponset River in Milton, beginning in 1826. It is often called the first commercial railroad in the United States, as it was the first chartered railway to evolve into a common carrier without an intervening closure. A centennial historic plaque from 1926 and an original frog switch and section of track from the railway can be found in the gardens on top of the Southeast Expressway (Interstate 93) as it passes under East Milton Square. The frog had been displayed at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893.[citation needed]

The frog switch of the Granite Railway that was displayed at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. It is now on view in East Milton Square.
The frog switch of the Granite Railway that was displayed at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. It is now on view in East Milton Square.

East Milton Square developed as a direct result of the Granite Railway. Four sheds there were used to "dress" the granite stone prior to it being brought by rail to the wharf for transfer to boats. East Milton Square was originally termed the "Railway Village" and a train station was located there after 1871 when the Granite Railway became a passenger line of the Old Colony Railroad. The Blue Bell Tavern, which was also a hotel, served as the headquarters of the Granite Railway and it was later named the Russell House. It was located on the site of the current United States Post Office in East Milton Square.[citation needed]

In 1801 Josiah Bent began a baking operation in Milton, selling "water crackers" or biscuits made of flour and water that would not deteriorate during long sea voyages from the port of Boston. The crackling sound occurred during baking, hence the name. This is where the American term "cracker" originated. His company later sold the original hardtack crackers used by troops during the American Civil War. The company, Bent's Cookie Factory, is still located in Milton and continues to sell these items to Civil War reenactors and others. See the external link.

Robert Bennet Forbes was a noted China Trade merchant, sea captain, and philanthropist during the Irish Famine. He built a Greek Revival mansion in 1833 at 215 Adams Street on Milton Hill. The Captain Robert Bennet Forbes House is now a National Historic Landmark open for tours. In addition to artifacts from the China Trade period, the museum's grounds include a log cabin replica and a collection of Lincoln memorabilia.[citation needed]

George Herbert Walker Bush was born at 173 Adams Street on Milton Hill on June 12, 1924. He would become the 41st President of the United States, serving from 1989 to 1993, and his son would become the 43rd President. Ironically, Adams Street is named for the family of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, who lived on the same street just a few miles south in Quincy. The Bush Family moved from Milton to Greenwich, Connecticut in 1925. The Victorian house where President Bush was born is now privately owned and not open to the public.

(* Note: The exact year Milton was settled is debated, but it is believed to be sometime before 1640 and after the mid - 1630s. The town seal says 1640, as well as several other town monuments.)

[edit] Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 13.3 square miles (34.4 km²), of which, 13.0 square miles (33.8 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km²) of it (1.81%) is water.

Great Blue Hill in Milton, the highest hill within the Blue Hills Reservation at 635 feet (194 m), is the highest point within 10 miles of the Atlantic coast south of central Maine, making it an important weather observatory and radio/TV transmitter site.

According to the History Channel's Modern Marvels factoid Milton has an average wind speed of 15.4 mph making it the most windy city in America. Thus it would make a good canidate for roof top wind power to provide its energy needs.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 26,062 people, 8,982 households, and 6,754 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,999.1 people per square mile (771.7/km²). There were 9,161 housing units at an average density of 702.7/sq mi (271.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 85.4% White, 10.2% Black or African American, 0.1% Native American, 2.0% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.6% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.7% of the population.

The top six ancestries of Milton are Irish (38.0%), Italian (11.3%), English (8.6%), West Indian (4.8%), and German (4.7%).

Milton also has been cited as having the highest percentage of residents citing Irish lineage of any town in the United States per capita - 38%.[6]. Many whom reside in the East Milton neighborhood. There were 8,982 households out of which 37.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.1% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 21.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.27.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $78,985, and the median income for a family was $94,359. Males had a median income of $61,194 versus $40,875 for females. The per capita income for the town was $37,138. About 1.6% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.2% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Education

There are six public schools in Milton, including four elementary schools: Collicot, Cunningham, Glover, and Tucker; one middle school, Charles S. Pierce; and the Milton High School. There are also private high schools and elementary/middle schools, including the girls' school Fontbonne Academy, St. Mary of the Hills, St. Agatha's, Thacher Montessori, and Delphi Academy.

Milton is also home to the prep school Milton Academy, and Curry College, a small liberal arts institution.

[edit] Transportation

Milton lies within the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority district. Fixed-route service includes the Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line, a light rail extension of the Red Line. Milton has 4 stops: Milton, Central Avenue, Valley Road, and Capen Street. This was originally a steam railway prior to becoming a trolley line. Automobile routes 28 and 138 emanate from Boston and run south across Milton, as does Interstate 93. U.S. Route 1 cuts across Milton's southern and eastern tips. (For the eastern incursion, it is also Route 3.) [2]

Cycling is a popular form of transportation and recreation in Milton. The opening of the Neponset River Greenway reconnected Milton with Boston Harbor via Port Norfolk, Dorchester. Other cycling routes and locations include Turner's Pond, Brook Road, Blue Hills Parkway, Milton Cemetery, and the Pine Tree Brook greenway. [3]

The Milton Yacht Club began in 1902, with a small building in the Lower Mills area beside the Neponset River that was formerly the police department for the town of Milton. Various boats continue to be anchored there or stored on the dock during the winter.

[edit] Notable residents

[edit] Points of interest

[edit] Filming locations featuring Milton

[edit] References

  1. ^ ePodunk Irish Index
  2. ^ Best Places to Live 2007 - Money Magazine
  3. ^ [1] Town of Milton
  4. ^ Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory
  5. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  6. ^ ePodunk Irish Index

[edit] External links

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