Southborough, Massachusetts
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Southborough, Massachusetts | |
Center of Southborough | |
Location in Worcester County in Massachusetts | |
Coordinates: | |
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Country | United States |
State | Massachusetts |
County | Worcester |
Settled | 1660 |
Incorporated | 1727 |
Government | |
- Type | Open town meeting |
- Moderator | David A. Coombs |
- Town Administrator |
Jean E. Kitchen |
- Board of Selectmen |
Bonnie J. Phaneuf William J. Boland Salvatore M. Giorlandino |
Area | |
- Total | 15.7 sq mi (40.6 km²) |
- Land | 14.2 sq mi (36.6 km²) |
- Water | 1.5 sq mi (3.9 km²) |
Elevation | 306 ft (93 m) |
Population (2000) | |
- Total | 8,781 |
- Density | 620.7/sq mi (239.7/km²) |
Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) |
- Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) |
ZIP code | 01772, 01745 |
Area code(s) | 508 / 774 |
FIPS code | 25-63165 |
GNIS feature ID | 0618382 |
Website: http://www.southboroughtown.com/ |
Southborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It incorporates the smaller villages of Cordaville, Fayville, and Southville. Like several neighboring towns, its name is often informally shortened to Southboro, a usage that remains current on many area signs and maps. Its population was 8,781 at the 2000 census.
Land use is primarily residential with substantial open space. A quarter of the town's area is flooded by the Sudbury Reservoir. Light industrial land use is concentrated along main roads, primarily Massachusetts Rte. 9, and there are several small business districts in the villages and along Rte. 9.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] History
Southborough was first settled in 1660 and was officially incorporated in 1727. Southborough was primarily a farming community until mills began to tap the small rivers that ran through the town. By the end of the 19th century, the town was home to the manufacture of plaster, boots and shoes, among other things.
In 1898 the Fayville Dam was constructed to produce several reservoirs to supply a growing Boston with water. As a result, manufacturing vanished and Southborough did not see substantial growth until the high-tech boom of the 1970s.
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 15.7 square miles (40.6 km²), of which, 14.1 square miles (36.6 km²) of it is land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km²) of it (9.64%) is water.
[edit] Adjacent towns
Southborough is located in Eastern Massachusetts, bordered by:
- Hopkinton on the south
- Framingham and Ashland on the east
- Westborough and Northborough on the west
- Marlborough on the north
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 8,781 people, 2,952 households, and 2,426 families residing in the town. The population density was 620.7 people per square mile (239.6/km²). There were 2,997 housing units at an average density of 211.8/sq mi (81.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.47% White, 0.54% African American, 0.07% Native American, 3.52% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from other races, and 0.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.50% of the population.
There were 2,952 households out of which 47.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.9% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.8% were non-families. 14.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.30.
In the town the population was spread out with 32.1% under the age of 18, 3.7% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 99.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $102,986, and the median income for a family was $119,454. Males had a median income of $80,961 versus $50,537 for females. The per capita income for the town was $44,310. About 0.4% of families and 1.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.7% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Government
The form of town government is open town meeting, in which the voters of the town act as the legislature. Town Meeting is managed by the Moderator, who also appoints most of the membership of the unelected boards.
The three members of the Board of Selectmen, however, are elected to act as the executive body of the government. The Selectmen delegate day-to-day operations to the Town Manager.
Southborough has three school committees:
- Southborough K-8 School Committee
- Northborough-Southborough Regional School Committee
- Assabet Valley Regional Vocational-Technical School Committee
Southborough's town elections are non-partisan.
Almost sixty percent of current voters registered without enrolling in any political party. Democrats slightly outnumber Republicans in the remaining forty percent. Minor party enrollments are negligible.
County government: Worcester County | |
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Clerk of Courts: | Dennis P. McManus (D) |
District Attorney: | Joseph D. Early, Jr. (D) |
Registrar of Deeds: | Anthony J. Vigliotti (D) |
Registrar of Probate: | Stephen Abraham (D) |
County Sheriff: | Guy W. Glodis (D) |
State government | |
State Representative(s): | Paul J.P. Loscocco (R), Stephen P. LeDuc (D) |
State Senator(s): | Pamela P. Resor (D) |
Governor's Councilor(s): | Marilyn M. Petitto Devaney (D) |
Federal government | |
U.S. Representative(s): | James P. McGovern (D-3rd District) |
U.S. Senators: | Ted Kennedy (D), John Kerry (D) |
[edit] Education
Public and private educational campuses frame Southborough's small New England downtown.
[edit] Public schools
Southborough has six public schools. The four elementary and middle schools are inside town limits; the two high schools are regional schools in adjoining towns.
- Mary E. Finn School - preschool, kindergarten, and 1st grade
- Albert S. Woodward School - 2nd and 3rd grade
- Margaret Neary School - 4th and 5th grade
- P. Brent Trottier middle school - 6th, 7th, and 8th grade
- Algonquin Regional High School in Northborough, Massachusetts - 9th to 12th
- Assabet Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School in Marlborough, Massachusetts - 9th to 12th
[edit] Private schools
Southborough is home to a large private secondary school, St. Mark's, which was founded in 1865 by Joseph Burnett. The oldest junior boarding school in the nation,[citation needed] Fay School, was founded a year later in 1866 by Joseph Burnett's first cousin Harriet Burnett Fay.
[edit] Transportation
The MBTA Commuter Rail's Framingham/Worcester Line train stops at Southborough Station, which opened to commuters on June 22, 2002. The station is located in the Cordaville neighborhood, on Route 85 near the border with Hopkinton. As of October 2007, ten daily round-trip trains provide service to Boston via the Back Bay and South Station terminals.
Interstate 495 and the Massachusetts Turnpike (Interstate 90) both pass through Southborough, although neither have interchanges within town limits. Routes 9 and 30 are east-west routes passing through Southborough, while Route 85 serves the town as a north-south route.
[edit] Media
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[edit] Points of interest
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Some interesting places in Southborough are:
- 9/11 Field
- Arts Center
- Village House
- Rural Cemetery
- Breakneck Hill conservation land
- Sudbury Reservoir Trail
- St. Mark's auditorium
[edit] Annual events
Southborough celebrates Heritage Day on Columbus Day. Heritage Day involves a big parade in the morning and then booths are set up on St. Mark's field on Main Street.
[edit] Notable residents
- Warner Oland (1879 - 1938), actor and star of 16 'Charlie Chan' movies from 1931 to 1937
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
[edit] External links
- Southborough's official history
- Southborough official website
- St. Mark's School website
- The Fay School website
- Breakneck Hill Cow Fund for Southborough's Belted Galloway Herd
- Southborough unofficial website
- Southborough News website