Northborough, Massachusetts

Northborough, Massachusetts
Town
First Parish Church
Seal
Location in Worcester County and the state of Massachusetts.
Coordinates: 42°19′10″N 71°38′30″W / 42.31944°N 71.64167°W / 42.31944; -71.64167Coordinates: 42°19′10″N 71°38′30″W / 42.31944°N 71.64167°W / 42.31944; -71.64167
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Worcester
Settled	1672
Incorporated	1766
Government
• Type	Open town meeting
• Town    Administrator	John W. Coderre
• Board of    Selectmen	Bill Pantazis Aaron Hutchins Leslie Rutan Jeff Amberson Dawn Rand
Area
• Total	18.8 sq mi (48.6 km2)
• Land	18.5 sq mi (48.0 km2)
• Water	0.2 sq mi (0.6 km2)
Elevation	300 ft (91 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	14,155
• Density	750/sq mi (290/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	01532
Area code(s)	508 / 774
FIPS code	25-46820
GNIS feature ID	0618375
Website	town.northborough.ma.us

Northborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The official spelling of the town's name is "Northborough", but the phonetic alternative spelling "Northboro" is also used. The population was 14,155 at the 2010 census.

History

Plaque at the first burial ground on Brigham Street

The areas surrounding Northborough were first settled by Nipmuc Indians.^[1] Europeans set up a plantation on May 14, 1656, following a petition for resettlement from the people of the Sudbury Plantation to the General Court of the Bay Colony.^[2] On January 24, 1766, the district of Northborough was established within neighboring Westborough. On August 23, 1775, the district became a town, and on June 20, 1807 part of neighboring Marlborough was annexed to Northborough.^[3][4]

The first meeting house was established in 1746, with the legal governor of the town being called the Town Minister. The first Town Minister was Reverend John Martyn.

In 1775, Northborough split off as the "north borough" of Westborough, much as Westborough split off from Marlborough some 58 years before. However, the two towns shared a meetinghouse for some time more.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 18.8 square miles (49 km²), of which 18.5 square miles (48 km²) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²), or 1.17%, is water.

Adjacent towns and cities

Northborough is located in Central Massachusetts, and shares a border with five towns and one city:

• Southborough is located to the southeast. The border, however, is only 500 yards long and is in the woods with no accessible trail.
• Marlborough is located to the north of Southborough and due east of Northborough. The most accessible way to enter Marlborough from Northborough is through U.S. Route 20
• Berlin is located to the north of Northborough.
• Boylston is located to the northwest.
• Shrewsbury is located to the west, and is the town that separates Northborough from Worcester. Shrewsbury is accessible via Route 20 or Route 9.
• Westborough is located to the south of Northborough, and is accessible via Route 9 or Route 135

Of the six towns that make up Northborough's borders, and including Northborough as the seventh, Northborough is the fourth largest town by population. Marlborough is the largest while Berlin is the smallest.

Demographics

By the 2010 census, the population had reached 14155.

As of the census of 2000,^[14] there were 14,013 people, 4,906 households, and 3,865 families residing in the town. The population density was 756.1 inhabitants per square mile (291.9/km²). There were 5,002 housing units at an average density of 269.9 per square mile (104.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.01% White, 0.65% Black or African American, 0.08% Native American, 5.05% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.28% of the population.

There were 4,906 households, out of which 43.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.9% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.2% were non-families. 17.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.22.

In the town the population was spread out, with 29.5% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $79,781, and the median income for a family was $90,480. Males had a median income of $65,437 versus $41,042 for females. The per capita income for the town was $32,889. About 1.7% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.0% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Northborough public library, 1899

Library

The Northborough Free Library was established in 1868.^[15][16] In fiscal year 2009, the town of Northborough spent 1.5% ($645,208) of its budget on its public library— $43.41 per person.^[17]

Education

Northborough has many schools, public and private. It is home to four public elementary schools serving grades pre-K–5: Lincoln Street School, Marguerite E. Peaslee School, Fannie E. Proctor School, and Marion E. Zeh school. Private schools include The Cornerstone Academy, and St. Bernadette's. In 2002 the Northborough Middle School was renamed after superintendent of schools, Robert E. Melican. All of the public schools in Northborough are part of the Northborough-Southborough School District. The public high school serving Northborough is Algonquin Regional High School, shared with Southborough. The mascot for Northborough-Southborough students is the Tomahawk. Algonquin's main sports rivals are the Westborough Rangers. Debates have erupted over whether Northborough and Southborough should have separate high schools; however, citizens of both Northborough and Southborough successfully fought to keep the school regionalized. Assabet Valley Regional Technical Vocational High School is an alternate choice for Northborough students, though the majority of students attend Algonquin. Private schools in the area include Fay School and St. Mark's School in Southborough, St. John's High School in Shrewsbury, and Bancroft School, Worcester Academy and Notre Dame Academy in Worcester.

Sports

The New England Baseball Complex is located at the intersection of Route 20 and Route 9 in Northborough. The newly built complex is home to the New England Ruffnecks, a youth baseball association. Many high schools, including Algonquin have had MIAA games at the NEBC. Regional colleges and universities have hosted opponents at the New England Baseball Complex.

Notable people

• Joseph Henry Allen, Unitarian minister and scholar^[18]
• William Francis Allen, classical scholar^[18]
• Mark Fidrych, former pitcher for the Detroit Tigers and 1976 American League Rookie of the Year
• Dorian McMenemy, Olympic swimmer for the Dominican Republic^[19]
• Gregory Goodwin Pincus, one of the three "fathers" of the birth control pill^[20]
• Jon Radoff, internet entrepreneur and author
• Nathaniel Raymond, human rights investigator and anti-torture advocate
• Luther Rice, Baptist minister and founder of George Washington University
• Mike Sherman, former head coach of the Green Bay Packers
• Daniel B. Wesson, co-founder of the Smith & Wesson gun manufacturing company

Media

Newspapers

• Metrowest Daily News
• Worcester Telegram and Gazette^[21]
• Community Advocate^[22]
• Northborough/Southborough Villager^[23] (weekly)
• Northborough Patch^[24] (online)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Northborough, Massachusetts.

• Official website

Municipalities and communities of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States County seat: Worcester Cities Fitchburg Gardner Leominster Southbridge Worcester Towns Ashburnham Athol Auburn Barre Berlin Blackstone Bolton Boylston Brookfield Charlton Clinton Douglas Dudley East Brookfield Grafton Hardwick Harvard Holden Hopedale Hubbardston Lancaster Leicester Lunenburg Mendon Milford Millbury Millville New Braintree North Brookfield Northborough Northbridge Oakham Oxford Paxton Petersham Phillipston Princeton Royalston Rutland Shrewsbury Southborough Spencer Sterling Sturbridge Sutton Templeton Upton Uxbridge Warren Webster West Boylston West Brookfield Westborough Westminster Winchendon CDPs Athol Baldwinville Barre Clinton Cordaville Devens East Brookfield East Douglas Fiskdale Hopedale Lunenburg Milford North Brookfield Northborough Oxford Rutland South Ashburnham South Lancaster Spencer Sturbridge Upton-West Upton Warren Webster West Brookfield Westborough Whitinsville Winchendon Other villages Gilbertville Ironstone Linwood North Uxbridge Old Furnace Still River Union Chapel Wheelockville Wheelwright