Auburn, Massachusetts

Auburn, Massachusetts
Town
Auburn Town Offices and Merriam Library
Flag Seal
Location in Worcester County and the state of Massachusetts.
Coordinates: 42°12′N71°50′W / 42.200°N 71.833°W / 42.200; -71.833
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Worcester
Settled	1714
Incorporated	April 10, 1778
Government
• Type	Representative town meeting
• Town Manager	Edward Kazanovicz
• Board of Selectmen	Chair Scott Wrenn Vice-Chair Sara Rufli Dan Carpenter Lionel Berthiaume
• School Committee	Chair Jessica Harrington Vice-Chair Meghan McCrillis Gail Halloway Samantha Raphael Brooke Wrenn
Area
• Total	16.4 sq mi (42.5 km2)
• Land	15.4 sq mi (39.8 km2)
• Water	1.0 sq mi (2.7 km2)
Elevation	603 ft (184 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	16,889
• Density	1,000/sq mi (400/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (Eastern)
ZIP code	01501
Area code	508 / 774
FIPS code	25-02760
GNIS feature ID	0619474
Website	www.auburnguide.com

Auburn is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,889 at the 2020 census. ^[1]

History

The Auburn area was first settled in 1714 as of today outer parts of Worcester, Sutton, Leicester and Oxford, Massachusetts, and the town was officially incorporated on April 10, 1778, as the town of Ward, ^[2] in honor of American Revolution General Artemas Ward (second in command to George Washington). In 1837, the town changed its name to Auburn after the Post Office complained that the name was too similar to the nearby town of Ware.

Before incorporation, most of Auburn was known as the South Parish of Worcester; other portions fell within the town limits of Leicester and Millbury.

Today, Auburn is bordered by Worcester to the north, Leicester to the west, Millbury to the east, and Oxford to the south.

Robert H. Goddard launched the first liquid-fueled rocket from Pakachoag Hill, on his aunt Effe Ward's farm, in Auburn on March 16, 1926. Goddard is commemorated in Goddard Memorial Park, located downtown next to the Auburn Fire Department Headquarters. The park features a model of Goddard's prototype liquid-fueled rocket and a Polaris missile (Type A-1). A second replica of Goddard's prototype stands at Auburn High School.

Goddard's launch is also commemorated with a small monument, the Goddard Rocket Launching Site, between the first and ninth holes of Pakachoag Golf Course. ^[3]

Government

The form of government is representative town meeting. There are 24 town-meeting members from each of the five precincts of the town, for a total of 120 who represent the people at the annual town meeting each May. The town also has a Board of Selectmen which consists of five elected members, each serving for a term of three years. As of 2009, the town adopted a new charter which allowed for the creation of a Town Manager.

State government
State Representative(s):	Paul K. Frost (R)
State Senator(s):	Michael O. Moore (D)
Governor's Councilor(s):	Paul DePaulo (D)
Federal government
U.S. Representative(s):	2nd District
U.S. Senators:	Elizabeth Warren (D), Ed Markey (D)

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1850	879	—
1860	914	+4.0%
1870	1,178	+28.9%
1880	1,317	+11.8%
1890	1,532	+16.3%
1900	2,446	+59.7%
1910	2,797	+14.3%
1920	3,052	+9.1%
1930	6,147	+101.4%
1940	6,629	+7.8%
1950	8,840	+33.4%
1960	14,047	+58.9%
1970	15,347	+9.3%
1980	14,845	−3.3%
1990	15,005	+1.1%
2000	15,901	+6.0%
2010	16,188	+1.8%
2020	16,889	+4.3%
2022	16,762	−0.8%
Source: United States census records and Population Estimates Program data. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

The 2010 Auburn, MA, population was 16,188. There are 1,053 people per square mile.

The median age is 40.8. The US median is 37.6. 61.86% of people in Auburn, MA, are married. 8.00% are divorced. The average household size is 2.41 people. 22.71% of people are married, with children. 5.08% have children, but are single.

According to the 2000 census, 97.21% of people are white, 0.81% are black or African American, 1.19% are Asian, 0.10% are Native American, and 1.00% are "other". 1.24% of the people in Auburn, MA, are of Hispanic ethnicity.

Highways

I-90: The 138 mile Massachusetts Turnpike was commissioned in 1957 and is a part of the 3,099 mile long I-90, the longest Interstate in the country. Almost 5 miles of I-90 runs from the west-southwest to east-northeast through Auburn and is six lanes wide (three each direction) through the town. The right of way is nominally about 300 feet wide. Auburn also contains Exit 90. The total land utilized in Auburn for the interstate is about 200 acres.

I-290: The first three miles of the 20 mile long eastbound (heads north in Auburn) Interstate 290 is in Auburn along with exits 7 (I-90), 8 (Rt. 12), and 9 (Swanson Rd EB, Auburn St. WB).

I-395: Two miles of Interstate 395 are in Auburn which becomes I-290 after Exit 6 (US 20).

Route 12: Five miles of Rt. 12 (Southbridge St.) traverses generally north/south through Auburn and its intersection with Auburn St. is named Drury Square.

US 20: Five miles of US 20 runs through Auburn. At 3,365 miles, US 20 is the longest road in the United States. In Auburn it is also known as Southbridge St. (concurrent section with RT 12), Washington St. and the SW Cutoff.

Education

Auburn has two elementary schools, Bryn Mawr School (grades K–2) and Pakachoag School (grades K–2). All Auburn public school students attend Swanson Road Intermediate School (grades 3–5) and Auburn Middle School (grades 6–8). Some students attend Auburn High School (grades 9–12), ^[15] while others are given the option to attend Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School in nearby Charlton.

A new Auburn High School opened on Drury Square in the center of town directly next to the old high school in the fall of 2006, equipped with turfed fields, to include (Memorial Field) all-purpose field for soccer, football, track & field, lacrosse, a turf baseball field, and a grass softball field (Rebecca J. Colokaithis Field), as well three new tennis courts and a basketball court (Holstrom Corner). Auburn High School participates in the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System.

In 2006 a group called "Save the '35" protested demolition of the oldest (1935) wing of the former high school. The old high school has now been completely demolished, except the dome on top of the high school, which is now located as a monument outside of right center field of the baseball field. A few of the bricks of the old building were sold within the town, and there are some located at the Auburn Historical Museum. In 1997, the Eastern Nazarene College started a learning annex in Auburn. ^[16]

Points of interest

• Auburn Mall
• Goddard Rocket Launching Site
• Worcester Flood Diversion Channel

Notable people

• Paul Allaire (1938–2019), CEO of Xerox Corp. from 1990 to 2001
• Jacob Whitman Bailey (1811–1857), biologist, educator ^[17]
• Tyler Beede (born 1993), baseball pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates
• John Curdo (1931–2022), chess master, winner of numerous titles, including the US Senior Championship, who lived here in later life
• Patrick Allen Joslyn (born 1986), drag performer known onstage as Joslyn Fox
• Robert Goddard (1881–1945), rocket scientist
• Jeffrey Lynn (1909–1995), stage-screen actor and film producer

See also

• Worcester Historical Museum

References

1. "Census - Geography Profile: Auburn town, Worcester County, Massachusetts". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved November 12, 2021.
2. "Town of Auburn, MA - Auburn History", Auburn, MA, 2013, webpage: AG-docs Archived December 29, 2012, at the Wayback Machine .
3. National Historic Landmarks Survey, by State - Massachusetts, page 8, accessed October 19, 2007.
4. "Total Population (P1), 2010 Census Summary File 1". American FactFinder, All County Subdivisions within Massachusetts. United States Census Bureau. 2010.
5. "Massachusetts by Place and County Subdivision - GCT-T1. Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
6. "1990 Census of Population, General Population Characteristics: Massachusetts" (PDF). US Census Bureau. December 1990. Table 76: General Characteristics of Persons, Households, and Families: 1990. 1990 CP-1-23. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
7. "1980 Census of the Population, Number of Inhabitants: Massachusetts" (PDF). US Census Bureau. December 1981. Table 4. Populations of County Subdivisions: 1960 to 1980. PC80-1-A23. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
8. "1950 Census of Population" (PDF). Bureau of the Census. 1952. Section 6, Pages 21-10 and 21-11, Massachusetts Table 6. Population of Counties by Minor Civil Divisions: 1930 to 1950. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
9. "1920 Census of Population" (PDF). Bureau of the Census. Number of Inhabitants, by Counties and Minor Civil Divisions. Pages 21-5 through 21-7. Massachusetts Table 2. Population of Counties by Minor Civil Divisions: 1920, 1910, and 1920. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
10. "1890 Census of the Population" (PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. Pages 179 through 182. Massachusetts Table 5. Population of States and Territories by Minor Civil Divisions: 1880 and 1890. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
11. "1870 Census of the Population" (PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. 1872. Pages 217 through 220. Table IX. Population of Minor Civil Divisions, &c. Massachusetts. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
12. "1860 Census" (PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. 1864. Pages 220 through 226. State of Massachusetts Table No. 3. Populations of Cities, Towns, &c. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
13. "1850 Census" (PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. 1854. Pages 338 through 393. Populations of Cities, Towns, &c. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
14. "City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2022". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved November 23, 2023.
15. "Auburn Public Schools". Archived from the original on March 4, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
16. Salter, Sue (Summer 1997). "New Learning Center Launched at ENC" (PDF). News Vol. 7 No. 2. Consortium for the Advancement of Adult Higher Education. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2011. Retrieved May 29, 2009.
17. Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607–1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1967.

External links

• Town of Auburn
• Auburn Public Schools
• Auburn Historical Museum