Westford, Massachusetts | |
---|---|
![]() Old Westford Academy, now the Westford Museum | |
![]() Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts | |
Coordinates: 42°34′45″N71°26′18″W / 42.57917°N 71.43833°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Massachusetts |
County | Middlesex |
Region | New England |
Settled | 1635 [1] |
Incorporated | September 23, 1729 |
Government | |
• Type | Open town meeting |
Area | |
• Total | 31.3 sq mi (81.1 km2) |
• Land | 30.6 sq mi (79.3 km2) |
• Water | 0.7 sq mi (1.9 km2) |
Elevation | 406 ft (124 m) |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 24,643 |
• Density | 712.1/sq mi (274.8/km2) |
Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (Eastern) |
ZIP Code | 01886 |
Area code | 351/978 |
FIPS code | 25-76135 |
GNIS feature ID | 0618244 |
Website | www |
Westford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was at 24,643 at the time of the 2020 Census. [2]
Westford began as 'West Chelmsford', a village in the town of Chelmsford. The village of West Chelmsford grew large enough to sustain its own governance in 1729, and was officially incorporated as Westford that year on September 23. [3] [4]
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Westford primarily produced granite, apples, and worsted yarn. The Abbot Worsted Company was said to be the first company in the nation to use camel hair for worsted yarns. [5]
Paul Revere's son attended Westford Academy and a bell cast by Revere graces its lobby today. [6] A weather vane made by Paul Revere sits atop the Abbot Elementary school.
By the end of the American Civil War, as roads and transportation improved, Westford began to serve as a residential suburb for the factories of Lowell, becoming one of the earliest notable examples of suburban sprawl. Throughout the 20th century (and with the invention of the automobile), Westford progressively grew, continuing to serve as residential housing for the industries of Lowell, and later, Boston.
In the 1960s, the town was home to one of the research sites supporting Project West Ford.
By the 1970s, with the advent of the 128 Technology Belt, Westford began to act as a suburb for high-tech firms in Burlington, Woburn, and other areas, and later became a center of technology itself.
By the 1990s, Westford was home to offices for Cascade Communications (now part of Nokia), NETSCOUT, Red Hat, Samsung, Sonus Networks, Seagate, Iris Associates and many other technology firms, most located along Massachusetts Route 110, parallel to I-495. It is also the North American headquarters for Puma, which holds a road race in town. [7]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 31.3 square miles (81 km2), of which 30.6 square miles (79 km2) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2) (2.30%) is water.
Regionally, it is on the edge of the Merrimack Valley, Northern Middlesex County, and the Metrowest regions of Massachusetts.
Colloquially, the town is divided into different regions based on location, including Forge Village, Nabnasset, Graniteville, Parker Village, and Center of Town.
The town was rated as #11 Best Places to live by Money.com in 2013. [8]
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1790 | 1,229 [9] | — |
1800 | 1,267 [10] | +3.1% |
1810 | 1,330 [11] | +5.0% |
1820 | 1,409 [12] | +5.9% |
1830 | 1,327 [13] | −5.8% |
1840 | 1,436 [14] | +8.2% |
1850 | 1,473 | +2.6% |
1860 | 1,624 | +10.3% |
1870 | 1,803 | +11.0% |
1880 | 2,147 | +19.1% |
1890 | 2,250 | +4.8% |
1900 | 2,624 | +16.6% |
1910 | 2,851 | +8.7% |
1920 | 3,170 | +11.2% |
1930 | 3,600 | +13.6% |
1940 | 3,830 | +6.4% |
1950 | 4,262 | +11.3% |
1960 | 6,261 | +46.9% |
1970 | 10,368 | +65.6% |
1980 | 13,434 | +29.6% |
1990 | 16,467 | +22.6% |
2000 | 20,754 | +26.0% |
2010 | 21,951 | +5.8% |
2020 | 24,643 | +12.3% |
2022* | 24,353 | −1.2% |
* = population estimate. Source: United States census records and Population Estimates Program data. [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] |
As of the 2010 census [26] there were 21,951 people, 7,498 households, and 6,165 families residing in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 76.1% White, 0.40% African American, 0.1% Native American, 22.6% Asian (10.7% Indian, 8.2% Chinese, 1.6% Korean, 0.3% Cambodian, 0.2% Vietnamese, 0.2% Japanese, 0.1% Filipino, 0.1% Pakistani, 0.1% Bangladeshi), 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.30% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.5% of the population.
As of the 2010 census, [26] there were 7,498 households, out of which 45.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.5% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female head of household, and 17.8% were other families. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 3.27.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 31.8% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 7.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $121,136, and the median income for a family was $137,230. The per capita income for the town was $48,951. About 1.3% of families and 1.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.2% of those under age 18 and 1.0% of those age 65 or over.
Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of February 1, 2021 [27] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Number of Voters | Percentage | |||
Democratic | 3,962 | 21.75% | |||
Republican | 1,987 | 10.91% | |||
Unaffiliated | 12,090 | 66.36% | |||
Total | 18,220 | 100% |
The Superintendent of Westford's Public Schools is Christopher Chew, [28] who has held that role since 2021. The Assistant Superintendent is Courtney Moran. [29]
Nashoba Valley Technical High School enrolls students from Westford, Chelmsford, Ayer, Groton, Littleton, Townsend, Shirley, and Pepperell
Established in 1968, Nashoba Valley Technical High School is a public, four-year, vocational high school.
Freight travels daily through Westford over the tracks of the historic Stony Brook Railroad. The line currently serves as a major corridor of Pan Am Railways' District 3 which connects New Hampshire and Maine with western Massachusetts, Vermont, and New York. [30] Interstate 495 also passes through the town, linking it to other parts of the state as well as New Hampshire. [31] US-3 passes through the town, although the nearest interchanges are located in neighboring Tyngsborough (exit 88, formerly 34) and Chelmsford (exit 86, formerly 33).
The LRTA 15 bus connects Westford along Route 110 with Chelmsford and the Lowell train station on the MBTA Commuter Rail Lowell Line.
Local routes passing through town are Massachusetts Routes 110, 40, 225, and 27.
Middlesex County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,632,002, making it the most populous county in both Massachusetts and New England and the 22nd most populous county in the United States. Middlesex County is one of two U.S. counties to be amongst the top 25 counties with the highest household income and the 25 most populated counties. It is included in the Census Bureau's Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA–NH Metropolitan Statistical Area. As part of the 2020 United States census, the Commonwealth's mean center of population for that year was geo-centered in Middlesex County, in the town of Natick.
Acton is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, approximately 21 miles (34 km) west-northwest of Boston along Massachusetts Route 2 west of Concord and about ten miles (16 km) southwest of Lowell. The population was 24,021 in April 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau. It is bordered by Westford and Littleton to the north, Concord and Carlisle to the east, Stow, Maynard, and Sudbury to the south and Boxborough to the west. Acton became an incorporated town in 1735. The town employs the Open Town Meeting form of government with a town manager and an elected, five-member select board. Acton was named the 11th Best Place To Live among small towns in the country by Money Magazine in 2015, and the 16th best in 2009 and in 2011. The local high school, Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, was named a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education in 2009.
Billerica is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 42,119 according to the 2020 census. It takes its name from the town of Billericay in Essex, England.
Carlisle is a town located northwest of Boston in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town had a population of 5,237.
Chelmsford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1655. The Chelmsford militia played a role in the American Revolution at the Battle of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Dracut is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, the town's population was 32,617, making it the second most populous town in Massachusetts with an open town meeting system of governance. The town covers a total area of 21.36 square miles, 0.5 square miles of which are water.
Dunstable is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,358 at the 2020 census.
Littleton is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,141 at the 2020 census.
Littleton Common is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Littleton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,065 at the 2020 census, up from 2,789 in 2010.
Tewksbury is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Its population was 31,342 as of the 2020 United States Census.
Tyngsborough is a town in northern Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Tyngsborough is 28 miles (45 km) from Boston along the Route 3 corridor, and located on the New Hampshire state line. At the 2020 census, the town population was 12,380. By its location, the town serves as a suburb of neighboring cities such as Nashua, New Hampshire and Lowell, Massachusetts.
Woburn is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,876 at the 2020 census. Woburn is located 9 miles (14 km) north of Boston. Woburn uses Massachusetts' mayor-council form of government, in which an elected mayor is the executive and a partly district-based, partly at-large city council is the legislature. It was the last of Massachusetts' 351 municipalities to refer to members of its city council as "aldermen".
Wilmington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Its population was 23,349 at the 2020 United States census.
Groton is a town in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, within the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The population was 11,315 at the 2020 census. An affluent bedroom community roughly 45 miles from Boston, Groton has a large population of professional workers, many of whom work in Boston's tech industry. It is loosely connected to Boston by highways and commuter rail.
Greater Lowell is the region comprising the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, and its suburbs. These lie in northern Middlesex County, Massachusetts; in the Merrimack Valley; and in southern New Hampshire.
Nashoba Valley Technical High School is a four-year, public regional vocational high school located on Route 110 in Westford, Massachusetts, United States. Following a $25 million renovation and expansion, its service area covers 14 communities including the seven District towns of Ayer, Chelmsford, Groton, Littleton, Pepperell, Shirley, Townsend and Westford.
Ayer is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Originally part of Groton, it was incorporated February 14, 1871, and became a major commercial railroad junction. The town was home to Camp Stevens, a training camp for Massachusetts volunteers during the American Civil War. Later, Fort Devens was established by the federal government to train New England soldiers for World War I. Fort Devens is a major influence on the area, although it is considerably smaller than when it was first closed in the mid-1990s. The town's population was 8,479 at the 2020 census.
Shirley is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately thirty miles west-northwest of Boston. The population was 7,431 at the 2020 census. The town has a well-preserved historic New England town center.
Townsend is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 9,127 at the 2020 census.
Edward Edwin Fitzgibbon was a farmer, teacher, and politician.
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