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Marlborough, Massachusetts

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Marlborough is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 36,255 at the 2000 census. The name of this town is sometimes spelled as Marlboro, rather than Marlborough, which is the official spelling.

History

John Howe had come to the area in 1656 as a fur trader and built a house at the intersection of two Indian trails, Nashua Trail and Connecticut path. He could speak the language of the Algonquin Indians though the local tribe refered to themselves as the Pennacooks. Marlborough was first settled in 1657 by 14 men led by Edmund Rice and was officially incorporated in 1660. The settlers where welcomed by the Indians because they protected them from other tribes they were at war with. In the 1650s, several families left the nearby town of Sudbury, 18 miles west of Boston, to start a new town. The village was named Marlborough after the market town in Wiltshire, England and, in 1660, received permission from the Massachusetts General Court to incorporate their town.

The Rev. William Brimstead was the first minister of the Puritan church and Johnathan Johnson was the first blacksmith.

Marlborough was one of the seven "Praying Indian Towns" because they where converted to Christianity bythe Rev. John Eliot of Roxbury MA. In 1674 a deed was drawn up dividing the land between the settlers and the natives. This is the only record of names of the natives. The document was signed by: Old Nequenit, Robin (Robin Hill in Marlborough is named after him). Bejamin Wuttanamitt, Great James, Mary, the widow of Peter Naskonit, on behalf of her child David Moses, Assoake, the widow of James nowrwell "On behalf of my children", Sarah Conomy, sole executrix of my late husband Oomonog, Elizebeth, the only daughter and sole heir of Solomon, deceased. (Solomon Pond in Northborough is named after him and hence Solomon Pond Mall), James Spence on behalf of his wife.

The settlement was almost destroyed by Native Americans in 1676 during King Philip's War.

As population, business, and travel grew in the colonies, Marlborough became a favored rest stop on the Boston Post Road. Many travelers stopped at its inns and taverns, including George Washington, who visited the Williams Tavern soon after his inauguration in 1789.

In 1836, Samuel Boyd, known as the "father of the city," and his brother Joseph, opened the first shoe manufacturing business - an act that would change the community forever. By 1890, with a population of 14,000, Marlborough had become a major shoe manufacturing center, producing boots for Union soldiers as well as footwear for the civilian population. Marlborough became so well known for its shoes that its official seal was decorated with a factory, a shoe box, and a pair of boots when it was incorporated as a city in 1890.

The American Civil War resulted in the creation of one of the region's most unusual monuments. Legend has it that a company from Marlborough, assigned to Harpers Ferry, appropriated the bell from the firehouse where John Brown last battled for the emancipation of the slaves. The company left the bell in the hands of one Mrs. Elizabeth Snyder for 30 years, returning in 1892 to bring it back to Marlborough. The bell now hangs in a tower at the corner of Route 85 and Main Street.

Around that time, Marlborough is believed to have been the first community in the country to receive a charter for a streetcar system, edging out the city of Baltimore by a few months. The system, designed primarily for passenger use, provided access to Milford to the south, and Concord to the north. As a growing industrialized community, Marlborough began attracting skilled craftsmen from Quebec, Ireland, Italy, and Greece.

Shoe manufacturing continued in Marlborough long after the industry had fled many other New England communities. Famous Frye boots were manufactured here through the 1970s, and The Rockport Company, founded in Marlborough in 1971, continues to maintain an outlet store in the city. In 1990, when Marlborough celebrated its centennial as a city, the festivities included the construction of a park in acknowledgment of the shoe industry, featuring statues by the sculptor David Kapenteopolous.

The construction of Interstates 495 and 290 and the Massachusetts Turnpike has enabled Marlborough to begin its third century on the cutting edge of a new industry: high technology and specialized electronics. Today, thousands flock here to work at Fidelity Investments, Raytheon, Hewlett-Packard, and the many other electronics and computer firms that provide the strong business community in the city. Because of the city's central location with easy access to major highways and the pro-business, pro-development policies of the city government, the population of Marlborough has more than doubled in the last 25 years to over 32,000 at the time of the last census.

Like neighboring Framingham, Marlborough has a large and growing Brazilian immigrant population.

Pronunciation

The Boston accent tends to elide the first two syllables of 'Marlborough', producing the spoken name 'MALL-bro', or 'MAH-bro'.

Geography

Marlborough is located at 42°21′3″N 71°32′51″W / 42.35083°N 71.54750°W / 42.35083; -71.54750Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (42.350909, -71.547530)Template:GR. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 57.4 km² (22.2 mi²). 54.6 km² (21.1 mi²) of it is land and 2.8 km² (1.1 mi²) of it (4.87%) is water. Marlborough is bordered by the town of Hudson on its north, by the towns of Berlin and Northborough on its west, by the towns of Southborough and a small portion of Framingham on its south, and the town of Sudbury on its east. Within the city limits of Marlborough are three large lakes, known as Lake Williams, Millham Resivoir and Fort Meadow Reservoir. A portion of Fort Meadow Reservoir extends into nearby Hudson.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 36,255 people, 14,501 households, and 9,280 families residing in the city. The population density was 663.7/km² (1,719.4/mi²). There were 14,903 housing units at an average density of 272.8/km² (706.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.70% White, 2.17% African American, 0.20% Native American, 3.76% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.27% from other races, and 2.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.06% of the population.

There were 14,501 households out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.0% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 36.7% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $56,879, and the median income for a family was $70,385. Males had a median income of $49,133 versus $32,457 for females. The per capita income for the city was $28,723. About 4.7% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.9% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Schools include:

Libraries:

Notable figures

Afterschool Programs

Boys & Girls Clubs of Metrowest

See also

Churches

Local Sports

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