Bolton, Massachusetts

Bolton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Bolton is in eastern Massachusetts, located 25 miles west-northwest of downtown Boston.The population was 4,897 at the 2010 census.

History
The town of Bolton was incorporated on June 24, 1738, following an influx of settlers. Town historian Esther Whitcomb, descendant of one of Bolton's earliest documented settlers, cites the recorded birth of a son, Hezekiah, to Josiah Whitcomb in 1681. By 1711, according to Whitcomb, more than 150 people were living on Bolton soil, despite a local history of Indian uprisings and one massacre. Many early houses were protected by flankers, and were designated as garrisons. Bolton's history is interesting because it is reflective of early settlement patterns in the central Massachusetts area, and the conflicts with King Philip (Metacom) and his Indian soldiers. The town was formerly part of the town of Lancaster, but seceded along the Still River, where the current boundary line still stands.

In the 1920s Bolton was used as a setting and mentioned a number of times in H.P. Lovecraft's fiction: as a setting in his “Herbert West — Reanimator”, and also mentioned in his “The Rats in the Walls” and “The Colour out of Space”.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 20.0 sqmi, of which 19.9 sqmi is land and 0.1 sqmi, or 0.35%, is water.

Bolton is bordered by Harvard to the north, Stow to the east, Hudson and Berlin to the south, Clinton to the southwest, and Lancaster to the northwest.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,148 people, 1,424 households, and 1,201 families residing in the town. The population density was 208.1 PD/sqmi. There were 1,476 housing units at an average density of 74.1 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 97.76% White, 0.19% African American, 0.05% Native American, 1.30% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 0.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.80% of the population.

There were 1,424 households out of which 44.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 77.0% were married couples living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.6% were non-families. 11.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the town the population was spread out with 30.4% under the age of 18, 3.3% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 6.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 100.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $102,798, and the median income for a family was $108,967. Males had a median income of $79,167 versus $50,278 for females. The per capita income for the town was $42,542. About 1.1% of families and 1.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.5% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over.

Taxes in Bolton have increased since the 1980s in a disproportional fashion as compared to surrounding areas. This is largely due to an increased regional School budget, and lack of a commercial tax base.

Schools
Bolton is a member of the Nashoba Regional School District, also serving the towns of Lancaster and Stow. Bolton is home to Florence Sawyer School (PK-8) and Nashoba Regional High School.

Notable people

 * Suzy Becker, author
 * William C. Edes, chairman, Alaskan Engineering Commission
 * Karen O'Connor, equestrian
 * Bill Ezinicki, NHL hockey player, professional golfer, won three Stanley Cups with the Toronto Maple Leafs, inducted into PGA tour hall of fame New England Section in 1997
 * Hal Gill, current NHL player for the Nashville Predators
 * Frank L. McNamara, Jr., United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts from 1987 to 1989
 * William C. Sullivan, head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's intelligence operations from 1961 to 1971
 * J. Sterling Livingston, professor at the Harvard Business School from 1945 to 1974
 * Philip J. Philbin (1898-1972), member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 3rd district from 1943 to 1971
 * William Ellery Leonard (1876-1944), poet and author, professor at the University of Wisconsin’s Dept. of English.
 * Wilbert Robinson, Baseball Hall of Fame inductee
 * Frederick A. Sawyer (1822-1891), United States Senator from South Carolina
 * Nathan Wilson, member of the United States House of Representatives from New York's 12th congressional district from 1808 to 1809
 * Amos Nourse (1794–1877), United States Senator from Maine
 * Samuel Stearns (1741-1809), astronomer and author.