Westborough, Massachusetts


 * For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Westborough, which is part of the town, please see the article Westborough (CDP), Massachusetts.

Westborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,272 at the 2010 census, in nearly 6,900 households. Incorporated in 1717, the town is governed now under the New England open town meeting system, headed by a five-member elected Board of Selectmen whose duties include licensing, appointing various administrative positions, and calling a town meeting of citizens annually or whenever the need arises.

History
Before recorded time, the area now known as Westborough was a well-travelled crossroads. As early as 7,000 B.C., prehistoric people in dugout canoes followed the Sudbury and Assabet Rivers to their headwaters in search of quartzite for tools and weapons. During the period from 1200-1600 A.D., seasonal migrations brought Nipmuc Indians to hunt and fish near Cedar Swamp and Lake Hoccomocco. Using Fay Mountain as a landmark, Indians crisscrossed Westborough on well-worn paths: the old Connecticut Path leading west from Massachusetts Bay; the Narragansett Trail leading south, and the trail (along the present Milk Street) leading to Canada.

The early English explorer John Oldham followed these trails through Westborough in 1633, and settlers in search of fertile farmlands followed not long after. By late 1675, a few families had settled near Lake Chauncy, in the "west borough" of Marlborough.

On November 18, 1717, Westborough was incorporated as the hundredth town in Massachusetts, populated by twenty-seven families, including Thomas Rice who had represented Marlborough in the  Great and General Court. Soon large farms were carved out, mills built along the Assabet River and Jackstraw Brook, and taverns flourished. Westborough's first minister, Reverend Ebenezer Parkman, shepherded the growing town of colonists through the years toward independence from Great Britain. Forty-six minutemen from Westborough fought under Captain Edmund Brigham in the Revolutionary War.

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.

In 1810 the route from Boston to Worcester was straightened and improved into an official turnpike (the present Route 9), and along its Westborough route, the Wesson Tavern Common, Forbush Tavern and Nathan Fisher's store prospered. The center of commerce shifted downtown in 1824 with the arrival of the steam train through Westborough's center. The railroad brought a new era to the town industry: over the next century, local factories shipped boots and shoes, straw hats, sleighs, textiles, bicycles, and eventually abrasive products, across the nation. Westborough dairies supplied cities with milk and local greenhouses shipped out carnations, while the eight orchards found ready markets for their produce.

The industrial progress of the entire country is indebted to Westborough's most famous native son Eli Whitney Jr. Born in 1765, Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1795 after graduating from Yale, In 1798 he introduced mass production to the United States at his Whitney Arms Company in New Haven, Connecticut. Whitney's legacy is apparent in the modern industries located within the town's borders: AstraZeneca, Dover Electric, Proteon, Genzyme, EMC Corporation, IBM, PFPC, Bose Corporation and the global headquarters of American Superconductor.

Registered Historic Places
Westborough is home to several listings on the National Register of Historic Places:
 * Nathan Fisher House &mdash; East of Shrewsbury on MA 9 (added April 25, 1980)
 * Joseph Lothrop House, now known as 1790 Restaurant & Tavern, corner of Route 9 and Park Street. (added in 1974)
 * Lyman School for Boys &mdash; Junction of Oak St. and Milk St. (added August 25, 1994)
 * Maples Cottage &mdash; East of Shrewsbury on Oak St. (added April 25, 1980)
 * Vintonville Historic District &mdash; Roughly bounded by Cottage, Green, Pine, Brigham, Beach Streets, and rear of properties along the east side of South Street (added August 23, 2006)
 * Jonah Warren House &mdash; 64 Warren Street (added December 5, 1998)
 * West Main Street Historic District &mdash; Roughly bounded by Milk, Main, Blake, and Fay streets (added July 16, 1987)
 * Expanded to include 83-118 West Main Street (1990)
 * Westborough State Hospital &mdash; Along Lyman St. North of Chauncy Lake and junction of Milk St. and MA 9 (added February 21, 1994)

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 21.6 square miles (56.0 km2), of which 20.5 square miles (53.1 km2) of it is land, and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km2) of it is water or 5.09 percent. Westborough is drained by the Sudbury and Assabet rivers. The town contains numerous bodies of water, including Lake Chauncy, Mill Pond, Lake Hoccomocco, and the Westborough Reservoir. Lake Chauncy is open to swimming, boating, and fishing, and has a public beach open to residents of Westborough and Northborough during the summer months. The average elevation of the town is approximately 300 feet (91 m).

Adjacent towns
Westborough is located in east/central Massachusetts, located about 28 miles (45.47 km) west of Boston and 12 miles (19 km) east of Worcester.

It is bordered by six towns:
 * Grafton
 * Hopkinton
 * Northborough
 * Shrewsbury
 * Southborough
 * Upton

Demographics
Data from the U.S. Census of 2010 shows there were 18,272 people, 6,924 households, and 4,763 families residing in the town. The population density was 891.3 people per square mile (unofficial). The racial makeup of the town was 77.4% White, 1.5% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 17.4% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.6% from other races, 1.9% from two or more races, Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.9% of the population.

There were 6,924 households out of which 38% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.2% were non-families. 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the town the population was spread out with 13.2% under the age of 10, 14.3% from 10 to 19, 9.9% from 20 to 29, 12.9% from 30 to 39, 17.3% from 40 to 49, 14.7% from 50 to 59, 8.2% from 60 to 69, 4.6% from 70 to 79, and 4.8% who were 80 years of age or older. The median age was 39.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males age 18 and over.

The median income for a household in the town (based on U.S. Census five year estimate) was $96,069, and the median income for a family was $117,392. Males had a median income of $82,369 versus $54,893 for females. The per capita income for the town was $43,265. About 1.4% of families and 3.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.6% of those under age 18 and 2.5% of those age 65 or over. As of 2005, the labor force was over 9,300 people with an unemployment rate in the town of 3.1%. Additionally in 2004, the number of registered voters in the town reached 11,532.

Education
Westborough Public Schools operates the town's six schools, including three elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school:


 * Hastings Elementary School
 * Armstrong Elementary School
 * Annie E. Fales Elementary School
 * Mill Pond School
 * James M. Gibbons Middle School
 * Westborough High School (school mascot - Rangers)

The Mill Pond School is the newest school addition to Westborough. The Mill Pond School consists of grade 4 to 6, then Gibbons Middle School which consists of grades 7 and 8, and then Westborough High School. There are three options depending upon residents' geographic location in the town for preschool through third grade. Graduation rates in the high school are consistently above 95% and the vast majority of these graduates attend a four-year college.

Westborough receives an extremely low education reimbursement from the Commonwealth (10th from the bottom) based upon a formula which was set in 1993. The district is working with state legislators to attempt to re-formulate Chapter 70 funding so that it is more equitable.

In a 2004/2005 study by School Matters, a service of Standard and Poors, Westborough Public School system was rated as one of the top public school systems in Massachusetts that consistently outperformed peer schools on MCAS reading and math proficiency test over the last four years. Westborough was the only school system in Worcester County other than Harvard, MA to achieve this top state wide ranking. Westborough ranked 16 out of 204 school systems rated in the state of Massachusetts in this study. In 2005, Money Magazine listed Westborough #36 in its survey of Top 100 Best Places to Live, citing the financial support and staffing levels found in the Westborough Public Schools.

The following facts are published as part of the 2011-2012 Massachusetts Department of Education Profile of the Westborough Public School District and includes test results from the 2011 MCAS
 * Total enrollment (2011-2012): 3,500- ranked 81/400 districts
 * Grades Served: PreK-12
 * Racial Make-up: African-American (1.9%), Asian (20.9%), Hispanic (4.6%), Native American (0.1%), White (69.8%)
 * Gender Make-up of Student Body: Male (52.2%) Female (47.8%)
 * Students whose first language is not English: (16.8%)- ranked 74/400 districts
 * Students in Special Education: (14.7%)- ranked 242/400 districts
 * Students from low-income families: (8.8%)- ranked 329/400 districts
 * Dropouts rate: (0.7%)- ranked 25/400 districts
 * Average number of Absences per student: 6.4
 * Attendance rate: (96.4%)- ranked 41/400 districts
 * Total Number of Teachers: 256.2
 * Student/Teacher Ratio: 13.7 to 1- ranked 213/400 districts
 * Core Academic teachers identified as 'highly qualified': (100%)- ranked 1/400 districts
 * Teachers licensed in their teaching assignment: 99.2%
 * Average Teacher Salary: $71,714- ranked 75/328 districts
 * Total School Spending: $49,285,480
 * Per-Pupil Spending overall: $13,559 - ranked 114/328 districts
 * Number of Students per Computer: 3 - ranked 152/306 districts
 * Percentage of 10th Graders scoring either "Advanced" or "Proficient" on MCAS Math Exam: 90% - ranked 44/289
 * Percentage of 10th Graders scoring either "Advanced" or "Proficient" on MCAS English Exam: 95% - ranked 53/289
 * Percentage of 10th Graders scoring either "Advanced" or "Proficient" on MCAS Science Exam: 94% - ranked 10/286
 * Plans of High School Graduates (2010): Four-year private college (57%), Four-year public college (36%), Two-year private college (0%), Two-year public college (6%), Other education (0%), Joined workforce (0%), Military Service (0%), Other (0%), Unknown (0%)

Transportation
The Town of Westborough is located on the west side of the Massachusetts Turnpike (Interstate 90) and Interstate 495 intersection. Route 30 (Main Street) and Route 135 (South Street/Milk Street) intersect in a rotary at the town's center, while Route 9 runs nearby serving much of the town's commerce.

Westborough is served by an MBTA commuter rail station on the Framingham/Worcester Line.

The town currently does not provide any public transportation apart from public school buses and free transportation for senior citizens.

The nearest international airport is at Boston.

Media
Newspapers:
 * The Boston Globe (Boston)
 * The Telegram & Gazette (Worcester)
 * The Boston Herald (Boston)
 * The MetroWest Daily News (Framingham)
 * The Community Advocate
 * The Westborough News
 * Westborough High School Literary Magazine

Broadcast:
 * Channel 2: WGBH - (PBS) - Boston
 * Channel 4: WBZ - (CBS) - Boston, WBZ-TV
 * Channel 5: WCVB - (ABC) - Boston
 * Channel 6: WFXT - (FOX) - Boston, FOX 25
 * Channel 7: WHDH - (NBC) - Boston, 7 NBC
 * Channel 27: WUNI - (Univision) - Worcester

Cablecast (Public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable tv channels):
 * Channel 11: Westborough TV - Public-access television (Notices) - Westborough
 * Channel 13: Westborough TV - Educational-access television and Area Schools Access Channel - Westborough High School
 * Channel 12: Westborough TV - Government-access television Channel - Westborough

Library
The Westborough Public Library began in 1857. In fiscal year 2008, the town of Westborough spent 1.24% ($846,826) of its budget on its public library—some $45 per person.

Sites of interest

 * Assabet Reservoir – hiking trails
 * Fay Mountain - highest point in Westborough
 * Lake Chauncy - swimming, boating and fishing
 * Lyman School for Boys
 * Westborough Charm Bracelet - hiking trail
 * Westborough Country Club - semi-private 9-hole, par 35, golf club
 * Eli Whitney birthplace, on Eli Whitney Street and marked with a commemorative stone

Accolades

 * Money Magazine & CNNmoney.com 2005 Best Places to Live: 36/100


 * Money Magazine & CNNmoney.com 2007 Best Places to Live: 73/100

Annual events

 * Annual Boy Scout Troop 100 Pancake Breakfast-February/March
 * High School Musical-March
 * Taste of the Boroughs - March
 * Middle School Musical-April
 * Spring Clean Up Day- April
 * Spring Carnival-April
 * Little League Parade-April
 * Memorial Day Parade
 * Purple Day-June
 * Dress and act like a Pirate Day, May 12
 * High School Graduation Ceremony-June
 * 4 July Block Party
 * Homecoming - October
 * High School Play-November
 * Middle School Play-November
 * Thanksgiving Day Football game
 * Christmas Singalong
 * Westborough High School Winter Concert-December

Places of worship

 * Beth Tikvah Synagogue
 * Chabad of Westborough
 * Congregation B'nai Shalom
 * Evangelical Congregational Church
 * First Baptist Church Westborough
 * First United Methodist Church
 * Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
 * New Hope Chapel
 * St. Luke the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church and Rectory
 * St. Stephen's Episcopal Church
 * Unitarian Universalist Congregational Society of Westborough
 * Chapel of the Cross

Notable residents

 * Eli Whitney Blake, inventor of stone crusher, businessman
 * Jaime Brockett, folk singer
 * Jim Campbell, hockey player
 * Andrew Clements, children's author
 * Henry W. Corbett, businessman and senator
 * Ralph Dawson, film editor
 * Louis E. Denfeld, admiral
 * Mark D. Devlin, author
 * Esther Forbes, author
 * Tod Griffin, actor
 * Ashley Hayden, luge athlete
 * Richard B. Johnson, author
 * Horace Maynard, politician
 * Thomas Rice, politician and founding citizen
 * John Ruggles, politician
 * Jordan Smotherman, ice hockey player
 * Nikki Stone, skier
 * Jeffrey Thomas, science fiction and horror author
 * Eli Whitney, inventor and industrialist
 * Jack M. Wilson, President of the University of Massachusetts