Bellingham, Massachusetts facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bellingham, Massachusetts
Town
Bellingham Town Hall
Seal
Location in Norfolk County in Massachusetts
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Norfolk
Settled	1713
Incorporated	1719
Government
• Type	Open town meeting
Area
• Total	49.2 km2 (19.0 sq mi)
• Land	47.9 km2 (18.5 sq mi)
• Water	1.3 km2 (0.5 sq mi)
Elevation	89 m (293 ft)
Population  (2020)
• Total	16,945
• Density	344.4/km2 (891.8/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (Eastern)
ZIP Code	02019
Area code(s)	508/774
FIPS code	25-04930
GNIS feature ID	0618315

Bellingham is a town located in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. In 2020, about 16,945 people lived there. The town is on the edge of Metropolitan Boston, near the busy Interstate 495 highway. It is considered part of the larger Boston–Cambridge–Quincy area, and also the Providence metropolitan area.

For more details about the specific area called Bellingham (CDP), you can check out the article Bellingham (CDP), Massachusetts.

History of Bellingham

The land that became Bellingham was once part of the "Dedham Grant." This was a large area given to the town of Dedham. The southern part of Bellingham was the very southwestern corner of this grant.

The land was quite swampy, so the town of Dedham didn't think it was good for building homes. Later, Edward Rawson bought the land north of the Charles River. Over time, these two areas came together to form Bellingham.

People started buying land in this area around 1696. By 1713, enough families lived there to hold their own village meetings. In 1718, the village asked to become its own town. On November 27, 1719, Bellingham officially became a town.

The village was first called "Westham," meaning "West Dedham." But when it became a town, the name was changed to Bellingham. No one knows for sure why the name was chosen. It is named after Richard Bellingham, who was an early governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

When the town was founded, it had a Pilgrim (Congregationalist) church, like most towns back then. But this church later closed. A Baptist church took its place. John Leland, a Baptist minister who supported James Madison and the First Amendment, was baptized in Bellingham in 1775.

The town grew slowly because of the land and limited resources. During the Industrial Revolution, people built ponds to help power factories in the swampy areas. Today, the northern part of Bellingham is growing fast because of its location near I-495. The southern part is mostly suburban, with many homes.

A famous person named Deborah Sampson joined the army in Bellingham during the Revolutionary War. She pretended to be a man named "Robert Shurtlieff" to become America's first woman soldier.

Geography and Transportation

Bellingham covers about 19.0 square miles (49.2 km²) in total. Most of this is land, about 18.5 square miles (47.9 km²). The rest, about 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²), is water. The town's average height is 293 feet (89 m) above sea level.

Bellingham is in the southwestern part of Norfolk County. It's close to the border of Rhode Island. Neighboring towns include Medway to the north, Franklin to the east, and Wrentham to the southeast. To the south is Woonsocket, Rhode Island. To the west are Blackstone, Hopedale, and Mendon. Milford is to the northwest.

The town is about 23 miles (37 km) southeast of Worcester. It's also about 30 miles (50 km) southwest of Boston and 20 miles (30 km) north of Providence.

Interstate 495 runs through the northern part of Bellingham. There is one exit in the town itself, Exit 46 (which used to be Exit 18) at Hartford Avenue (Route 126). Other exits in nearby Franklin are also very close to Bellingham.

State Route 126 goes north to south through Bellingham, connecting Medway to the Rhode Island border. State Route 140 runs east to west, from Franklin to Mendon. In the late 1980s, Bellingham had no traffic lights. By 2006, it had more than a dozen!

The closest public transportation is the Forge Park/495 station. This is on the MBTA Commuter Rail Franklin/Foxboro Line. It's about 2 miles (3 km) outside Bellingham. There's also a RIPTA bus that stops about 1 mile (1.6 km) away in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

People of Bellingham (Demographics)

In 2000, there were 15,314 people living in Bellingham. Most people (about 96.93%) were White. Other groups included Black (0.91%), Asian (0.86%), and American Indian (0.12%). About 1.20% of the population was Hispanic or Latino.

Many people in Bellingham are religious, about 65.53%. Most of them are Catholic (54.17%). Others are Baptist (6.63%), or follow other Christian faiths. There are also people who are Jewish, Muslim, or follow Eastern faiths like Hinduism.

Bellingham has several churches. There are two Catholic churches (St. Blaise and St. Brendan's) and three Baptist churches (Bellingham Bible Baptist, Milford Bible Baptist, and First Baptist). There is also a Hindu temple called the Boston Sri Kalikambal Shiva Temple. People of other faiths, like Buddhist, Jewish, Mormon, or Muslim, often go to places of worship in nearby towns.

In 2000, there were 5,557 households in Bellingham. About 37.9% of these households had children under 18 living with them. Most households (64.6%) were married couples. The average household had 2.75 people.

The median age in Bellingham was 36 years old. About 26.8% of the population was under 18. About 9.7% were 65 years or older. The median income for a household in the town was $103,258 in 2020. This means that half the households earned more than this, and half earned less.

Education

Bellingham has several schools for its students. As of 2024, there are two elementary schools: Stallbrook and DiPietro. There is one middle school called Bellingham Memorial. For high school, students attend Bellingham High School or Keough Memorial Academy.

The Clara Macy Elementary school closed before the 2015–2016 school year and was later taken down. Students who used to go there were sent to the other two elementary schools. Joseph F. DiPietro Elementary School was known as South Elementary school for many years.

In 2019, Bellingham High School was ranked 205th in Massachusetts. Because of this, some families choose to send their children to schools in nearby towns like Medway and Holliston. Some students also go to private schools or technical schools. These include Tri-County in Franklin, Blackstone Valley Tech in Upton, and Mount St. Charles in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

Bellingham High's sports teams are part of the Tri-Valley League. They have been in this league since it started in 1966. Bellingham is known for having strong baseball, softball, and football teams. Other teams in the league know that playing Bellingham is usually a tough game.

Cemeteries

Bellingham has several cemeteries:

• Precious Blood & St. John, 314 Wrentham Rd
• St. John's Cemetery, 310 Wrentham Rd
• Ukrainian-American Cemetery, 128 Center St
• Union Cemetery, 84 Mechanic St
• North Cemetery and Oak Hill Cemetery, Hartford Ave

Notable People

Here are some well-known people connected to Bellingham:

• William Taylor Adams (1822–1897), an author known as "Oliver Optic."
• Bathsheba A. Benedict, who founded Benedict College.
• Geoff Bodine, a famous NASCAR driver.
• Robert Austin Boudreau, (1927-2024), who started and directed the American Wind Symphony Orchestra.
• Levi Cook, a former mayor of Detroit.
• Jason DeLucia, a mixed martial artist.
• John Leland, a Baptist minister who was baptized in Bellingham.
• Debbie Mueller, a pioneer female road runner and winner of the Dublin Marathon.
• Deborah Sampson, known as "America's first woman soldier," who joined the army in Bellingham during the Revolutionary War.
• Ricky Santos, an American football player who played mostly in the CFL.
• John Milton Thayer, a Union Army general and US Senator from Nebraska.
• Jorge Rivera, a mixed martial artist and UFC middleweight contender.

See also

In Spanish: Bellingham (Massachusetts) para niños