Belmont, Massachusetts facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Belmont, Massachusetts
Town
Looking north on Leonard Street in the town center
Seal
Motto(s):  "The Town Of Homes"
Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Middlesex
Settled	1636
Incorporated	1859
Government
• Type	Representative town meeting
Area
• Total	4.7 sq mi (12.2 km2)
• Land	4.7 sq mi (12.1 km2)
• Water	0.1 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation	44 ft (13 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	27,295
• Density	5,810/sq mi (2,237/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (Eastern)
ZIP code	02478
Area code(s)	617 / 857
FIPS code	25-05070
GNIS feature ID	0618216
Website	Town of Belmont, MA

Belmont is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. It is a western suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, United States; and is part of the greater Boston metropolitan area. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town's population stood at 27,295, up 10.4% from 2010.

History

Belmont was established on March 10, 1859, by former citizens of, and land from the bordering towns of Watertown, to the south; Waltham, to the west; and Arlington, then known as West Cambridge, to the north. They also wanted a town where no one could buy or sell alcohol. (Today, a person can buy alcohol in this town.) The town was named after Bellmont, the 200 acre (0.8 km²) estate of one of the leading and largest donor to its createion, John Perkins Cushing. Cushing Square is named after him and what was left of his estate after it nearly burned to the ground became a Belmont Public Library branch. The easternmost section of the town, including the western portion of Fresh Pond, was annexed by Camobridge in 1880 in a dispute over a slaughterhouse licensed in 1878 on Fresh Pond, so that Cambridge could protect Fresh Pond, a part of its municipal water system.

Preceding its incorporation, Belmont was an agrarian based town, with several large farms servicing Boston for produce and livestock. It remained largely the same until the turn of the twentieth century, when trolley service and better roads were introduced, making the town more attractive as a residential area, most notably for the building of large estates.

Belmont's population grew by over 90 percent during the 1920s.

The economics of the town shifted from purely agrarian to a commercial greenhouse base: much of the flower and vegetable needs of Boston were met from the Belmont 'hothouses' which persisted until about 1983 when Edgar's, the last large greenhouse firm in the area, closed. Other commercial enterprises in Belmont included mining and waste management. The reclamation of a large dump and quarry off Concord Avenue into sites for the Belmont High School and the Clay Pit Pond stands as a lasting example of environmental planning. With the introduction of automobiles and highways Belmont continued its transition to a commuter-based suburb throughout the twentieth century.

Belmont was the home of the headquarters of the John Birch Society from the organization's founding in 1958 until its relocation to Appleton, Wisconsin in 1989.

In 1963, English composer Arthur Bliss wrote The Belmont Variations based on the town of Belmont MA, where his wife Lady Trudy Bliss was born. The work was used at the Royal Albert Hall (London) as the test piece for the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain.

The residents of Belmont did not have cable until 1989. They could only watch cable televisi be a department that is part of the town government. It would be called The Belmont Cable Department. As this had never been donw before by any Mass. town, the Town of Belmont had to get a special law passed by the Massachusetts legislature to makne this caple dept. possible. The local cable companies like Time Warner and Cablevision did not like this special law and spent most of the 1980s fighting the law tooth and nail. The cable companies won and in 1989, the cable system was set up by Time Warner. 3

In 1993, this small suburban was overwhelmed by Japanese tourists. Crown Prince of Japan had just become engaged to Masako Owada, the future Crown Princess of Japan. Her parents were part of the Japanese diplomatic service and they had lived in Belmont in the early 1980s. She graduated from Belmont High School. The Japanese tourists came to see the house where she had lived and the local schools she attended. This is probably the only time that this small town had ever been mentioned in newspapers throughout the world.

Railroad history

Boston & Maine Railroad Station at Belmont Center, now used for the MBTA Commuter Rail.

Belmont was once served by two railroads, the Fitchburg Railroad and the Central Massachusetts Railroad, both of which were later to become part of the Boston & Maine Railroad system. Originally the two railroads had their own tracks through town, but in 1952 the Central Mass tracks were lifted between Hill's Crossing and Clematis Brook (Waltham). Traffic was then rerouted over the Fitchburg line.

Today the MBTA owns the trackage that runs through Belmont. It is known as the Fitchburg Line. Passenger service on this line currently ends at Fitchburg, but it once was the area's main route into New York state. As of 2011, the MBTA was planning to extend future service to West Fitchburg.

Wellington Hill Station

The station stops at Belmont Center and Waverley were once grade crossings, meaning pedestrian and vehicular traffic had to cross directly over rails that were in public roads. In 1907 the grade at Belmont Center was eliminated by constructing a stone bridge to carry the tracks past a new station building. At Waverley, the grade was lowered so that the tracks ran under Trapelo Road.

A second railroad station building exists in Belmont, though it is not obvious. The Wellington Hill Station was originally built in the 1840s as a private school, not far from its current location in Belmont Center. It was then used by the Fitchburg Railroad from 1852 to 1879. When the railroad decided to replace the station with a larger structure, the building was moved to the Underwood Estate and used as a summer house. In 1974, the station was donated to the Belmont Historical Society. It was restored and relocated to its current location in 1980.

Present day

Belmont remains a primarily residential suburb with little growth since the 1950s. It is best known for the mansion-filled Belmont Hill neighborhood, although most residents live in more densely settled, low-lying areas around the Hill. There are three major commercial centers in the town: Belmont Center in the center, Cushing Square in the south, and Waverley Square in the west. Town Hall and other civic buildings are located in Belmont Center. Large tracts of land from former farms and greenhouse estates form public or publicly accessible areas such as Rock Meadow, Habitat (Mass Audubon), portions of the McLean Hospital tract and various town fields.

Geography

Topography of Belmont and environs

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.7 square miles (12.2 km²), of which 4.7 square miles (12.1 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km²), or 1.06%, is water.

Belmont is bordered by Cambridge on the east, Arlington on the north, Lexington on the northwest, Waltham on the west, and Watertown on the south.

Environmental concerns

In 2002, Middlesex County was ranked in the worst 10% of polluted counties in the United States in terms of air and water pollution. Two companies that ranked in the top 10 for polluters in the county were Cambridge Plating Company in Belmont and the Polaroid Corporation in Waltham.

The chemicals released were trichloroethylene and dichloromethane, both of which are harmful and have been shown to cause cancer. These chemicals are released into the air so it is difficult to trace them and to determine the source as there are also several other industries in the area that release the same pollutants. It is estimated that 3% of homes in Belmont are at risk of having lead hazards.

In 2004, the town of Belmont first hosted an annual community environmental fair to encourage environmentally friendly behavior for its residents.

Demographics

As of 2020^[update], there were 27,295 residents of the Town of Belmont, and in 2021 there were 17,640 registered voters. In 2020, the racial make up of the town was 69.6% White, 1.9% Black or African American, 0.05% Native American, 18.5% Asian, and 4.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.7% of the population. Pending the release of the 2020 Census results, in 2010 6.3% of the population were under the age of five, 24.6% were under the age of eighteen, and 15.8% were 65 years of age or older; 53% were female. The median household income was $114,141.

The 2000 census listed 9,732 households, out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.01.

In 2010, 20% of the residents of Belmont were born outside of the United States. In 2000 this percentage was 15%.

Belmont has been referred to as a "Mormon enclave" due to the location of the Boston Massachusetts Temple of the LDS Church at the highest elevation in the town. The prominent gold statue of the Angel Moroni atop the Temple was originally designed by Cyrus Dallin in nearby Arlington, Massachusetts.

Arts and culture

Points of interest

• Redtop, home of William Dean Howells
• Edwin O. Reischauer Memorial House
• Boston & Maine Railroad Station, now known as the MBTA Commuter Rail Belmont stop, now owned by the Lions Club
• Wellington Hill Railroad Station, circa 1840, located across the street from the current MBTA stop at Belmont Center
• Boston Massachusetts Temple of the LDS Church

Education

Belmont is served by the Belmont Public Schools, governed by an independently elected school committee.

There are four public elementary schools in Belmont, the Mary Lee Burbank, Daniel Butler, Winn Brook, and Roger Wellington school. The Mary Lee Burbank School was founded in 1931. Two other public elementary schools, Payson Park and Kendall, were closed in the 1970s and 1980s, respectively. The former closed after being destroyed by fire, the latter closed due to population shifts and was converted to an arts center, which was later also destroyed by fire. There is one public middle school, the Winthrop L. Chenery Middle School, which was rebuilt on the same location after an electrical fire damaged the auditorium in 1995, and one public high school, Belmont High School. On May 28, 2019 a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the construction of a new middle and high school which will be co-located on the same site.

Belmont High is noted for its college placement, strong athletics, academics, music, and theater arts; a typical class size of about 320 students. Belmont High regularly feeds 5-10 students into Harvard University on an average given year. As of 2009^[update], U.S. News & World Report gave Belmont High School a gold medal and named it the 100th best public high school in the United States and the second best in the state of Massachusetts (after Boston Latin School).

Belmont Hill School is a private, non-sectarian high school, grades 7–12. Belmont Day School is a private, non-sectarian Pre-K–8 school. There are several smaller private schools.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Roads

Major roads in the town are Concord Avenue, which bisects the town from east to west; Common Street and Pleasant Street (Route 60) which travel north-south through Belmont; and Trapelo Road and Belmont Street, which run along the southern edge of the town.

Belmont is served directly by two state route designated highways. Running close to the middle of town is Route 60, locally known as Pleasant Street. On the northern border, Route 2 generally outlines Belmont's boundary with the neighboring town of Arlington. Despite the small size of the town, Belmont has 5 signed exits on Route 2. Nearby major highways include I-95/MA-Route 128, Route 16, Route 3, and Route 20.

Public transit

Belmont is served by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Fitchburg Commuter Rail line, and its bus and trackless trolley lines.

Two MBTA Commuter Rail rail stations, Waverley and Belmont Center, are located in the town. Belmont is roughly 16 minutes away from the rail line's terminus at North Station, Boston.

Nearby in Cambridge lies Alewife Station, the western terminus of the Red Line; providing a connection to Boston and the entire metropolitan rapid transit system.

Notable people

Belmont Town Hall c. 1913, architects Hartwell and Richardson

Belmont Town Hall (2007)

Due to its proximity to Harvard and MIT universities, amongst others, Belmont has had several Nobel Prize winners in residence at one time or another. Notable past and present residents include people in the following categories:

Business

• John Perkins Cushing, China trader
• Stephen P. Mugar, founder of the Star Market chain, philanthropist

Politics and government

• John Deutch, former Director of Central Intelligence
• Martin Feldstein, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers
• Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State
• Empress Masako, of Japan
• Mitt Romney, and his wife Ann Romney – former Governor of Massachusetts, 2012 Republican presidential candidate, Senator from Utah
• Dorothy Stoneman, activist, founder of YouthBuild USA

Arts and music

• Winslow Homer (1836–1910), painter
• Frederick Law Olmsted, landscape architect
• Walter Piston, composer
• Phil Wilson, jazz trombonist and arranger

Media

• Sebastian Junger (born 1962), author, journalist, documentary filmmaker
• David E. Kelley, TV producer and writer
• Leo Monahan (1926–2013), American sports journalist
• Addison Powell, actor
• Jean Rogers, actress

Sports

• Emily Cook, American freestyle skier
• William Chandler Haskins, competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics
• Maxie Long, gold medalist in athletics at 1900 Olympic Games
• Paul Mara, New York Rangers defenseman
• Becca Pizzi, American marathon runner
• Patrick Rissmiller, New York Rangers hockey forward
• Patty Shea, Olympian in field hockey
• Wilbur Wood, Major League pitcher–Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago White Sox
• Bill Lee (William Francis Lee III) played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox (1969–1978), into the Red Sox Hall of Fame on November 7, 2008.

Literature

• Gerald Warner Brace, author and educator
• Leah Hager Cohen, author
• William Dean Howells, author
• Talene Monahon, playwright/actress
• Tom Perrotta, author

Academics

• Bernard Bailyn (1922-2020), American historian and professor
• William P. Alford (born 1948), American professor and legal scholar
• VA Shiva Ayyadurai (born 1963), MIT systems scientist and entrepreneur
• Vannevar Bush (1890–1974), MIT Dean of Engineering, helped create the National Science Foundation
• Clayton M. Christensen, Harvard Business School professor and author
• Thomas Vose Daily, Roman Catholic bishop
• Bernard Davis (1916–1994), biologist, lived and died in Belmont
• Wolfgang Ketterle, MIT physics professor (Nobel Prize in Physics, 2001)
• Richard Marius, reformationist scholar and novelist
• Franco Modigliani, MIT economics professor (Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, 1985)
• Edwin O. Reischauer, Harvard professor, East Asia scholar, and Ambassador to Japan
• Paul A. Samuelson, MIT economics professor (Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, 1970)
• Dirk Jan Struik, HUAC victim and MIT mathematician
• Steven C. Wheelwright, Harvard Business School professor and president of BYU-Hawaii
• Fred Lawrence Whipple, astronomer
• Norbert Wiener, mathematician
• Robert Burns Woodward, organic chemist (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1965)

See also

• In Spanish: Belmont (Massachusetts)