Westborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,567 at the 2020 Census, in over 7,000 households. Incorporated in 1717, the town is governed 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
- Registered Historic Places
Geography
- Adjacent towns
Demographics
Transportation
Library
Sites of interest
Accolades
Annual events
Places of worship
Education
Notable people
See also

History

Before recorded time, the area now known as Westborough was a well-travelled crossroads. As early as 7,000 BC, prehistoric people in dugout canoes followed the Sudbury and Assabet Rivers to their headwaters in search of quartzite for tools and weapons.

From 1200 to 1600 AD, 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.

In 1848 the State Reform School for Boys, the first publicly funded reform school in the United States, was opened on Lake Chauncy. It operated as a State reform school until 1884 at which time the newly established Westborough State Hospital took over the property. In the same year, the reform school was relocated nearby on Chauncy Street and renamed The Lyman School for Boys.

Main Street in c. 1905

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: East of Shrewsbury on MA 9 (added April 25, 1980)
Joseph Lothrop House: On the corner of Route 9 and Park Street. (added in 1974)
Lyman School for Boys: Junction of Oak St. and Milk St. (added August 25, 1994)
Maples Cottage: East of Shrewsbury on Oak St. (added April 25, 1980)
Vintonville Historic District: 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: 64 Warren Street (added December 5, 1998)
West Main Street Historic District: 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: Along Lyman St. North of Chauncy Lake and junction of Milk St. and MA 9 (added February 21, 1994)

Geography

Mill Pond at sunset

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.

	Northborough	Southborough
Shrewsbury
	Westborough

Grafton	Upton	Hopkinton

Demographics

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1850	2,371	—
1860	2,913	+22.9%
1870	3,601	+23.6%
1880	5,214	+44.8%
1890	5,195	−0.4%
1900	5,400	+3.9%
1910	5,446	+0.9%
1920	5,789	+6.3%
1930	6,409	+10.7%
1940	6,463	+0.8%
1950	7,378	+14.2%
1960	9,599	+30.1%
1970	12,594	+31.2%
1980	13,619	+8.1%
1990	14,133	+3.8%
2000	17,997	+27.3%
2010	18,272	+1.5%
2020	21,567	+18.0%
Source: United States Census records and Population Estimates Program data.

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 (official). The population density was 891.3 people per square mile (unofficial). The latest 2013–2017 American Community Survey (ACS) estimated the town's total population at 18,836, residing in 7,095 households. According to the latest ACS estimate, the racial makeup of the town was 70.1% White, 2.4% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 23.6% Asian, 0% Pacific Islander, 1.1% from other races, 2.3% from two or more races, Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.8% of the population. Westborough has a significant Indian-American Community making up 15.4% of the population, as well as boasting a strong immigrant community with nearly 5,000 residents of non-U.S. origins (25.9%).

According to ACS estimates, there are 4,912 family households, out of which 42.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them. Of all households 31.8% were made up of individuals 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.26.

In addition, the town the population was spread out, with 12.5% under the age of 10, 15.6% from 10 to 19, 17.9% from 20 to 34, 29% from 35 to 54, 12.7% from 55 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town (based on U.S. Census ACS five-year estimate) was $107,604, and the median income for a family was $132,543. The per capita income for the town was $47,993. Of the population 4.7% was below the poverty line, including 4.4% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over. The labor force numbered 10,218 with an unemployment rate in the town of 3.6%. Of the population over age 25, 96.4% graduated high school (or equivalent) and 65.7% hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

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.

In terms of public transportation, Westborough is currently served by an MBTA commuter rail station on the Framingham/Worcester Line as well as public bus service through the Worcester Regional Transit Authority. Limited commercial airline service is available at the Worcester Regional Airport. The nearest international airport is Boston Logan Airport.

A major CSX rail freight yard serving the Boston metro area is located near the intersection of the Turnpike and I-495.

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

Fay Mountain – highest point in Westborough
Lyman School for Boys
Eli Whitney birthplace, on Eli Whitney Street and marked with a commemorative stone

Accolades

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
July 4 Block Party
Homecoming – September/October
High School Play – November
Middle School Play – November
Thanksgiving Day Football game
Christmas Singalong
Westborough High School Winter Concert-December
Eli Whitney Cup Playoffs (Westborough Men's Softball League)-August

Places of worship

First Baptist Church Westborough

Education

Westborough Public Schools consist of three elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school:

Hastings Elementary School
Armstrong Elementary School
Annie E. Fales Elementary School (currently under construction for a new Annie E. Fales school)
Mill Pond School
Sarah W. Gibbons Middle School
Westborough High School (school mascot – Rangers)

The Mill Pond School is the newest school addition to Westborough. The three elementary schools consist of kindergarten to third grade, Mill Pond School consists of grades 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.

Notable people

Eli Whitney Blake, inventor of stone crusher, businessman
Mary A. Brigham, 8th President of Mount Holyoke College
Jaime Brockett, folk singer
Jim Butterfield, American football player and coach. Moved to Westborough as a child
Jim Campbell, hockey player
Henry W. Corbett, businessman and senator
Ralph Dawson, film editor, three-time Academy Award winner
Louis E. Denfeld, Chief of Naval Operations, United States Navy
Mark D. Devlin, author
Catherine Amelia Fay Ewing, educator, activist, philanthropist
Esther Forbes, author
Kaz Grala, NASCAR driver
Ashley Hayden, luge athlete
Richard B. Johnson, author
Horace Maynard, politician
Mike Murphy, athletics coach
Adam Peltzman, writer/producer of Odd Squad
Thomas Rice, politician and founding citizen
John Ruggles, politician
Jordan Smotherman, ice hockey player
Jeffrey Thomas, science fiction and horror author
Eli Whitney, inventor and industrialist
Jack M. Wilson, President of the University of Massachusetts

Westborough, Massachusetts facts for kids

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