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Westford, Massachusetts

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Westford, Massachusetts
Town
Official seal of Westford, Massachusetts
Seal
Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts
Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts
CountryUnited States
StateStrike-through textMassachusetts
CountyMiddlesex
Settled1635
Incorporated1729
Government
 • TypeOpen town meeting
Area
 • Total
31.3 sq mi (81.1 km2)
 • Land30.6 sq mi (79.3 km2)
 • Water0.7 sq mi (1.9 km2)
Elevation
406 ft (124 m)
Population
 (2004)
 • Total
20,754
 • Density678.0/sq mi (261.8/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (Eastern)
ZIP code
01886
Area code351 / 978
FIPS code25-76135
GNIS feature ID0618244
Websitehttp://www.westford-ma.gov/

Westford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 20,754 at the 2000 census.

History

Westford Common, looking down Main Street

Westford was first settled in 1635. Originally a part of neighboring Chelmsford, West Chelmsford soon grew large enough to sustain its own governance, and was officially incorporated as Westford in 1729.

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Westford primarily produced granite, apples, and worsted yarn. The Abbot Worsted Company was the first company in the nation to use camel hair for worsted yarns. Citizens from Westford also had some notable involvement in the Revolutionary War. It has been alleged that the town was along the path of Paul Revere's Ride on the eve of April 19, 1775, but Revere's path is well-documented, and he never even made it as far as Concord. The less well-known Samuel Prescott may possibly have alerted Westford's citizenry. Prescott probably alerted Acton, to the southeast, and he or one of his associates may have reached Westford. Westford Academy, the local public high school, was once attended by Paul Revere's son and a bell cast by Revere graces its lobby today, and a weather vane made by Paul Revere sits atop the Abbot Elementary School.

By the end of the American Civil War, as roads and transportation improved, Westford began to serve as a residential suburb for the factories of Lowell, becoming one of the earliest notable examples of suburban sprawl. Throughout the 20th century (and with the invention of the automobile, Westford progressively grew, continuing to serve as residential housing for the industries of Lowell, and later, Boston.

Early in Kennedy's presidency, Project Westford, funded by the Air Force, became a brief issue in the United Nations. The Soviet Union was concerned with possible crowding of the ionosphere due to the launch of hundreds of millions of less than (~1/3) hair-thin, 1.5 inch long copper dipoles. These dipoles collectively provided passive support to Project Westford's parabolic dish (located in the town) to communicate with distant sites. Then UN Ambassador Adlai Stevenson studied the published journal articles on Project Westford. Using what he learned on the subject and citing the articles he had read, he successfully allayed the fears exhibited by the vast majority of UN ambassadors from other countries. He and the articles explained that sunlight pressure would cause the dipoles to only remain in orbit for a short period of approximately three years.

By the 1970s, with the advent of the 128 Technology Belt, Westford began to act as a suburb for high-tech firms in Burlington, Woburn, and other areas, and later became a center of technology itself.

By the 1990s, Westford was home to offices for Red Hat, Samsung, Seagate, Iris Associates, and many other technology firms. It is also the North American headquarters for Puma.

Today, Westford's agricultural past has given way to a thriving, densely populated center of commerce and development, with continually rising growth rates.

Although discredited by many historians and archaeologists, some townspeople continue to claim that Westford was once a stopping point for Scottish Prince Henry Sinclair's surverying expedition to Greenland, Iceland, Nova Scotia, and Massachusetts which is said to have occurred in 1398, nearly 90 full years before Columbus made his discovery of The Americas. The primary evidence for this tale is a burial marker in the form of a sword chiseled into a granite slab near the center of town, (known by residents and historians as the Westford Knight), which some claim is the gravestone of Sir James Gunn of Scotland, who traveled with Sinclair. The marker is generally accepted to be the result of 19th Century residents, but continues to be an integral part of Westford folklore.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 31.3 square miles (81.1 km²), of which, 30.6 square miles (79.3 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.9 km²) of it (2.30%) is water.

The town is bordered by Chelmsford to the East, Tyngsboro to the north, Groton to the West, Littleton to the Southwest, Acton to the South, and Carlisle to the Southeast.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 20,754 people, 6,808 households, and 5,807 families residing in the town. The population density was 678.0 people per square mile (261.8/km²). There were 6,941 housing units at an average density of 226.8/sq mi (87.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.69% White, 0.30% African American, 0.06% Native American, 4.79% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.30% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.10% of the population.

There were 6,808 households out of which 48.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.2% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.7% were non-families. 11.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03 and the average family size was 3.31.

In the town the population was spread out with 31.8% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 7.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 99.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.4 males.

Westford was once a town of large fields and forests and used as a summer home community by city residents. Development boomed once I-495 was built in the 1960s and people found it to be conveniently located for commuting to Boston.

The median income for a household in the town was $98,272, and the median income for a family was $104,029. Males had a median income of $77,417 versus $45,095 for females. The per capita income for the town was $37,979. About 1.3% of families and 1.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.2% of those under age 18 and 1.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Education

  • Westford Academy, Public High School (known as the W.A.)
  • Nashoba Valley Technical High School, Public Regional Vocational Technical (known as Nashoba Tech)
  • Blanchard Middle School, Public Middle School (known as Blanchard)
  • Stony Brook School, Public Middle School (known as Stony Brook)
  • Norman E. Day School, Public Elementary School (3-5) (known as Day)
  • Abbot Elementary, Public Elementary School (3-5) (known as Abbot)
  • Crisafulli Elementary, Public Elementary School (3-5) (known as Crisafulli)
  • Col. John Robinson School, Public Elementary School (K-2) (known as Robinson)
  • Nabnasset Elementary School, Public Elementary School (K-2) (known as Nab)
  • Rita Edwards Miller School, Public Elementary School (K-2) (known as Miller)

Transportation

Freight travels daily through Westford over the tracks of the historic Stony Brook Railroad. The line currently serves as a major corridor of Pan Am Railway's District 3 which connects New Hampshire and Maine with western Massachusetts, Vermont, and New York.[1]

Points of interest

The town has a largely suburban residential culture and like many New England towns, an active civic life. The Roudenbush Community Center and the Westford Parish Center for the Arts are two notable places for residents to take classes or see concerts and art exhibitions. Westford is also home to the J.V. Fletcher Library, The Butterfly Place, The Westford Museum and Historical Society and the MIT Haystack Observatory.

Westford is home to Nashoba Valley Ski Resort and Kimball Farm, a spectacular miniature golf complex known for its generous portions of ice cream, summertime classic car shows, and live music lawn events.

Trails through forests and fields and along waterways in Westford are used in a variety of passive recreational activities like hiking, jogging, bird watching, horseback riding, and cross country skiing.

Annual events

Media

Westford has its own community television station, called Westford Community Access Television or Westford CAT, which broadcasts on channels 8, 9 and 10 on the Comcast cable network. It produces PEG access programming for the residents and organizations of Westford.

Notable residents

References

  1. ^ Pan Am Railways route map.panamrailways.com. Accessed April 30 2007.
  2. ^ Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Marquis Who's Who. 1967.
  3. ^ Fred B. Freeman, Jr. (December 1971). "Poe's Lowell Trips", Poe Studies, vol. IV, no. 2 pp. 23-24.
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