Southbridge, Massachusetts

Southbridge, Massachusetts
Town
Southbridge Town Hall
Seal
Nickname(s): The Eye of the Commonwealth,[1]
Location in Worcester County and the state of Massachusetts.
Southbridge, Massachusetts Location in the United States
Coordinates: 42°04′30″N 72°02′02″W / 42.07500°N 72.03389°W / 42.07500; -72.03389
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Worcester
Settled	1730
Incorporated	1816
Government
• Type	Council-manager
• Town Manager	Ron San Angelo
• Town Council	Miguel Estrada Shaun Moriarty (Chairman) Esteban Carrasco(vice-Chairman) Gus Steeves Kristen Auclair Denise Clemence Albert Vecchia Monique Manna Conrad L. Vandal
Area
• Total	20.9 sq mi (54.0 km2)
• Land	20.4 sq mi (52.7 km2)
• Water	0.5 sq mi (1.3 km2)
Elevation	489 ft (149 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	16,719
• Density	800/sq mi (310/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	01550
Area code(s)	508 / 774
FIPS code	25-63270
GNIS feature ID	0618383
Website	www.ci.southbridge.ma.us

The Town of Southbridge has a city form of government with a city council legislative body, but via a statute calls itself a Town.^[2] It is located in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,719 at the 2010 census. Southbridge is one of fourteen Massachusetts municipalities that have applied for, and been granted, city forms of government but wish to retain "The town of” in their official names.^[3]

History

View of Southbridge c. 1905

The area was initially inhabited by the Nipmuck and Mohegan tribes, with the Quinebaug River dividing their territories. As early as 1638, John Winthrop, Jr. purchased a tract for mining lead at what is now Leadmine Road in Sturbridge (it was thought at the time that where there was lead, there should be silver nearby).

Southbridge was first settled by Europeans in 1730. In 1801 a poll parish, named the Second Religious Society of Charlton, and popularly called Honest Town, was formed from the west part of Dudley, the southwest part of Charlton and the southeast part of Sturbridge. In 1816 this parish was incorporated to become the township of Southbridge.^[4] Among the first settlers was Moses Marcy, who owned a home on the site of what is now Notre Dame church and was elected to Congress, and the Dennison family. Water power from the Quinebaug River made Southbridge a good location for sawmills and gristmills in the 18th century, and textile mills in the 19th century. After the Civil War, many immigrants of Irish and French Canadian descent came to work and live there; by the 1930s they had been joined by Poles, Greeks, Italians and others.

Southbridge has a long history of manufacturing optical products, earning it the unofficial title "Eye of the Commonwealth", in reference to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Under the Wells family, the American Optical Company ("AO") became the world's largest manufacturer of ophthalmic products, and at its height employed more than 6,000 people around the world. Many of its workers were exempted from the draft during World War II since they were doing vital defense work, including making Norden bombsights and even some work on the atomic bomb.

By the early 1960s, the mill town had a movie theatre, an AM radio station (WESO), and an airport. New immigrants from Puerto Rico, Laos, and Vietnam began arriving in the 1970s and 1980s, and the town now has a significant Hispanic and Puerto Rican population. The American Optical Company shut down in 1984, and Southbridge is still struggling from the loss of these and other manufacturing jobs.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 20.9 square miles (54 km²), of which 20.4 square miles (53 km²) is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²), or 2.40%, is water. Southbridge is drained by the Quinebaug River.

The principal road in Southbridge is Route 131, known as Main Street through downtown and East Main Street past the "AO Rotary" and through Sandersdale, a village on the town's east side. North-south roads include Eastford Road and Elm Street (Route 198), and Worcester Street-Mechanic Street-North Woodstock Road (Route 169).

Southbridge was formed out of portions of three of its neighboring towns: Sturbridge to the west, Charlton to the north, and Dudley to the east. The other neighboring towns are Woodstock, Connecticut, and Eastford, Connecticut to the south.

Demographics

As of the census^[16] of 2010, there were 16,719 people, 7,077 households, and 4,522 families residing in the city. The population density was 858.9 people per square mile (326.4/km²). There were 7,511 housing units at an average density of 368.9 per square mile (142.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 81.2% White, 2.6% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 1.9% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, and 2.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 26.6% of the population.

There were 7,077 households out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were married couples living together, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,913, and the median income for a family was $41,863. Males had a median income of $36,008 versus $25,685 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,514. About 13.0% of families and 15.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.8% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Southbridge public library, 1915

Library

The Southbridge Public Library was founded in 1870.^[18][19] In fiscal year 2008, the town of Southbridge spent 1.03% ($426,025) of its budget on its public library—some $25 per person.^[20]

The Jacob Edwards Library^[21] is the public library for the town of Southbridge. It is a member of Central Massachusetts Regional Library System (CMRLS) and C/W MARS.

Education

Southbridge has three public elementary schools, formerly "neighborhood schools" serving grades K-5. Since the 1988-1989 school year, however, all kindergarten and 1st grade classes have been at Eastford Road School; all of grades 2-3 at Charlton Street School; and all of grades 4-5 at West Street School. Grades 6-12 are at Southbridge Middle/High School. Southbridge residents can also attend Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School in Charlton.

In addition to the public schools, a parochial private school, Trinity Catholic Academy, serves pre-k through eighth grade.

On January 26, 2016, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education placed Southbridge School District in state receivership.^[22]

Transportation

Southbridge is served by Southbridge Municipal Airport(3B0), a public owned airport managed through a contract with Jim's Flying Service. Runway 02/20 has a 3501 x 75 feet asphalt surface.

Sites of interest

• The Quinebaug Valley Council for the Arts and Humanities - Arts Center
• Gateway Players Theatre
• New York, New Haven & Hartford Passenger Depot
• Southbridge Little League
• Southbridge Hotel and Conference Center
• Westville Lake and Recreation Area, outdoor recreation area along the Quinebaug River
• The Vienna Restaurant and Historic Inn
• The Optical Heritage Museum

Notable people

• George Thorndike Angell - founder of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
• Jeff Belanger - author, public speaker and paranormal investigator
• Sidney Clarke - congressman
• William Joel "Taz" DiGregorio - longtime member and keyboardist for the Charlie Daniels Band
• Grant Normandin - professional poet, singer and songwriter, comedian, counselor, guru
• Kenny Dykstra - professional wrestler
• Michael Earls - Jesuit priest, writer, poet and teacher
• John Fitzgerald - football center
• Félix Gatineau - historian and state legislator
• William L. Marcy - senator and governor of New York, secretary of war, and secretary of state
• Calvin Paige - businessman and congressman
• William Tremblay - poet, novelist and professor

See also

• Dexter-Russell, cutlery manufacturing company in Southbridge
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Southbridge, Massachusetts
• Hamilton Woolen Company Historic District
• Stonebridge Press, newspaper company based in Southbridge
• Westville Dam
• List of mill towns in Massachusetts

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Southbridge, Massachusetts.

• Town of Southbridge official website
• Jacob Edwards Library
• History and info of Southbridge, MA
• History of Southbridge, MA (PDF)
• The Southbridge Evening News
• The Future of Southbridge
• Southbridge History, Old Newspaper Articles, Genealogy

Municipalities and communities of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
County seat: Worcester
Cities	Fitchburg Gardner Leominster Southbridge Worcester
Towns	Ashburnham Athol Auburn Barre Berlin Blackstone Bolton Boylston Brookfield Charlton Clinton Douglas Dudley East Brookfield Grafton Hardwick Harvard Holden Hopedale Hubbardston Lancaster Leicester Lunenburg Mendon Milford Millbury Millville New Braintree North Brookfield Northborough Northbridge Oakham Oxford Paxton Petersham Phillipston Princeton Royalston Rutland Shrewsbury Southborough Spencer Sterling Sturbridge Sutton Templeton Upton Uxbridge Warren Webster West Boylston West Brookfield Westborough Westminster Winchendon
CDPs	Athol Baldwinville Barre Clinton Cordaville Devens East Brookfield East Douglas Fiskdale Hopedale Lunenburg Milford North Brookfield Northborough Oxford Rutland South Ashburnham South Lancaster Spencer Sturbridge Upton-West Upton Warren Webster West Brookfield Westborough Whitinsville Winchendon
Other villages	Gilbertville Ironstone Linwood North Uxbridge Old Furnace Still River Union Chapel Wheelockville Wheelwright
Ghost town	Dana

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