Fitchburg, Massachusetts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Nickname: "River City" | ||
| Settled: 1730 – Incorporated: 1764 | ||
| Zip Code(s): 01420 – Area Code(s): 351 / 978 | ||
| Official website: http://www.ci.fitchburg.ma.us/ | ||
| Location | ||
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 Location in Massachusetts |
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| Government | ||
| County | Worcester County | |
| Form of Government | Mayor-council city | |
| Mayor | Dan H. Mylott | |
| City Council | Thomas J. Conry, Jr Annie K. DeMartino Stephen L. DiNatale E. Thomas Donnelly Dean A. Tran David Clark (Ward 1) Norman L. Boisvert (Ward 2) Joel R. Kaddy (Ward 3) Ted E. Salvatore (Ward 4) Stephen Hay (Ward 5) Jody M. Joseph (Ward 6) |
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| Geography | ||
| Area | ||
| Total | 28.1 mi² / 72.7 km² | |
| Land | 27.8 mi² / 71.9 km² | |
| Water | 0.3 mi² / 0.8 km² | |
| Coordinates | ||
| Elevation | 482 ft / 147 m | |
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | |
| Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | |
| Population | ||
| Total (2000) | 39102 | |
| Density | 1408.5/mi² / 543.8/km² | |
Fitchburg is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 39,102 at the 2000 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State College.
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[edit] History
Fitchburg was first settled in 1730 and was officially incorporated in 1764. It is named for John Fitch, a settler. In 1748, Fitch and his family were abducted to Canada by Native Americans, but returned the next year.
Fitchburg is situated on both the Nashua River and a railroad line. The original Fitchburg Railroad ran through the Hoosac Tunnel, linking Boston and Albany, New York. The tunnel was built using the Burleigh Rock Drill, designed and built in Fitchburg. Fitchburg was a 19th century industrial center. Originally operated by water power, large mills produced machines, tools, clothing, paper, and firearms. The city is noted for its architecture, particularly in the Victorian style, built at the height of its mill town prosperity. As one of two shire towns The Northern Worcester County Registry of Deeds, established in 1903, and the county jail on Water Street were two county facilities located in Fitchburg. Fitchburg also has a rich football tradition, and every year they play cross-town rivals Leominster in the Thanksgiving day game, which is a proud member of a list of high school football rivalries in the United States.
[edit] Geography
Fitchburg is located at (42.578689, -71.803383)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 72.7 km² (28.1 mi²). 71.9 km² (27.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.8 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (1.07%) is water. The city is drained by the Nashua River. Fitchburg is the second hilliest city in the United States following San Francisco.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 39,102 people, 14,943 households, and 9,369 families residing in the city. The population density was 543.9/km² (1,408.5/mi²). There were 16,002 housing units at an average density of 222.6/km² (576.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 81.86% White, 3.65% African American, 0.35% Native American, 4.27% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 6.78% from other races, and 3.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.97% of the population.
There were 14,943 households out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $37,004, and the median income for a family was $43,291. Males had a median income of $35,855 versus $26,558 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,256. About 12.1% of families and 15.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.1% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Government
| County government: Worcester County | |
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| Clerk of Courts: | Dennis P. McManus (D) |
| County Treasurer: | Position Eliminated |
| District Attorney: | Joseph D. Early, Jr. (D) |
| Registrar of Deeds: | Kathleen R. Daigneault (D) |
| Registrar of Probate: | Stephen Abraham (D) |
| Sheriff: | Guy W. Glodis (D) |
| State government | |
| Representative(s) in General Court: | Stephen L. DiNatale (D) |
| Senator(s) in General Court: | Robert A. Antonioni (D) |
| Governor's Councilor(s): | Thomas J. Foley (D) |
| Federal government | |
| Member(s) of the U.S. House of Representatives: | John W. Olver (D-1st District), |
| U.S. Senators: | Edward Kennedy (D) John Kerry (D) |
[edit] Education
- Applewild School
- Academy Middle School
- Fitchburg State College
- Fitchburg High School
- Crocker Elementary
- Reingold Elementary
- McKay Elementary
- South Street School
- South Fitchburg School (kindergarten)
- Goodrich Kindergarten
- B.F. Brown Middle School
- Memorial Middle School
- Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School, also called Monty Tech
- St. Anthony di Padua Elementary School
- St. Bernard's Elementary School
- St. Bernard's High School
- Notre Dame Preparatory School
[edit] Industries and businesses
* Throughout the early Twentieth Century, Fitchburg was known for its paper industry which occupied the banks of the Nashua River and employed a large segment of the European immigrant population. It has been noted by many residents in Fitchburg, that the Nashua river would be dyed the color the paper mills had been coloring the paper that day.
- Founded in 1939, the Wachusett Potato Chip Company, Inc. purchased the former County Jail buildings and grounds in the 1940's and has operated as a manufacturing and distributing facility for snack products since that time.
- Two truck manufacturing firms, the Wachusett Truck Company and the New England Truck Company operated in Fitchburg during the early twentieth century.
- The Iver Johnson Arms and Cycle Works also made motorcycles for a short time.
[edit] Museums
[edit] Notable residents
- Mike Barnicle, newspaper writer
- Mikayla Campbell, member of girl group IQ.
- Ken Bouchard and Ron Bouchard, NASCAR drivers
- Art Longsjo, Winter and Summer Olympian; Fitchburg Longsjo Classic is held in his memory
- George Noory, host of Coast to Coast AM spent some years in Fitchburg and occasionally mentions the city on his show.
- Amerie, Singer & Actress
- Everett Francis Briggs, Catholic priest, born in Fitchburg, whose life's mission was dedicated to the victims of Monongah Mining Disaster
[edit] Fitchburg in fiction
- In Harry Potter, the town is home to the Fitchburg Finches, a Quidditch team.
[edit] Sister cities
Fitchburg has three sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Fitchburg official website
- Fitchburg Economic Development Office
- Fitchburg Riverfront Park
- Fitchburg Access Television
- Fitchburg State College
- Sentinel & Enterprise
- FitchburgLeominster.net
- Fitchburg in 1885, article in the Bay State Monthly, from Project Gutenberg
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
