Ashburnham, Massachusetts
Encyclopedia
As of the census
of 2000, there were 5,546 people, 1,929 households, and 1,541 families residing in the town. The population density
was 143.4 people per square mile (55.4/km²). There were 2,204 housing units at an average density of 57.0 per square mile (22.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.66% White, 0.22% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.31% from other races
, and 1.17% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.66% of the population. 19.5% were of Irish
, 15.9% French
, 13.7% French Canadian
, 9.4% Italian
, 7.0% English
, 6.6% Finnish and 5.6% American
ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 1,929 households out of which 42.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.8% were married couples
living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.1% were non-families. 15.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87 and the average family size was 3.20.
In the town the population was spread out with 29.0% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 103.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.3 males.
According to the 2010 census, the median household income was $76,250 and the average household income was $81,324. The per capita household income was $29,044. About 4.8% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.8% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over. The median house cost was $266,347.
Public:
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 5,546 people, 1,929 households, and 1,541 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 143.4 people per square mile (55.4/km²). There were 2,204 housing units at an average density of 57.0 per square mile (22.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.66% White, 0.22% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.31% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.17% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.66% of the population. 19.5% were of Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
, 15.9% French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
, 13.7% French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
, 9.4% Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
, 7.0% English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
, 6.6% Finnish and 5.6% American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 1,929 households out of which 42.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.1% were non-families. 15.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87 and the average family size was 3.20.
In the town the population was spread out with 29.0% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 103.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.3 males.
According to the 2010 census, the median household income was $76,250 and the average household income was $81,324. The per capita household income was $29,044. About 4.8% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.8% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over. The median house cost was $266,347.
Educational institutions
Private:- Cushing AcademyCushing AcademyCushing Academy is a coeducational college preparatory boarding school for grades 9 through 12 plus an optional postgraduate year located in Ashburnham, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1865 in fulfilment of a bequest by Thomas Parkman Cushing and opened in 1875, and is sometimes cited as the...
Public:
- John R. Briggs Elementary
- Overlook Middle School
- Oakmont Regional High SchoolOakmont Regional High School-About:GOAL: Oakmont Regional High School provides an inclusive, nurturing environment where students pursue academic excellence, practice respect, and prepare for life-long participation in a global society....
Points of interest
- Ashburnham is the starting point for the Wapack TrailWapack TrailThe Wapack Trail is one of the oldest public, interstate hiking trails in the United States. Opened in 1923, it follows the Wapack Range north-south for , between Mount Watatic in Ashburnham, Massachusetts and North Pack Monadnock mountain in Greenfield, New Hampshire...
and Massachusetts Midstate TrailMassachusetts Midstate TrailThe Midstate Trail is a scenic footpath which runs through Worcester County, Massachusetts, from the Rhode Island border to the New Hampshire border, approximately west of Boston. The trail is considered highly accessible, scenic, and remarkably rural despite its proximity to urban Boston...
. - Cambridge Grant Historic DistrictCambridge Grant Historic DistrictCambridge Grant Historic District is a historic district located on 205-287 Russell Hill Road and 15 Wilker Road in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, at an elevation of 1240–1300 feet above sea level...
- Mount WataticMount WataticMount Watatic is a monadnock located on the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border, at the southern end of the Wapack Range of mountains. It lies within Ashburnham, Massachusetts, Ashby, Massachusetts, and New Ipswich, New Hampshire; the Wapack Trail and the Midstate Trail both cross the mountain...
was named as one of the 1,000 places to visit in Massachusetts by the Great Places in Massachusetts Commission.
Notable residents
- Bette DavisBette DavisRuth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
, Legendary actress of film, television and theater. She lived in Ashburnham while attending Cushing AcademyCushing AcademyCushing Academy is a coeducational college preparatory boarding school for grades 9 through 12 plus an optional postgraduate year located in Ashburnham, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1865 in fulfilment of a bequest by Thomas Parkman Cushing and opened in 1875, and is sometimes cited as the...
, graduating in 1927. In 1999, Davis was placed second, after Katharine Hepburn, on the American Film InstituteAmerican Film InstituteThe American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
's list of the greatest female stars of all time (AFI's 100 Years…100 Stars). - Aldrich Bowker Hollywood actor, performing in the The Major and the MinorThe Major and the MinorThe Major and the Minor is a 1942 American comedy film starring Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland. It was the first American film directed by Billy Wilder, and launched his "incomparable" directing career...
(1942) and Abe Lincoln in IllinoisAbe Lincoln in Illinois (film)Abe Lincoln in Illinois is a 1940 biographical film which tells the story of the life of Abraham Lincoln from his departure from Kentucky until his election as President of the United States....
(1940) among others. - Reuben Rice Conn nationally recognized silversmith and watchmaker.
- Ivers Whitney AdamsIvers Whitney AdamsIvers Whitney Adams was an American baseball executive and businessperson, and founder of the first professional baseball team in Boston, the Boston Red Stockings.- Baseball :...
, founder and President of the Boston Red StockingsBoston Red StockingsThe color red has been used in the names and commonly in the uniforms of several professional baseball teams in Boston, Massachusetts.* Boston's first professional baseball club was established 1871 by Boston businessman Ivers Whitney Adams, and was nicknamed the Boston Red Stockings....
, Boston's first baseball team; as well as the Boston Base Ball Club, the first professional Baseball franchise in Boston. He also gave to the town its own water supply as well as commissioned Bela PrattBela PrattBela Lyon Pratt was an American sculptor.-Life:Pratt was born in Norwich, Connecticut to Sarah and George Pratt, a Yale-educated lawyer. His maternal grandfather, Oramel Whittlesey, was a pianoforte maker and founder in 1835 of the first music school in the country authorized to confer degrees to...
to design the Schoolboy Statue of 1850, now on the corner of Main and School Streets. - Ebenezer Munroe, who fired the first shot on the British on Lexington green, April 19, 1775, was a resident of Ashburnham.
- Dr. Amos Pollard, military surgeon who died defending the hospital in the Battle of the AlamoBattle of the AlamoThe Battle of the Alamo was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna launched an assault on the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Béxar . All but two of the Texian defenders were killed...
, was born in Ashburnham. - Melvin O. AdamsMelvin O. AdamsMelvin Ohio Adams was an American attorney and railroad executive who was part of Lizzie Borden's legal defense team, the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts from 1905 to 1906, and the President of the Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad.-Early life:Adams was born on...
, lawyer for Lizzie Borden, was born in Ashburnham. - Isaac HillIsaac HillIsaac Hill was an American publisher, editor, and politician from Concord, New Hampshire. Born in 1789 in West Cambridge, Massachusetts, he represented New Hampshire in the United States Senate and later served as governor...
(1788–1851), NH State Representative, NH State Senator, Comptroller of the United States Treasury in the Andrew Jackson administration, U.S. Senator from NH, and Governor of New Hampshire. - Ivers Adams (1808–1890), Mass. State Representative, 1851.
- Samuel G. Adams (1825–1886), Superintendent of Police for the City of Boston.
- Harrison Carroll HobartHarrison Carroll HobartHarrison Carroll Hobart was a Union Army officer during the American Civil War and a lawyer and politician in the state of Wisconsin.-Biography:...
, Wisconsin politician. - William J. Lashua, WWII Veteran, Internet personality and role model.