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Fitchburg, Massachusetts

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Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement Fitchburg is a city in northern Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The third-largest city in the county, its population was 41,946 at the 2020 census.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Fitchburg State University is located here.

History

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File:Fitchburg, Mass. (2674486344).jpg
Print of Fitchburg from 1882 by L.R. Burleigh with listing of landmarks

Fitchburg was first settled in by Europeans in 1730 as part of Lunenburg, and was officially set apart from that town and incorporated in 1764. The area was previously occupied by the Nipmuc tribe. It is named for John Fitch, one of the committee that procured the act of incorporation.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In July 1748 Fitch and his family, living in this isolated spot, were abducted to Canada by Native Americans, but returned the next year.<ref>Ezra S. Stearns, John Fitch: An address with appendix (Fitchburg Historical Society) 1894:31.</ref>

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. A few examples of these 19th century buildings are the Fay Club, the old North Worcester County Courthouse<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Bullock house.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1922, it was affected by the 1922 New England Textile Strike, shutting down the mills in the city over an attempted wage cut.<ref name=":12">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":02">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

As the city is one of Worcester County's two shire towns, it has hosted the Northern Worcester County Registry of Deeds, established in 1903, and the county jail on Water Street.

In 1961, two films Return to Peyton Place and By Love Possessed filmed exterior street scenes, town squares and public buildings in Fitchburg.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

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According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert, or 1.07%, is water. The city is drained by the Nashua River. The highest point in Fitchburg is the summit of Brown Hill near the northwestern corner of the city, at Template:Convert above sea level.<ref>U.S. Geological Survey 7.5 × 15 minute series, Fitchburg quadrangle</ref>

Fitchburg is bordered by Ashby to the north, Lunenburg to the east, Leominster to the south, Westminster to the west, and a small portion of Ashburnham to the northwest.

Neighborhoods

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Fitchburg is divided into multiple different neighborhoods/villages, including:

  • Cleghorn<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Crockerville<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • College Area<ref name=":0" />
  • Downtown Fitchburg<ref name=":0" />
  • East Side<ref name=":0" />
  • Green Acres Village<ref name=":0" />
  • North Fitchburg<ref name=":0" />
  • The Patch<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Prichard-Pleasant Street<ref name=":0" />
  • South Fitchburg<ref name=":0" />
  • Tar Hill<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Upper Common<ref name=":0" />
  • Waite's Corner<ref name=":0" />
  • West Fitchburg<ref name=":0" />

Climate

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Fitchburg's climate is humid continental, which is the predominant climate for Massachusetts and New England.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Summers are typically warm, rainy, and humid, while winters are cold, windy, and snowy. Spring and fall are usually mild, but conditions vary widely and depend on wind direction and jet stream positioning. The warmest month is July, with an average high temperature of about 84 °F and an average low temperature of about 63 °F. The coldest month is January, with an average high temperature of about 35 °F and an average low temperature of about 17 °F.

Template:Weather box

Demographics

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Template:Historical populations As of the census<ref name="American FactFinder">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2010, there were 40,318 people, 15,165 households, and 9,362 families residing in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 17,117 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the city was 78.2% White, 5.1% African American, 0.3% Native American, 3.6% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 9.1% from other races, and 3.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21.6% of the population (14.6% Puerto Rican, 1.8% Dominican, 1.6% Uruguayan, 1.4% Mexican, 0.3% Ecuadorian, 0.2% Colombian, 0.2% Honduran, 0.1% Guatemalan, 0.1% Salvadoran, 0.1% Spanish, 0.1% Peruvian).<ref>QT-P10 | Hispanic or Latino by Type: 2010 2010 Census Summary File 1</ref> 76.9% spoke English, 15.1% Spanish, 4.2% Other Indo-European Language and 2.6% Asian and Pacific Islander Languages as their first language.

There were 15,165 households, out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.3% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a male householder with no wife present, 16.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.3% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.9% under the age of 18, 14.1% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $47,019, and the median income for a family was $57,245. Males had a median income of $47,350 versus $37,921 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,972. About 14.6% of families and 19.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.3% of those under age 18 and 12.7% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

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File:Main Street, Looking East, Fitchburg, MA.jpg
Main Street, looking east, in Template:Circa

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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

  • Founded in 1939, the Wachusett Potato Chip Company purchased the former County Jail buildings and grounds in the 1940s and has operated as a manufacturing and distributing facility for snack products since that time. It was purchased by UTZ in 2011 and still makes chips for local distribution using the Wachusett name.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Two truck manufacturing firms, the Wachusett Truck Company and the New England Truck Company, operated in Fitchburg during the early twentieth century.
  • Simonds International, Saw manufacturer founded in Fitchburg in 1832 and still operating on Intervale Road.
  • The Iver Johnson Arms and Cycle Works made motorcycles for a short time, in addition to their primary products, firearms and bicycles.
  • Assumption Life, a large financial services company, was founded in Fitchburg in 1903 before moving to Moncton, New Brunswick.
  • When completed in June 2014 Great Wolf Lodge New England<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> will have spent over 70 million dollars in renovations to former Holiday Inn/Coco Key Water Resort There will be over 400 new permanent jobs created from this project.

Fitchburg Central Steam Plant

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The Fitchburg Central Steam Plant (locally known by its nickname: the PLT) was built in 1928 to provide steam and electricity to the many local paper mills. As the paper mills were abandoned or improved the Central Steam Plant fell into disuse and was abandoned. In 2008, the EPA designated the Central Steam Plant a brownfield site due to contamination of the site soil and groundwater with metals and inorganic contaminants. The EPA provided the City of Fitchburg $50,500 in grant money<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> to help clean up hazardous substances on the site.

Cleanup<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> of the Central Steam Plant started in 2010 and is ongoing as of July 2011. As of December 2015, the Fitchburg Central Steam Plant has been razed. The last structure to fall was its massive smokestack.

Arts and culture

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The Fitchburg Art Museum was founded in 1925 and includes over Template:Convert of gallery and educational space which features a "cross barn" built in 1883, the Simond's building completed in 1989, and 12 galleries feature American, African, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman art.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Rollstone postcard.jpg
The Rollstone Boulder, on the summit of Rollstone Hill in 1909

The Rollstone Boulder is a 110-ton specimen of porphyritic granite located in a small triangular public park. The boulder was a feature of the summit of Rollstone Hill; it was exploded and reassembled on the green in 1929 and 1930.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Fitchburg Historical Society houses more than 200,000 items related to the history of Fitchburg, including Sentinel newspapers from 1838 to 1976, city directories, photographs, scrapbooks, manuscripts, family genealogies, postcards, files on industries in the City, books and pamphlets on Fitchburg's history from the 1700s to the present, a Civil War collection, and a collection on the railroad.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Fitchburg WallaceLibrary ca1907 Massachusetts.png
Public library, Fitchburg, Template:Circa

The Fitchburg Public Library was established in 1859.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1899, a child-specific library service began in one of the country's first children's rooms.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Fitchburg Public Library became the first regional library in the Massachusetts Regional Library System in 1962.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2008, the library had a budget of $1,111,412.<ref>http://mblc.state.ma.us/advisory/statistics/public/repmunicpie/index Template:Dead link</ref> In 2014, the Fitchburg Law Library opened.<ref name="archive.org">Template:Cite web</ref>

Other cultural features include:

Parks and recreation

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File:Coggs-Park.jpg
Coggshall Park
File:Fitchburg Steam Line7.JPG
West Fitchburg Steamline Trail Park
  • Coggshall Park — a Template:Convert park established in 1894, which features wooded trails, access to Mirror Lake, a walking path, gazebo, stone house, playground, and disc golf course.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Flat Rock Wild Life Sanctuary<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> — a Template:Convert wild life sanctuary.
  • Fitchburg Abolitionist Park — created in 2017 by volunteers to honor the rich history of anti-slavery activism in the city, including its role in the Underground Railroad.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • West Fitchburg Steam Line Trail<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> — a bike and walking path located in Fitchburg that is Template:Convert long and runs along the Nashua River and Flag Brook in the Waites Corner neighborhood.
  • Crocker Field — an athletic facility listed on the National Register of Historic Places.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Coolidge Park — a multi-use park located off John Fitch Highway, containing 2 street hockey rinks, 4 baseball/softball fields, a swimming pool and walking path.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Fitchburg Dog Park — a 1-acre fenced, off-leash dog park located off John Fitch Highway within Coolidge Park.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Government

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Education

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File:State Normal School, Fitchburg, MA.jpg
State Normal School Template:Circa, now Fitchburg State University
File:Fitchburg State College Hammond Building.JPG
Hammond Building, Fitchburg State University

Elementary schools

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  • Crocker Elementary School
  • South Street Elementary School
  • Reingold Elementary School

Middle schools

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  • Memorial Middle School
  • Longsjo Middle School

High schools

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Private schools

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St. Anthony of Padua School opened Template:Circa and closed in 2017. In its final year it had 144 students. Its closure meant that Fitchburg now has only one remaining Roman Catholic grade school.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Colleges and universities

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Established in 1894 by an act of the Massachusetts Legislature, the State Normal School in Fitchburg opened in temporary quarters in the old high school building on Academy Street.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Media

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Newspapers

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Television

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  • Fitchburg has its own access TV station, Fitchburg Access Television.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The station covers various local events, ranging from local school sports to municipal government meetings. FATV operates three Public, Education, and Government (PEG) channels. FATV channels can be viewed on Comcast (channels 8, 9, & 99) and on Verizon (channels 35, 36, & 37). FATV is not available on satellite TV.

Radio

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  • WPKZ, AM-1280 FM-105.3 Originally licensed in 1941
  • WXPL, FM-91.3 Fitchburg State Radio
  • WXLO, FM-104.5
  • WQPH, FM-89.3 (Queen of Perpetual Help) Shirley/Fitchburg an EWTN Catholic Radio affiliate

Infrastructure

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Fire department

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The Fitchburg Fire Department employs 81 firefighters, operating out of three stations. It responds to approximately 12,000 emergency calls annually.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Law enforcement

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Medical care

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UMass Memorial Health operates a hospital in Fitchburg.<ref name="umassmemorial.org">Template:Cite web</ref>

Transportation

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File:Jetbeech.JPG
Fitchburg Municipal Airport

Transportation for Fitchburg is largely supplied by the Montachusett Regional Transit Authority (MART). MART<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> operates fixed-route bus services, shuttle services, as well as paratransit services within the Montachusett Region. It also provides two connections to the MBTA Commuter Rail line at Fitchburg Station and Wachusett Station. The Fitchburg Station is the second to last stop on the Fitchburg Line from the North Station in Boston and the Wachusett Station is the last stop.

The Fitchburg Municipal Airport occupies Template:Convert off Airport Road in Fitchburg near the Leominster border. In 1940, the airport land was donated to the City of Fitchburg and serves the greater Fitchburg area.

Notable people

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In Harry Potter universe, Fitchburg is the hometown of the professional Quidditch team the Fitchburg Finches.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The children's book Henry Hikes to Fitchburg by D.B. Johnson is set in Fitchburg.

In 2012, Dark Horse Comics published a comic book series entitled Falling Skies: The Battle of Fitchburg.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Twin towns – sister cities

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Template:SisterCities

See also

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References

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Template:Reflist

Further reading

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Template:Commons category Template:Wikivoyage Template:Wikisource

Template:Worcester County, Massachusetts Template:Massachusetts Template:Greater Boston Template:Merrimack River

Template:Authority control

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