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==History== John Howe in 1656 was a [[fur trade]]r and built a house at the intersection of two Indian trails, Nashua Trail and Connecticut path.<ref>{{cite web|title=Marlborough Massachusetts Genealogy |publisher=USGenWeb |url=http://www.rootsweb.com/~mamiddle/Marlborough/index.html |access-date=2007-03-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061016140135/http://www.rootsweb.com/~mamiddle/Marlborough/index.html |archive-date=2006-10-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He could speak the language of the [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]] Indians though the local tribe referred to themselves as the [[Pennacook]]s. The settlers were welcomed by the Indians because they protected them from other tribes they were at war with. In the 1650s, several families left the nearby town of [[Sudbury, Massachusetts|Sudbury]], 18 miles west of [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], to start a new town. The village was named after [[Marlborough, Wiltshire|Marlborough]], the market town in [[Wiltshire]], England. It was first settled in 1657 by 14 men led by [[Edmund Rice (1638)|Edmund Rice]], John Ruddock, John Howe and a third John named John Bent; in 1656 Rice and his colleagues petitioned the [[Massachusetts General Court]] to create the town of Marlborough and it was officially incorporated in 1660. Rice was elected a [[selectman]] at Marlborough in 1657. [[Sumner Chilton Powell]] wrote, in ''Puritan Village: The Formation of a New England Town'', "Not only did Rice become the largest individual landholder in Sudbury, but he represented his new town in the Massachusetts legislature for five years and devoted at least eleven of his last fifteen years to serving as selectman and judge of small causes."<ref>{{cite web| title = Who was Edmund Rice?| publisher = The Edmund Rice (1638) Association, Inc.| url = http://www.edmund-rice.org/| access-date = 2007-05-14}}</ref> [[Image:Marlborough Mass city hall.jpg|thumb|right|225px|City Hall (1905) by Allen, Collins & Berry]] The [[Puritan]] minister Reverend William Brimstead became the first minister of [[First Church in Marlborough]], William Ward the first deacon and<ref>[https://firstchurchmarlborough.org/wp-content/uploads/2017_History.pdf History of the First Church in Marlborough] (2017)</ref> Johnathan Johnson was the first [[blacksmith]]. Marlborough was one of the seven [[Praying Indians|"Praying Indian Towns"]] because they were converted to [[Christianity]] by the [[John Eliot (missionary)|Rev. John Eliot]] of [[Roxbury, Massachusetts|Roxbury]]. In 1674, a deed was drawn up dividing the land between the settlers and the natives. This is the only record of names of the natives. The settlement was almost destroyed by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] in 1676 during [[King Philip's War]]. In 1711, Marlborough's territory included [[Northborough, Massachusetts|Northborough]], [[Southborough, Massachusetts|Southborough]], [[Westborough, Massachusetts|Westborough]], and [[Hudson, Massachusetts|Hudson]]. As population, business, and travel grew in the colonies, Marlborough became a favored rest stop on the [[Boston Post Road]]. Many travelers stopped at its [[inn]]s and [[tavern]]s, including [[George Washington]], who visited the Williams Tavern soon after his inauguration in 1789.<ref>{{cite web |title=Marlborough Massachusetts History - Williams Tavern |publisher=History RootsWeb |url=http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~historyofmarlborough/williamstavernstory.htm |access-date=2010-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617150819/http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~historyofmarlborough/williamstavernstory.htm |archive-date=2011-06-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1836, Samuel Boyd, known as the "father of the city," and his brother, Joseph, opened the first [[shoemaking|shoe manufacturing]] business - an act that would change the community forever. By 1890, with a population of 14,000, Marlborough had become a major shoe manufacturing center, producing boots for [[American Civil War|Union soldiers]], as well as footwear for the civilian population. Marlborough became so well known for its shoes that its official seal was decorated with a [[factory]], a [[Box|shoe box]], and a pair of [[boot]]s when it was incorporated as a city in 1890.<ref name="History of Marlborough">{{cite web|url=http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~historyofmarlborough/|title=RootsWeb.com Home Page|website=freepages.history.rootsweb.com|access-date=14 March 2018}}</ref> The [[American Civil War|Civil War]] resulted in the creation of one of the region's most unusual historical monuments. Legend has it that a company from Marlborough, assigned to [[Harpers Ferry]], appropriated the bell from the [[fire station|firehouse]] where [[John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown]] last battled for the emancipation of the slaves. The company left the bell in the hands of one Mrs. Elizabeth Snyder for 30 years, returning in 1892 to bring it back to Marlborough. The bell now hangs in a tower at the corner of [[Route 85 (Massachusetts)|Route 85]] and Main Street. Around that time, Marlborough is believed to have been the first community in the country to receive a charter for a [[streetcar]] system, edging out [[Baltimore]] by a few months. The system, designed primarily for passenger use, provided access to [[Milford, Massachusetts|Milford]] to the south, and [[Concord, Massachusetts|Concord]] to the north. As a growing industrialized community, Marlborough began attracting skilled [[Artisan|craftsmen]] from [[Quebec]], [[Ireland]], [[Italy]], and [[Greece]].<ref name="History of Marlborough"/> Shoe manufacturing continued in Marlborough long after the industry had fled many other [[New England]] communities. [[Rice & Hutchins| Rice & Hutchins, Inc.]] operated several factories in Marlborough from 1875 to 1929. Famous [[The Frye Company|Frye boots]] were manufactured here through the 1970s, and [[Rockport (company)|The Rockport Company]], founded in Marlborough in 1971, maintained an outlet store in the city until 2017. In 1990, when Marlborough celebrated its [[centennial]] as a city, the festivities included the construction of a park in acknowledgment of the shoe industry, featuring statues by the sculptor David Kapenteopolous. The construction of Interstates [[Interstate 495 (Massachusetts)|495]] and [[Interstate 290 (Massachusetts)|290]] and the [[Massachusetts Turnpike]] has enabled the growth of the [[high technology]] and specialized electronics industries. With its easy access to major highways and the pro-business, pro-development policies of the city government, the population of Marlborough has increased to over 38,000 at the time of the 2010 census. In November 2016, the administration of [[Governor of Massachusetts|Massachusetts Governor]] [[Charlie Baker]] announced a $3 million grant to the city to fund infrastructure improvements along [[U.S. Route 20 in Massachusetts|U.S. Route 20]] to aid commercial development.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hanson|first=Melissa|title=Worcester to receive $2.3 million boost to create more walkable downtown|website=[[The Republican (Springfield, Massachusetts)|MassLive.com]]|publisher=[[Advance Publications]]|url=https://www.masslive.com/news/worcester/index.ssf/2016/11/massworks_funding_of_23_millio.html|date=November 1, 2016|access-date=July 11, 2018}}</ref> <gallery> Image:Bird's-eye View from Boyd's Hill, Marlborough, MA.jpg|Bird's-eye view {{circa|1912}} Image:Main Street, Marlborough, with station and streetcar - postcard.jpg|Main Street in 1906 Image:Shoe Factory, Howe Street, Marlborough, MA.jpg|Shoe factory {{circa|1910}} Image:Lincoln Street, French Hill, Marlborough, MA.jpg|Lincoln Street {{circa|1908}} </gallery>
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