Editing Southborough, Massachusetts (section)

==History==
Southborough was first settled in 1660 and was officially incorporated in July 1727. Southborough was primarily a farming community until mills began to tap the small rivers that ran through the town. By the end of the 19th century, Southborough was home to the manufacture of plasters, [[Straw hat|straw bonnets]], boots, and shoes, among other things.

In 1727, Southborough split off as the "south borough" of Marlborough, much as [[Westborough, Massachusetts|Westborough]] had split off from [[Marlborough, Massachusetts|Marlborough]] in 1717, ten years before.<ref>{{cite web|title=An Act For Dividing The Town Of Marlborough, And Erecting A New Town There By The Name Of Southborough|url=http://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/117712|publisher=The State Library of Massachusetts|access-date=October 24, 2014}}</ref>

In 1898, the [[Fayville Dam]] was constructed to produce several [[reservoir (water)|reservoirs]] to supply a growing [[Boston]] with water. As a result, manufacturing vanished, and Southborough did not see substantial growth until the high-tech boom of the 1970s.

The Fay, Burnett, and Choate families had major impacts on the development of the town as it is today. St. Mark's Church, [[St. Mark's School (Massachusetts)|St. Mark's School]], the Southborough Library, the Community House, and the [[Fay School]] were all built at least in part through the efforts of these families.