Braintree, Massachusetts
Braintree is a town in
Norfolk County,
Massachusetts,
United States. The population was 33,828 at the 2000 census.
For geographic and demographic information on the
census-designated place Braintree, please see the article
Braintree (CDP), Massachusetts.
Braintree was founded on land first colonized in
1625 by Captain Wollaston, and initially named
Mount Wollaston. Under the rule of Thomas Morton it was renamed
Merry Mount. The area was resettled and incorporated as the town of Braintree, named after the English town of
Braintree in
1640, on land which is now part of the current town of Braintree, from which
Randolph,
Holbrook, the City of
Quincy, and part of
Milton were split off. Braintree is the birthplace to Presidents
John Adams, and
John Quincy Adams, as well as statesman
John Hancock and General
Sylvanus Thayer. Braintree is also the site of the infamous
Sacco and Vanzetti murders as well as the retirement home of the co-inventor of the
telephone Thomas Watson (See
Watson Park).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 37.6
km² (14.5
mi²). 36.0 km² (13.9 mi²) of it is land and 1.6 km² (0.6 mi²) of it (4.34%) is water.
As of the
census² of 2000, there were 33,828 people, 12,652 households, and 8,907 families residing in the town. The
population density was 939.6/km² (2,434.4/mi²). There were 12,973 housing units at an average density of 360.4/km² (933.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.96%
White, 1.18%
Black or
African American, 0.11%
Native American, 3.14%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 0.64% from
other races, and 0.95% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 1.16% of the population.
There were 12,652 households out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% were
married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.16.
In the town the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $61,790, and the median income for a family was $73,417. Males had a median income of $49,607 versus $36,034 for females. The
per capita income for the town was $28,683. About 2.1% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 4.6% of those under age 18 and 3.3% of those age 65 or over.
There are three high schools in Braintree:
Braintree High, a public school;
Thayer Academy, a private school; and
Archbishop Williams, a Roman Catholic private school.
*
General Sylvanus Thayer Birthplace*
Tiffany Kelly,
Miss Massachusetts USA 2006
*
The "B.", Local legend.
*
Jim Calhoun, UConn basketball coach
*
Butch Stearns, FOX25 Sportscaster
*
Braintree Public Schools*
Town of Braintree*
Braintree, MA*
Thayer Public Library, Braintree, MA
