Holbrook, Massachusetts
Holbrook is a town in
Norfolk County,
Massachusetts,
United States. As of the 2000
census, the town population was 10,785.
Holbrook is located at (42.148351, -71.010375).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 19.2
km² (7.4
mi²). 19.0 km² (7.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.67%) is water.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 10,785 people, 4,076 households, and 2,853 families residing in the town. The
population density was 566.5/km² (1,466.7/mi²). There were 4,153 housing units at an average density of 218.2/km² (564.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 91.87%
White, 3.99%
Black or
African American, 0.19%
Native American, 1.50%
Asian, 0.01%
Pacific Islander, 1.11% from
other races, and 1.34% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 2.38% of the population.
There were 4,076 households out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were
married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.0% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the town the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $54,419, and the median income for a family was $62,532. Males had a median income of $43,134 versus $35,305 for females. The
per capita income for the town was $23,379. About 4.3% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.
Holbrook was first settled in
1710 as the southern part of Old Braintree, and was officially incorporated in
1872, the last town created from the former lands of
Braintree.It was formerly known as East Randolph, being that it is divided from
Randolph by track from the
Old Colony Railroad line. Holbrook is the only town in the
United States to be founded on a
leap day (
February 29), 1872 .It was named for benefactor
Elisha N. Holbrook, who provided the town with the funds for the town hall and library upon incorporation. The Story of Holbrooks split from
Randolph goes something like this. In 1871, there had been pressure building in the part of Randolph known as East Randolph for an independent town. After a little mis-understanding (according to Randolph brethren, the Eastern group used rather stronger language) about the placement of a
cupola on top of
Stetson Hall as a vent for the gas lighting, the pot boiled over and East Randolph petitioned to be incorporated as a separate town. [
1]
* Holbrook is the only town in the
United States to be founded on a
Leap Day (
February 29,
1872).
* Union Cemetery is the final resting place for several members of the famed
54th Massachusetts American Civil War infantry
regiment.
* Several notable Americans were from Holbrook, including Captain
Elihu Adams,
Medal of Honor winner
George Mason Lovering, former
White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, Jr., Professional
Baseball Player James Joseph Mann, and
labor union leader Kevin Robert Hammond.
*
Holbrook on the South Shore Network
