Milton, Massachusetts
Milton is a suburban town in
Norfolk County,
Massachusetts,
United States. The population was 26,062 at the 2000 census. It is the home of the prestigious secondary school
Milton Academy, the
liberal arts college Curry College, and the birthplace of former President
George H. W. Bush and
Buckminster Fuller. Milton is also the most
Irish town in the
United States per capita, with 43% of its residents being of Irish descent, many of whom reside in East Milton.
Milton is a community between the
Neponset River and the
Blue Hills. It is bordered by
Boston to the north,
Quincy to the south,
Canton to the west, and
Boston Harbor to the east. Although the first
English traders used Milton in the
1620's, the earliest permanent settlement occurred in
1634* when
colonists created an
agricultural community growing
barley,
rye and
Indian corn. The town itself was incorporated in
1662. A
powder mill established in
1674 is thought to be the earliest in the colonies, taking advantage of the town's valuable
water power sites.
Boston investors, seeing the potential of the town and its proximity to the city, provided the capital to develop
18th century Milton as an important industrial site with an iron slitting mill, paper and sawmills, and the first chocolate factory in
New England (the Baker chocolate factory) in
1764. Laying of
streetcar lines fueled the rapid expansion of residential development. Between
1870 and
1915 Milton grew into essentially the community it is now, a
streetcar suburb with only some
chocolates,
biscuits and market
produce to remind residents of the past. By
1929 many of the big
estates were broken up into subdivisions, continuing the town's residential growth. Milton now retains a good many
19th century country houses and estates and
19th century workers' housing.
The
Suffolk Resolves were signed in Milton. The town was home to America's first
piano factory. Revolutionary Milton is the setting of the opening of the 1940 bestselling historical novel "Oliver Wiswell" by Kenneth Roberts.
Curry College is located in the town, as is the
Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory, home of the nation's oldest continuously kept meteorological records.
The
Granite Railway passed from Quincy to the Neponset River in Milton, beginning in 1826. It is often called the first commercial railroad in the United States, as it may have been the first chartered railway to evolve into a
common carrier without an intervening closure. A centennial historic plaque and original frog from the railway can be found in the gardens on top of the Southeast Expressway as it passes through East Milton Square. The frog had been displayed at the Chicago World Fair in 1893.
(* Note: The exact year Milton was settled is debated, but it is believed to be sometime before
1640 and after the mid -
1630's. The town seal says 1640, as well as several other town monuments.)
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 34.4
km² (13.3
mi²). 33.8 km² (13.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (1.81%) is water.
Great Blue Hill in Milton, the highest hill within the
Blue Hills Reservation at 635 feet (194 m), is the highest point within 10 miles of the
Atlantic coast south of central
Maine, making it an important weather observatory and radio/TV transmitter site.
Milton is in the
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority district. Fixed-route service includes the
Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line, a light rail extension of the
Red Line. Milton has 4 stops: Milton, Central Avenue, Valley Road, and Capen Street. Automobile routes 28 and 138 emanate from Boston and run south.
Interstate 93, also
U.S. Route 1, cuts across Milton's southern and eastern tips. (For the eastern incursion, it is also
Route 3.) Two-Seater bicycles are also very popular.[
1]
As of the
census of 2000, there were 26,062 people, 8,982 households, and 6,754 families residing in the town. The
population density was 771.7/km² (1,999.1/mi²). There were 9,161 housing units at an average density of 271.2/km² (702.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 85.38%
White, 10.23%
Black or
African American, 0.07%
Native American, 2.04%
Asian, 0.04%
Pacific Islander, 0.63% from
other races, and 1.62% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 1.73% of the population.
The top five ancestries of Milton are
Irish (43.0%),
Italian (11.3%),
English (8.6%),
West Indian (4.8%), and
German (4.7%).
There were 8,982 households out of which 37.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.1% were
married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 21.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.27.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $78,985, and the median income for a family was $94,359. Males had a median income of $61,194 versus $40,875 for females. The
per capita income for the town was $37,138. About 1.6% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 2.2% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.
There are six
public schools in Milton, including four
elementary schools (Collicot, Cunningham, Glover, and Tucker), one
middle school (Charles S. Pierce), and the Milton High School. There are also private
high schools and elementary/middle schools (
Fontbonne Academy, St. Mary of the Hills, St. Agatha's, and
Milton Academy).
Curry College is also located in Milton.
*
Dana Barros (former NBA star)
*
Mark Vonnegut (son of American author Kurt Vonnegut, and celebrated writer himself)
*
George Herbert Walker Bush (born in Milton 1924)
*
Jill Ker Conway (Australian-born novelist)
*
Grace Phillips actress (graduated Milton Academy in 1982)
*
George V Higgins attorney, writer
*
Chris O'Malley reality TV;
The Real Gilligan's Island *
Buckminster Fuller*
Bill Brasky once ranked 18th in the AP College Football Pool
* Myopia vs. Dedham (1899)
*
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)
*
Love Story (1970)
*
The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)
*"This Old House" TV Series
*Three Sovereigns for Sarah (1985)
*
The Witches of Eastwick (1987)
*
What's the Worst That Could Happen? (2001)
*
Freedom Park (2004)
*
Spartan (2004)
*
Official Milton homepage*
Milton, MA*
Milton Times article on Milton history
