Acton, Massachusetts
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Acton is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States about twenty-one miles west-northwest of Boston along Massachusetts Route 2 west of Concord. The population was 20,331 at the 2000 census. It is bordered by Westford and Littleton to the north, Concord and Carlisle to the east, Stow and Maynard to the south, and Boxborough to the west.
Town Organization
Acton has five village centers:
- Acton Center is the civic center of the town and is the site of the town hall, the main public library, a children's playground, an obelisk monument commemorating Acton deaths in "the Concord Fight" of the Revolutionary War, a Congregational church, a 64-acre arboretum and conservation area, and the former post office. The modern post office and the police station are each located about one-half mile away in opposite directions down Main Street. Otherwise, Acton Center is generally a residential area.
- West Acton is the most commercial area of town. It developed in response to the growth of the railroads in the 19th century. West Acton has also served as the shopping area for the nearby town of Boxborough.
- South Acton is the most industrial area of town. In the eighteenth century this area held many mills and other small industrial developments that used water power generated by Fort Pond Brook.
- East Acton was a small commercial area that grew around the East Acton Train Station in the 18th century. However, with the advent of the automobile and the demise of this branch of the railroad, East Acton became a residential area with a small commercial base that focusses largely on the commuter traffic on Route 2A.
- North Acton has always been a relatively undeveloped part of town. In the eighteenth century it held a small store, a school and a church/meetinghouse. With the growth of automobile traffic, these ventures folded and North Acton became primarily a farming area that developed into a residential area in the 20th century. North Acton does contain the North Acton Recreation Area which contains a small pond, an open air auditorium, playing fields, hiking trails, etc.
History
Main article: History of Acton, Massachusetts
Acton's History reflects the history of Massachusetts, New England, and the United States.
Acton was first settled by Native Americans who used the Assabet, Sudbury and Concord rivers for transportation and the fields for farming seasonal crops. There is evidence of Native American settlements in Acton which go back 7000 years. When the Colonists arrived in this area, the Native American population dropped dramatically due to European disases for which they had no immunity.
Colonization Era through Revolutionary Era
Concord was the first colonial town that was settled in this area. Concord residents used the land which is now Acton as grazing fields for their animals. The first colonial residents moved to Acton in 1639.
Acton was established as an independent town in 1735. Acton has held Annual Town Meetings since 1735 and the records of those Town Meetings are held at Acton's Memorial Library. [link]
Acton residents participated in the growing hostility with Great Britain by sending a list of grievances to King George III on Oct 3rd, 1774. The anniversary of this day is celebrated in Acton as Crown Resistance Day. [link]
At the beginning of the American Revolutionary War, on April 19, 1775, a company of minutemen from Acton responded to the call to arms initiated by Paul Revere (who rode with other riders, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott, with Prescott the only one of the three who was able reach Acton itself) and fought at the North Bridge in Concord as part of the Battle of Lexington and Concord. The Acton minutemen were led by Captain Isaac Davis. When a company was needed to lead the advance on the bridge which was defended by the British regulars, Captain Davis was heard to reply, "I haven't a man who is afraid to go."
The colonists advanced on the bridge; in the exchange of musket fire that followed, Captain Isaac Davis and Private James Hayward were killed and Abner Hosmer, also of Acton, was mortally wounded. Thus Isaac Davis was the first officer to die in the American Revolutionary War. In Acton they refer to "the battle of Lexington, fought in Concord, by men of Acton."
Each year on Patriot's Day (the 3rd Monday in April), the Acton Minuteman lead a march from Acton Center to the Old North Bridge in Concord. This route is known as 'The Isaac Davis Trail' and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Since 1970, The Boy Scouts of America have organized an annual Patriot's Day campout and march on the Isaac Davis Trail.
Industrialization and Civil War
During the 19th Century, Acton participated in the growing Industrial Revolution. By the mid-1800s, Acton was an industrial center for the production of barrels (cooperage). There were also three grist mills and four saw mills in town. Acton Historical Society: "A Brief History of Acton", page 33. Beacon Publishing Company, 1974. .In 1843, the railroad came to Acton. The Fitchberg Railroad was routed through South and West Acton so that it could serve the mills. With the railroad came increasing development in those areas.
In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was passed. In response, Acton Town Meeting passed a set of resolutions condemning the Act. The governor of Massachusetts, John C. Andrew, urged all towns to prepare their militia units for the threatening war. On April 12th, 1861 the American Civil War began.
"On April 15, President Lincoln issued a call for 75,000 volunteers. By 7:30 the next morning, Captain Tuttle with his entire command of 52 men reported to Lowell, fully equipped and ready for duty. Company E of Acton of the 6th Massachusetts Regiment was to be the first company of the first regiment of the Union Army to arrive in Washington in response to the President's call."Acton Historical Society: "A Brief History of Acton", page 35. Beacon Publishing Company, 1974.
In 1874, the population of the town was almost 1700. The town established its first newspaper The Acton Patriot and the residents of West Acton formed the first library The Citizen's Library. In 1890, the Memorial Library was completed and given to the town by William A. Wilde as a memorial to the Acton soldiers who fought in the Civil War.
Twentieth Century
The twentieth century brough great changes to Acton. The population rose dramatically from approximately 2000 residents at the beginning of the century to 20,000 residents at the end. At the beginning of the century, the town consisted of five village centers and basic town services. By the end, the village centers were less noticeable and the town services were more substantial.Economics
The business of the town at the beginning of the century was agriculture.The growth of the automobile and the roads to serve it changed Acton considerably. The importance of the railroads decreased as automobiles and truck traffic grew in importance. Route 128 was completed in 1927 and caused an industrial boom in the area.
Housing
During the latter half of the century, Acton became a bedroom community which provided workers for other more industrial towns nearby. Acton's farmland turned into housing developments. The first large subdivision was Indian Village in West Acton in 1955.Civic Infrastructure
The civic infrastructure grew to accommodate the increasing population. The Board of Health was instituted in 1901 and its first task was to administer the smallpox vaccine to the children in the local schools. A Water District was established in 1912 and a town-wide Fire Department was established in 1913. Acton was the first town in the area to have water-bound macadam highways. Acton Historical Society: "A Brief History of Acton", page 42. Beacon Publishing Company, 1974. In 1954, the Town established a Planning Board which developed regulations regarding the development of subdivisions.
At the beginning of the century, each village in Acton had its own grade school but the town struggled with how to provide a high school education for its students. For most of the early twentieth century (until 1925), Acton students were sent to Concord's high school.
In 1953, new schools were constructed to accommodate the growth in the student population. In 1957, Acton and Boxborough created a regional school district for grades 7 - 12. The Merriam School was constructed in 1958. Other schools quickly followed (Douglas (1966), Gates (1968), and Conant (1971)). In 1967 a building was constructed for the Junior High. In 1973 a huge addition was added to this building and it became the high school (the junior high moved to the old high school building).
W.R.Grace Superfund Site
In the early 1950s, W. R. Grace and Company established a manufacturing facility in South Acton to produce concrete additives, organic chemicals and other industrial materials. W. R. Grace disposed of industrial waste from this facility in unlined impoundments (lagoons) through 1980. http://www.actonaces.org/In 1978, vinylidene chloride and other industrial contaminents were detected in two of the town wells - Assabet 1 and Assabet 2. These wells were closed. In 1983 the Acton W.R.Grace site was placed on the list of EPA Superfund Sites as a National Priority for cleanup. http://www.actonaces.org/
Geography
Acton is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 20.3 square miles (52.5 km²), of which 20.0 square miles (51.7 km²) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.8 km²), or 1.53 percent, is water. Most of the land may be described as rocky hills. Almost all of Acton is forested, except for where it has been cleared for residential or agricultural use.The current geography of Acton was created when the last wave of glaciers retreated appoximately ten thousand years ago. Acton has nine drumlins - hills which are composed of glacial till. In addition, Wills Hole and Grassy Pond are kettle ponds which were formed in depressions in the till formed by large blocks of ice.
Acton has two primary stream systems: the Nashoba Brook system (including the incoming streams Butter Brook, Will's Hole Brook and Conant Brook) and the Fort Pond Brook system (including the incoming streams Guggins Brook, Inch Brook, Grassy Pond Brook, Pratt's Brook and Coles Brook). Both stream systems empty into the Assabet River. Acton borders on Nagog Pond in the North and it contains a small artificial pond at Nara Park.
Acton's surrounding towns are:
Westford, MA, Littleton, MA, Boxborough, MA, Stow, MA, Maynard, MA, Sudbury, MA, Concord, MA and Carlisle, MA.
Acton's localities are:
East Acton, Kellys Corner, North Acton, South Acton, Village of Nagog Woods and West Acton.
Demographics
According to the census2 of 2000, there were 20,331 people, 7,495 households, and 5,538 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,018.1 per square mile (393.1/km²). There were 7,680 housing units at an average density of 384.6 per square mile (148.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 88.45% White, 8.65% Asian, 0.70% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.64% from other races, and 1.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.77% of the population.Of the 7,495 households, 43.1 percent had children under the age of eighteen living with them, 65.1 percent were married couples living together, 6.5 percent had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.1 percent were non-families. 21.4 percent of all households were made up of individuals and 5.3 percent had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.19.
The age distribution of the population was 29.5 percent under the age of 18, 4.3 percent from 18 to 24, 31.5 percent from 25 to 44, 26.4 percent from 45 to 64, and 8.4 percent 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age eighteen and over, there were 94.2 males.
For those aged 25 years or older in Acton during the 2000 census, 97.8 percent had a high school degree or higher, 69.3 percent had a bachelor's degree or higher, and 33.9 percent had a graduate degree or higher. Also, 98.0 percent were employed with a mean commute time of 31.0 minutes.
The median income for a household in the town was 91,624 dollars, and the median income for a family was 108,189 dollars. Males had a median income of 77,371 dollars versus 47,113 dollars for females. The per capita income for the town was 41,901 dollars. About 1.7 percent of families and 2.9 percent of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4 percent of those under age 18 and 3.3 percent of those age 65 or over.
Government
Acton uses the Open Town Meeting form of Town Government. The Town Charter specifies that the Annual Town Meeting must begin on the first Monday in April. The Selectmen may also call a Special Town Meeting at other times of the year to consider other business. Citizens may force a Special Town Meeting by submitting a petition signed by 200 registered voters to the Town Clerk. Anyone may attend Town Meeting but only registered voters may vote. At Annual Town Meeting the Selectmen present the Town and School budgets. Town Meeting may also consider zoning articles and other articles related to town business. Acton also has a Water District which is run separetely from Town Government as a public utility. The Water District holds a separate Open Town Meeting in March.Acton's elected officials include the following: the Board of Selectmen (5 members), the Town Moderator, the Acton Public School Committee (6 members), the Acton representatives to the Acton / Boxborough Regional School Committee (6 members) and the Water Commissioners (3 members). In addition, the Town Moderator appoints a Finance Committee (9 members) which issues an opinion on each of the Warrant articles presented to Town Meeting.
Economy
Acton is primarily a residential community with a small number of commercial and industrial properties. The town services are primarily funded through the residential property tax.Education
Acton Public School District
The Acton Public School District consists of five elementary schools and the Acton Public School Pre-school. Acton has an unusual method of assigning students to elementary schools. Each of the elementary schools has a different philosophy of education and the parents of incoming kindergardners choose the school they would like their child to attend.This method of school choice has a large impact on the nature of the town. Acton is less oriented around neighborhoods than towns which have neighborhood schools. Other child-oriented activies such as town sport teams are also not organized around the school system. As a result, students and families are likely to have social connections which are independent of the neighborhood they live in.
The schools and their philosophy of education are:
- [Conant School]. Named for Luther Conant who taught for 17 years in the school district, served on the School Committee and was Town Moderator for 40 years. The school emphasizes the Whole language approach when teaching students to read. The Conant School has an English as a Second Language (ESL) program.
- [Douglas School]. Named for Carolyn T. Douglas who was a teacher in the Acton schools from 1940 to 1967. The school emphasizes Phonics as a system for learning to read. The Douglas School has an ESL program (English as a Second Language).
- [Gates School]. Named for Paul P. Gates who was the school physician from 1948 to 1968. The school emphasizes Phonics as a system for learning to read.
- [McCarthy-Towne School]. Named for Julia McCarthy who taught at the South Acton School from 1906 to 1952 and Marion Towne who was a teacher in the primary and secondary schools in Acton from 1921 to 1959. McCarthy-Towne integrates art instruction into all areas of the curriculum. McCarthy-Towne offers a project-based curriculum and makes extensive use of teacher's aides in the classroom.
- [Merriam School]. Named for Florence A. Merriam who taught for 35 years in Acton. Merriam offers a project-based curriculum. At Merriam, teachers teach the same group of students for two years (i.e. a teacher will teach first grade one year, second grade the next and then wrap back to first).
Acton-Boxborough Regional School District
The Acton-Boxborough Regional School District consists of the Raymond J. Grey Junior High School and the Acton-Boxborough Regional High School. This district serves students from the towns of Acton and Boxborough. In addition, some students are accepted from neighboring towns as 'choice' students at ABRHS if the school committee decides this is in the best interest of the district.Both the Junior High and High School have been renovated in recent years, along with the addition of the Parker Damon Building, which houses both McCarthy-Towne School and Merriam School, to accommodate the influx of new students.
Culture
Libraries
Acton has two public libraries: the Acton Memorial Library and the West Acton Citizens' Library.
The Citizens' Library, one of the oldest buildings on Windsor Avenue, was most likely built in the 1840s by Phineas Wetherbee, who by 1856 resided there and lived at that address until his death in 1894.
There are also libraries in each of the elementary schools, the Junior High, and the High School.
The Acton Historical Society owns the Jenks Library which contains historical maps, documents, photographs and drawings.
Museums
There are two complementary children's science museums in Acton: The Children's Discovery Museum and the Science Discovery Museum. These museums are on the same site. The Children's Discovery Museum has exhibits suitable for small children and the Science Discovery Museum focusses on older children.Theater
Acton has two local theater groups: Theater III and Open Door Theater. Theater III was founded in 1956. It produces several plays and/or musicals a year in the historically interesting old church building on Central Street. Open Door Theater is a community theater group which was founded to provide an inclusive theater experience. Open Door produces one large musical each year which includes a large number of actors ranging in age from 9 to adult and including people with special needs.
Media
Acton is served by two local newspapers. The Beacon is part of the Community Newspaper Company chain which is owned by GateHouse Media, Inc and it serves Acton and Boxborough. The Acton Weekly began publication in 2002 and serves Acton.
The Acton Boxborough Regional High School produces radio station WHAB and produces material for public access cable TV on Channel 8.
The Acton Senior population has a weekly television show called 'Elderberries' which also runs on the public access cable TV.
Sites of Interest
- Jones Tavern.[link]The main part of the Tavern, originally home to the Jones family of South Acton, was built in 1732 as a house for Samuel Jones, Jr. By 1750 it had become a tavern and general store. It is speculated to be the first store in Acton and holds the distinction of being the town’s longest established business, merging into James Tuttle’s store in 1845 and operating under various names until 1950.
- The Faulkner House and Mills. [link] The house was built for Ephraim Jones (1679-1710), founder in 1702 of an early textile business and other mills that formed the nucleus of the present town of Acton. The largest and most central house of this settlement, it served as the local garrison house for protection from Indian raids made along the Massachusetts frontier during Queen Anne’s War of 1702-1713. The Faulkner homestead served as a garrison for South Acton Militia during the Revolutionary War.
- NARA Park. NARA (North Acton Recreation Area) Park opened in 1999. NARA Park includes a pond for swimming, a beach area, playing fields, a concert shell and hiking paths.
- Assabet River Rail Trail.[link]
- Bruce Freeman Rail Trail.[link] The Bruce Freeman Trail is a proposed rail trail through the communities of Lowell, Chelmsford, Westford, Carlisle, Acton, Concord, Sudbury, and Framingham in Massachusetts -- following the 25-mile route of the old New Haven Railroad Framingham & Lowell line. Phase 1 (7.5 miles in Lowell, Chelmsford, and Westford) has been designed and funded. Construction should begin sometime in 2006. Phase 2 in Westford, Carlisle, Acton, Concord, and Sudbury (13 miles) and Phase 3 in Sudbury and Framingham (4.5 miles) are proposed extensions.
Town Owned Conservation Lands
- Acton Arboretum. A park in the center of Acton which consists of 53 acres of woods, meadows, swamp, ponds, old apple orchards, a glacial esker, and a bog. The land was purchased by the town in 1976 and was designated an Arboretum in 1986. It now includes a nineteenth century herb garden, a hosta garden, a wildflower garden, a butterfly garden and a rhododendron garden. A fragrance garden is being constructed.
- Pratt's Brook. A 57 acre property located in South Acton.
- Great Hill. A 185 acre property located in South Acton.
- Grassy Pond and Nagog Hill. Two adjoining conservation areas located in North Acton which total 250 acres of land.
- Wills Hole Conservation Area and Town Forest. A 73 acre property located in North Acton.
- Nashoba Brook, Spring Hill, Camp Acton. Three adjoining conservation areas in East Acton which total over 400 acres. The trails in this area are Acton's portion of the Bay Circuit Trail and Greenway which is a planned hiking path that will encircle Boston - starting in Ipswich and ending in Duxbury.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Acton is five miles from I-495 and ten miles from I-95 (Route 128). State and local routes 2, 2A, 27, 62 and 111 run through town. The MBTA Commuter Rail Fitchburg Line train stops at the South Acton station, and provides service to Fitchburg, Leominster, Shirley, Ayer, Littleton, Concord, Lincoln, Weston, Waltham, Belmont, Cambridge, and Boston.
Utilities
Water district
The Acton Water District is a community public water supply that delivers drinking water to the majority (about 90 percent) of the residents of the town of Acton, Massachusetts. All of the water provided from the District comes from eleven wells located within the town of Acton. The District's system consists of 106 miles of water main, four storage tanks, and a variety of treatment facilities that assist in the production of finished water.Garbage
Acton does not provide curbside trash pickup services. There are many private companies who do contract with individual homeowners or condominum complexes for that service.Acton does have a public transfer station where Acton residents may bring their trash and recycling for 175 dollars per year. It is accessible every day Tuesday through Saturday.
Sewers
Most homes and businesses in Acton (approximately 80%) use private onsite sewage systems (i.e. septic tanks). Higher density developments such as condominiums and apartments buildings (approximately 10% of the town) use private sewers which go to small-scape private treatment plants).In 2001, Acton completed its first public sewer system which serves approximately 10% of the town primarily in South Acton. There are current plans to expand the sewer system and this is generating a lot of controversy in town.
The propopents of expanding the sewer treatment cite several advantages.
- Sewers will provide relief for homeowners whose septic systems cannot meet current Title 5 requirements because of the distance from the ground to the underground water table.
- Sewers will provide better treatment for sewage than can be provided in septic tanks and thus help protect the town water system which is based on underground aquifers.
- Sewers will allow businesses to expand in village centers and thus improve the economic situation for the town as well as providing additional local shopping and services.
- Sewers tend to lead to higher density development. If this happens in residential areas, the population could increase which causes pressure on town services and expenses.
- Sewers concentrate pollutants which are currently distributed across a wider geographic area. While a sewer system treats organic pollutants, it does not remove some non-organic pollutants such as medicines, etc. If the sewage system discharge occurs near the town water supply, the water supply system could be compromised in ways that are not immediately apparent.
- Sewers concentrate the waste water from a large geographic area. This means that there will be less re-charging of the aquifer in the town as a whole which could mean that we end up with water supply issues.
In media
- Acton is the setting of the poem "The Vanishing Red," by New England poet Robert Frost (Mountain Interval, 1920).
Notable residents
- Steve Carell, (b. 1963) born in Acton. He is a comedic actor who was a correspondent for "The Daily Show" until 2004. He also stars in the film "40 Year Old Virgin" and the American version of the television comedy, "The Office."
- Robert Creeley (b.1926, d.2005) grew up in West Acton. The Acton Memorial Library gives out an annual Robert Creeley Poetry Award to a promising local poet in his honor. The Acton Memorial Library is planning to create a "Robert Creeley room" where visitors will be able to read and listen to his poetry and see photos and other memorabilia.
- Caroll Spinney, (b.1933) the puppetteer who created the Sesame Street characters Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, grew up in Acton.
- Madeline Amy Sweeney, (b.1966, d.2001) was a flight attendant on board American Airlines flight 11 when it was flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack. Ms. Sweeney was the first person to report the hijacking. On Feb 11, 2002, she was commemorated in a series of new annual bravery awards initiated by the Massachusetts government. The annual Madeline Amy Sweeney Award will be awarded every September 11 to at least one Massachusetts resident who displayed extraordinary courage in defending or saving the lives of others.
- David Wolff, president of the Esperanto League for North America 1996-2002.
References
External links
- [Official Town Website]
- [Acton Public Schools and Acton-Boxborough Regional School District]
- [Community Profile]
- [Acton Water District Website]
- [Acton Memorial Library]
- [The Discovery Museums]
- [Theatre III]
- [Open Door Theater]
- [Early Acton History]
- [Acton Citizens for Environmental Safety]
Notes
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