Wellesley, Massachusetts
Encyclopedia : W : WE : WEL : Wellesley, Massachusetts
Wellesley is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 26,613 at the 2000 census. It is best known as the home of Wellesley College. The Hunnewell Arboretum abuts the Wellesley campus, and the Elm Bank Horticulture Center is also located in Wellesley. The public education services of the town are well regarded, especially Wellesley High School. Despite the fact that the town is not actually the wealthiest town in the state (it is behind neighboring Weston and Brookline) it has the reputation of being one of the most affluent and prestigious suburbs of Boston due to Wellesley College and the fact that some of the town's wealthiest neighborhoods are prominently located on its edges. Nonetheless, it is always ranked on the top 5.
History
Wellesley was originally part of Dedham, Massachusetts, and was subsequently a part of Needham, Massachusetts called West Needham, Massachusetts. It was officially incorporated as a town on April 6, 1881 and is named after its famous women's college, Wellesley College. The college's name is from Horatio Hollis Hunnewell's estate, named for his wife's maiden name of Welles. The Charles River lies along the town's northeastern and southwestern boardersInto the twentieth century, Jews and other minorities were informally blocked from living in certain parts of town. Certain groups such as Italians congregated in separate neighborhoods.
Wellesley was home to US District Court Judge Arthur Garrity, who in 1974 ordered the integration of Boston public schools. This led to racial unrest and violence in the city of Boston as well as the picketing of Garrity's Wellesley home. The town was also home to many other notable residents, such as the following:
- Sylvia Plath (poet)
- Jane Curtin (comedian)
- Curt Gowdy (sports commentator)
- Billy Squire (rock musician)
- James St. Clair (defense lawyer for Richard Nixon during Watergate)
- Dee Brown (former basketball player for the Boston Celtics)
- Carl Everett (former center fielder for the Boston Red Sox)
- Richard Preston and Douglas Preston (best-selling authors)
- Bill Mueller (former third baseman for the Boston Red Sox)
Local Interest and Culture
The town is informally divided into several sections or neighborhoods, e.g. , Wellesley Square, Wellesley Hills, Wellesley Farms, Wellesley Fells, Wellesley Lower Falls.Town Dump
Wellesley residents receive all major services from their town government, with the exception of actual residential trash pick-up. Residents of Wellesley cart their own refuse to a town-operated multi-use waste recycling site, where items are sorted by type, recyclability and potential reuse. Old books and magazines are available for town residents to take, which have their own shelving section. The town dump also has a 'Take 'N' Leave' area where residents leave items they no longer want but that are in good repair. In 2004, the Town had to discontinue the 'Take 'N' Leave' area because of funding cutbacks. However, within six months town residents reinstated it by means of a volunteer system. The section reopened with volunteers on duty at all times to organize the goods and ensure that only usable items were left there. It was rumored that one year someone found an Old Masters painting worth over $300,000. The program has received international press and is available for tours through Wellesley Town Hall.[[Citing sources citation needed]]Local Government
Wellesley also receives significant funding from the state government, despite its upper-middle-class demographics. Local roads have been repaved several times in the 1990s and 2000s, causing accusations of pork barrel politics.
Since Proposition 2½ limited property tax increases to 2.5% per year in 1980, the town has had to ask the town for a number of overrides to maintain funding for certain programs. The main 2005 override failed by 17 votes, but the main 2006 override passed with a large majority.
Education
In addition to Wellesley College, Wellesley is also home to Massachusetts Bay Community College, Babson College, Dana Hall, a preparatory school for girls and Tenacre Country Day School. While independent, Dana Hall was at one time considered a feeder school to Wellesley College. Wellesley Public Schools are normally among the top scorers for the state's MCAS testing. It should also be stated that while Babson College is often considered to be in Wellesley, it is technically in Babson Park and has its own ZIP code (02457).Wellesley opened its new Free Library building in 2003, which is part of the Minuteman Library Network.
Cuisine
Ming Tsai, famous chef and host of East Meets West on the Food Network, owns the restaurant Blue Ginger in Wellesley.Sports
Wellesley High School maintains the longest running Thanksgiving football game rivalry in the country with neighboring Needham High School. Wellesley is also home to the half-way point of the Boston Marathon.Historic District
The town designated Cottage Street and its nearby alleys as the Historic District in its zoning plan. Most houses in this district were built around the 1860s and qualify as protected buildings certified by the town's historic commission.Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 27.2 km² (10.5 mi²). 26.4 km² (10.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.8 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (2.96%) is water.Demographics
The Census Bureau has also defined the town as a census-designated place with an area exactly equivalent to the town. As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 26,613 people, 8,594 households, and 6,540 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,009.4/km² (2,614.1/mi²). There were 8,861 housing units at an average density of 336.1/km² (870.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 89.98% White, 6.35% Asian, 1.60% Black or African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from other races, and 1.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.32% of the population.There were 8,594 households out of which 39.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.2% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.9% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 13.9% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 77.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $113,686, and the median income for a family was $134,769. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $53,007 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $52,866. About 2.4% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 2.1% of those age 65 or over.
The town has a reputation of being a WASP and Irish-American stronghold. While this was once true, Wellesley's demographics have changed dramatically over the past 15 years.[[Citing sources citation needed]]
External links
- [Town of Wellesley]
- [Dana Hall School, Wellesley, Massachusetts]
- [The Wellesley Townsman]
- [The Swellesley Report]
- [Newcomers' Club of Wellesley]
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