Holden is a town in

Worcester County, Massachusetts Worcester County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 862,111, making it the second-most populous county in Massachusetts. Being 1,510.6 ...

, United States. The town was founded in 1741, and the Town Square (Center, Common) was donated by

John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot of the American Revolution. He was the longest-serving Presi ...

, former Governor of Massachusetts. The population was 19,905 at the 2020 census. It includes the

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

of Jefferson.

History

Holden was named for

Samuel Holden Samuel Holden (1675–1740) was an English merchant, politician, and nonconformist activist. Life The son of Joseph Holden by his second wife Priscilla Watt, he was employed when still young by the Russia Company at Riga. He became a successful ...

, a director of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 3.40%, is water. The landscape is compiled of hills and rivers, including the Quinapoxet. Holden is bounded on the west by

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

, on the northwest by

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

, on the east by Sterling and West Boylston, on the southeast by

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

, and on the southwest by Paxton.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2020, there were 19,905 people, 7,251 households, and 5,457 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 7,439 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 87.71%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.09%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.15% Native American, 3.49% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.36% from other races, and 5.19% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 4.17% of the population. There were 7,251 households, out of which 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.4% had a male householder with no spouse present, 21.1% had a female householder with no spouse present, and 24.7% were non-families. 20.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.18. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.0% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 22.4% from 25 to 44, 28.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $111,960, and the median income for a family was $131,744. Males had a median income of $77,926 versus $48,578 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $49,245. About 2.9% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 3.7% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

Government

1891 Holden public library Massachusetts

Education

Schools

Holden is part of the five-town Wachusett Regional School District that includes the neighboring towns of Paxton,

, and Sterling. The towns share the newly renovated Wachusett Regional High School. Wachusett was the first regional school district in Massachusetts. Holden has three elementary schools: Davis Hill Elementary, Dr. Leroy E. Mayo Elementary, and Dawson Elementary. The town is served by Mountview Middle School for grades 6–8 which was newly built in 2016. High school students may choose to attend Wachusett Regional High School in Holden or Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School ("Monty Tech") in Fitchburg. Holden also serves as the hometown for Holden Christian Academy, a PS–8 private Christian school.

Library

The Holden public library first opened in 1888. In fiscal year 2008, the town of Holden spent 1.99% ($679,756) of its budget on its public library—approximately $40 per person, per year.July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008; cf. The FY2008 Municipal Pie: What's Your Share? Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Board of Library Commissioners. Boston: 2009. Available
Municipal Pie Reports
Retrieved August 4, 2010

Points of interest

Alden Research Laboratory Alden Research Laboratory, Inc. (Alden) (Holden, Massachusetts) was founded in 1894 as part of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). It is the oldest continuously operating hydraulic laboratory in the United States.The Role of Contributions of Hy ...

* Steel rotating boom, for testing of hydraulic meters, an ASME historic landmark

Notable people

* Dan Colman, professional poker player, the winner of $40,000,000

Big One for One Drop The Big One for One Drop is a $1,000,000 buy-in No Limit Texas Hold 'em poker tournament hosted first in 2012, and for its first four editions, with the World Series of Poker (WSOP). It became the highest buy-in poker tournament in history as wel ...

Lewis Evangelidis Lewis George Evangelidis (born 1961) is the sheriff of Worcester County, Massachusetts and a former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Early life and education Evangelidis was born in Worcester, Massachusetts to Judith C., and ...

, Worcester County sheriff and former MA state representative * Ron Hallstrom, NFL football player for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

and

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

Matthew Quick Matthew Quick (born October 23, 1973) is an American writer of adult and young adult fiction. His 2008 debut novel, '' The Silver Linings Playbook'', became a New York Times bestseller and was adapted as a 2012 movie of the same name starrin ...

, author of ''The Silver Linings Playbook'' and Boy 21 * Fran Quinn, professional golfer * Tyler Rand, American arts executive * Bruce Taylor, former pitcher for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

References

External links

Town of Holden official website

Holden page on NeighborhoodScout
{{authority control Towns in Worcester County, Massachusetts Populated places established in 1741 1741 establishments in the Province of Massachusetts Bay Towns in Massachusetts