Newton is a city in

Middlesex County, Massachusetts Middlesex County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,632,002, making it the most populous county in both Massachusetts and New England and the 22nd most populou ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is located roughly west of

Downtown Boston Downtown Boston is the central business district of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Boston was founded in 1630. The largest of the city's commercial districts, Downtown is the location of many corporate or regional headquarters; city, c ...

, and comprises a patchwork of thirteen villages. The city borders

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

to the northeast and southeast (via the neighborhoods of

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

and

West Roxbury West Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, bordered by Roslindale and Jamaica Plain to the northeast, the village of Chestnut Hill and the town of Brookline to the north, the city of Newton to the northwest, t ...

Brookline Brookline may refer to: Places in the United States * Brookline, Massachusetts, a town near Boston * Brookline, Missouri, a village * Brookline, New Hampshire, a town * Brookline (Pittsburgh), a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * Brookl ...

to the east, Watertown and Waltham to the north, and

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * W ...

, Wellesley, and Needham to the west. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population of Newton was 88,923. Newton is home to the

Charles River The Charles River (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ), sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles, is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, Hopkinton to Boston along a highly me ...

, Crystal Lake, and Heartbreak Hill, among other landmarks. It is served by several streets and highways (including Route 9,

Hammond Pond Parkway Hammond Pond Parkway is a historic parkway in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The road, built in 1932, extends from Hobart Road (at Beacon Street) in Newton to Horace James Circle in Brookline, where it joins the West Roxbury Parkway. It was de ...

, and the

Mass Pike The Massachusetts Turnpike (colloquially the "Mass Pike" or "the Pike") is a controlled-access toll road that runs concurrently with Interstate 90 (I-90) in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It the longest Interstate Highway in Massachus ...

), as well as the

Green Line D branch The Green Line D branch (also referred to as the Highland branch or Riverside Line) is a light rail line in Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Newton, and Somerville, Massachusetts, operating as part of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authorit ...

run by the MBTA. Historically, the area that is now Newton was settled in 1639, and was originally first part of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

(then called "the newe towne"). It split from Cambridge in 1681, and became known by its present name of Newton in 1766. It then became a city in 1874.

History

17th century

Newton was originally part of "the newe towne", which was settled in 1630 and renamed

in 1638. The first English settlement of what is now Newton began in 1639. Roxbury minister John Eliot persuaded the Native American people of Nonantum, a sub-tribe of the

Massachusett The Massachusett are a Native American tribe from the region in and around present-day Greater Boston in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name comes from the Massachusett language term for "At the Great Hill," referring to the Blue Hills ...

led by a

sachem Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Alg ...

named

Waban Waban ( – ) was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American of the Nipmuc group and was thought to be the first Native American convert to Christianity in Massachusetts. Early life and first contact with the English Little is known ...

, to relocate to

Natick Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part of the Greater Boston area. ...

in 1651, fearing that they would be exploited by colonists. Newton was incorporated as a separate

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

, known as Cambridge Village, on December 15, 1681, then renamed Newtown in 1691, and finally Newton in 1766. It became a city on January 5, 1874. Newton is known as ''The Garden City''. In the early 1600s, Watertown had claimed a large area of land on the south side of the Charles River (modern-day Newton). They gave it up to Newtown, except for a strip "two hundred rods long and sixty rods wide" to "protect their fishing privileges".

18th century

In ''

Reflections in Bullough's Pond ''Reflections in Bullough's Pond: Economy and Ecosystem in New England'' is a book by Diana Muir, published in 2000. ''Providence Journal'' called ''Bullough’s Pond'' "a masterpiece", and ''Publishers Weekly'' called it "lyrical". The Massachu ...

'', Newton historian

Diana Muir Diana Muir, also known as Diana Muir Appelbaum, is an American historian from Newton, Massachusetts, best known for her 2000 book, ''Reflections in Bullough's Pond'', a history of the impact of human activity on the New England ecosystem. Perso ...

describes the early industries that developed in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in a series of mills built to take advantage of the water power available at

Newton Upper Falls Newton Upper Falls is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Massachusetts, United States. The village is listed as the Newton Upper Falls Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. Geography The area ...

and

Newton Lower Falls Newton Lower Falls is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The commercial area extends across the Charles River into Wellesley, where it is known as Wellesley Lower Falls, whe ...

. Snuff, chocolate, glue, paper and other products were produced in these small mills but, according to Muir, the water power available in Newton was not sufficient to turn Newton into a manufacturing city, although it was, beginning in 1902, the home of the Stanley Motor Carriage Company, the maker of the

Stanley Steamer The Stanley Motor Carriage Company was an American manufacturer of steam cars that operated from 1902 to 1924, going defunct after it failed to adapt to competition from rapidly improving internal combustion engine vehicles. The cars made by t ...

19th century

Nineteenth-century Newton, following the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, was a patchwork of villages. The northern villages of Auburndale, Newton Corner, Newtonville, and West Newton were the most affluent. In contrast, both

and Chestnut Hill were sparsely populated. Several village-based "improvement societies" were founded by residents between 1878 and 1904. No citywide improvement society was ever founded. In 1889,

Moses King Moses King (April 13, 1853 – June 12, 1909) was an editor and publisher who produced guidebooks to travel destinations in the United States, including Massachusetts and New York. Biography King was born in Shoreditch, London, UK, to David Woo ...

published ''King's Handbook of Newton'', a descriptive guide to all of Newton's significant locations and historic structures along with anecdotes and stories from the locals at the time. The information was collected by its author and close associate of King,

Moses Forster Sweetser Moses Forster Sweetser (September 23, 1848 - 1897) authored travel books on the White Mountains (New Hampshire), White Mountains, Maine in 1880, Massachusetts (1889), and a handbook on the U.S. (1891). He also wrote several biographies on artist ...

. Newton, according to Muir, became one of North America's earliest commuter suburbs. The Boston and Worcester, one of North America's earliest railroads, reached West Newton in 1834. Wealthy Bostonian businessmen took advantage of the new commuting opportunity offered by the railroad, building gracious homes on erstwhile farmland of West Newton hill and on Commonwealth Street. Muir points out that these early commuters needed sufficient wealth to employ a groom and keep horses, to drive them from their hilltop homes to the station.

20th century

Further suburbanization came in waves. One wave began with the streetcar lines that made many parts of Newton accessible for commuters in the late nineteenth century. The next wave came in the 1920s when automobiles became affordable to a growing upper middle class. Even then, however, Oak Hill continued to be farmed, mostly market gardening, until the prosperity of the 1950s made all of Newton more densely settled.

21st century

Two of the hijackers of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

stayed in Newton the night before the attacks. The hijackers of American Airlines Flight 11 spent their last night in Newton's Park Inn, an economy motel across the street from the Chestnut Hill Mall and within walking distance of The Atrium. Runners starting uphill at Walnut St

Each April on

Patriots' Day Patriots' Day (Patriot's Day in Maine) is an annual event, formalized as a legal holiday or a special observance day in seven U.S. states, commemorating the battles of Lexington, Concord, and Menotomy, the inaugural battles of the America ...

, the

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...

is run through the city, entering from Wellesley on Route 16 (Washington Street) where runners encounter the first of the four infamous ''Newton Hills''. It then turns right onto Route 30 (Commonwealth Avenue) for the long haul into Boston. There are two more hills before reaching Centre Street, and then the fourth and most noted, Heartbreak Hill, rises shortly after Centre Street. Residents and visitors line the race route along Washington Street and Commonwealth Avenue to cheer on the runners.

Geography

Newton is a suburban city approximately from downtown Boston, in Middlesex County. It is also bordered by Waltham and Watertown on the north, Needham and the

neighborhood of Boston on the south, Wellesley and

on the west, and

and the

neighborhood of Boston on the east. The

flows along the north and west parts of Newton, and

Route 128 The following highways are numbered 128: Canada * New Brunswick Route 128 * Ontario Highway 128 (former) * Prince Edward Island Route 128 Costa Rica * National Route 128 (Costa Rica), National Route 128 India * National Highway 128 (India) Ja ...

passes through the western part of the city. The

passes through the more urbanized northern section of the city before heading into Boston. Additional major highways in Newton include Route 9, serving the southern parts of the city, and

, which is the main north–south route through Chestnut Hill and provides access to Brookline and West Roxbury. 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 city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.82%) is water.

Geological history

Geologically Newton is located within the topographic lowland of the Boston Basin of the

Appalachian Mountain The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

chain. This lowland is surrounded by a ring of highland

drumlin A drumlin, from the Irish word ("little ridge"), first recorded in 1833, in the classical sense is an elongated hill in the shape of an inverted spoon or half-buried egg formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated till or groun ...

s which were left after the last glaciation twelve thousand years ago. There are several unique outcroppings of rocks around Newton where geologic history revealing of how territory have formed and has changed over the past hundreds millions of years of drift supercontinents and ancient oceans, earthquake activity associated with volcanism and related faulting activity and changing climate. There are mainly three types of bedrock:

Roxbury Conglomerate The Roxbury Conglomerate, also informally known as Roxbury puddingstone, is a name for a rock formation that forms the bedrock underlying most of Roxbury, Massachusetts, now part of the city of Boston. The bedrock formation extends well beyond ...

, Cambridge Argillite or Slate, and Brighton Volcanics and the Mattapan Volcanics pre-Cambrian foundation of Dedham Granodiorite. The Boston Border Fault and the Shawmut anticline of Newton formed as the alpine mountains of east-central Massachusetts were created. Unique outcroppings rocks exposure has steadily declined as Newton area has become increasingly developed.

Topography

Newton has grown around a formation of seven hills. "The general features of Newton are not without interest. Seven principal elevations mark its surface, like the seven hills of ancient Rome, with the difference that the seven hills of Newton are much more distinct than the seven hills of Rome: Nonantum Hill,

Hill, Chestnut Hill, Bald Pate Hill, Oak Hill, Institution Hill and Mount Ida."

Villages

Rather than having a single city center, Newton is a patchwork of thirteen villages, many boasting small downtown areas of their own. The 13 villages are: Auburndale, Chestnut Hill, Newton Centre, Newton Corner, Newton Highlands,

(both on the

, and both former small industrial sites), Newtonville, Nonantum (also known as Silver Lake or "The Lake"), Oak Hill, Thompsonville,

and West Newton.

Oak Hill Park Oak Hill Park (OHP) is a residential subdivision located in the Oak Hill village of Newton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Oak Hill Park is shown as a separate and distinct village on some city maps, including a map dated 2012 on the official ...

is a place within the village of Oak Hill that itself is shown as a separate and distinct village on some

city map A city map is a large-scale thematic map of a city (or part of a city) created to enable the fastest possible orientation in an urban space. The graphic representation of objects on a city map is therefore usually greatly simplified, and reduce ...

s (including a map dated 2010 on the official City of Newton website), and Four Corners is also shown as a village on some city maps. Although most of the villages have a post office, they have no legal definition and no firmly defined borders. This village-based system often causes some confusion with addresses and for first-time visitors.

Climate

The record low temperature was in February 1934; the record high temperature was in August 1975.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 85,146 people, 32,648 households, and 20,499 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 32,112 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 79.6%

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 ...

, 11.5% Asian, 2.5%

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 ...

, 0.07% Native American, 0.03%

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 ...

, 0.71% from other races, and 1.46% 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 residents of any race were 4.1% of the population (0.7% Puerto Rican, 0.6%

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

, 0.4% Colombian, 0.3% Guatemalan, 0.3%

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

). (2010 Census Report: Census report Quickfacts.com) Newton, along with neighboring

, is known for its significant

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and Asian populations. The Jewish population was estimated to be 28,002. There were 31,201 households, out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.2% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. Of all households, 25.5% were made up of individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. As of the 2008 US Census, the average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.11. In the city, 21.2% of the population was under the age of 18, 10.3% was from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $107,696, and the median income for a family was $136,843. Males had a median income of $95,387 versus $60,520 for females. The per capita income for the city was $56,163. About 3.6% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.2% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over. As of 2015, 21.9% of the residents of Newton had been born outside of the United States.

Economy

Newton's largest employers include

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

and

Newton-Wellesley Hospital Newton-Wellesley Hospital (NWH) is a community teaching medical center located in Newton, Massachusetts on Washington Street. It is affiliated with Tufts University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School. Founded in 1881, part of its ca ...

. Companies based in Newton include

TechTarget TechTarget, Inc. (doing business as Informa TechTarget) is an American company that offers data-driven marketing services to business-to-business technology vendors. TechTarget, Inc. was founded in 1999; it is headquartered in Newton, Massachuse ...

CyberArk CyberArk Software Ltd. is an Israeli publicly traded information security company offering identity management. The company's technology is utilized primarily in the financial services, energy, retail, healthcare and government markets. CyberArk ...

and Upromise. Until July 2015, Newton was also home to the global headquarters of

TripAdvisor Tripadvisor is an American company that operates online travel agency, travel agencies, comparison shopping websites, and mobile apps with user-generated content. Its namesake brand, Tripadvisor.com, operates in 40 countries and 20 languages, and ...

, the world's largest travel site, reaching nearly 280 million unique monthly visitors. TripAdvisor moved into a newly built headquarters in neighboring Needham.

Income

Data is from the 2009–2013 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.

Arts and culture

The city is home to two symphony orchestras, the New Philharmonia Orchestra of Massachusetts and the Newton Symphony Orchestra. The

Joanne Langione Dance Center Founded in Newton, Massachusetts, in 1976, the Joanne Langione Dance Center was the first American youth dance school centered on a developmental and avocational model rather than a competitive one. Currently the dance center offers instruction ...

, an American youth dance school was founded in 1976.

Points of interest

* Crystal Lake is a natural lake located in Newton Centre. Its shores, mostly lined with private homes, also host two small parks, a designated swimming area, and a bathhouse. Previously known as Wiswall's Pond, it became known as Crystal Lake sometime between 1855 and 1875. The name was given by a nineteenth-century commercial ice harvester that sold ice cut from the pond in winter. * The Jackson Homestead, now the

Newton History Museum at the Jackson Homestead The Jackson Homestead, located at 527 Washington Street, in the village of Newton Corner, in Newton, Massachusetts, is an historic house that served as a station on the Underground Railroad before the Civil War. It was built in 1809 in the F ...

, is best known for its history as a stop on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

. It was built in 1809 as a farmhouse designed in the

Federal style Federal-style architecture is the name for the classical architecture built in the United States following the American Revolution between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was influenced heavily by the works of And ...

, and is now a museum with paintings, costumes, photographs, manuscripts, maps and historical artifacts. * Heartbreak Hill, notably challenging stretch of the Boston Marathon, on Commonwealth Avenue between Centre Street and Boston College. * Newton is home to many exclusive golf courses such as Woodland Country Club, Charles River Country Club, and Brae Burn Country Club, which held the United States Open in 1919. * City Stable and Garage, historic building * The

John A. Fenno House The John A. Fenno House is a historic house at 171 Lowell Avenue in Newton, Massachusetts. The -story wood-frame house was built c. 1854, and is a rare local example of Gothic Revival styling. It has an L-shaped plan with steeply gabled roof, ...

is a historic house at 171 Lowell Avenue, built , and a rare local example of Gothic Revival styling. * The

House at 173–175 Ward Street The house at 173–175 Ward Street in Newton, Massachusetts is one of the city's few federal style houses. Built c. 1800, it is a -story wood-frame structure with clapboard siding and twin rear wall chimneys. The house has a five-bay facade wit ...

is one of the city's few Federal style houses, built *

Echo Bridge Echo Bridge is a historic masonry bridge spanning the Charles River between Needham to Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts, and Ellis Street in Newton. The bridge carries the Sudbury Aqueduct and foot traffic, and is located in the Hemlock G ...

is a notable 19th-century masonry arch bridge with views of the river and Hemlock Gorge in

Hemlock Gorge Reservation Hemlock Gorge Reservation is a state-owned, public recreation area and urban wild comprising on the Charles River in Newton and Needham, Massachusetts. The reservation is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. ...

just off Route 9 in Newton Upper Falls. *

Norumbega Park Norumbega Park was a recreation area and amusement park located in "Auburndale, Massachusetts, Auburndale-on-the-Charles" near Boston, Massachusetts. The associated Totem Pole Ballroom became a well-known dancing and entertainment venue for big ...

was located in Auburndale on the Charles River. Opening in 1897 as a

trolley park In the United States, trolley parks, which started in the 19th century, were picnic and recreation areas along or at the ends of streetcar lines in most of the larger cities. These were precursors to amusement parks. Trolley parks were often cre ...

, it was a popular

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

through the 1950s before closing in 1963. Its Totem Pole Ballroom became a well-known dancing and entertainment venue for

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

s touring during the 1940s as well as other famous performers such as

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

Eydie Gorme Eydie may refer to: * Eydie Gormé (1928–2013), American singer. * Steve and Eydie, an American pop vocal duet, * Eydie Whittington, a Democratic politician in Washington, D.C. * The World Of Steve & Eydie, a 1972 album released by Steve Lawrenc ...

and

The Four Lads The Four Lads were a Irish male singing quartet that earned many gold singles and albums in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Their million-selling signature tunes include " Moments to Remember"; " Standing on the Corner"; " No, Not Much"; " Who Ne ...

. The park is now a popular dog-walking site with hills, meadows, woods, and access to the river. * Auburndale Cove is a multipurpose picnic and recreational area on the Charles River just down the walking path from Norumbega Park. *

Chestnut Hill Reservoir Chestnut Hill Reservoir is a reservoir located in the Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, Chestnut Hill section of Boston, Massachusetts. It was created in 1870 on existing marshes and meadowland to supplement the city’s water needs. A 1.56 mile jogg ...

is a very popular park with residents of Newton, Brookline, and the Brighton section of Boston. Although completely within the Boston city limits, it is directly contiguous to the Newton city limits. Designed by

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, Social criticism, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the U ...

, the designer of Central Park in New York City and the Emerald Necklace in Boston, the park offers beautiful views of the Boston skyline, and is framed by stately homes and the campus of Boston College. Although not generally used to supply water to Boston, the reservoir was temporarily brought back online on May 1, 2010, during a failure of a connecting pipe at the end of the MetroWest Water Supply Tunnel. * Bullough's Pond is an old mill pond transformed into a landscape feature when Newton became a suburban community in the late nineteenth century. It has been the subject of two books, ''Reflections in Bullough's Pond: Economy and Ecosystem in New England,'' by

, and ''Once Around Bullough's Pond: A Native American Epic,'' by Douglas Worth. It was long maintained by the city as an ice skating venue, but skating is no longer allowed. A scene from the 2008 remake of '' The Women'' was filmed there. * The city of Newton has designated several roads in the city as "scenic". Along with this designation come regulations aimed at curbing tree removal and trimming along the roads, as well as stemming the removal of historic stone walls. The city designated the following as scenic roads: Hobart Rd., Waban Ave., Sumner St., Chestnut St., Concord St., Dudley Rd., Fuller St., Hammond St., Valentine St., Lake Ave., Highland St., and Brookside Ave. * The

United Parish of Auburndale United Parish of Auburndale, formerly the Auburndale Congregational Church, is a historic church at 64 Hancock Street in the Auburndale village of Newton, Massachusetts. Built in 1857 for an 1850 congregation and repeatedly enlarged, it is a p ...

, constructed in 1857, oldest wooden church building in Newton. * The First Baptist Church in Newton Centre, constructed in 1888, was designed by

John Lyman Faxon John Lyman Faxon (1851–1918) was an American architect practicing in Boston, Massachusetts, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Three of his buildings, the First Baptist Church in Newton (Massachusetts), First Baptist Chur ...

in the

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a architectural style, style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revivalism (architecture), revival style incorporates 11th- and 12th-century ...

style pioneered by architect

Henry Hobson Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...

. * The

WHDH-TV tower The WHDH-TV tower is a free-standing lattice tower with a triangular cross section located in the Newton Upper Falls section of Newton, Massachusetts. It was built in 1960 by RKO General and is currently owned by Sunbeam Television, which uses ...

is one of the tallest free-standing lattice towers in the United States. *

Boston College Law School Boston College Law School (BC Law) is the law school of Boston College, a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. It is situated on a campus in Newton, Massachusetts, about from the university's main campus in Chestn ...

is a 40-acre private

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

research university in Chestnut Hill.

Government

City

Newton has an elected strong mayor-council form of government. The council is called the City Council. The mayor is Ruthanne Fuller. Fuller is the first woman to be elected Mayor of Newton. The elected officials are: *Mayor: Ruthanne Fuller, the city's chief executive officer and appoints the Chief Administrative Officer. *The City Council, Newton's legislative branch of municipal government, is made up of 24 members – sixteen Councilors-at-large and eight Ward Councilors. Councilors are elected every two years. As of November 2023, the makeup of the City Council is: Newton's school committee decides policies and budget for Newton Public Schools. It has nine voting members, consisting of the Mayor of Newton and eight at-large Ward representatives, who are elected.

County

Mismanagement of Middlesex County's public hospital in the mid-1990s left the county on the brink of insolvency, and in 1997 the Massachusetts legislature stepped in by assuming all assets and obligations of the county. The government of Middlesex County was officially abolished on July 11, 1997. The sheriff and some other regional officials with specific duties are still elected locally to perform duties within the county region, but there is no county council or commission. However, communities are now granted the right to form their own regional compacts for sharing services. These are the remaining elected officers for Middlesex County: *Clerk of Courts:

Michael A. Sullivan Michael Sullivan (or variants) may refer to: Politicians * Michael Sullivan (U.S. attorney) (born 1954), former Boston-based federal prosecutor and acting ATF Director * Michael Sullivan (Canadian senator) (1838–1915), Canadian senator * Michae ...

*County Treasurer: Position eliminated *District Attorney:

Marian T. Ryan Marian T. Ryan is the District Attorney (DA) of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. She was the Commonwealth's only female District Attorney from 2013 to 2018. As of 2012, she is one of two, including Andrea Harrington, Berkshire Coun ...

*Register of Deeds: Maria C. Curtatone *Register of Probate: Tara E. DeCristofaro *County Sheriff: Peter J. Koutoujian Jr.

State

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

: * John J. Lawn, Democrat of Watertown: Tenth Middlesex District, includes Precincts 1 and 4 of Ward 1, Newton. *

Kay Khan Kay Khan (born June 22, 1941) is an American politician and a Democratic member serving in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. She has represented the City of Newton in the Massachusetts House of Representatives since 1995. In 2024, she ...

, Democrat of Newton: Eleventh Middlesex District, includes precincts 2 and 3 of Ward 1, All precincts in Wards 2, 3 and 4 and precinct 2 of Ward 7, Newton. *

Ruth Balser Ruth B. Balser (born October 30, 1948) is an American state legislator serving in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. She is a Newton resident and a member of the Democratic Party. Balser received her bachelor's degree at the University ...

Democrat of Newton: Twelfth Middlesex District, includes all precincts in Wards 5 and 6, precincts 1, 3 and 4 of Ward 7; and all precincts in Ward 8, Newton.

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

: * Cynthia Stone Creem, Democrat of Newton: 1st Middlesex District and Norfolk, since 1998.

Federal

Congress * House of Representatives: Massachusetts's 4th congressional district:

Jake Auchincloss Jacob Daniel Auchincloss ( ; born January 29, 1988) is an American politician, businessman, and military officer serving as the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 4th congressional district since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, h ...

, Democrat * Senate:

Ed Markey Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of ...

, Democrat * Senate:

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren (née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A mem ...

, Democrat

Education

Public schools

Public education is provided by

Newton Public Schools Newton Public Schools is a school district in Newton, Massachusetts, United States. The district features four middle schools that lead into two high schools. Schools The Newton Public Schools are organized into an elementary school (K–5), ...

Elementary

* Angier Elementary School * Bowen Elementary School * Burr Elementary School * Cabot Elementary School * Countryside Elementary School * Franklin Elementary School * Horace Mann Elementary School * Lincoln Eliot Elementary School * Mason Rice Elementary School * Memorial Spaulding Elementary School * Peirce Elementary School * Underwood Elementary School * Ward Elementary School * Williams Elementary School * Zervas Elementary School

Middle schools

* Bigelow Middle School * Brown Middle School * Oak Hill Middle School * F.A. Day Middle School

High schools

Newton North High School Newton North High School, formerly Newton High School, is the larger and longer-established of two public high schools in Newton, Massachusetts, United States, the other being Newton South High School. It is located in the village of Newtonvill ...

Newton South High School Newton South High School is one of two public high schools in the city of Newton, Massachusetts, United States, the other being Newton North. History and student life By the late 1950s, Newton's sole public high school, Newton High, grew to 3 ...

Private schools

Fessenden School The Fessenden School is an independent day (Pre-K – Grade 9) and boarding school (Grades 6 – 9) for boys, founded in 1903 by Frederick J. Fessenden as a school for the intellectually gifted, and located at 250 Waltham Street, West Newton ...

is a K–9 day and 5–9 boarding school for boys. * Jackson School is a private, Catholic elementary school sponsored by the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Boston. *

Newton Country Day School Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart (often abbreviated to Newton Country Day School, Newton, or NCDS) is a private, all-girls Roman Catholic high school and middle school located on the Loren Towle Estate in Newton, Massachusetts, a ...

* Schechter Boston is a K–8 Conservative Jewish day school. * Wellan Montessori (formerly Newton Montessori School) is a K–8 private school. *

Mount Alvernia High School Mount Alvernia High School (MAHS) was a private all-girls Roman Catholic high school in Newton, Massachusetts. The school is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. On March 8, 2023, it was announced that the high school would be closi ...

is a private girls' school for grades 7–12. * Mount Alvernia Academy is an independent Catholic School for preschool through grade 6.

Higher education

Colleges and universities located in Newton include: *

in Chestnut Hill *

in Newton Centre *

Hebrew College Hebrew College is a private college of Jewish studies in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. Founded in 1921, the college conducts Jewish scholarship in a pluralistic, trans-denominational academic environment. Its president is Rabbi Sharon Cohen ...

in Newton Centre *

Lasell University Lasell University (LU) is a private university in Newton, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1851 as a women's seminary. It became a college in 1932, a four-year institution in 1989, coeducational in 1997, and a university proper in ...

in Auburndale * Mount Ida Campus of UMass Amherst in Oak Hill, formerly the site of

Mount Ida College Mount Ida College was a private college in Newton, Massachusetts. Its campus is now part of the University of Massachusetts Amherst In 2018, the University of Massachusetts Amherst acquired the campus and renamed it the Mount Ida Campus of UMas ...

William James College William James College, formerly Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology (MSPP), is a private university focused on psychology and located in Newton, Massachusetts, United States. It enrolls more than 750 students and offers graduate ac ...

in Oak Hill, formerly Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology

Former colleges

Newton Junior College

Newton Junior College, operated by the Newton Public Schools, opened in 1946 to serve the needs of returning

veterans A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

who otherwise would not have been able to continue their education due to the overcrowding of colleges and universities at that time. It used the facilities of Newton High School (now

) until its own adjacent campus was built. It closed in 1976 due to declining enrollment and increased costs. The availability of such places as

UMass Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a public US-based research university. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus University of Massachusetts system. ...

contributed to its demise. According to the city, its former campus is now "Claflin Park," a 25-unit multi-family development.

Others

Other former colleges include Aquinas College (1961–1999), Mount Alvernia College (1959–1973),

(1899–2018), and

Newton College of the Sacred Heart Newton College of the Sacred Heart was a small Women's college, women's liberal arts college in Newton Centre, Massachusetts, Newton Centre, Massachusetts. It opened in and merged with Boston College in . The college was highly regarded during ...

(1946–1975).

Andover Newton Theological School Andover Newton Theological School (ANTS) was a graduate school and seminary in Newton, Massachusetts, affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA and the United Church of Christ. It was the product of a merger between Andover Theological ...

relocated to New Haven, Connecticut (1807–2017).

Media

News

The city's community newspaper '' The Newton TAB'', a weekly print paper published by the

Community Newspaper Company Community Newspaper Company, or CNC, was the largest publisher of weekly newspapers in eastern Massachusetts in the 1990s and first decade of the 21st century. It also published several daily newspapers in Greater Boston. The company's proper ...

, and owned by Gatehouse Media, ceased print publication in May 2022. The Newton Patch covers daily local news out of Newton and offers a platform for locals to post opinion, events, news tips and blogs on the community online platform as well. ''The Newton Voice.'' The Newton community is also served by its high school publications, including

's ''Newtonite'' and

's ''Lion's Roar'' and ''Denebola''. Fig City News is a free, online community news resource founded by resident volunteers to cover local news and community events in Newton. ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' occasionally covers Newton.

Television

Residents of Newton have access to a state-of-the-art television studio and community media center, NewTV, located at 23 Needham Street in Newton Highlands. Newton is also home to

NECN New England Cable News (NECN) is a regional 24-hour cable news television network owned and operated by NBCUniversal (as part of the NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations division, both ultimately owned by Comcast) serving the New England reg ...

, a regional news network owned by

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

Radio

From 1968 to 2017, the studios and transmitter of WNTN AM-1550 were on Rumford Avenue in Auburndale.

Infrastructure

Hospital

is located at 2014 Washington Street in Newton. '' U.S. News & World Report'' ranks the hospital 13th best in the Boston metro area.

Transportation

Newton is well-served by three modes of mass transit run by the

MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

, and bus service. The

, (also known as the Riverside branch) is a light rail line running through the center of the city that makes very frequent trips to downtown Boston, ranging from 10 to 30 minutes away, terminating in

. The

Green Line B branch The B branch, also called the Commonwealth Avenue branch or Boston College branch, is a branch of the MBTA Green Line (MBTA), Green Line light rail system which operates on Commonwealth Avenue (Boston), Commonwealth Avenue west of downtown Bosto ...

ends across from

on Commonwealth Avenue, virtually at the border of Boston's

neighborhood and the City of Newton (an area which encompasses an unincorporated suburban village referred to as Chestnut Hill). The MBTA Worcester commuter rail, serving the northern villages of Newton that are proximate to Waltham, offers less frequent service to Boston. It runs from every half-an-hour during peak times to every couple of hours otherwise. The northern villages are also served by frequent express buses that go to downtown Boston via the

Massachusetts Turnpike The Massachusetts Turnpike (colloquially the "Mass Pike" or "the Pike") is a controlled-access toll road that runs concurrently with Interstate 90 (I-90) in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It the longest Interstate Highway in Massachu ...

as well as Waltham. Newton Centre, which is centered around the MBTA station of the same name, has been lauded as an example of

transit-oriented development In urban planning, transit-oriented development (TOD) is a type of Real estate development, urban development that maximizes the amount of Residential area, residential, business and leisure space within Pedestrian, walking distance of public t ...

. The

(

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

), which basically follows the old

Boston and Albany Railroad The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail, and CSX Transportation. The mainline is currently used by CSX for freight a ...

main line right-of-way, runs east and west through Newton, while

(

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

) slices through the extreme western part of the city in the Lower Falls area. Route 30 (Commonwealth Avenue), Route 16 (Watertown Street west to West Newton, where it follows Washington Street west) and route 9 (Worcester Turnpike or Boylston Street) also run east and west through the city. Another major Boston (and Brookline) street,

Beacon Street Beacon Street is a major east–west street in Boston, Massachusetts, and its western suburbs of Brookline, Massachusetts, Brookline and Newton, Massachusetts, Newton. It passes through many of Boston's central and western neighborhoods, includ ...

, runs west from the Boston city line to Washington Street west of the hospital, where it terminates at Washington Street. There are no major north–south roads through Newton: every north–south street in Newton terminates within Newton at one end or the other. The only possible exception is Needham Street, which is north–south at the border between Newton and Needham, but it turns east and becomes Dedham Street, and when it reaches the Boston border, it goes south-east. There are some north–south streets that are important to intra-Newton traveling. Centre Street runs south from the Watertown town line to Newton Highlands, where it becomes Winchester Street and terminates at Nahanton Street. Walnut Street runs south from Newtonville, where it starts at Crafts Street, down to Newton Highlands, where it ends at Dedham Street.

Public safety

The City of Newton Police Department has 139 sworn officers. The Newton Fire Department is fully paid and operates six engine companies, three ladder companies, and one rescue company from six stations.

Notable people

Cemeteries

East Parish Burying Ground East Parish Burying Ground, also known as Centre Street Burying Ground or Centre Street Cemetery, is an historic cemetery located at Centre and Cotton streets in the village of Newton Corner in the city of Newton, Massachusetts. On December 23 ...

, called ''Centre Street Cemetery'' by the city, dates from 1664 *

West Parish Burying Ground The West Parish Burying Ground, also known as the River Street Burying Ground or River Street Cemetery, is a cemetery located at River and Cherry streets in West Newton, Massachusetts, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. ...

(River Street Cemetery), West Newton, public * St. Mary's Episcopal Church and Cemetery, 258 Concord Avenue, Newton Lower Falls, private * South Burying Ground called ''Winchester Street Cemetery'' or ''Evergreen Cemetery'' by the city, public * Newton Cemetery & Arboretum, Newton Center, public

In popular culture

* The

Fig Newton Newtons are a Nabisco-trademarked version of a cookie filled with sweet fruit paste. Fig Newtons are the most popular variety. They are produced by an extrusion process. Their distinctive shape is a characteristic that has been adopted by compe ...

cookie is named after the city. In 1991, Newton and

Nabisco Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International. Nabisco' ...

hosted a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Fig Newton. A Fig Newton was served, and singer and guitarist

Juice Newton Juice Newton (born Judith Kay Newton; February 18, 1952) is an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Newton has received five Grammy Award nominations in the Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist categorieswinning once in 198 ...

performed * Several scenes from the 1994 film ''

The Next Karate Kid ''The Next Karate Kid'' is a 1994 American martial arts drama film directed by Christopher Cain, produced by Jerry Weintraub, and written by Mark Lee. It serves as the fourth installment in the ''Karate Kid'' franchise and serves as a standalon ...

'' were filmed in Newton, including the house of the protagonist, who was played by

Hilary Swank Hilary Ann Swank (born July 30, 1974) is an American actress and film producer. She first became known in 1992 for her role on the television series '' Camp Wilder'' and made her film debut with a minor role in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (19 ...

* William Landay's 2012 crime-drama novel ''

Defending Jacob ''Defending Jacob'' is an American crime drama novel written by novelist William Landay. The book was published in January 2012 by Random House. It tells the story of a father dealing with the accusation that his 14-year-old son is a murderer. ...

'' is set in Newton. The web television miniseries adaptation of the novel, starring Chris Evans as main character Andy Barber, was filmed in various locations of the city * A portion of crime drama film '' Patriots Day'', based on the events of the

Boston Marathon bombing The Boston Marathon bombing, sometimes referred to as simply the Boston bombing, was an Islamist domestic terrorist attack that took place during the 117th annual Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. Brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarna ...

, was filmed at Lasell College in Newton on May 18, 2016 * Principal photography of the comedy film ''

Sex Tape Amateur pornography is a category of pornography that features models, actors or non-professionals performing without pay, or actors for whom this material is not their only paid modeling work. Reality pornography is professionally made pornogra ...

'', starring

Cameron Diaz Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress. Prolific in both comedy and drama, Cameron Diaz filmography, her films have grossed over $3 billion in the U.S. box-office. Her output of romantic comedies in the late 1990s a ...

and

Jason Segel Jason Jordan Segel ( ; born January 18, 1980) is an American actor and writer. He is best known for his role as Marshall Eriksen in the CBS sitcom ''How I Met Your Mother'' from 2005 to 2014. He began his career with director and producer Judd ...

, took place in Newton on September 12, 2013 * A scene from the 2008 remake of ''The Women'' was filmed on the banks of Bulloughs Pond. The setting was used as the backdrop of a New York suburban town.

Sister cities

Newton is currently twinned with: * San Donato Val di Comino,

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

, Italy *

San Juan del Sur San Juan del Sur is a municipality and coastal town on the Pacific Ocean, in the Rivas department in southwest Nicaragua. It is located south of Managua. San Juan del Sur is popular among surfers and is a vacation spot for many Nicaraguan fam ...

, Nicaragua

References

External links

*
Newton/Needham Chamber of Commerce
{{Authority control 1630 establishments in the Massachusetts Bay Colony Charles River Cities in Massachusetts Cities in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Jewish communities in the United States Populated places established in 1630 Streetcar suburbs