Shirley is a town in Middlesex County,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, United States. It is approximately thirty miles west-northwest of

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 ...

. The population was 7,431 at the 2020 census. The town has a well-preserved historic New England town center. It is home to the

Massachusetts Correctional Institution – Shirley Massachusetts Correctional Institution – Shirley is a medium-security state prison in Shirley, Massachusetts. The facility also contains a minimum-security section which houses less dangerous prisoners. MCI-Shirley maintains 13 inmate housin ...

, a medium-security state prison. (The neighboring maximum-security

Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center (SBCC) is a supermax security prison in Lancaster, Massachusetts (though it receives mail through a post-office box in the town of Shirley). It is operated by the Massachusetts Department of Correction. It is ...

lies just outside the town limits in the town of

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

.) The remains of a

Shaker Shaker or Shakers may refer to: Religious groups * Shakers, a historically significant Christian sect * Indian Shakers, a smaller Christian denomination Objects and instruments * Shaker (musical instrument), an indirect struck idiophone * Cock ...

village have been preserved within the grounds of the prison.

History

The inhabitants at the time of European encounter were

Nipmuc The Nipmuc or Nipmuck people are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who historically spoke an Eastern Algonquian languages, Eastern Algonquian language, probably the Loup language. Their historic territory Nippenet, meaning 'the f ...

(or

Pennacook The Pennacook, also known by the names Penacook and Pennacock, were Algonquian Indigenous people who lived in what is now Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and southern Maine. They were not a united tribe but a network of politically and culturally ...

) Indians, who called the area ''Catacunemaug''. Once part of "The Plantation of Groton," Shirley was first settled by English pioneers about 1720. In 1753 it separated from Groton and was incorporated, named in honor of

William Shirley William Shirley (2 December 1694 – 24 March 1771) was a British colonial administrator who served as the governor of the British American colonies of Massachusetts Bay and the Bahamas. He is best known for his role in organizing the succ ...

, governor of

(1741–1757). The town established a paper mill around 1790, and the first of seven cotton mills in 1812. Other local products included iron, nails, textiles,

rope A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger ...

, belts, suspenders, and athletic equipment. Two of the large 19th-century mill buildings have been subdivided and adapted for use by 21st-century businesses. A

utopian A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', which describes a fictional island soci ...

religious community,

Shirley Shaker Village Shirley Shaker Village is a historic former Shaker community in Lancaster and Shirley, Massachusetts. Defined as an historic district, it includes about half of the original buildings and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. ...

, was established in Shirley in 1793. The

Shakers The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers, are a Millenarianism, millenarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian sect founded in England and then organized in the Unit ...

advocated pacifism, common property, celibacy, and communal living. They are renowned for their plain architecture and furniture. The Shaker movement peaked in the 1840s, but gradually dwindled, perhaps because of greater employment opportunities offered by the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

, or because succeeding generations grew less tolerant of the Shaker church's insistence on self-abnegation. Shirley Shaker Village closed in 1908. A medium-security state prison was built on land surrounding the remains of the Shaker village in Shirley, and continues to operate. The town also operates a Senior Center located at 9 Parker Road, which previously was a preschool/kindergarten.

Geography

The town has a total area of 15.9 square miles (41.2 km), of which 15.8 square miles (41.0 km) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.2 km) (0.50%) is water. It is bounded by the Squannacook and Nashua rivers and contains Mulpus Brook and Catecunemaug Brook. Significant wetlands are Spruce Swamp (drained by Spruce Swamp Brook) and Tophet Swamp.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,373 people, 2,067 households, and 1,426 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 2,156 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 83.90%

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 ...

, 6.72%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 0.47% Native American, 2.10% Asian, 0.08%

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 ...

, 5.12% from other races, and 1.62% 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 6.86% of the population. There were 2,067 households, out of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.2% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. Of all households, 25.4% were made up of individuals, and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.09. In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.7% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 39.2% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 137.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 151.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $53,344, and the median income for a family was $66,250. Males had a median income of $42,078 versus $32,130 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,556. About 1.9% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.1% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

* Lura A. White Elementary School * Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School * Ayer Shirley Regional High School * A new regional school system shared with the neighboring Town of Ayer officially launched in 2011

Parks

* Benjamin Hill Recreation Area * Fredonian Nature Center * Whitley Park * Farandnear Reservation

Points of interest

* Shirley Historical Society Museum *

, a medium/minimum security state prison. * Shirley Senior Center * Shirley Meeting House * Storybook Cottage. Stan Jurga writes, "Storybook Cottage is the creation of my father-in-law, Dave Holden. Dave purchase the property quite a few years back from his relatives and began the renovation. At the time we had Tom Fleming, an exceptional artist renting space from us in the President building. Dave befriended Tom and commissioned him to create the storybook figures and signs on the building. Dave and Tom are no longer with us but what they left behind still brings lots of joy to many. Storybook is private property currently owned by my wife Carol and her two brothers and sister." * Hazen Memorial Library

Transportation

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 ...

service from

Boston's Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...

North Station North Station is a commuter rail and intercity rail terminal station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is served by four MBTA Commuter Rail lines – the Fitchburg Line, Haverhill Line, Lowell Line, and Newburyport/Rockport Line – and the Amtr ...

is provided 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 ...

with a stop in Shirley on its

Fitchburg Line The Fitchburg Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system which runs from Boston's North Station to Wachusett station in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The line is along the tracks of the former Fitchburg Railroad, which was built across nort ...

. The

Montachusett Regional Transit Authority The Montachusett Regional Transit Authority (MART) is a public, nonprofit organization established under Chapter 161B of the Massachusetts General Laws to provide public transportation to the Montachusett Region. MART is one of Massachusetts' 1 ...

(MART) supplies Councils-On-Aging service for elderly and disabled residents.

Media

Newspapers

* ''Nashoba Valley Voice'' (previously Shirley Oracle) * '' Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise'' * ''

The Lowell Sun ''The Sun'', also known as ''The Lowell Sun'', is a daily newspaper based in Lowell, Massachusetts, Lowell, Massachusetts, United States, serving towns in Massachusetts around the Greater Lowell area and beyond. As of 2011, its average daily cir ...

'' * ''

Worcester Telegram & Gazette The ''Telegram & Gazette'' (and ''Sunday Telegram'') is the only daily newspaper of Worcester, Massachusetts. The paper, headquartered at 100 Front Street and known locally as ''the Telegram'' or the ''T & G'', offers coverage of all of Worces ...

''''Telegram & Gazette''
. Retrieved March 24, 2014. * ''The Shirley Volunteer'' (no longer published)

Cable

* Shirley Public Access Corporation

Notable people

* Simon Atherton, Shaker * Clara Bancroft Beatley, educator, lecturer and author *

Oliver Holden Oliver Holden (September 18, 1765 – September 4, 1844) was an American composer and compiler of hymns. Biography He was born in Shirley, Massachusetts. During the American Revolutionary War, he was a marine for a year (1782–1783) on the USS ...

, hymn writer *

Benton MacKaye Benton MacKaye ( ; March 6, 1879 – December 11, 1975) was an American forester, planner and conservationist. He was born in Stamford, Connecticut; his father was actor and dramatist Steele MacKaye. After studying forestry at Harvard Unive ...

, forester who proposed the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...

* Sarah Carter Edgarton Mayo, writer and editor * Daniel Parker, inspector general, adjutant general and postmaster general *

Earl Tupper Earl Silas Tupper (July 28, 1907 – October 3, 1983) was an American businessman and inventor, best known as the inventor of Tupperware, an airtight plastic container for storing food, and for founding the related home products company that bear ...

, founder of

Tupperware Tupperware is an American company that manufactures and internationally distributes preparation, storage, and serving containers for the kitchen and home. It was founded in 1942 by Earl Tupper, who developed his first bell-shaped container and ...

company * Jerry White, former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player

Citations

General and cited references

* The source for Shirley's coordinates is The 1990 Gazetteer was consulted and the value given for the zip code 01464 was used: 42.558653 N, 71.646444 W.

External links

Town of Shirley official website

Massachusetts official website – Town of Shirley
{{authority control Towns in Massachusetts Towns in Middlesex County, Massachusetts