Westwood is a town in
Norfolk County,
, United States. The population was 16,266 at the time of the
2020 United States Census
The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
.
History
Westwood was first settled in 1641 and was part of the town of
Dedham, originally called 'West Dedham', until it was officially incorporated in 1897. It was the last town to split from the original town of Dedham. From early in the settlement of Dedham, the people of the Clapboard Trees Precinct were "a wealthy, sophisticated lot, familiar with the bigwigs of provincial politics and prone to the religious liberalism that was à la mode in Boston." Residents did not care for the politically more powerful Calvinist views of those who lived in the village of Dedham and asked to separate.
It was originally to have been named the "Town of Nahatan:"
In July 2005
CNN/Money and ''Money'' magazineranked Westwood 13th on its list of the 100 Best Places to Live in the United States.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it (1.35%) is water.
Adjacent towns
Westwood is located in eastern Massachusetts, bordered by:
* the town of
Needham to the north
* the town of
Dedham to the east
* the town of
Canton to the southeast
* the town of
Norwood to the south
* the town of
Walpole to the southwest
* the town of
Dover
Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
to the west
Demographics
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 14,117 people, 5,122 households and 3,867 families residing in the town. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 1,286.7 people per square mile (496.9/km). There were 5,251 housing units at an average density of 478.6/sq mi (184.8/km). The racial makeup of the town was 95.98%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 0.50%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.04%
Native American, 2.48%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.21% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 0.79% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 0.94% of the population.
There were 5,122 households, out of which 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.1% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were non-families. 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.24.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.8% under the age of 18, 3.4% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $128,984, and the median income for a family was $157,656. Males had a median income of $71,801 versus $46,194 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the town was $71,553. About 1.3% of families and 2.5% 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 t ...
, including 1.5% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.
Government
The town of Westwood operates under a
home rule
Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...
charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
. This means that the town is given a degree of autonomy in regards to internal affairs. The charter defines the powers of elected boards, including the
select board, which serves as the executive branch of government and hires a Town Administrator responsible for day-to-day operations of town departments. The legislative branch operates through
open town meeting
Town meeting is a form of local government in which most or all of the members of a community are eligible to legislate policy and budgets for local government. It is a town- or city-level meeting in which decisions are made, in contrast with ...
, which meets at least once and often twice a year where all residents are entitle to speak and vote on approval of warrant articles which authorize the town budget and may create or modify town bylaws. Select Board members and other town officials are elected through an annual town election at the end of April. The select board appoints residents to various volunteer boards and committees. The Town Administrator appoints town staff who manage public safety, recreation, and other services. The Select Board has three members who serve overlapping three-year terms. Michael F. Walsh, John M. Hickey, and Robert Gotti are currently Westwood's Select Board officials. Hickey's term will be up in 2022, Walsh’s in 2023 and Gotti’s in 2024.
The town seal, designed by a descendant of
Nathaniel Colburn, includes a drawing of the Town Pound.
On May 14, 1700, Lt. Joseph Colburn was paid "forty shillings of the Town rate" for constructing an
animal pound
An animal pound is a place where stray livestock were impounded. Animals were kept in a dedicated enclosure, until claimed by their owners, or sold to cover the costs of impounding.
Etymology
The terms "pinfold" and "pound" are Saxon in origi ...
measuring 33' square on his land.
[ The pound was originally made out of wood and later reconstructed with stone.][ By including the tree, the new town was paying homage to Dedham, which includes the Avery Oak on its seal.][ The tree was toppled in the ]1938 New England hurricane
The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The stor ...
, but a new oak was planted in its place.[
]
Education
Public schools
Westwood has five public elementary schools:
* Deerfield
* Downey
* Paul R. Hanlon (originally Pine Hill)
* Martha Jones
* William E. Sheehan (originally Pond Plain)
Westwood has one public middle school, Thurston Middle School, named after Edmund W. Thurston. Westwood High School, the only high school in Westwood, serves the Westwood area.
Westwood High School was rebuilt over 15 years ago, and the old school, built in 1957, was demolished. The gymnasium and swimming facility from the old school were refurbished and are part of the new high school campus. The school facilities also include a multi-use artificial turf field (named after former Westwood High School principal and teacher Charles Flahive) with a synthetic track, both of which are open to the public.
Private schools
Westwood is home to Xaverian Brothers High School
, motto_translation = To bear witness to the truth in brotherhood
, accreditation = New England Association of Schools and Colleges
, rival = St. John's Prep
, mascot = Hawk
, mascot image =
, sports ...
, an all-boys Catholic prep school and the Westwood Montessori School, preschool.
Points of interest
* Hale
Hale may refer to:
Places Australia
*Hale, Northern Territory, a locality
*Hale River, in southeastern Northern Territory
Canada
*Hale, Ontario, in Algoma District United Kingdom
* Hale, Cumbria, a hamlet near Beetham, Cumbria
*Hale, Greater Man ...
(formerly called Hale Reservation) – a private non-profit educational organization with 1,137 acres of land, including beaches and walking trails.
* Westwood Library – On April 7, 2010, Library Trustees hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the town's new library. The new building was opened in Summer 2013.
* Colburn School
The Colburn School is a private music school in Los Angeles with a focus on music and dance. It consists of four divisions: the Conservatory of Music, Music Academy, Community School of Performing Arts and the Dance Academy. It is located adjace ...
– A school built in 1877 that is listed in the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
* University Station – A recently built outdoor mall with restaurants, shops, and condos. University Station abuts Route 128 station
Route 128 station (sometimes titled Route 128/University Park) is a passenger rail station located at the crossing of the Northeast Corridor and Interstate 95/US Route 1/Route 128 at the eastern tip of Dedham and Westwood, Massachusetts, Unit ...
, a rail station serving Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
and the MBTA commuter rail
The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track to 141 different stations, with 58 statio ...
.
* The rock that King Philip's men hid inside during King Philip's War
King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...
.
* Buckmaster Pond
Houses of worship
* First Baptist Church of Westwood, 808 High Street (Association: American Baptist)
* First Parish of Westwood United Church, 252 Nahatan Street (Association: United Church of Christ, Unitarian Universalist Association).
* Temple Beth David, 7 Clapboardtree Street (Association: Union for Reform Judaism)
* St. Denis Parish, 157 Washington Street (Association: Catholic Archdiocese of Boston)
* St. John's Episcopal Church, 95 Deerfield Avenue (Association: Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Massachusetts
stjohnswestwood.org
* St. Margaret Mary Parish, 845 High Street (Association: Catholic Archdiocese of Boston)
Westwood has an active Interfaith Council.
Transportation
* Commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
service from Boston's South Station
South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan In ...
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 the Route 128 station
Route 128 station (sometimes titled Route 128/University Park) is a passenger rail station located at the crossing of the Northeast Corridor and Interstate 95/US Route 1/Route 128 at the eastern tip of Dedham and Westwood, Massachusetts, Unit ...
on its Providence/Stoughton Line
The Providence/Stoughton Line is an MBTA Commuter Rail service in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, primarily serving the southwestern suburbs of Boston. Most service runs entirely on the Northeast Corridor between South Station in Boston and Provi ...
, and the Islington station on its Franklin Line
The Franklin Line, also called the Franklin/Foxboro Line, is part of the MBTA Commuter Rail system. It runs from Boston's South Station in a southwesterly direction toward Franklin, Massachusetts, utilizing the Northeast Corridor before splitti ...
* Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
trains to Providence
Providence often refers to:
* Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion
* Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity
* Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
, New Haven
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
, New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
also stop at the Route 128 station.
Trivia
* The remains of a cave
A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
sit along Route 109, that King Philip and his men hid inside during King Philip's War
King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...
. The massive rock that once contained the cave was known as the "Oven's Mouth." It was blown up along with most of the cave in the 1950s to straighten out Route 109.
* Maj. Robert Steele, the Continental Army drummer boy during the Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peripherally involved in ...
, is buried in the old Westwood Cemetery off Route 109.
* Westwood is home of the oldest animal pound in the United States.
* Westwood was a dry town
A dry county is a county in the United States whose government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. Dozens of dry counties exist across the ...
until 2005. Restaurants can now apply for liquor licenses.
Notable people
* Leo Beranek
Leo Leroy Beranek (September 15, 1914 – October 10, 2016) was an American acoustics expert, former MIT professor, and a founder and former president of Bolt, Beranek and Newman (now BBN Technologies). He authored ''Acoustics'', considered a cl ...
, American acoustic engineer and co-founder of Internet pioneer, Bolt Beranek and Newman
Raytheon BBN (originally Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc.) is an American research and development company, based next to Fresh Pond in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States.
In 1966, the Franklin Institute awarded the firm the Frank P. Brown ...
* Mike Cafarella
__NOTOC__
Mike Cafarella is a computer scientist specializing in database management systems. He is an associate professor of computer science at University of Michigan. Along with Doug Cutting, he is one of the original co-founders of the Hadoo ...
, Computer scientist and co-founder of the Apache Hadoop
Apache Hadoop () is a collection of open-source software utilities that facilitates using a network of many computers to solve problems involving massive amounts of data and computation. It provides a software framework for distributed storage ...
big data project
* Bishop Christopher Coyne, Served as parish priest of St. Margaret Mary Church
* Jon Finn
Jonathan M. Finn (born 1958) is an American rock musician and guitarist. He is the founder and leader of the Jon Finn Group, and is a professor at the Berklee College of Music; he joined the guitar faculty there in 1988. He is also the author o ...
, guitarist, rock musician
* Fern Flaman
Ferdinand Charles Carl "Fernie" Flaman (January 25, 1927 – June 22, 2012) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League. He was known as a physical defensi ...
, former Boston Bruin and Toronto Maple Leaf. Stanley Cup winner and Hockey Hall of Famer
* Kenny Florian
Kenneth Alan Florian (born May 26, 1976) is an American retired mixed martial artist and commentator who formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He formerly served as an analyst for UFC on Fox from 2011–2018, and he also ...
, Mixed Martial Arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
(MMA) fighter, FOX/UFC analyst
* John Harrington, former CEO of the Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
* Matt Hasselbeck
Matthew Michael Hasselbeck (born September 25, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Boston College and was drafted in the sixth ro ...
, NFL quarterback
* Mike Hazen
Michael Norman Hazen (born January 7, 1976) is an American professional baseball executive and current executive vice president and general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). A Princeton University graduate and fo ...
, Executive vice president and general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...
* Paul LaCamera
Paul Joseph LaCamera (born September 4, 1963) is a United States Army Four-star rank, four-star General (United States), general and Infantry Branch (United States), infantry Officer (armed forces), officer who serves as commander of the United Na ...
, United States Army four-star general and infantry officer
* Jackie MacMullan
Jackie "Mac" MacMullan Boyle (born October 7, 1960) is a retired American freelance newspaper sportswriter and NBA columnist for the sports website ESPN.com. She retired from ESPN on August 31, 2021.
She attended Westwood High School in Wes ...
, Newspaper sportswriter and NBA columnist for ESPN.com
ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc.
History
Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including: ...
* Josh McDaniels
Joshua Thomas McDaniels (born April 22, 1976) is an American football
head coach for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He began his NFL career in 2001 with the New England Patriots, where he served as the offensive coo ...
, American Football coach
* Peter S. Pezzati, portrait painter
* Barry Reed, American trial lawyer and bestselling author
* Robert B. Rheault
Robert Bradley Rheault (October 31, 1925 – October 16, 2013) was an American colonel in the U.S. Army Special Forces who served as commander of the First Special Forces Group in Okinawa, and the Fifth Special Forces Group in Vietnam from May ...
, American military officer and commander of all US Army Special Forces in Vietnam in 1969
* Milt Schmidt
Milt is the seminal fluid of fish, mollusks, and certain other water-dwelling animals which reproduce by spraying this fluid, which contains the sperm, onto roe (fish eggs). It can also refer to the sperm sacs or testes that contain the semen. ...
, former Boston Bruin and Hockey Hall of Famer
* Robert Steele (drum major)
Drum Major Robert Steele (1760 – June 22, 1833) was an America Revolutionary War drummer and drum major.
Steele was born in 1760 in Massachusetts. A month after the Battles of Lexington and Concord, at the age of fifteen, he joined the Contin ...
, drummer boy for the Continental Army during the Battle of Bunker Hill of the Revolutionary War; buried in the Old Westwood Cemetery
* Mike Woicik
Mike Woicik (born September 26, 1956) is an American football strength and conditioning coach in the National Football League (NFL). He is tied for the record for third-most Super Bowl rings won (behind Bill Belichick and Tom Brady) with six, wi ...
, Strength and conditioning coach for the Dallas Cowboys. Tied for second most superbowl rings with Bill Bellichik. (Only behind Tom Brady)
Notes
References
External links
Town of Westwood
Westwood Press
Westwood Public Schools
''The Daily News Transcript''
A newspaper that covers Westwood.
{{authority control
Towns in Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Towns in Massachusetts