Barre ( ) is a town in Worcester 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. The population was 5,530 at the 2020 census.

History

Located on the ancestral homeland of the

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 ...

, the area was first settled by Europeans in 1720 and referred to as the Northwest District of

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

. The town was incorporated as Hutchinson on June 17, 1774, after Thomas Hutchinson, colonial governor of

. The town was incorporated on August 23, 1775, along with 41 other districts in the state, by the Massachusetts Court. The next year on November 7, 1776, it was renamed Barre in honor of Colonel Isaac Barré, an Irish-born MP who was a champion of American Independence. "This township was originally known as Rutland, West District; but prior to 1770 its name was changed to "Hutchinson", in honor of the Hon. Thomas Hutchinson who was Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in 1765, became acting Governor in 1769, and Governor in 1770. When, in 1774, on account of his Tory proclivities, Governor Hutchinson resigned his office and went to England, his name and memory were so execrated by the patriots of the township of Hutchinson that, in 1776, the General Assembly of Massachusetts changed the name of the township to "Barré." In 1849 the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad was founded to build a railroad from

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

to Barre, but it failed to raise enough capital to start construction. The project was revived in 1869, but it was re-routed to run between Worcester and Gardner, bypassing Barre. When the line opened in 1871 it was still called the Boston, Barre and Gardner RR, although it never reached Barre. The line's nearest depot to Barre was at Hubbardston, away. On April 11, 1943, Barre held a civic welcome for Basil Izzi, a local man who was a

United States Navy Armed Guard The United States Navy Armed Guard was a force of United States Navy gunners and related personnel established during World War II to protect U.S. merchant shipping from enemy attack.World War II U.S. Navy Armed Guard and World War II U.S. Merc ...

and had recently survived 83 days in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

on a life raft after his ship, the , was torpedoed. In 1988 the ''Barre Gazette'' claimed that the welcoming parade in his honor was "still the longest parade on record in the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

". Izzi died in 1979. On May 28, 2015, a road bridge near South Barre was renamed the "Seaman 2nd Class Basil D. Izzi Memorial Bridge" in his honor. The bridge carries Massachusetts Route 32 over the Ware River.

Geography

According to the

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

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.63%, is water. Barre is drained by the Ware River. Barre is bordered by Hubbardston to the northeast,

and

Oakham Oakham is a market town and civil parish in Rutland (of which it is the county town) in the East Midlands of England. The town is located east of Leicester, southeast of Nottingham and northwest of Peterborough. It had a population of 12,14 ...

to the southeast, New Braintree to the south, Hardwick to the southwest, Petersham to the northwest, and a small portion of Phillipston to the north.

Climate

Demographics

As of the

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

of 2000, there were 5,113 people, 1,889 households, and 1,377 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,988 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.63%

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 ...

, 0.51%

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 ...

, 0.10% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.29% from other races, and 1.13% from two or more races. Of the population, 0.80% were

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. There were 1,889 households, out of which 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.9% were

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

living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.1% were non-families. Of all households, 22.8% were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.17. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $50,553, and the median income for a family was $56,069. Males had a median income of $40,284 versus $29,250 for females. The

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

for the town was $20,476. 3.4% of the population and 1.2% of families 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 ...

. Out of the total population, 1.5% of those under the age of 18 and 2.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Education

Barre is part of the Quabbin Regional School District along with, Hardwick, Hubbardston, New Braintree, and

. Elementary School Students attend Ruggles Lane Elementary School, from grades K–6, middle school students attend Quabbin Regional Middle School from grades 7–8, and high school students attend Quabbin Regional High School from grades 9–12. It is also home to the administrative offices (including the office of the superintendent) of the Quabbin Regional School District. From 1840 into the twentieth century, it was home to the Elm Hill Private School and Home for the Education of Feeble-Minded Youth. Barre is home to Stetson School.

Government

Sites of interest

* Barre Historical Society & Museum * Barre Players Theater * Insight Meditation Society * Barre Center for Buddhist Studies * Russell's Fossil Museum

Notable people

* David Oliver Allen, missionary and author * Quock Walker, an American slave who won his freedom from Massachusetts Supreme Court in 1781; his case helped to abolish slavery in Massachusetts *

Stephen Brewer Stephen Brewer is an American politician who served in the Massachusetts Senate from 1997 to 2015. Early life Stephen Brewer was born on February 10, 1948, in Worcester, MA. He was raised in the town of Barre, Massachusetts. He received his ...

, state senator * Ebenezer Childs, pioneer and legislator * Timothy Jenkins, congressman * Walker Lewis, black abolitionist, Masonic Grand Master of African Grand Lodge #1, and

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

Elder * John Murray, Representative to the Great and General Court of the Province of Massachusetts Bay for Rutland's Northwest District * Joseph B. Plummer, general *

Jacob Riis Jacob August Riis ( ; May 3, 1849 – May 26, 1914) was a Danish-American social reformer, " muck-raking" journalist, and social documentary photographer. He contributed significantly to the cause of urban reform in the United States of Ame ...

, journalist, author of ''

How the Other Half Lives ''How the Other Half Lives: Studies among the Tenements of New York'' (1890) is an early publication of photojournalism by Jacob Riis, documenting squalid living conditions in New York City slums in the 1880s. The photographs served as a basis ...

'' * Daniel Ruggles, Confederate general * Abigail Willis Tenney Smith (1809–1885), missionary to the Sandwich Islands; teacher

References

Hayward's ''New England Gazetteer of 1839''

External links

Town of Barre, Massachusetts

Woods Memorial Library
{{Authority control 1774 establishments in the Province of Massachusetts Bay Populated places established in 1774 Towns in Massachusetts Towns in Worcester County, Massachusetts