Braintree () is a municipality in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is officially known as a town, but Braintree is a city with a mayor-council form of government, and it is considered a city under Massachusetts law. The population was 39,143 at the 2020 census. It is part of the

Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston, the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England, and its surrounding areas, home to 4,941,632. The most s ...

area, with access to the MBTA Red Line, and is a member of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council's South Shore Coalition. The first mayor of Braintree was Joe Sullivan, who served until January 2020. The current mayor of Braintree is Erin Joyce, who was elected in 2023, defeating incumbent Charles Kokoros.

History

Braintree was colonized in 1635 and incorporated in 1640. The town is named after the

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

town of Braintree. Its boundaries initially were larger, but some portions were split into the municipalities of Quincy (incorporated in 1792), Randolph (1793), and Holbrook (1872). Braintree was part of Suffolk County until the formation of Norfolk County in 1793. In 1888, the villages of Braintree and South Braintree were separate communities within the town of Braintree. In 1920, Braintree was the site of the murders that led to the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti. During that same decade, the town's population grew by more than 50%.

Geography

Braintree shares borders with Quincy to the north, Randolph to the west (separated by the Cochato River), Holbrook to the south, and Weymouth to the east. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 14.5 square miles (37.6 km²), of which 13.9 square miles (36.0 km²) is land and 0.6 sq mi (1.6 km²) is water. The total area is 4.34% water. Park and recreation locations in Braintree include Pond Meadow Park, Sunset Lake, and Blue Hills Reservation.

Climate

Braintree has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(Köppen ''Dfa)'' with some maritime influence. Summers are typically warm to hot, rainy, and humid, while winters oscillate between periods of cold rain and snow, with cold temperatures. Spring and fall are usually mild, with varying conditions dependent on wind direction and jet stream positioning. Prevailing wind patterns that blow offshore minimize the influence of 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 ...

. The hottest month is July, with a mean temperature of . The coldest month is January, with a mean of . Periods exceeding in summer and below freezing in winter are not uncommon but are rarely extended, with about 13 and 25 days per year seeing each, respectively. The city's average window for freezing temperatures is November 9 through April 5. Official temperature records have ranged from in February 1934, up to in August 1949 and 1974. Braintree's coastal location on the North Atlantic moderates its temperature, but makes the city very prone to

nor'easter A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below) is a large-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. Typically, such storms originate as a low ...

weather systems that can produce much snow and rain. The city averages of

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

a year, with of snowfall per season. Snowfall increases dramatically as one goes inland away from the city (especially north and west of the city)—away from the moderating influence of the ocean. Most snowfall occurs from December through March, as most years see no measurable snow in April and November, and snow is rare in May and October. There is also high year-to-year variability in snowfall; for instance, the winter of 2011−2012 saw only of accumulating snow, but in the winter of 2014–2015, the figure was . Fog is fairly common, particularly in spring and early summer, and the occasional tropical storm or

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

can threaten the region, especially in late summer and early autumn. The last such storm to impact the city was Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. Due to its situation along the North Atlantic, the city is often subjected to sea breezes, especially in the late spring, when water temperatures are still quite cold and temperatures at the coast can be more than colder than locations a few miles inland, sometimes dropping by that amount near midday. Thunderstorms occur from May to September and are occasionally severe, with large

hail Hail is a form of solid Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailsto ...

, damaging winds and heavy downpours. Although Braintree has never been struck by a violent

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

, the city has experienced many tornado warnings. Damaging storms are more common in areas north, west, and northwest of the city.

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 33,828 people, 12,652 households, and 8,907 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 12,973 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 93.96%

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 ...

, 1.18%

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 ...

, 0.11% Native American, 3.14% Asian, 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 ...

, 0.64% from other races, and 0.95% 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 people of any race were 1.16% of the population. More than 46% of town residents had Irish ancestry. As of 2014, Braintree had the second highest concentration of Irish Americans in the entire country, slightly behind Scituate, Massachusetts. There were 12,652 households, out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% were

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

living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.16. In the town the population was spread out, with 22.5% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $85,590, and the median income for a family was $90,590 as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $89,607 versus $36,034 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 $28,683. About 2.1% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the

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

, including 4.6% of those under age 18 and 3.3% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Braintree is home to several large companies, including Altra Industrial Motion,

Greater Media Greater Media, Inc., known as Greater Media, was an American media company that specialized in radio stations. The markets where they owned radio stations included Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia, Charlotte, and the state of New Jersey. The comp ...

, and TopSource LLC. From 1964 to 1991, Braintree was the location of the largest Valle's Steak House in the restaurant chain. One of the chain's busiest locations, it was capable of serving over 5,000 customers per day. In 1980, then presidential candidate

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

made a campaign speech at a South Shore Chamber of Commerce luncheon held there.

Arts and culture

Points of interest

* General Sylvanus Thayer Birthplace * Hollingsworth Park * Monatiquot River * Pond Meadow Park * South Shore Plaza * Sunset Lake

Education

Braintree is home to various educational institutions, both private and public.

Public primary and secondary education

Public education at the primary and secondary levels is managed by Braintree Public Schools (BPS), a system that includes an integrated preschool lab within Braintree High School, six elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school. Braintree formerly had a kindergarten center, but it was closed in 2024.

Private and alternative education

Private and alternative education institutions in Braintree include Thayer Academy, Archbishop Williams High School, and CATS Academy.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Braintree is situated in the Greater Boston Area, which has rail, air, and highway facilities. State Route 128 and

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 ...

divide the region into inner and outer zones, which are connected by numerous "spokes" providing direct access to the airport, port, and intermodal facilities 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 ...

Principal highways in Braintree are Interstate 93 (which runs concurrently with U.S. 1) and Route 3, as well as 37, and 53. Entering Braintree from the north, I-93, Route 1, and Route 3 all run concurrently as the Southeast Expressway from

; in Braintree they diverge, with Route 3 heading south toward

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

as the Pilgrims Highway, and I-93 and Route 1 heading west toward Route 128. Braintree station is served by the rapid transit Red Line, two MBTA Commuter Rail lines ( Fall River/New Bedford Line and Kingston Line), and seasonal CapeFLYER service. Weymouth Landing/East Braintree station on the Braintree/Weymouth border is served by the Greenbush Line. Freight rail service is operated by Fore River Transportation Corporation, and

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

. From 1948 to 1968, the town was the home of Braintree Airport, a general aviation airport located near Great Pond that was used by civil defense officials and private pilots. The airport featured a dirt runway and offered flight training. Residential development, proximity to the town's water supply, and a number of accidents led to its closure in 1968.Markman, Joseph (September 20, 2011) "Braintree's Expansion and Dangerous Flights Proved too Much for Old Airport" ''Braintree Patch''. Retrieved November 4, 201

Freeman, Paul "Braintree Airport, Braintree, Mass." ''Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields''. Retrieved November 6, 2013

Water and sewer

In 2020, Braintree, Randolph, and Holbrook formed a regional drinking water supply agency, the Tri-Town Water Board. Braintree operates its own

water treatment Water treatment is any process that improves the quality of water to make it appropriate for a specific end-use. The end use may be drinking, industrial water supply, irrigation, river flow maintenance, water recreation or many other uses, ...

plant, while a second treatment plant serves the Randolph-Holbrook Joint Water Board.

Notable people

* Abigail Adams, wife of President John Adams; mother of John Quincy Adams * Henry Adams, original emigrant to the Americas * Jeremy Adams, original emigrant to the Americas *

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

, second

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

; first

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...

; signer of the U.S.

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...

, diplomat, sixth

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

; member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

* Joe Amorosino, reporter and sports director for WHDH-TV * Amy Bishop, perpetrator of the 2010 University of Alabama in Huntsville shooting * Oscar Florianus Bluemner, German-born American Modernist painter * Scott Caldwell, soccer player * Jim Calhoun, former head coach of University of Connecticut men's basketball team * Priscilla Chan, philanthropist and pediatrician; wife of

Mark Zuckerberg Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (; born May 14, 1984) is an American businessman who co-founded the social media service Facebook and its parent company Meta Platforms, of which he is the chairman, chief executive officer, and controlling sharehold ...

* Chris Doherty, musician and recording artist from the band Gang Green * Adam Gaudette,

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

player * Brian Gibbons,

player *

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

, signer of the U.S.

; fourth

president of the Continental Congress The president of the United States in Congress Assembled, known unofficially as the president of the Continental Congress and later as president of the Congress of the Confederation, was the presiding officer of the Continental Congress, the con ...

; first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; diplomat and statesman * Henry Hope, member of the Dutch bankers Hope & Co. * Colin Kilrain, vice admiral, Navy Seal, US Navy (Ret.) * Peter Kormann, gymnast and winner of the bronze medal in men's floor competition at the 1976 Olympics * Don McKenney, hockey center; captain of the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

, 1954–1963 * Jose Offerman, baseball player for 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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

* Stanzi Potenza, actor and

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

er * Rufus Putnam, American Revolutionary War military officer * William Rosenberg, creator of the

Dunkin' Donuts DD IP Holder LLC, doing business as Dunkin', and originally Dunkin' Donuts, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 19 ...

restaurant chain * Nick Santino, founding member of the American rock band A Rocket to the Moon * Butch Stearns, sports anchorman; Chief Content Officer for the Pulse Network * Sylvanus Thayer, superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy; called "the father of

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

" * Mo Vaughn, baseball player for the

Donnie Wahlberg Donald Edmond Wahlberg Jr. (born August 17, 1969) is an American singer, actor and producer. He is a founding member of the boy band New Kids on the Block. Outside music, he has starred in the TV drama series ''Blue Bloods (TV series), Blue Bloo ...

, record producer, songwriter, singer, actor; founding member of the musical group

New Kids on the Block New Kids on the Block (also initialized as NKOTB) is an American boy band from Dorchester, Massachusetts. The band consists of brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. New Kids on the Block had ...

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), formerly known by his stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, producer, and former rapper. Mark Wahlberg filmography, His work as a leading actor, leading man spans the Comedy film, come ...

, film and television producer; Academy Award-nominated actor; former lead singer of Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch * Thomas A. Watson, primary assistant of

Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (; born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born Canadian Americans, Canadian-American inventor, scientist, and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He als ...

; assisted in invention of the

telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...

; founder of Fore River Shipyard

Filming locations

* June 1969: '' Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon'', directed by

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( ; ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian Americans, Austrian-American film and theatre director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the the ...

(sequence filmed at 710 West Street) * April 2008: '' Paul Blart: Mall Cop'', directed by Steve Carr (sequence filmed in the South Shore Plaza) * September 2009: ''

What Doesn't Kill You What does not kill me makes me stronger () is part of aphorism number 8 from the "Maxims and Arrows" section of Friedrich Nietzsche's ''Twilight of the Idols'' (1888). It is quoted or alluded to by many other works, with minor variants in wording. ...

'', directed by Brian Goodman (sequence filmed at the Mobil station on Elm Street) * April 2016: '' Stronger'', directed by David Gordon Green (sequence filmed at the Skyline Drive apartment complex)

References

* Dennehy, John A. "Images of America: Braintree." Arcadia Publishing, 2010.

External links

* {{Authority control 1620s establishments in the Massachusetts Bay Colony 1625 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies Cities in Massachusetts Cities in Norfolk County, Massachusetts Populated places established in 1625