Paxton 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 5,004 at the 2020 census.

History

Paxton was first settled by Europeans in 1749 and was officially incorporated in 1765. It was previously occupied by 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 ...

tribe. The district of Paxton was originally taken from the towns of Leicester and Rutland, in nearly equal parts, and was incorporated February 12, 1765. Charles Paxton, marshal of the Admiralty Court, offered a church bell to the town if it was named after him; no such gift was ever made. The inhabitants soon commenced their plan for building a meeting house, and on the first day of April 1765, the town voted to build it. It was raised on June 18, 1766, and this is the frame of the present meeting house. In 1766, within two years of the incorporation of the town, the foundation of the present meeting house was laid, on what is now the common, near the flagstaff. The land was given by Seth Howe, from a piece of his pasture. David Davis went to

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 ...

with a pair of oxen and drew to Paxton the bell now in use, which was made by

Paul Revere Paul Revere (; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, military officer and industrialist who played a major role during the opening months of the American Revolutionary War in Massachusetts, ...

. A small historic and now defunct amusement park called "Paxton Navy Yard" operated here in the mid 20th century. Asnebumskit Hill was the site of the

Yankee Network The Yankee Network was an American radio network, based in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, with affiliate radio stations throughout New England. At the height of its influence, the Yankee Network had as many as twenty-four affiliated radio stati ...

's early

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antenna, beginning its commercial operations in Summer 1939.

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 4.78%, is water.

Adjacent cities and towns

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 4,386 people, 1,428 households, and 1,153 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

was . There were 1,461 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.69%

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 ...

, 0.68%

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 ...

, 0.09% Native American, 1.07% Asian, 0.57% from other races, and 0.89% 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 1.55% of the population. There were 1,428 households, out of which 36.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.1% 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, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.2% were non-families. 15.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.13. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.9% under the age of 18, 13.6% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $72,039, and the median income for a family was $80,498. Males had a median income of $51,694 versus $38,409 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 $29,573. None of the families and 1.8% of the population were living 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 no under eighteens and 4.5% of those over 64.

Arts and culture

Points of interest

* Moore State Park * Worcester County Memorial Park * Thompson Pond (Massachusetts)

Education

* Anna Maria College's main campus is in Paxton, and the college recently opened a new campus in Worcester. *Paxton is a member of the Wachusett Regional School District. *Paxton Center School is the town's kindergarten, elementary and middle school (K–8). *The public high school is Wachusett Regional High School, in Holden, Massachusetts. *As of 2005, high school students may choose to attend Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School. *Paxton Center School offers band, chorus and track to students in grades 5–8. All students participate in physical education, art education and technology classes.

Library

The Paxton public library began in 1877. In fiscal year 2008, the town of Paxton spent 1.53% ($143,354) of its budget on its public library—approximately $30 per person ($36.74 adjusted for inflation to 2021).July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008; cf. The FY2008 Municipal Pie: What's Your Share? Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Board of Library Commissioners. Boston: 2009. Available
Municipal Pie Reports
. Retrieved August 4, 2010

Infrastructure

Utilities

*Electric service is provided by the town's own municipal light department. *Water service is provided by the town's own water department. Paxton's principal source of drinking water is Asnebumskit Pond. Recently, Paxton sells the raw Asnebumskit Pond water to Worcester, and buys back water treated at Worcester's filtration plant. *Telephone service is provided by Verizon. All phones in Paxton are connected to Verizon's main central office in Worcester. *Cable television service is provided by Charter Communications. *No natural gas or sewer service is available in Paxton. At least one house on the Paxton-Worcester city line is connected to the Worcester sewer system. Paxton residents voted down the creation of the South Paxton Sewer District at a February 28, 2006, town meeting. This district would have installed sewers in the part of Paxton adjacent to Worcester.

Notable people

* Jamie Dinan, investor * David Goodman, Medal of Honor recipient * Burt Grinstead, actor * Todd Richards, snowboarder * Samuel Stearns, astronomer * Harriet Ware, teacher

References

External links

Town of Paxton, MassachusettsWachusett Regional School DistrictBay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School
{{authority control Populated places established in 1749 Towns in Massachusetts Towns in Worcester County, Massachusetts 1740s establishments in the Province of Massachusetts Bay