Princeton 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. It is bordered on the east by Sterling and

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England; it is located at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of almos ...

, on the north by

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, on the northwest by Hubbardston, on the southwest by

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 ...

, and on the southeast by

Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. Founded in Adelaide, it was an automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter that sold cars under its own marque in Australia. It was ...

. The preeminent landmark within Princeton is Mount Wachusett, which straddles the line between Princeton and Westminster but the entrance to which is within Princeton. According to tradition, in 1675, Mary Rowlandson was ransomed upon Redemption Rock, now within the town of Princeton, by King Philip. The population was 3,495 at the 2020 census. Princeton is a rural

exurb An exurb (or alternately: exurban area) is an area outside the typically denser inner suburbs, suburban area, at the edge of a metropolitan area, which has some economic and commuting connection to the metro area, low housing-density, and rela ...

, serving as a bedroom commuter town for nearby cities such as Worcester, Gardner, and

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 ...

History

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 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...

in 1676, Native Americans brought their captive Mary Rowlandson to Princeton to release her to the colonists at Redemption Rock. The town of Princeton was incorporated in 1759, out of land that was previously part of

. It was named after the Rev. Thomas Prince. In 1810, it annexed a piece of Hubbardston, and in 1870, it annexed a piece of

Register of Historic Places

Princeton has five entries on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

: * East Princeton Village Historic District: Roughly Main St., Leominster Rd. (added April 18, 2004) * Fernside-Vacation House for Working Girls: 162 Mountain Rd. (added July 27, 2002) * Princeton Center Historic District: Jct. of Hubbardston and Mountain Rds. (added March 26, 1999) * Russell Corner Historic District: Merriam, Gregory Hill, East Princeton and Sterling Rds, Bullock Lane, (added February 22, 2006) * West Village Historic District: Jct. of Allen Hill and Hubbardston Roads File:East Princeton, Massachusetts.jpg, East Princeton Village Historic District along Route 140 File:West Village Historic District.jpg, West Village Historic District File:1899 Princeton public library Massachusetts.png, Princeton Public Library at right and Bagg Hall (town hall) at left, 1899 File:Bagg Hall in winter, Princeton MA.jpg, Bagg Hall, the town hall of Princeton

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, of it is land and of it (1.12%) is water.

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 3,353 people, 1,166 households, and 959 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 1,196 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.75%

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 ...

, 0.30%

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 ...

, 0.33% Native American, 0.95% Asian, 0.63% from other races, and 1.04% 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 1.46% of the population. There were 1,166 households, out of which 41.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.7% 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, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.7% were non-families. Of all households, 13.5% were made up of individuals, and 5.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87 and the average family size was 3.18. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.9% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 29.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $120,559, and the median income for a family was $152,884. 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 $54,940. About 2.7% of families and 4.4% 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 5.3% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Education

Schools

Princeton is part of the Wachusett Regional School District. The Thomas Prince School serves as the town's kindergarten, elementary and middle school (K–8). Wachusett Regional High School (traditional public high school) in Holden, MA and Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School (vocational/technical high school) in Fitchburg, MA are the two public high schools serving the town of Princeton. Princeton is served by Mount Wachusett Community College, whose main campus is located in

Gardner, Massachusetts Gardner is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, Worcester County in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,287 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Gardner is home of such sites as the Blue Moon D ...

Library

The Princeton Public Library was established in 1884. In fiscal year 2008, the town of Princeton spent 1.6% ($129,243) of its budget on its public library; approximately $37 per resident, per year ($45.31 adjusted for inflation to 2021).

Points of interest

*Cornerstone Ranchers *Harrington Farm * Mount Wachusett *Princeton Historical Society * Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary * Wachusett Mountain Ski Area * Wachusett Mountain State Reservation * Redemption Rock *Hubbard farm

Notable people

* Colin Bennie, distance runner * Ward Nicholas Boylston (1747–1828), gentleman, businessman, and philanthropist, lived in Princeton from September 1804 until his death. He bequeathed $1000 to the town of Princeton for its church and minister and the support of indigent and deserving widows and orphan children * Daniel Davis Jr. (1813–1887) - inventor * Moses Gill (1734–1800), Massachusetts lieutenant governor and acting governor * Louise H. Gregory (1880–1954), professor of zoology at

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

* Ruth Ellen Grout (1901–1998), health education professor at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

* Ezra Heywood (1829–1893), anarchist, slavery abolitionist, and feminist * Vanessa Marcotte (1989–2016), murder victim, whose case attracted national media attention * Aurelius Dwight Parker (1802–1875), lawyer and politician * Edward Savage (1761–1817), portrait artist, engraver, and early museum proprietor

Film references

* The 2001 film ''

Shallow Hal ''Shallow Hal'' is a 2001 American romantic comedy film directed by the Farrelly brothers, Farrelly Brothers. The film stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black, with Jason Alexander, Joe Viterelli, and Susan Ward in supporting roles. Filming took pla ...

'' had scenes shot in Princeton at Wachusett Mountain. * The 2006 film '' The Legend of Lucy Keyes'' is a movie about Princeton and its old legend, about four-year-old Lucy Keyes, who follows her sisters to fetch some water from Wachusett Lake but vanishes and never returns to the house. Her mother, Martha, spends night and day looking for her and calling her name. Some believe Lucy and her mother Martha still haunt on and around Wachusett Mountain.

References

External links

Official Princeton (town) website

Books.google.com: ''Vital Records of Princeton, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849''.

Hearts for Heat NGO Website
{{authority control Towns in Worcester County, Massachusetts 1759 establishments in the Province of Massachusetts Bay Populated places established in 1759 Towns in Massachusetts