Randolph, Massachusetts
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Randolph is a suburban city in
Norfolk County, Massachusetts Norfolk County ( ) is located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 census, the population was around 725,981. Its county seat is Dedham. The county was named after the English county of the same name. Two towns, Cohasset and B ...
, United States. At the 2020 census, the city population was 34,984. Randolph adopted a charter effective January 2010 providing for a council-manager form of government instead of the traditional
town meeting Town meeting, also known as an "open town meeting", is a form of local government in which eligible town residents can directly participate in an assembly which determines the governance of their town. Unlike representative town meeting where ...
. Randolph is one of thirteen Massachusetts municipalities that have applied for, and been granted, city forms of government but wish to retain "The town of" in their official names.


History

It was called Cochaticquom by the local Cochato tribes. The town was incorporated in 1793 from what was formerly the south precinct of the town of Braintree. According to the centennial address delivered by John V. Beal, the town was named after
Peyton Randolph Peyton Randolph (September 10, 1721 – October 22, 1775) was an American politician and planter who was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States. Born into Virginia's Randolph family of Virginia, wealthies ...
, first president of the
Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...
. Randolph was formerly the home of several large
shoe A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. Though the human foot can adapt to varied terrains and climate conditions, it is vulnerable, and shoes provide protection. Form was originally tied to function, but ...
companies. Many popular styles were made exclusively in Randolph, including the "Randies". At the time of Randolph's incorporation in 1793, local farmers were making shoes and boots to augment household incomes from subsistence farming. In the next half century, this sideline had become the town's major industry, attracting workers from across
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
, Canada and Ireland and later from Italy and Eastern Europe, each adding to the quality of life in the town. By 1850, Randolph had become one of the nation's leading boot producers, shipping boots as far away as
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
and Australia. The decline of the shoe industry at the beginning of the twentieth century led to Randolph's evolution as a suburban residential community. Boot and shoe making has been supplanted by light manufacturing and
service industries Service industries are those not directly concerned with the production of physical goods (such as agriculture and manufacturing). Some service industries, including transportation, wholesale trade and retail trade are part of the supply chai ...
. The town's proximity to major transportation networks has resulted in an influx of families from
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 ...
and other localities who live in Randolph but work throughout the metropolitan area. Starting in the 1950s, Randolph saw significant growth in its Jewish community with the exodus of
Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
s from Boston's Dorchester and Mattapan neighborhoods. In 1950, fifteen or twenty Jewish families lived in the town; by 1970, Randolph had about 7,000 Jewish residents, and about 9,000 in 1980, the largest such community south of Boston. At its peak, Randolph had a
kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, ), from the Ashke ...
butcher, Judaica shop, kosher bakery, and two synagogues. By the early 1990s, the population shrank to about 6,000. The inspiration for the nationally observed Great American Smokeout came from a Randolph High School guidance councilor, who observed in a 1969 discussion with students that he could send all of them to college if he had a nickel for every cigarette butt he found on the ground. This touched off an effort by the Randolph High School class of 1970, supported by the Randolph Rotary Club, to have local smokers give it up for a day and put the savings toward a college scholarship fund. The event went national in 1977.


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 10.5 square miles (27.2 km2), of which 10.1 square miles (26.1 km2) is land and 0.4 square mile (1.1 km2) (4.10%) is water. It is drained by the Cochato River and Blue Hill River, which flow into the
Neponset River The Neponset River is a river in eastern Massachusetts in the United States. Its headwaters are at the Neponset Reservoir in Foxborough, near Gillette Stadium. From there, the Neponset meanders generally northeast for about to its mouth at ...
.


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 2010, there were 32,158 people, 11,564 households, and 8,038 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 11,564 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 41.6%
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 ...
, 38.3%
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 ...
or
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 ...
, 0.3% Native American, 12.4% Asian (6.3% Vietnamese, 3.3% Chinese, 0.9% Filipino, 0.8% Asian Indian) 0.0%
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 ...
, 3.7% from other races, and 3.5% 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 6.4% of the population. Randolph is one of the fastest growing minority-municipalities in the United States. 60% of all students attending Randolph elementary schools are of African descent (black), 21% Latino descent, predominately Dominican, 11% Caucasian descent (white), and 8% East Asian descent. There were 11,564 households, out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 17.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.31. In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.7% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 29.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $55,255, and the median income for a family was $61,942. Males had a median income of $41,719 versus $32,500 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 $23,413. About 5.5% of families and 6.5% 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 ...
, including 4.5% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.


Arts and culture


Library

The Turner Free Library serves as the town's public library and is part of the regional Old Colony Library Network. The library was founded in 1874 in honor of the Turner family, who donated the library building, land, and a fund of $10,000 to the Town of Randolph on the condition that the Town maintain a free public library on the site. The Turner Free Library was opened in 1875.


Registered historic places

Sites in Randolph listed 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 ...
include: * Jonathan Belcher House, built in 1806. * Stetson Hall, built in 1842. * Ponkapoag Camp of Appalachian Mountain Club. * Gills Farm Archaeological District.


Government

Randolph was originally governed by an open town meeting form of government. In an annual town meeting held on March 11, 1947, attendees voted unanimously to adopt a
representative town meeting A representative town meeting, also called "limited town meeting", is a form of municipal legislature particularly common in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and permitted in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. Representative town meetings function ...
form of government. Under the representative town meeting, the town would be divided into four precincts that would elect 60 town meeting members each. The new form of government went into effect March 7, 1949. In a special election on April 7, 2009, the town adopted a new charter that became effective in January 2010, changing the town's form of government to a council-manager system. The District Councilor/President is Christos Alexopoulos


Education

Education is administered by Randolph Public School District. Schools include: * AIM Academy * John F. Kennedy Elementary School * Margaret L. Donovan Elementary School * Martin E. Young Elementary School * North Randolph Elementary School * Randolph Community Middle School * Randolph High School


Infrastructure


Transportation


Major highways

*
Interstate 93 Interstate 93 (I-93) is an Interstate Highway in the New England states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont in the United States. Spanning approximately along a north–south axis, it is one of three primary Interstate Highways ...
* U.S. Route 1 * Massachusetts Route 24 (Fall River Expressway) *
Massachusetts Route 28 Route 28 is a nominally south–north state highway in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, running from the town of Eastham, Massachusetts, Eastham via Boston, Massachusetts, Boston to the New Hampshire state line in Methuen, Massachusetts, M ...
* Massachusetts Route 139


Rail

Holbrook/Randolph station is served by the Fall River/New Bedford Line of the
MBTA Commuter Rail The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA's) transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track on 12 lines to 142 stations. It ...
.


Bus

Bus service is provided by
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority 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 ...
and Brockton Area Transit Authority.


Airport

* Norwood Memorial Airport


Notable people

* Ebenezer Alden, physician, biographer, bibliophile * Rich Amiri, rapper * Audie Cornish, journalist * Danny Davis, bandleader and producer * Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, author * Bill Kenney, football coach *
Rod Langway Rodney Cory Langway (born May 3, 1957) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played for the Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals in the National Hockey League (NHL) and Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Associati ...
, Hall of Fame hockey player * Robert C. Long, National League Baseball Umpire. * Gene McAuliffe, baseball player * Shabazz Napier, NBA player for the
Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...
* Jordan Rich, radio talk show host * William Rimmer, painter & sculptor * Mark Snyder, radio host, newspaper columnist & social media new site publisher * Clinton Sparks, Grammy nominated music producer & hip hop DJ * Scott D. Tingle, NASA astronaut * Touré (né Touré Neblett), writer, music journalist, cultural critic, and television personality


Notes


References


External links


Town of Randolph, Massachusetts
{{authority control Cities in Massachusetts Cities in Norfolk County, Massachusetts