Southbridge is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,740 at the 2020 census. Although Southbridge has a city form of government, it is legally known as the Town of Southbridge.

History

The area was initially inhabited by the Nipmuck and Mohegan tribes, with the Quinebaug River dividing their territories. As early as 1638, John Winthrop Jr. purchased Tantiusques, a tract for mining "lead" centered at what is now Leadmine Road in Sturbridge (it was thought at the time that where there was lead, there should be silver nearby). In fact the mineral deposit was graphite which the Winthrops commercialized employing Nipmuck miners. Southbridge was first settled by Europeans in 1730. In 1801 a poll parish, named the Second Religious Society of Charlton, and popularly called Honest Town, was formed from the west part of

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

, the southwest part of Charlton and the southeast part of Sturbridge. In 1816 this parish was incorporated to become the township of Southbridge. Among the first settlers was Moses Marcy, who owned a home on the site of what is now Notre Dame church and was elected to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

, and the Dennison family. Water power from the Quinebaug River made Southbridge a good location for

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

s and

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

s in the 18th century, and textile mills in the 19th century. After the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, many immigrants of Irish and

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

descent came to work and live there; by the 1930s they had been joined by

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

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, Italians and others. Southbridge has a long history of manufacturing optical products, earning it the unofficial title "Eye of the Commonwealth", in reference to the

Commonwealth of 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 ...

. Under the Wells family, the American Optical Company ("AO") became the world's largest manufacturer of ophthalmic products, and at its height employed more than 6,000 people around the world. Many of its workers were exempted from the

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

since they were doing vital defense work, including making Norden bombsights and even some work on the atomic bomb. By the early 1960s, the

mill town A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more List of types of mill#Manufacturing facilities, mills or factories, often cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe ...

had a movie theatre, an AM radio station (WESO), and an airport. New immigrants from

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

, and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

began arriving in the 1970s and 1980s, and the town now has a significant Hispanic and Puerto Rican population. The American Optical Company shut down in 1984, and Southbridge is still struggling from the loss of these and other manufacturing jobs.

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 city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 2.40%, is water. Southbridge is drained by the Quinebaug River. The principal road in Southbridge is Route 131, known as Main Street through downtown and East Main Street past the "AO Rotary" and through Sandersdale, a village on the town's east side. North-south roads include Eastford Road and Elm Street ( Route 198), and Worcester Street-Mechanic Street-North Woodstock Road ( Route 169).Also Gulpwood road leads up to Charlton and Dudley Southbridge was formed out of portions of three of its neighboring towns: Sturbridge to the west, Charlton to the north, and

to the east. The other neighboring town is Woodstock,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

to the south.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 16,719 people, 7,077 households, and 4,522 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 7,511 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 81.2%

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 ...

, 2.6%

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 ...

, 0.5% Native American, 1.9% Asian, 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 ...

, and 2.9% 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 26.6% of the population. There were 7,077 households, out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were married couples living together, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.98. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.4% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $33,913, and the median income for a family was $41,863. Males had a median income of $36,008 versus $25,685 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,514. About 13.0% of families and 15.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.8% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Southbridge 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

Library

The Southbridge Public Library was founded in 1870. In fiscal year 2008, the town of Southbridge spent 1.03% ($426,025) of its budget on its public library—approximately $25 per person, per year ($32.94 adjusted for inflation to 2022). The Jacob Edwards Library is the public library for the town of Southbridge. It is a member of Central Massachusetts Regional Library System (CMRLS) and C/W MARS.

Education

Southbridge has two public elementary schools, formerly "neighborhood schools" serving grades K–5. Since the 1988–1989 school year, however, all kindergarten and 1st grade classes have been at Eastford Road School; all of grades 2–3 at Charlton Street School; and all of grades 4–5 at West Street School. In the mid 2010s Schools were shifted so that Eastford Road School housed Pre-K–1, and the Charlton Street School housed grades 2–5 in traditional neighborhood style, while the West Street School has been turned into a Dual Language School. Grades 6–12 are at Southbridge Middle School and Southbridge High School. Southbridge residents can also attend Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School in Charlton. In addition to the public schools, a parochial private school, Trinity Catholic Academy, serves Pre-K through eighth grade. On January 26, 2016, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education placed Southbridge School District in state receivership.

Transportation

Southbridge is served by Southbridge Municipal Airport(3B0), a public owned airport. Runway 02/20 has a 3501 x 75 feet asphalt surface.

Sites of interest

* The Quinebaug Valley Council for the Arts and Humanities – Arts Center * Gateway Players Theatre * New York, New Haven & Hartford Passenger Depot * Southbridge Hotel and Conference Center * Westville Lake and Recreation Area, outdoor recreation area along the Quinebaug River * The Optical Heritage Museum * The Metro Bistro

Notable people

* Geraldo Alicea, politician * George Thorndike Angell, lawyer * Jeff Belanger, author * Don Berry, statistician * Franklin E. Brooks, politician * Mark Carron, politician * Sidney Clarke, politician * George Constantine, racing driver * Jane Cunningham Croly, author * Joel DiGregorio, keyboardist for the

Charlie Daniels Band Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. His music fused rock music, rock, country music, country, blues and jazz, and was a pioneering contribution to Southern rock and p ...

* Kenny Dykstra, wrestler * Michael Earls, Jesuit priest * John Fitzgerald, football player * Félix Gatineau, historian and politician * Francis Harper, biologist * William L. Marcy, politician and

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...

* Leo Martello, priest * Ann McNamee, musician * Tim Moriarty, journalist * Calvin Paige, businessman and politician * Winthrop D. Putnam, soldier * Barbara Stevens, college basketball coach * Charles Burt Sumner, minister * Bill Swiacki, football player * Marilyn Travinski, politician * William Tremblay, poet, novelist, and professor * Mfoniso Udofia, writer * Cady Wells, painter * David Wu, actor

References

External links

Town of Southbridge official website

Jacob Edwards Library

History of Southbridge, MA (PDF)

The Southbridge Evening News

Southbridge History, Old Newspaper Articles, Genealogy
{{authority control Cities in Massachusetts Cities in Worcester County, Massachusetts Populated places established in 1730 1730 establishments in the Province of Massachusetts Bay