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187-533: Belmont is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts , United States. It is a western suburb of Boston and is part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area . As of the 2020 U.S. census , its population was 27,295, an increase of 10.4% from 2010. Belmont was established on March 18, 1859, by former citizens of, and on land from the bordering towns of, Watertown , to the south; Waltham , to

374-554: A diamond to be preserved inside a new trail rotary, and the historic Sudbury Section Tool House . The Stow section is 327 feet (100 m) between Wilkins St Hudson and Chestnut St Hudson. The Marlborough section is several feet to the center of the trail, forming a tripoint with the Hudson and Sudbury borders. It is accessible from Marlborough by the Old Concord Road hiking path. The Wayside Inn Railroad Waiting Room

561-670: A " Mormon enclave" due to the location of the Boston Massachusetts Temple of the LDS Church at the highest elevation in the town. The prominent gold statue of the Angel Moroni atop the Temple was originally designed by Cyrus Dallin in nearby Arlington, Massachusetts . The executive branch of the town government consists of a three-person Select Board elected by the residents. The Select Board appoints

748-770: A 2.3 miles (3.7 km) hiking trail following the rail ROW of the former Boston and Albany Railroad Athol Branch , roughly following the Swift River north. From the Belchertown border in Palmer, the rail ROW continues roughly southeast until reaching the Ware River , then continues through the Quabbin Valley to New Braintree and Barre roughly following the Ware River northeast. All improved sections are

935-621: A 92 miles (148 km) scenic footpath, between the two crossings of Whitehall Road. The Sterling Rail Trail , also known as the Mass Central Rail Trail Sterling Spur, is a 1.7 miles (2.7 km) trail located between Sterling Junction and Sterling Center. It is available by an on-road connection to the Gates Road southern terminus. It uses the former ROW of the Fitchburg and Worcester Railroad , so it

1122-725: A CDP which is coextensive with the entire town. CDPs are only recognized within towns, not cities. Because the primary role of CDPs is to establish "place" data for communities located in unincorporated areas, a CDP cannot be within an incorporated place. Since the Census Bureau recognizes New England cities as incorporated places, a CDP cannot be within a city. Data users from outside New England should be aware that New Englanders usually think in terms of entire towns (i.e., MCD data), making CDP data of marginal local interest. Since virtually all territory in New England outside of Maine

1309-678: A Commuter Rail Improvement Program which concluded that, while too early to restore service on the Central Mass Branch, acquisition from the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) to preserve the Central Mass Branch ROW and other ROWs would be prudent. In 1976, the MBTA purchased from B&M various ROWs across Massachusetts, including the Central Mass Branch. B&M retained various freight rail service obligations over

1496-720: A MassTrails grant for preliminary design of the MCRT—Wayside from Colburn Road Berlin, through Bolton, to the Hudson border was awarded, as well as a feasibility study for all of the MCRT in Berlin to the Clinton border. The Bolton section is 100 feet (30 m). There is no known ETA for construction. 🟣 2.6 miles (4.2 km) from the Bolton/Hudson Town line to Priest Street, Hudson is unimproved. A 2023 MassTrails grant

1683-617: A Town Administrator who is in charge of daily operations. The legislative branch is a representative town meeting , with eight districts each electing 36 representatives, plus ex-officio members and a Town Moderator to run the annual meeting. Belmont is part of the 24th Middlesex District (for the Massachusetts House of Representatives ), the 2nd Middlesex and Suffolk District (for the Massachusetts Senate ), and Massachusetts's 5th congressional district (for

1870-461: A borough or city can span more than one town. In practice, though, most cities in Connecticut today do not function any differently from their counterparts elsewhere in New England. See the section below on boroughs and villages for more background on this topic. There are far fewer cities in New England than there are towns, although cities are more common in heavily built-up areas, and most of

2057-484: A borough, a city can cover only a portion of a town rather than being coextensive with the town. This is rare today—only one or two examples remain—but it was more common in the past. At least one borough historically spanned more than one town: the borough of Danielsonville originally laid over parts of Killingly and Brooklyn , until the Brooklyn portion petitioned to be reorganized as a fire district and concurrently

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2244-529: A city, it is coextensive and consolidated with the Town of Hartford; governed by a single governmental entity with the powers and responsibilities of the Town being carried out by the entity referred to as the City of Hartford. In legal theory though not in current practice Connecticut cities and boroughs could be coextensive (covering the same geography as the town) without being consolidated (a single government); also

2431-420: A fair number of unincorporated, named communities that lie within the incorporated territory of a municipality. Connecticut is one of two New England states to have any type of incorporated general-purpose municipality below the town level, namely incorporated boroughs (Vermont has incorporated villages). There are nine remaining in the state, with one, Naugatuck , having consolidated with the town. Additionally,

2618-639: A feasibility study for all sections in Berlin was awarded. A connection to the existing Lester G. Ross Dam, Wachusett Aqueduct Trail, and proposed Boston Worcester Air Line Trail (BWALT) will occur with Phase 2 in Berlin. By 1971, passenger service on the Central Mass Branch west of Waltham, subsidized by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) since 1964, had ended due to low ridership. In 1972, Governor Francis Sargent initiated

2805-483: A female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 25.9% 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 2.45 and the average family size was 3.01. In 2010, 20% of the residents of Belmont were born outside of the United States. In 2000 this percentage was 15%. Belmont has been referred to as

2992-456: A few cases in Maine where a township or gore does not border any other unorganized land, it is treated as its own MCD rather than being folded into a larger UT. In theory, a CDP could probably be defined within an MCD representing an unorganized area. Due to the extremely sparse population in most such areas, however, there are few if any cases in which the Census Bureau has actually done so. For

3179-570: A fire that led to an accumulation of toxic wastewater. The chemicals released were trichloroethylene and dichloromethane , both of which have been shown to cause cancer. These chemicals are released into the air so it is difficult to trace them and to determine the source, as there are also several other industries in the area that release the same pollutants. In a typical year, Belmont, Massachusetts temperatures fall below 50 °F (10 °C) for 195 days per year. Annual precipitation in Belmont

3366-503: A gold medal and named it the 100th best public high school in the United States and the second best in the state of Massachusetts (after Boston Latin School ). Belmont Hill School is a private, non-sectarian high school, grades 7–12. Belmont Day School is a private, non-sectarian Pre-K–8 school. There are several smaller private schools. The Belmont Citizen-Herald is a weekly newspaper covering Belmont, and published on Thursdays, and

3553-823: A gravel access road for the power lines over what had become the MBTA's ROW. This included a trail section running from Cochituate Road in Wayland to before the bridge over the MBTA Fitchburg Line in Weston. This significantly reduced construction costs of the trail, and in partnership, the DCR made the decision in January 2017 to build the trail by paving the access road and installing safe road crossings, which completed in 2019. Eversource approached Weston for cooperation, sparking Weston's decision to participate, reversing

3740-559: A hard packed stone dust surface suitable for bikes and walkers. The bridge over the Swift River was demolished after rail service was discontinued and there is no river crossing available. The rail ROW starting in Bondsville , Palmer is unused and overgrown, but still owned by Massachusetts Central Railroad (MCER), the current shortline railroad , not the former railroad of the same name. Old rails and ties are still in place, as

3927-497: A historical example in New Hampshire, see Plantation number four . Most areas of New England never developed municipal forms based on the compact populated place concept. This contrasts with states with civil townships, which typically have extensive networks of villages or boroughs that carve out or overlay the townships. Two of the New England states do have general-purpose municipalities of this type, however, to at least

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4114-572: A lease with the MBTA to build the Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside from Berlin to Waltham. This work inspired other communities and land trusts to begin to build out their own sections of the MCRT. In 1999, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management produced " Commonwealth Connections , A Greenway Vision for Massachusetts", including a call for a cross state multi-use trail reaching from Boston to

4301-470: A limited extent. Connecticut has incorporated boroughs , and Vermont has incorporated villages . Such areas remain a part of their parent town, but assume some responsibilities for municipal services within their boundaries. In both states, they are typically regarded as less important than towns, and both seem to be in decline as institutions. In recent decades, many boroughs and villages have disincorporated, reverting to full town control. The term "village"

4488-478: A list of all New England towns and other town-level municipalities, see the following articles: Note: All population statistics are from the 2020 United States census . Connecticut contains 169 incorporated towns. Put into terms that are equivalent to the other New England states, 20 are cities/boroughs and 149 are towns. (As discussed in the Cities section of Other types of municipalities in New England above,

4675-720: A monthly newsletter regarding MCRT development, as well as trail development in the region. In 2021, MassTrails produced "Shared Use Path Benefits Primer", which featured the Norwottuck Branch of the Mass Central Rail Trail as one of the case studies. In 2021, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation produced a feasibility study of the 68.5 miles (110.2 km) mid-state section of the MCRT between Belchertown and Berlin. In 2023, MassTrails produced an interactive Priority Trails Network vision map for current and future shared-use path projects throughout

4862-497: A new shared use path on Route 117 and Green Street. DCR notes this roadwork will establish the first connection between the neighboring MCRT sections, prior to the more direct 128 Bridge rehabilitation route. The 1265 Main project also considers relocating the Kendal Green MBTA commuter rail station to Jones Road to create a multi-modal center integrated with the trail. Construction is estimated to start in 2024 for

5049-461: A normal-sized town, these areas were known by a variety of names, including gores , grants, locations, purchases, surpluses, and strips. Sometimes these areas were not included in any town due to survey errors (which is the technical meaning of the term "gore"). Sometimes they represent small areas that were left over when a particular region was carved into towns, not large enough to be a town on their own. Some appear to have simply been granted outside

5236-568: A part of a town — within Barnstable, the seven villages correspond to districts for fire, water, sewer and elementary schooling, for instance. (In Maine and New Hampshire, the term "village corporation" is used for a type of special-purpose district.) Many villages also are recognized as places by the United States Postal Service (some villages have their own post offices , with their names used in mailing addresses) or

5423-527: A particular municipality. All municipalities titled as cities are classified as incorporated places, even if their population-distribution pattern is no different from that of a typical town; towns are never classified as incorporated places, even if they are thoroughly built up. The ambiguity over whether certain municipalities in Massachusetts should be classified as cities or towns, and the Census Bureau's inconsistent handling of these municipalities (see

5610-587: A railroad rock cut, to north of the Wachusett Reservoir Dam is open to public use. In 1974, the trail lost the possibility to convert the 917 feet (280 m) Clinton Viaduct over the reservoir, which was demolished by the Metropolitan District Commission . One potential alternative, the top of the dam itself, is only open to public use two days a year. However, there is a 0.9 miles (1.4 km) detour following

5797-413: A result, Maine has developed more of an infrastructure for administration of unincorporated and unorganized areas than the other New England states. The existence of this fallback probably explains why Maine has had significantly more towns disincorporated over the years than any other New England state. There have been numerous instances of towns in Maine disincorporating despite populations that numbered in

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5984-575: A series of transmission projects to improve electrical grid reliability, including a connection of the Eversource substation in Sudbury to Hudson Light & Power . In January 2015, Sudbury officials noted the potential Sudbury to Hudson Transmission Reliability Project was an opportunity for construction of the MCRT—Wayside at no cost to the town, as the MBTA ROW was the most direct route between

6171-521: A similar purpose to MCDs in other states in terms of governmental function or civic-identity importance. New England towns are classified as MCDs not because they are not "incorporated" but rather the data that the census gathers on places is analyzed based on different models (those of compact settled places and open rural places) that is not well represented by the New England Town system of organization. In order to better fit their own purposes,

6358-412: A single compact populated place. Plantations in Maine are similarly classified as MCDs. That New England towns serve, in essence, the same function as incorporated places in other states, but are not treated as incorporated places by the Census Bureau, can be a source of confusion. The Census classifications should not be understood to imply that New England towns are not incorporated, or necessarily serve

6545-751: A steep gravel path along the Stillwater River, and then River Road east of the South Nashua River, to the yellow DCR gate numbered 43 at Boylston Street and Cameron Street. East of Boylston Street to the Berlin Town line the rail ROW is still unimproved. The Clinton Greenway Conservation Trust, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, helped to acquire the ROW from Boston & Maine Railroad , including the 1,100 feet (340 m) railroad tunnel under Wilson Hill between Boylston Street and Clamshell Road, once

6732-402: A stone arch bridge , elevated embankment, and station building were constructed such that the track runs over the road. At Waverley, the grade was lowered so that the tracks ran under Trapelo Road, though the platform did not have an enclosed structure there. A second historic railroad station building exists in Belmont, though it is not obvious. The one-room Wellington Hill Station was built in

6919-423: A town and a city have become blurred. Since the early 20th century, towns have been allowed to modify the town meeting form of government in various ways (e.g., representative town meeting , adding a town manager ). In recent decades, some towns have adopted what effectively amount to city forms of government, although they still refer to themselves as towns. As a practical matter, one municipality that calls itself

7106-719: A town and another that calls itself a city may have exactly the same governmental structure. With these changes in town government, a reluctance to adopt the title of city seems to have developed, and few towns have officially done so since the early 20th century. In Massachusetts, nine municipalities ( Agawam , Barnstable , Braintree , Franklin , Palmer , Randolph , Southbridge , West Springfield and Weymouth ) have adopted Mayor-Council or Council-Manager forms of government in their home rule charters, and are therefore considered to be legally cities, but nevertheless continue to call themselves "towns". They are sometimes referred to in legislation and other legal documents as "the city known as

7293-426: A town disincorporated or a plantation surrendered its organization). The remaining eight counties contain significant amounts of unincorporated/unorganized territory. Most of these areas are in very sparsely populated regions, however. Only about 1.3% of the state's population lives in areas not part of a town, city, or plantation. (Since the 2000 Census, two towns, Madrid and Centerville, have disincorporated. Thus, at

7480-560: A town government. A typical town in the northern three states was laid out in a 6-by-6-mile (9.7 by 9.7 km) square. Each contained 36 sections, 1 mile (1.6 km) squares or 640 acres (260 ha). One section was reserved for the support of public schools. This was copied when the Continental Congress laid out Ohio in 1785–87. Many early towns covered very large amounts of land. Once areas had become settled, new towns were sometimes formed by breaking areas away from

7667-562: A town meeting as its legislative body; instead, a city's legislative body is an elected representative body, typically called the city council or town council or board of aldermen . City governments are typically administered by a mayor (and/or city manager ). In common speech, people often generically refer to communities of either type as "towns", drawing no distinction between the two. The presence of incorporated boroughs in Connecticut and incorporated villages in Vermont has influenced

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7854-475: A trail tunnel under Chestnut Street in Hudson, and completed various restorative works such as mechanical removal of all invasive plants, thousands of native plantings, and wetland replication on the MBTA property at a 2:1 ratio of wetland located in the construction area (Phase 1). After the Eversource work, the DCR will pave the trail surface, install safe road crossings, add signage, and restore selected historical railroad features (Phase 2). Phase 1 construction

8041-460: A unique type of entity called a plantation . Beneath the town level, Connecticut has incorporated boroughs , and Vermont has incorporated villages . In addition to towns, every New England state has incorporated cities. However, cities are treated in the same manner as towns under state law, differing from towns only in their form of government. Most cities are former towns that changed to a city form of government because they grew too large to have

8228-475: A very rudimentary organization that does not rise to the level of an organized general-purpose municipal government (e.g., a town clerk 's office exists for the purpose of conducting elections for state or federal offices). In general, unorganized areas fall into one of the three categories below. During the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, as town boundaries were being drawn up, small areas would sometimes be left over, not included in any town. Typically smaller than

8415-565: Is a cost saving measure for the build of the MCRT—Wayside, including eliminating the cost of rehabilitating a timber trestle bridge over the Assabet River to the northwest of the section. The unimproved ROW, intersecting the completed trail at the former Gleason Junction , runs northwest and southeast. 🟠 7.6 miles (12.2 km) from Wilkins Street, Hudson to the Sudbury Substation are under construction, passing thought

8602-453: Is a partially completed rail trail between Northampton, Massachusetts and Boston along the right-of-way (ROW) of the former Massachusetts Central Railroad and former Central Massachusetts Railroad . It currently has over 60 miles (97 km) open, and 94.5 miles (152.1 km) are open or protected for trail development. When complete, it will be 104 miles (167 km) long through Central Massachusetts and Greater Boston , forming

8789-687: Is a privately owned section of the ROW, and not currently open to the public. A 1.2 miles (1.9 km) section continues from Wachusett Street in Muschopauge, Rutland to the Holden Town line, however the final 0.1 miles (0.16 km) are unimproved. These trail sections are owned by the DCR and maintained by Wachusett Greenways. From the Rutland/Holden Town line to Princeton Street, after the Providence and Worcester Railroad ,

8976-724: Is a state park maintained by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). The connection from Northampton to Hadley is made by the Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge , a 1,492 feet (455 m), 8 span, steel lattice truss bridge first built over the Connecticut River in 1887. The trail was built in 1993, first known as the Norwottuck Rail Trail, and was one of the last US formal paved bikeways at 8 feet (2.4 m) wide; in 2015

9163-541: Is at Northampton Union Station , maintained by the City of Northampton. It continues 0.9 miles (1.4 km) parallel with the Connecticut River Line , an example of rails with trails , to Woodmont Road. Next, the Norwottuck Branch of the Mass Central Rail Trail runs 11 miles (18 km) from downtown Northampton through Hadley and Amherst going 1,300 feet (400 m) into Belchertown; it

9350-561: Is available online, as well. The Citizen-Herald was formed in 1988 by merging the Belmont Citizen (founded in 1920) and the Belmont Herald (founded in 1930). The Boston Globe and Boston.com publish a Belmont Your Town website that provides local news and information. The Belmontonian is an independently operated hyper-local news website. Belmont Patch also provides online local news. The Belmont Media Center (BMC)

9537-833: Is complete and open. It includes the Charnock Tunnel installed in 2006, the Pommogussett Tunnel installed in 2011, the White Valley Bridge over the Ware River installed in 2013, and a culvert after Miles Road installed in 2024. It also includes the Charnock Cut, which the railroad cut through significant rock ledge, now forming the highest point of the MCRT. This section includes a 0.1 miles (0.16 km) on-road route on Miles Road in Rutland. The section between Glenwood Road and Wachusett Street

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9724-411: Is incorporated, CDPs do not really serve the same purpose as they do elsewhere; CDPs in New England invariably represent territory that is not "unincorporated", but part of a larger incorporated town. The extent to which such an area has its own distinct identity can vary, but is not usually as strong as identification with the town as a whole. There are numerous instances where the Census Bureau recognizes

9911-660: Is known as the Mass Central Rail Trail, New Braintree and Hardwick . It is owned and maintained by the East Quabbin Land Trust, has a hard packed gravel surface, and is open to all non-motorized use. In 2005 this rail ROW was listed for sale, and the Central Highlands Conservancy LLC was established in 2005. It purchased the land, giving the East Quabbin Land Trust two years to run a capital campaign to purchase

10098-760: Is known as the Ware River Park in Gilbertville section of the Mass Central Rail Trail . It is owned by the Town of Hardwick, running from just after the covered bridge to the Saint Aloysius Cemetery. A portion of this section is known as the Gilbertville Fitness Trail , built in 2014. In 2022, the Town was awarded $ 133,000 in state funds to improve the section to MCRT standards, and it opened in 2023. The rail ROW paralleling Route 32 from Gilbertville to Creamery Road

10285-433: Is no area that is outside the bounds of a municipality. Using usual American terminology, there is no "unincorporated" land in Massachusetts. Of the 351 municipalities, the number that are cities and the number that are towns is a matter of some ambiguity. Depending on which source is consulted, anywhere from 39 to 53 are cities. The ambiguity is the result of questions around the legal status of municipalities that have since

10472-577: Is no longer intact and has been lost to development and private ownership. In addition, the bridge over the active rail ROW is missing. This stretch is not open to public use. From Creamery Road in Hardwick, through a lattice truss bridge over the Ware river to New Braintree, and through a pony truss bridge over the Ware river to Maple Street in Wheelwright , Hardwick, a 3.2 miles (5.1 km) section

10659-505: Is not open to the public. Wachusett Greenways has completed about 20 miles (32 km) of the planned 30 miles (48 km) of the MCRT through the towns of Barre to Sterling, including eight bridges. All of the improved sections are a hard packed stone dust surface suitable for bikes or walkers, which helped accelerate construction dates forward compared to paving. The first section of trail opened in 1997 in West Boylston. From

10846-510: Is one of the few states in the region that is an exception to this rule; the Massachusetts Constitution requires a town to have a population of at least 10,000 people before it can switch its government from a town meeting form to a city form. Nevertheless, even without a hard and fast population limit for city status, the practical threshold to become a city seems to be higher in the three southern New England states than in

11033-457: Is one public middle school, located near the High School, the Belmont Middle School. There is one public high school , the Belmont High School . Belmont High is noted for its college placement, strong athletics, academics, music, and theater arts; a typical class size of about 320 students. Belmont High regularly feeds 5-10 students into Harvard University on an average given year. As of 2009, U.S. News & World Report gave Belmont High School

11220-459: Is owned by the DCR, and was created by a 2019 MassTrails award for the first phase of construction. The ROW from Quinapoxet Street to River Street is privately owned and lost to development. Instead, after a short on-road route north on Mill Street, a 2.2 miles (3.5 km) detour route from Mill Street, crossing Manning Street, to River Street, using trail along the Wachusett Aqueduct , has been developed to bypass this section, sometimes known as

11407-516: Is owned by the Town of Belchertown and is open for pedestrians and snowmobiles. The sections north of the US 202 overpass are more overgrown, with the southern sections clearer and better maintained. There is a timber trestle bridge over Jabish Brook in this section, and a report by the Friends of the Belchertown Greenway was commissioned as a first step before rehabilitation of the bridge. The trail just after Station Road in Amherst to after North Washington Street in Belchertown section runs parallel with

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11594-403: Is partially owned by the Town of Berlin, CSX Transportation , and the MBTA. An advocacy group Friends of the Berlin Rail Trail is working to build the Mass Central Rail Trail in Berlin. This group has proposed a 3 Phase construction, where Phase 1 would be the Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside , and Phase 2 and Phase 3 are central and western Berlin, respectively. In 2024, a MassTrails grant for

11781-481: Is sometimes used in New England to describe a distinct, built-up place within a town or city. This may be a town center , which bears the same name as the town or city (almost every town has such a place), or a name related to that of the town, or a completely unrelated name. The town of Barnstable, Massachusetts , for example, includes the villages of Barnstable Village , West Barnstable , Centerville , Marstons Mills , Osterville , Cotuit , and Hyannis . Except for

11968-399: Is sufficiently populated to be covered by a town or a city. In colonial times, Massachusetts also used the term "plantation" for a community in a pre-town stage of development (Maine originally got the term from Massachusetts, as Maine was part of Massachusetts until 1820, when it became a state via the Missouri Compromise ). The term "plantation" had not been much used in Massachusetts since

12155-409: Is the bridge over the Ware River, and no trail development has taken place. Continuing into Ware, the rail ROW is still in use by MCER. The bridge over the Ware River is missing, making the ROW between the river and the Gibbs Crossing shopping plaza unusable. Two sections are open in Ware. From Gibbs Crossing to Robbins Road, a 1.56 miles (2.51 km) section is known as the Gibbs Crossing segment of

12342-540: Is typically 45.2 inches per year (high in the US) and snow covers the ground 52 days per year, or 14.2% of the year (high for the US). The humidity is below 60% for approximately 25.4 days, or 7% of the year. As of 2020, there were 27,295 residents of the Town of Belmont, and in 2021 there were 17,640 registered voters. In 2020, the racial make up of the town was 69.6% White , 1.9% Black or African American , 0.05% Native American , 18.5% Asian , and 4.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.7% of

12529-484: The Belmont Community Path , a rail trail across Belmont, using the abandoned Central Massachusetts Railroad right-of-way along the existing Fitchburg Line tracks. When completed this trail will be part of the Mass Central Rail Trail . Belmont remains a primarily residential suburb, with little population growth since the 1950s. It is best known for the mansion-filled Belmont Hill neighborhood, although most residents live in more densely settled, low-lying areas around

12716-427: The Belmont High School and the Clay Pit Pond is a lasting example of environmental planning. With the introduction of automobiles and highways , Belmont continued its transition to a commuter-based suburb throughout the 20th century. The John Birch Society was headquartered in Belmont from its founding in 1958 until its relocation to Appleton, Wisconsin , in 1989. The building at 395 Concord Avenue later became

12903-413: The Bruce Freeman Rail Trail Phase 2D which is under construction, and the two trails will connect at the site of the Sudbury "diamond". There are also many connections to hiking trails including the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge , the City of Marlborough Desert Natural Area , the Town of Sudbury Hop Brook Marsh Conservation Land , and Sudbury Valley Trustees Memorial Forest . In Wayland,

13090-478: The Holden Connector . A MassTrails award in 2023 funded improvements from Mill Street at Wachusett Street to Manning Street, and construction began September 8, 2023. A 2024 MassTrails grant was awarded to complete this construction. From River Street to Thomas Street in the village of Oakdale , West Boylston, a 3 miles (4.8 km) ROW is complete and open, roughly following the Quinapoxet River . The detour and trail ROW combined in Holden are both maintained by

13277-426: The New England Central Railroad , an example of rails with trails . From Route 181 to the Palmer Town line, the rail ROW is privately owned and not accessible to the public. The New England National Scenic Trail follows Federal Street and therefore connects with the MCRT. Additionally, there is a short on-road connection from the MCRT at Route 181 to the Chickadee Trail , with the southern terminus at Depot Street,

13464-710: The Sudbury River in Great Meadows Wildlife Refuge. 🟢 0.5 miles (0.80 km) from Route 20, Wayland to Cochituate Road, Wayland is complete with a stone dust surface. It was installed as a stone dust trail by the Town of Wayland in 2017, and includes a historic railway turntable to be preserved. It will be improved in the Spring 2027 Sudbury-Wayland construction project with paving. This section passes by Wayland station . 🟢 4.4 miles (7.1 km) from Cochituate Road, Wayland to before

13651-508: The United States Census Bureau (which recognizes some villages as census-designated places and tabulates census data for them). Towns with an example of the former, such as Richmond, Rhode Island , do not have a post office themselves, but instead use villages in town or villages in nearby towns as a mailing address. This leads to a weaker town identification in such towns, with residents more strongly identifying with

13838-549: The United States Census Bureau does not classify New England towns as "incorporated places". They are instead classified as " minor civil divisions " (MCDs), the same category into which civil townships fall. The Census Bureau classifies New England towns in this manner because they are conceptually similar to civil townships from a geographic standpoint, typically exhibiting similar population-distribution patterns. Like civil townships, but unlike most incorporated municipalities in other states, New England towns do not usually represent

14025-409: The United States Census Bureau , the town has an area of 4.7 square miles (12.2 km), of which 4.7 square miles (12.1 km) is land and less than 0.1 square miles (0.1 km), or 1.06%, is water. Belmont is bordered by Cambridge on the east, Arlington on the north, Lexington on the northwest, Waltham on the west, and Watertown on the south. In 2002, Middlesex County

14212-682: The United States House of Representatives ). Belmont is served by the Belmont Public Schools , governed by an independently elected school committee. There are four public elementary schools in Belmont: the Mary Lee Burbank, Daniel Butler, Winn Brook, and Roger Wellington schools. The Mary Lee Burbank School was founded in 1931. Two other public elementary schools, Payson Park and Kendall, were closed in

14399-695: The Ware–Hardwick Covered Bridge , a 2.7 miles (4.3 km) section is known as the Mass Central Rail Trail Expansion . The East Quabbin Land Trust (EQLT), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, purchased Frohloff Farm in 2018 and completed the Expansion in 2022. The remaining section to the covered bridge is unimproved and not open to the public. A 1 mile (1.6 km) section through the village of Gilbertville , Hardwick

14586-594: The Wheelright Branch in Belchertown. In 1997, Belchertown held an unofficial straw poll against further study of the trail. At that time, Massachusetts was the only state that required paving of trails if using federal funds, which was cited as a concern. Over the following years, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation generated updated guidelines allowing for non-paved surfaces on shared use paths and greenways. Other sections of

14773-401: The "Path Development Corridor", consisting of a paved path, typically 10 or 12 feet (3.0 or 3.7 m) wide, with grass shoulders, grading, and additional side clearance. Sections are marked 🟣 in design, 🟠 construction, or 🟢 complete. 🟣 2.3 miles (3.7 km) from Coburn Road, Berlin to the Bolton/Hudson Town line remains unimproved and overgrown with some missing bridges. In 2024,

14960-747: The 1840s as a private school, not far from its current location in Belmont Center. It was then used by the Fitchburg Railroad from 1852 to 1879. When the railroad decided to replace the station with a larger structure, the building was moved to the Underwood Estate and used as a summer house. In 1974, the station was donated to the Belmont Historical Society. It was restored and moved to its current location in 1980. As of 2024, plans are underway to construct

15147-446: The 1840s, and for many years prior to the 1860s Vermont had just one city. Even Massachusetts, historically New England's most populous state, did not have any cities until 1822, when Boston was granted a city form of government by the state legislature. In most of New England, population is not a determining factor for what makes a city or town, and there are many examples of towns with larger populations than nearby cities. Massachusetts

15334-717: The 18th and 19th centuries as what might be termed "future towns", but never saw enough settlement to actually commence operation of a formal town government. All three of the northern New England states also include at least one unorganized township that was once a town but has disincorporated and reverted to unorganized territory, generally due to population loss. Maine also has some unorganized townships that were once organized as plantations. Maine has significantly more unorganized territory than Vermont or New Hampshire. Fewer than 100 Vermont residents and fewer than 250 New Hampshire residents live in unorganized areas. In Maine, by contrast, about 10,000 residents live in unorganized areas. As

15521-497: The 18th century. Massachusetts also once had "districts", which served much the same purpose. They were considered to be incorporated, but lacked the full privileges of a town. On August 23, 1775, in order for more representation for the Revolutionary War, 36 towns in Massachusetts and 6 in Maine were incorporated, effectively eliminating the district meaning. Maine and Rhode Island are also known to have made limited use of

15708-455: The 1970s and 1980s, respectively. The former closed after being destroyed by fire, the latter closed due to population shifts and was converted to an arts center, which was later also destroyed by fire. There is one public upper elementary school, the Winthrop L. Chenery Upper Elementary School, which was rebuilt on the same location after an electrical fire damaged the auditorium in 1995. There

15895-457: The 1970s, through home-rule petition, adopted corporate charters approved by the state legislature with forms of government that resemble city government and do not include elements traditionally associated with town government (especially, a board of selectmen and a town meeting). Of the fourteen communities that have done so, all but three call themselves a "town" in their municipal operations, and are usually referred to by residents as "towns", but

16082-450: The 20th century, however. One late instance was the separation of Sugar Hill, New Hampshire , from the town of Lisbon in 1962. It has not taken place anywhere in New England in the last fifty years; boundary changes of any type are fairly rare. Towns are the basic building block of the New England municipality system, although several other types of municipalities also exist. Every New England state has cities . In addition, Maine also has

16269-572: The 42 municipalities that title themselves as cities are recognized as cities. This includes the 39 cities that adopted city forms of government through pre-home rule procedures. The other 309 municipalities in the state are treated as towns below. The same classification is used for identifying Massachusetts cities on the list of New England towns and its attendant pages with historical census population statistics. For further information, see this section of Massachusetts government . Belmont Community Path The Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT)

16456-614: The Berkshires. Since 1999, Wachusett Greenways, the Wayside Rail Trail Committee, or the Norwottuck Network have held Golden Spike conferences during various years to promote the MCRT and other regional trails. By 2002, every community along the corridor agreed to the unified Mass Central Rail Trail name to promote the idea of a state-wide trail. Since 2017, the Norwottuck Network has been issuing

16643-478: The CDP. At the same time, not all built-up places with significant populations are recognized as CDPs. The Census Bureau has historically recognized relatively few CDPs within urbanized areas in particular. Many towns located in such areas do not contain any recognized CDPs and will thus be completely absent from Census materials presenting the population of "places". Greenwich, Connecticut, is one prominent example. While

16830-410: The Census Bureau, can be another source of confusion. The Census classifications should not be understood to imply that cities are incorporated but towns are not, or that cities and towns represent two fundamentally different types of entities. The Census classifies New England municipalities strictly based on whether they are towns or cities, with no regard to the actual population-distribution pattern in

17017-452: The Census only counts cities and certain fully urbanized towns as "places" in its categorization. In other towns, those with small built-up central villages, the Census designates one or more census-designated places (CDPs) and considers all other land to be parts of "minor civil divisions". This classification is done only for the Census's own data analysis, and otherwise has no connection to

17204-752: The Central Mass tracks were removed between Hill's Crossing and Clematis Brook (Waltham), and rail traffic was rerouted over the Fitchburg line. Presently, the MBTA operates the Fitchburg Line through Belmont as part of its MBTA commuter rail service. Passenger service on the line terminates at Wachusett station in Fitchburg . The station stops at Belmont Center and Waverley were once level crossings , and pedestrian and vehicle traffic had to cross directly over rails on public roads. In 1907,

17391-548: The Central Massachusetts Branch. Later that year, the route was completed from Boston to Northampton. The railroad faced various challenges over its history, including a fatal blow to the complete route by the Hurricane of 1938 which severed the middle 24 miles (39 km) from Oakdale to Wheelright . This reduced the Central Mass Branch to the eastern side and created the Wheelright Branch to

17578-693: The Central Massachusetts Railroad, and is not included in the 104 miles (167 km) tally. Additional connecting trails in this section include the Arthur R. Swift Amherst/UMass Bike Connector , and the New Haven Northampton Canal Line and Manhan Rail Trail , which are both part of the greater New Haven and Northampton Canal Greenway . By 1983, the Boston and Maine Railroad had taken up all tracks of

17765-536: The Commonwealth that will be prioritized, including all 104 miles (167 km) of the MCRT. In 2023, the Norwottuck Network produced "Envisioning a Statewide Connection Massachusetts Central Rail Trail Benefits Study", a report highlighting the benefits of completing all 104 miles (167 km) of the MCRT. The trail is fully complete and paved through Northampton, Hadley, Amherst, and a short section in Belchertown. The Mass Central Rail Trail's western terminus

17952-572: The DCR and are labeled "Mass Central Rail Trail" on the DCR's Wachusett Watershed Bike Routes map. The trail in West Boylston is owned and managed by the Town. From Thomas Street in West Boylston, through Sterling, to Clinton, an on-road route is used. The ROW remains in service as the Worcester Main Line of CSX Transportation . A connection to the Ware River Rail Trail , a 15 miles (24 km) trail following

18139-625: The Green Street / 117 shared use path, with the 128 Bridge work to be determined, to follow MCRT Waltham-Weston, Phase 1. 🟢 0.3 miles (0.48 km) from Hillside Road, Waltham to after Border Street, Waltham, is the first completed section of the Wayside trail. It was built in 2014 in partnership with the 1265 Main Street Phase 1 development. 🟢 2.75 miles (4.43 km) from after Border Street, Waltham to Beaver Street, Waltham, at

18326-542: The Hill. There are three major commercial centers in the town: Belmont Center in the center, Cushing Square in the south, and Waverley Square in the west. Town Hall and other civic buildings are in Belmont Center. Large tracts of land from former farms and greenhouse estates form public or publicly accessible areas such as Rock Meadow, Habitat, portions of the McLean Hospital tract and various town fields. According to

18513-527: The Killingly portion was renamed Danielson by the General Assembly. There are no legal restrictions in Connecticut that would prevent a city or borough today from similarly overlaying the territory of more than one town, provided it is not consolidated with one of the underlying towns. Cities actually developed earlier in Connecticut than in the other New England states, and were originally based on

18700-486: The MBTA produced the "Central Mass. Commuter Rail Feasibility Study", which advised reactivation of the Central Mass Branch between Berlin and Waltham would not be cost effective. In 1997, a "Central Massachusetts Rail Trail Feasibility Study" was commissioned by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority , which found construction of a 25 miles (40 km) trail to be feasible. The proposed trail

18887-548: The MBTA's Central Mass Branch property. In Hudson, a 0.75 miles (1.21 km) section of the MCRT—Wayside is shared with the Assabet River Rail Trail along the former Marlborough Branch of the Fitchburg Railroad. Like this trail section, the predecessor railroads also shared this ROW, as some B&M Central Mass passenger trains were run via the Marlborough Branch starting in 1902. This

19074-612: The MBTA-DCR trail easement was unlawful and void. However, in every ruling, all judges determined all plaintiffs could not succeed with any claim. In 2022 and 2023, abutters sued the MBTA in Massachusetts Land Court twice alleging property rights over the MBTA's Central Mass Branch property in furtherance of such allegations, but withdrew both cases before a judicial ruling. In 2024, Hudson Town meeting voters rejected four citizen petitions to sell or lease

19261-513: The MCRT and other Massachusetts trails. The Massachusetts Central Railroad was formed in 1869 and envisioned a 104 miles (167 km) railroad from Boston to Northampton. By 1882 it was providing passenger service from Boston 48 miles (77 km) to Jefferson , but went bankrupt in 1883. It was succeeded by the Central Massachusetts Railroad , which was leased by the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1887, naming it

19448-674: The MCRT were built with a hard packed stone dust surface, such as the Wachussett Greenways sections. From 2000 to 2017, the Belchertown Land Trust, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, purchased 6.8 miles (10.9 km) (72%) of the former ROW land as it became available and donated it to the Town of Belchertown for public use and to protect from development. In 2017 the Friends of the Belchertown Greenway

19635-460: The Mass Central Rail Trail . This section was opened in 2023 and is owned and maintained by the Town of Ware. Past Robbins Road to the upper Ware River crossing, two river bridges are missing and the MCER rail yard on the east side of the river is still active, blocking the trail ROW. After the Ware River crossing, though Frohloff Farm and Accessible Rail Trail , through Upper Church Street, almost to

19822-564: The Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB), Eversource preferred such an underground MBTA ROW route, though as part of the approval process, Eversource was required to evaluate alternative options. Only the preferred, underground MBTA ROW route was endorsed by the DCR, as the transmission project had the benefit of substantially reducing trail construction costs, and the underground route required Eversource to make several bridge improvements

20009-580: The Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth's Office considers all fourteen to be legally cities. Other sources within state government often refer to all fourteen municipalities as towns, however. The U.S. Census Bureau listed all as towns through the 1990 Census. For the 2000 Census, some were listed by the Federal government as towns and some as cities, a situation that continues in Census materials since 2000. Massachusetts appears to be

20196-550: The New Braintree Town line to Barre Depot Road, the ROW in Barre is either obstructed by private development (south of Route 67) or part of an active section of the MCER (north of Route 67). East of Barre Depot Road, the rail ROW is obliterated by development. The trail departs the Ware River in Barre as it continues east to Boston. An 8.8 miles (14.2 km) section from Barre, though Oakham, to Glenwood Road in Rutland,

20383-702: The ROW of the former Ware River Railroad , is available by an on-road connection, roughly following the Burnshirt River . The southern terminus is on Route 122, 0.25 miles (0.40 km) from the beginning of the Wachusett Greenways section at the Ware river. There is a significant network of interconnecting shorter trails in the Ware River Watershed. There is a connection in Rutland to the Midstate Hiking Trail ,

20570-610: The ROWs for several more years. By 1977, the MBTA had acquired title ownership of all of these ROWs in fee simple , a portion from the 1976 purchase and a portion by order of taking. By 1980, a permanent discontinuance of the B&;M's freight obligations for the Central Mass Branch west of Waltham was approved. The final train on the Central Mass Branch ROW, freight in Waltham between Bacon Street and Clematis Brook , ran in 1994. In 1996,

20757-472: The Statistics and Superlatives section below), further blurs matters. To fill in some of the "place" data, the Census Bureau sometimes recognizes census-designated places (CDPs) within New England towns. These often correspond to town centers or other villages, although not all such areas are recognized as CDPs. In cases where a town is entirely or almost entirely built-up, the Census sometimes recognizes

20944-517: The Town of ..." Greenfield, in December 2017, dropped the "town" designation, which some called "embarrassing" and which legislators said made paperwork more difficult. Common parlance labeling a community a "city" or a "town" may have more to do with its current size, whether its current size or its historical size and reputation. In addition to towns and cities, Maine has a third type of town-like municipality not found in any other New England state,

21131-527: The Town of Greenwich appears in MCD materials, the Census Bureau does not recognize Greenwich as a "place". In New Hampshire and Vermont, the Census Bureau treats each individual unorganized entity (township, gore, grant, etc.) as an MCD. In Maine, it seems, due to the extent of unorganized area, the Census Bureau typically lumps contiguous townships, gores, and the like together into larger units called "unorganized territories" (UTs), which are then treated as MCDs. In

21318-611: The U.S., except that it uses the town as its basic unit rather than the county. Even though the Census Bureau does not treat New England towns as "incorporated places", it does classify cities in New England as such. The rationale behind this is that cities are likely to be more thoroughly built-up and therefore more readily comparable to cities in other states than towns are. Boroughs in Connecticut and incorporated villages in Vermont are also treated as incorporated places. That New England states, in general, regard cities and towns on equal footing, yet they are handled in two different ways by

21505-564: The US Census Bureau treats Groton Long Point as a borough, as an act of the state legislature gives it the same powers as a borough, although it has never formally organized as one. They were once more numerous. Many of those that remain are very small. Connecticut also has at least one remaining city ( Groton ) that is within, but not coextensive with, its parent town . A second non-coextensive city, Winsted , still exists on paper, but its government has been consolidated with that of

21692-484: The Wayside trail, once built, form a state park maintained by the DCR, except a section shared with the Assabet River Rail Trail , which is maintained by the Town of Hudson. All completed sections of the Wayside trail are paved, and DCR plans to pave both all sections under construction and the only section that is currently stone dust in Wayland. While the MBTA ROW is 50 to 100 feet (15 to 30 m) wide, DCR leased trail sections are 19 feet (5.8 m) wide, known as

21879-476: The actual organization or legal status of New England towns. The census bureau does uniquely recognize towns, however, in that it classifies metropolitan areas in New England on the basis of town boundaries rather than county boundaries as it does in other parts of the U.S. Unique to New England is the New England city and town area , which is analogous to Metropolitan Statistical Areas in other parts of

22066-505: The borough concept. At one time, all cities were non-coextensive; the practice of making cities coextensive with their towns was a later adaptation intended to mimic the city concept that had emerged in the other New England states. Over time, many non-coextensive cities have expanded to become coextensive with their parent town. As with boroughs, many have also disincorporated and reverted to full town control. These two trends have combined to make non-coextensive cities very rare in recent times;

22253-653: The boundary with New York State , housing the Stratford Shoal Light , is not part of any town and is administered directly by the United States Coast Guard . In general, inhabited minor off-shore islands are administered as part of a nearby town and in some cases, are their own independent towns, such as the town of Gosnold , Massachusetts, which encompasses the Elizabeth Islands . Unlike municipalities in most other states,

22440-435: The bridge over MBTA Fitchburg Line, Weston are complete. The DCR paved the access road and installed safe road crossings in 2019. This section passes by the historic Wayland Freight House and Weston station . 🟠 0.3 miles (0.48 km) from before the bridge over MBTA Fitchburg Line, Weston to Jones Road, Waltham is under construction, known as Mass Central Rail Trail Waltham-Weston, Phase 1. This section will rehabilitate

22627-407: The bridge. It was built in 1894 and is a riveted lattice truss bridge on granite abutments. The Linden Street bridge project also includes sidewalk and railroad crossing improvements at Beaver Street. Construction bid was awarded, and construction is estimated to begin in spring 2025. In Hudson, the MCRT—Wayside connects with the Assabet River Rail Trail in Hudson. In Sudbury, it connects with

22814-415: The built-up area around a town center as a CDP, resulting in a CDP that bears the same name as the town. In these cases, data for the CDP is, in general, meaningless to local residents, who seldom draw any particular distinction between the built-up area around the town center and outlying areas of the town. A local source citing data for such a community will almost always use the data for the entire town, not

23001-579: The communities between Barre and Sterling, and began to build a hard packed stone dust trail over the rail ROW, naming it the Massachusetts Central Rail Trail to promote the idea of a state-wide trail network. In 1996, the first plans to build out the MCRT from Berlin to Belmont on the MBTA's ROW emerged, but stalled until 2010, when the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) executed

23188-492: The development of counties in the region. Areas were organized as towns as they were settled, throughout the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Town boundaries were not usually laid out on any kind of regular grid, but were drawn to reflect local settlement and transportation patterns, often affected by natural features. In early colonial times, recognition of towns was very informal, generally connected to local church divisions. By 1700, colonial governments had become more involved in

23375-434: The district concept. Districts have not been at all common since the first half of the 19th century, and there have not been any districts anywhere in New England in over a century. Maine is the only New England state that currently has a significant amount of territory that is not sufficiently populated to support town governments; thus, it is the only New England state that still needs the plantation type of municipality. For

23562-400: The evolution of cities in those states. In Connecticut in particular, the historical development of cities was quite different from in the other New England states, and at least technically, the relationship between towns and cities is today different from elsewhere in New England. Just as boroughs in Connecticut overlay towns, so do cities; for example, while Hartford is commonly thought of as

23749-490: The exception rather than the rule in the New England system, and the number of New England residents who live in them is extremely small in comparison to those who live in towns and cities, even in Maine. Most such areas are located in very sparsely populated regions. Much of the barely inhabited interior of Maine is unorganized, for example. The majority of the unincorporated areas in New Hampshire are in Coos County , and

23936-406: The existing bridge over Rt. 128 . The bridge was built in 1960 and is a two-span plate girder bridge on concrete abutments and pier. This section is at 25% design. It will be designed in coordination with the 1265 Main Street Phase 2 mixed use development and roadway improvements project. The roadway improvement portion of the 1265 Main project will occur first, is planned for 2025, and will create

24123-556: The existing bridge over the MBTA Fitchburg Line . The bridge was built in 1896 and is a riveted lattice truss bridge on stone abutments. Construction funding was announced in 2023 and DCR issued a notice to proceed with construction in 2024. Construction is estimated to complete summer 2025. 🟣 0.5 miles (0.80 km) from Jones Road, Waltham to Hillside Road, Waltham is unimproved, known as Mass Central Rail Trail Waltham-Weston, Phase 2. This section will rehabilitate

24310-551: The former Central Massachusetts Railroad into a rail trail occurred in 1980 when the Commonwealth of Massachusetts acquired the westernmost 8.5 miles (13.7 km) of the Wheelright Branch, and developed it into what was then known as the Norwottuck Rail Trail in 1993. In 1995, community leaders and volunteers formed the Wachusett Greenways, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit formed to create trails and greenways in

24497-566: The headquarters of the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR), which is expanding and renovating its facility as of 2019. Belmont was once served by two railroads, the Fitchburg Railroad and the Central Massachusetts Railroad , both of which later became part of the Boston & Maine Railroad system. Originally the two railroads each had their own separate trackage through town, but in 1952

24684-805: The hundreds. While these were not large communities, they were large enough to realistically operate a town government if they wanted to, but simply elected not to. In Vermont and New Hampshire, disincorporation has, in general, not been brought up for discussion unless a town's population has approached single digits. In general, coastal waters in the New England states are administered directly by either state or federal agencies and are not part of any town. Several towns, however, have chosen to include all or part of their corresponding coastal waters in their territory. Coastal waters include human-made structures built within them. In Connecticut, for example, an artificial, uninhabited island in Long Island Sound at

24871-490: The incorporated villages in Vermont, these "villages" are not incorporated municipalities and should not be understood as such. Towns do sometimes grant a certain measure of recognition to such areas, using highway signs that identify them as "villages", for example. These informal "villages" also sometimes correspond to underlying special-purpose districts such as fire or water districts, which are separately incorporated quasi-municipal entities that provide specific services within

25058-535: The land at cost. This preserved the trail section, including three historic bridges that would otherwise would have been scrapped. The two largest bridges with steel superstructures received a 2023 MassTrails grant to replace the timber decking. From Maple Street, into New Braintree again, to the Barre Town line, the trail ROW is obstructed by a missing bridge and the Tanner-Hiller Airport and

25245-464: The largest municipalities in the region are titled as cities. Across New England as a whole, only about 5% of all incorporated municipalities are cities. Cities are more common in the three southern New England states, which are much more densely populated, than they are in the three northern New England states. In early colonial times, all incorporated municipalities in New England were towns; there were no cities. Springfield, Massachusetts , for instance,

25432-484: The late 18th century, and Massachusetts was almost completely covered early in the 19th century. By 1850, the only New England state that still had large unincorporated areas was Maine ; by the end of the 19th century, most areas in Maine that could realistically be settled had been organized into towns. Early town organization in Vermont and much of New Hampshire proceeded in a somewhat different manner from that of

25619-493: The location of the former Clemantis Brook Station location, is complete. Waltham funded the approximately $ 9 million cost of construction of its section from City revenues. Construction began in 2022 and was substantially complete by September 2023. However, the Linden Street bridge rehabilitation has not begun, and therefore the two completed sections are not continuous. The timber trestle bridge over Clemantis Brook

25806-626: The longest in Massachusetts. In July 2020, the state awarded $ 112,000 for purchase of this section, which completed in December 2020. The trail will connect two Town owned parcels, the Maffei Conservation Area and the Rauscher Farm, and pass through the open space around the Woodlands Development. A further $ 397,000 MassTrails grant in 2022 will complete planning for the tunnel, and begin planning for

25993-480: The longest rail trail in New England . Many sections of the trail, including the Norwottuck Branch of the Mass Central Rail Trail and the Somerville Community Path , have been developed as separate projects but serve as part of the complete Mass Central Rail Trail. The Norwottuck Network, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports the build and operation of the MCRT, maintains an interactive map of

26180-618: The majority of the unincorporated areas in Vermont are in Essex County . Two additional counties in New Hampshire and three additional counties in Vermont contain smaller amounts of unincorporated territory. In Maine, eight of the state's sixteen counties contain significant amounts of unorganized territory (in essence, those counties in the northern and interior parts of the state). Four other counties contain smaller amounts. Most of these areas have no local government at all; indeed, some have no permanent population whatsoever. Some areas have

26367-537: The negative 1997 Town vote. Weston assisted by forming a Rail Trail Committee and made recommendations, constructed the Conant Road underpass not included with DCR's funding, officially stated thanks to DCR and Eversource for their contributions to the trail, and now supports the completion of the entire MCRT. In Hudson, Stow, Marlborough, and Sudbury, in 2015 ISO New England issued a Greater Boston area needs assessment, directing utility companies to investigate

26554-440: The neighboring town of Arlington . Despite the small size of the town, Belmont has 5 signed exits on Route 2. Nearby major highways include I-95 / MA-Route 128 , Route 16 , Route 3 , and Route 20 . Belmont is served by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority 's Fitchburg Commuter Rail line, and its bus and trackless trolley lines. Two MBTA Commuter Rail rail stations, Waverley and Belmont Center , are located in

26741-453: The official establishment of new towns. Towns were typically governed by a town meeting form of government, as many still are today. Towns originally were the only form of incorporated municipality in New England. The city form of government was not introduced until much later. Boston , for instance, was a town for the first two centuries of its existence. The entire land areas of Connecticut and Rhode Island had been divided into towns by

26928-443: The only New England state where this issue has arisen, though other New England states also have municipalities that have adopted what amounts to city forms of government but continue to call themselves "towns". In the other New England states, it does not appear that any need to officially label such municipalities as "cities" has been identified. For purposes of determining the "largest town" and "smallest city", in this article, only

27115-530: The only one currently incorporated is the city of Groton , located in the southwestern part of the town of Groton, Connecticut . In Vermont, if a village becomes a city, it does not continue to overlay its parent town, but breaks away and becomes a completely separate municipality. Most cities in Vermont today are actually former villages rather than former towns, and are much smaller than a typical town in terms of land area. The above process has created several instances where there are adjacent towns and cities with

27302-631: The optional process of railbanking. In 2014, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA) determined the trail did not require further Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act review, simplifying permitting. In Wayland and Weston, by 1952, the Boston Edison Company (BECo) acquired an easement along this section of the B&M's ROW and built overhead power lines . In 2016, BECo's successor, Eversource , filed permits to build

27489-411: The original existing towns. This was an especially common practice during the 18th and early 19th centuries. More heavily populated areas were often subdivided on multiple occasions. As a result, towns and cities in urbanized areas are often smaller in terms of land area than an average town in a rural area. Formation of new towns in this manner slowed in the later part of the 19th century and early part of

27676-419: The other New England states. In these areas, towns were often "chartered" long before any settlers moved into a particular area. This was very common in the mid to late 18th century—although there were towns which predated that period and were not part of this process in southeastern New Hampshire, such as Exeter . Once there were enough residents in a town to formally organize a town government, no further action

27863-524: The plantation. A plantation is, in essence, a town-like community that does not have enough population to require full town government or services. Plantations are organized at the county level and typically found in sparsely populated areas. There is no bright-line population divider between a town and a plantation, but no plantation currently has any more than about 300 residents. Plantations are considered to be "organized" but not "incorporated." Not all counties have them; in some southern counties, all territory

28050-428: The population. Pending the release of the 2020 Census results, in 2010 6.3% of the population were under the age of five, 24.6% were under the age of eighteen, and 15.8% were 65 years of age or older; 53% were female. The median household income was $ 114,141. The 2000 census listed 9,732 households, out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 8.8% had

28237-487: The rail ROW is privately owned and lost to development. An on-road route is being used to fill the gap. From Princeton Street to Mill Street, a 1.84 miles (2.96 km) section is open, and is a subsection of what is also named the Mill Street Rail Trail . The ROW is the northern semicircle of the trail system, and trail detours on the east and west ends were built to complete the MCRT here. This section

28424-421: The relationship between towns and cities in Connecticut is different from the other New England states, at least on paper; thus, in the technical sense, all 169 of the above municipalities are really towns, with 20 overlaid by a coextensive city or borough of the same name.) Together, these 169 municipalities cover the entire state. There is no unincorporated territory, but, as in all New England states, there are

28611-462: The remainder of the trail east to the Berlin Town line. A further $ 162,400 MassTrails grant was awarded in 2023 to purchase a parcel of land off Berlin Street with trail access and a parking area. A 2024 MassTrails grant was awarded to construct Phase 1, access points at Rauscher Farm and 447 Berlin Street, and trail development between these two locations. In Berlin the rail ROW is unimproved. It

28798-439: The remaining 32 are organized as plantations. These 485 organized municipalities together cover much of, but not all of, the state's territory. Of Maine's sixteen counties, only four are entirely incorporated. Four other counties are almost entirely incorporated, but include small amounts of unincorporated/unorganized territory (three of these four counties were entirely incorporated or organized at one time, but lost that status when

28985-506: The same name. In all cases, the city was originally the "town center" of the town, but later incorporated as a city and became a separate municipality. All three of the northern New England states ( Vermont , New Hampshire , and Maine ) contain some areas that are unincorporated and unorganized, not part of any town, city or plantation. Maine has significantly more such area than the other two states. While these areas do exist, their importance should not be overstated. They are certainly

29172-414: The substations. Prior efforts for a locally funded trail had already lost momentum, and with the news of a possibility to build the trail without local funding, Sudbury officials and a Town vote decided against continuing local funding efforts to accelerate a proposed trail build with a crushed stone surface first. By November 2015, Sudbury and Hudson officials requested Eversource consider undergrounding

29359-457: The three northern New England states. In Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island, almost every city has at least 10,000 people, and all but a few have at least 20,000. In Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, however, there are a number of cities with fewer than 10,000 people, and there are five (three in Maine and two in Vermont) with fewer than 5,000. Over time, some of the distinctions between

29546-399: The time of the 2000 Census, Maine had 22 cities, 434 towns, and 34 plantations, for a total of 490 organized municipalities. Also since the 2010 Census, Sanford adopted a new charter that included designation as a city.) Massachusetts contains 351 municipal corporations, consisting of cities and towns. These 351 municipalities together encompass the entire territory of Massachusetts; there

29733-472: The town are Concord Avenue, which bisects the town from east to west; Common Street and Pleasant Street (Route 60) which travel north-south through Belmont; and Trapelo Road and Belmont Street, which run along the southern edge of the town. Belmont is served directly by two state route designated highways. Running close to the middle of town is Route 60 , locally known as Pleasant Street. On the northern border, Route 2 generally outlines Belmont's boundary with

29920-444: The town of Winchester for many years, making it more of a special-purpose district than a true municipality. Winsted is no longer recognized by the Census Bureau as an incorporated place, although data is tabulated for a Census Designated Place that is coextensive with that of the original city. As of the 2020 census, Maine contains 485 organized municipalities, of which 23 are incorporated as cities, 430 are incorporated as towns, and

30107-484: The town, including the western portion of Fresh Pond , was annexed by Cambridge in 1880. The annexation was the result of a dispute over a slaughterhouse licensed in 1878 and situated next to Fresh Pond; Cambridge wished to protect Fresh Pond (part of its water supply network ) by removing neighboring buildings. Before its incorporation, Belmont was an agrarian town, with several large farms servicing Boston for produce and livestock. It remained largely agrarian until

30294-423: The town. Belmont is roughly 16 minutes away from the rail line 's terminus at North Station , Boston. Nearby in Cambridge lies Alewife Station , the western terminus of the Red Line ; providing a connection to Boston and the entire metropolitan rapid transit system. McLean Hospital , a psychiatric hospital and research center located in Belmont. It is the setting of the novel Girl, Interrupted , which

30481-536: The towns in the order Hudson-Stow-Hudson-Marlborough-Sudbury. Phase 1 construction, including the pedestrian bridges and a gravel access road, is ongoing. Bridge 127 in Sudbury was a riveted plate deck girder bridge, built in 1881. Over time, it had submerged into Hop Brook, damaging the piers and steel. Bridge 130 over Fort Meadow Brook in Hudson was a timber trestle bridge, destroyed by fire in 2019. Both bridges were replaced by prefabricated structural steel truss bridges in 2024. Bridge 128, also over Hop Brook in Sudbury,

30668-405: The trail by large margins. However, a follow up Weston Special Town meeting voted 698 against and 410 in favor, which derailed progress on the Wayside Rail Trail for at least two decades. In 2006, theft of a section of rail was discovered in Berlin, which encouraged the MBTA to take a more active role maintaining the property. By 2010, the DCR executed a 99-year lease with the MBTA to build what

30855-434: The trail required. The preferred underground MBTA ROW route was approved by the EFSB in 2019. The EFSB decision noted the associated benefits of the trail, but stated the EFSB's approval of the transmission project was independent of the trail benefits. Designed and permitted in partnership with the DCR, the project built a gravel sub-base for the future trail and grass shoulders, restored or rebuilt three trail bridges, built

31042-458: The trail was widened to 10 feet (3.0 m) in line with newer MassDOT guidance for minimum shared use path width. The 5-mile (8.0 km) section west of downtown, known as the Northwest Leg (Look Park Segment) of the Northampton Rail Trail System to Williamsburg, also known as the Francis P. Ryan Bikeway , is maintained by the City of Northampton. It was formerly the New Haven & Northampton Company Williamsburg Branch , not part of

31229-468: The transmission lines along the MBTA ROW. By February 2016, Eversource identified an underground design under the MBTA ROW and under Hudson roads. By January 2017, the MBTA negotiated an options agreement with Eversource for this underground route only, at the cost of forgoing approximately $ 2 million compared to an overhead option, and requiring Eversource to work with DCR to create a trail. In turn, in April 2017, when Eversource sought project approval from

31416-416: The turn of the 20th century, when trolley service was introduced and roads were improved, making it more attractive as a residential area, most notably for the building of large estates. Belmont's population grew by over 70 percent during the 1920s. Other commercial enterprises in Belmont included clay mining and waste management. The reclamation of a large dump and quarry off Concord Avenue into sites for

31603-621: The usual town structure, sometimes in areas where it was probably not contemplated that towns would ever develop. Over time, those located in more populated areas were, in general, annexed to neighboring towns or incorporated as towns in their own right. No such areas exist today in Massachusetts, Connecticut or Rhode Island, but some remain in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. All three of the northern New England states contain some town-sized unorganized entities, referred to as "unorganized townships" (sometimes, just "townships") or "unorganized towns". Most of these are areas that were drawn up on maps in

31790-451: The village they live in. However, villages or CDPs have no existence as general-purpose municipalities separate from the town (if they even have any legal existence at all), and are usually regarded by local residents as a part of the town in which they are located, less important than the whole. It is possible for a Connecticut borough or Vermont village to become a city. In Connecticut, cities overlay towns just as boroughs do, and, just like

31977-413: The west, and over time both branches continued to reduce service. In 1964, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) was created, partly to subsidize struggling commuter rail routes including the Central Mass Branch . However, ridership continued to decline and the MBTA closed the Central Mass Branch in 1971, although freight rail continued for a few more years. The first attempt to convert

32164-457: The west; and Arlington , then known as West Cambridge, to the north. The founders desired a dry township (alcohol is now legal to purchase in Belmont). The town was named after Bellmont , the 200-acre (0.8 km) estate of the largest donor to its creation, John Perkins Cushing , after which Cushing Square is named. After Cushing's estate nearly burned to the ground, it was converted to a Belmont Public Library branch. The easternmost section of

32351-406: Was a B&M station at the Dutton Road crossing for which the MCRT—Wayside is named. The ETA of Phase 2 construction is Spring 2025. 🟣 1.4 miles (2.3 km) from the Sudbury substation to Route 20 , Wayland are unimproved. This section is currently at 25% design and funded to construct a paved trail. The ETA for the start of construction is Spring 2027. There is a timber trestle bridge over

32538-408: Was awarded for design of this section. This section includes a timber trestle bridge over Bruce's Pond used by pedestrians but unimproved. 🟢 0.75 miles (1.21 km) from Priest Street, Hudson to Wilkins Street, Hudson, is complete and shared with the Assabet River Rail Trail (ARRT). This section of the ARRT opened in 2005 and is maintained by the Town of Hudson. The trail sharing arraignment

32725-423: Was built in 1881. It is a riveted plate deck girder bridge with granite abutments and timber piers. It received a new timber deck and railing, preserving the girders, piers, cross frames, and the majority of the abutments. A new precast arch pedestrian tunnel was installed under Chestnut Street in Hudson. This section passes by South Sudbury station adjacent to the former railroad crossing, with tracks forming

32912-436: Was finally renamed the Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside , combining the Wayside name with the future vision of a trail from Boston to Northampton. The MCRT—Wayside lease is 23 miles (37 km) from Berlin to Waltham. Under the terms of the lease, the MBTA retains the right to reactivate commuter rail. This arrangement is not railbanking because the MBTA neither began the required precondition of abandonment nor consented to

33099-410: Was formed with the goal of building and maintaining the trail. The rail ROW heads roughly southeast through Belchertown. Most sections are cleared but unimproved but protected and used by pedestrians and snowmobiles. From Warren Wright Road in Belchertown to Federal Street, the rail ROW is privately owned and has been largely obliterated by development. From Federal Street to Route 181, the trail ROW

33286-458: Was founded in 2005 as a local non-profit, public-educational & government access TV station mandated to provide and make available to Belmont residents a variety of media production & editing classes, locally produced TV programming, and video/TV equipment, studios and facilities. In 2017, BMC programs are available to Belmont subscribers of Comcast and Verizon , and BMC also carries live programming. and on-demand programs Major roads in

33473-421: Was made into a 1999 movie . Due to its proximity to Harvard and MIT universities, amongst others, Belmont has had several Nobel Prize winners in residence at one time or another. Notable past and present residents include people in the following categories: New England town Towns date back to the time of the earliest English colonial settlement , which predominated in New England, and they pre-date

33660-513: Was necessary to incorporate. This practice can lead to inconsistencies in the dates of incorporation for towns in this region. Dates given in reference sources sometimes reflect the date when the town was chartered, which may have been long before it was settled, and not the date when its town government became active. In other parts of New England, some "future towns" were laid out along these lines, but such areas would not be formally incorporated as towns until they were sufficiently settled to organize

33847-423: Was never part of the Massachusetts Central Railroad or Central Massachusetts Railroad and is not included in the 104 miles (167 km) tally. This trail is owned by the DCR and maintained by Wachusett Greenways. The Wachusett Reservoir section of the trail is DCR property. From the yellow DCR gate numbered 39 on Route 110 and S Meadow Road in Clinton, the 1.1 miles (1.8 km) former railroad ROW, including

34034-432: Was originally expected to complete in December 2019, however the start of construction was pushed to October 2022 and will complete by the end of 2024, due to an unexpectedly lengthy permitting process. From 2017 to 2022, many lawsuits and petitions were filed by the Town of Sudbury and various abutters alleging the overlapping and jointly permitted construction suffered from varied legal defects, including allegations that

34221-417: Was quickly renamed the Wayside Rail Trail by the Wayside Rail Trail Committee, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, as the Wayside Inn / Wayside Inn Railroad Waiting Room was a B&M station at the crossing with Dutton Road. All seven municipalities from Berlin to Belmont (excepting Bolton, Stow, and Marlborough, as their shortest sections were expected to be bundled with their surrounding sections) initially approved

34408-479: Was ranked in the worst 10% of polluted counties in the United States in terms of air and water pollution. Two companies that ranked in the top 10 for polluters in the county were Polaroid Corporation in Waltham and the Cambridge Plating Company in Belmont, which is several hundred feet from Belmont High School. The Environmental Protection Agency fined Cambridge Plating Company, now operated by Purecoat North LLC, in 2002 following various violations and in 2004 after

34595-403: Was reduced to Hudson station in 1958, and while subsidized by the MBTA starting in 1964, the final passenger train on the Marlborough Branch ran in 1965. The MBTA's 1976/1977 purchase/acquisition of various ROWS included the Marlborough Branch along with the Central Mass Branch. B&M ran the final freight train to Hudson on the Marlborough Branch in 1980. All 23 miles (37 km) of

34782-500: Was rehabilitated with new decking and timber bridge railings, stone abutments, and concrete piles. This section passes by Waltham Highlands station . Past Linden Street, it is an example of rails with trails with the MBTA Fitchburg Line. 🟠 120 feet (37 m) of the Linden Street bridge rehabilitation in-between the completed main Waltham section has not begun. Waltham received matching MassTrails grants in 2022 and 2023 to fund construction, however DCR eventually decided to reconstruct

34969-442: Was settled as a "plantation" (in colonial Massachusetts, the term was synonymous with town) as early as 1636, but the city of Springfield was not established until 1852. The oldest cities in New England date to the last few decades of the 18th century, (e.g. New Haven, Connecticut , was chartered as a city in 1784). In New England, cities were not widespread until well into the 19th century. New Hampshire did not have any cities until

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