Middlesex County, Massachusetts
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| Middlesex County, Massachusetts | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Massachusetts |
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 Massachusetts's location in the U.S. |
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| Statistics | |
| Founded | 1643 |
|---|---|
| Seat | None (formerly Cambridge and Lowell) County government was abolished in 1997 |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
848 sq mi (2,195 km²) 823 sq mi (2,133 km²) 24 sq mi (63 km²), 2.84% |
| Population - (2000) - Density |
1,465,396 1,780/sq mi (687/km²) |
Middlesex County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is the most populous county in Massachusetts. As of the 2000 census, the population was 1,465,396. The center of population of Massachusetts is located in Middlesex County, in the town of Natick.[1] Its county seats are Cambridge and Lowell.[2] The county government was abolished in 1997 but the county boundaries continue to describe a state district for court jurisdictions and for other administrative purposes.
The county was created by the Massachusetts General Court on May 10, 1643, when it was ordered "that the whole plantation within this jurisdiction be divided into four sheires". Middlesex initially contained Charleston, Cambridge, Watertown, Sudbury, Concord, Woburn, Medford, and Reading.[3]
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[edit] Law and government
Like an increasing number of Massachusetts counties, Middlesex County exists today only as a historical geographic region, and has no county government. All former county functions were assumed by state agencies in 1997. The sheriff and some other regional officials with specific duties are still elected locally to perform duties within the county region, but there is no county council or commissioner. However, communities are now granted the right to form their own regional compacts for sharing services. See also: League of Women Voters page on Massachusetts counties.
| County government: Middlesex County | |
|---|---|
| Clerk of Courts: | Michael A. Sullivan |
| District Attorney: | Gerard T. Leone, Jr. |
| Registrar of Deeds: | Richard P. Howe, Jr. (North at Lowell) Eugene C. Brune (South at Cambridge) |
| Registrar of Probate: | |
| County Sheriff: | James DiPaola |
| State government | |
| State Representative(s): | 37 Representatives: [2] |
| State Senator(s): | 16 Senators: [3] |
| Governor's Councilor(s): | |
| Federal government | |
| U.S. Representative(s): | John Olver(D-1st District) James P. McGovern (D-3rd District) Barney Frank (D-4th District) Niki Tsongas (D-5th District) John F. Tierney (D-6th District) Edward J. Markey (D-7th District) Michael Capuano (D-8th District) |
| U.S. Senators: | Ted Kennedy (D), John Kerry (D) |
[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 848 sq mi (2,195 km²). 823 sq mi (2,133 km²) of it is land and 24 sq mi (62 km² ) of it (2.84%) is water.
The MetroWest region comprises much of the southern portion of the county.
[edit] Adjacent Counties
- Hillsborough County, New Hampshire (north)
- Essex County (northeast)
- Suffolk County (southeast)
- Norfolk County (south)
- Worcester County (west)
[edit] National protected areas
- Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge
- Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge
- Longfellow National Historic Site
- Lowell National Historical Park
- Minute Man National Historical Park
- Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge (part)
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 1,465,396 people, 561,220 households, and 360,864 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,780/sq mi (687/km²). There were 576,681 housing units at an average density of 700 per square mile (270/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 85.88% White, 3.36% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 6.26% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.07% from other races, and 2.24% from two or more races. 4.55% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 20.0% were of Irish, 15.7% Italian and 8.0% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 79.6% spoke English, 4.3% Spanish, 2.7% Portuguese, 1.6% Italian, 1.6% Chinese or Mandarin and 1.5% French as their first language. Middlesex county is the most-Irish county in the entire country[4]
There were 561,220 households out of which 30.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.30% were married couples living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.70% were non-families. 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.11.
In the county the population was spread out with 22.50% under the age of 18, 9.00% from 18 to 24, 33.40% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 12.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $60,821, and the median income for a family was $74,194. Males had a median income of $49,460 versus $36,288 for females. The per capita income for the county was $31,199. About 4.30% of families and 6.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.20% of those under age 18 and 7.10% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Politics
| Year | Democrat | Republican |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 63.99% 440,862 | 34.52% 237,815 |
| 2000 | 61.49% 404,043 | 30.27% 198,914 |
| 1996 | 63.41% 398,190 | 27.06% 169,926 |
| 1992 | 49.89% 343,994 | 28.10% 193,703 |
| 1988 | 54.57% 361,563 | 43.82% 193,703 |
| 1984 | 50.26% 325,065 | 49.42% 319,604 |
| 1980 | 42.46% 270,751 | 40.30% 256,999 |
| 1976 | 55.94% 359,919 | 40.42% 260,044 |
| 1972 | 55.91% 345,343 | 43.56% 269,064 |
| 1968 | 64.11% 370,310 | 32.60% 188,304 |
| 1964 | 76.25% 439,790 | 23.36% 134,729 |
| 1960 | 59.01% 356,130 | 40.78% 246,126 |
[edit] Cities and towns
Most municipalities in Middlesex County have a town form of government; the remainder are cities, and are so designated on this list. Villages listed below are census or postal divisions, but have no separate corporate existence from the cities and towns in which they are located.
- Acton
- Arlington
- Ashby
- Ashland
- Ayer
- Bedford
- Belmont
- Billerica
- North Billerica, a village of Billerica
- Pinehurst, a village of Billerica
- Boxborough
- Burlington
- Cambridge, a city and county seat
- Carlisle
- Chelmsford
- North Chelmsford, a village of Chelmsford
- Concord
- West Concord, a village of Concord
- Dracut
- Dunstable
- Everett, a city
- Framingham
- Nobscot, a village of Framingham
- Saxonville, a village of Framingham
- South Framingham, a region of Framingham south of state rte. 9
- Groton
- Holliston
- Hopkinton
- Hudson
- Lexington
- Lincoln
- Littleton
- Littleton Common, a village of Littleton
- Lowell, a city and county seat
- Malden, a city
- Marlborough, a city
- Maynard
- Medford, a city
- Melrose, a city
- Melrose Highlands, a region of Melrose
- Natick
- Newton, a city
- Auburndale, a village of Newton
- Chestnut Hill, a village of Boston, Brookline and Newton
- Newton Centre, a village of Newton
- Newton Highlands, a village of Newton
- Newton Lower Falls, a village of Newton
- Newton Upper Falls, a village of Newton
- Newtonville, a village of Newton
- Nonantum, a village of Newton
- Waban, a village of Newton
- North Reading
- Pepperell
- East Pepperell, a village of Pepperell
- Reading
- Sherborn
- Shirley
- Somerville, a city
- Stoneham
- Stow
- Sudbury
- Tewksbury
- Townsend
- Tyngsborough
- Wakefield
- Waltham, a city
- Watertown, officially called a town but legally a city
- Wayland
- Cochituate, a village of Wayland
- Westford
- Weston
- Wilmington
- Winchester
- Woburn, a city
[edit] See also
- Middlesex, historic county of England
[edit] Notes
- ^ [1]Government Census Information
- ^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Davis, William T. Bench and Bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, p. 44. The Boston History Company, 1895.
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Volume 1 (A-H), Volume 2 (L-W) by Samuel Adams Drake, published 1879 and 1880. 572 and 505 pages.
- Ancient Middlesex with Brief Biographical Sketches. By Levi Swanton Gould, published 1905, 366 pages.
[edit] External links
- Walling & Gray. 1871 Map of Middlesex County Plate 44-45 from the 1871 Atlas of Massachusetts.
- National Register of Historic Places listing for Middlesex Co., Massachusetts
- Middlesex County entry from Hayward's New England Gazetteer of 1839
- Map of cities and towns of Massachusetts
- Massachusetts County Map
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