Fitchburg, Massachusetts
The Nashua River in Fitchburg
Nickname: River City
Location in Worcester County in Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°35′00″N 71°48′10″W / 42.583333, -71.80278
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Worcester
Settled	1730
Incorporated	1764
Government
- Type	Mayor-council city
- Mayor	Dan H. Mylott
- City Council	Thomas J. Conry, Jr Annie K. DeMartino Stephen L. DiNatale E. Thomas Donnelly Dean A. Tran David Clark (Ward 1) Norman L. Boisvert (Ward 2) Joel R. Kaddy (Ward 3) Ted E. Salvatore (Ward 4) Stephen Hay (Ward 5) Jody M. Joseph (Ward 6)
Area
- City	sq mi (km²)
- Land	sq mi ( km²)
- Water	sq mi ( km²)
Elevation	ft ( m)
Population (2000)
- City
- Density	/sq mi (/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	01420
Area code(s)	351 / 978
FIPS code	25-23875
GNIS feature ID	0617121
Website: http://www.ci.fitchburg.ma.us/

Fitchburg is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 39,102 at the 2000 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State College.

History

Fitchburg was first settled in 1730 and was officially incorporated in 1764. It is named for John Fitch, a settler. In 1748, Fitch and his family were abducted to Canada by Native Americans, but returned the next year.

Fitchburg is situated on both the Nashua River and a railroad line. The original Fitchburg Railroad ran through the Hoosac Tunnel, linking Boston and Albany, New York. The tunnel was built using the Burleigh Rock Drill, designed and built in Fitchburg. Fitchburg was a 19th century industrial center. Originally operated by water power, large mills produced machines, tools, clothing, paper, and firearms. The city is noted for its architecture, particularly in the Victorian style, built at the height of its mill town prosperity. As one of two shire towns The Northern Worcester County Registry of Deeds, established in 1903, and the county jail on Water Street were two county facilities located in Fitchburg. Cleghorn is where many French Canadians resided and worked at one of it's many Paper Mills.

Geography

Fitchburg is located at 42°34′43″N, 71°48′12″W (42.578689, -71.803383)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 72.7 km² (28.1 mi²). 71.9 km² (27.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.8 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (1.07%) is water. The city is drained by the Nashua River. Fitchburg is rumored to be the second hilliest city in the United States following San Francisco.

Demographics

L.J. Brown Block in 1885

As of the census² of 2000, there were 39,102 people, 14,943 households, and 9,369 families residing in the city. The population density was 543.9/km² (1,408.5/mi²). There were 16,002 housing units at an average density of 222.6/km² (576.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 81.86% White, 3.65% African American, 0.35% Native American, 4.27% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 6.78% from other races, and 3.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.97% of the population.

There were 14,943 households out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,004, and the median income for a family was $43,291. Males had a median income of $35,855 versus $26,558 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,256. About 12.1% of families and 15.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.1% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Education

Fitchburg has a rich football tradition, and every year they play cross-town rivals Leominster in the Thanksgiving day game, which is a proud member of a list of high school football rivalries in the United States.

State Normal School in c. 1920, now Fitchburg State College

Public Schools:

• South Fitchburg School (kindergarten)
• Goodrich School (Kindergarten)
• Crocker Elementary School
• McKay Elementary School
• Reingold Elementary School
• South Street School
• North Central Charter Essential School
• Academy Middle School
• B.F. Brown Middle School
• Memorial Middle School
• Fitchburg High School
• Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical High School, also called Monty Tech

Private Schools:

• Applewild School
• Notre Dame Preparatory School
• St. Anthony di Padua Elementary School
• St. Bernard's Elementary School
• St. Bernard's Central Catholic High School
• St. Joseph's Elementry School (Closed in 2007)

Colleges:

• Fitchburg State College

Business

Main Street, looking east, in c. 1912

* Throughout the early Twentieth Century, Fitchburg was known for its paper industry which occupied the banks of the Nashua River and employed a large segment of the European immigrant population. It has been noted by many residents in Fitchburg, that the Nashua river would be dyed the color the paper mills had been coloring the paper that day.

• Founded in 1939, the Wachusett Potato Chip Company, Inc. purchased the former County Jail buildings and grounds in the 1940's and has operated as a manufacturing and distributing facility for snack products since that time.
• Two truck manufacturing firms, the Wachusett Truck Company and the New England Truck Company operated in Fitchburg during the early twentieth century.
• The Iver Johnson Arms and Cycle Works also made motorcycles for a short time.

Points of interest

Post Office in c. 1910

• Fitchburg Historical Society
• Fitchburg Art Museum
• Coggshall Park

Notable residents

• Mike Barnicle, newspaper writer
• Ken Bouchard and Ron Bouchard, NASCAR drivers
• Bruce Gordon, actor, Ishtar, "Adam-12", "Bonanza", "Get Smart", and "The Untouchables"
• Art Longsjo, Winter and Summer Olympian; Fitchburg Longsjo Classic is held in his memory
• George Noory, host of Coast to Coast AM spent some years in Fitchburg and occasionally mentions the city on his show.
• Amerie, Singer & Actress
• Everett Francis Briggs, Catholic priest, born in Fitchburg, whose life's mission was dedicated to the victims of Monongah Mining Disaster
• Timothy M. Sullivan, Boston interior designer
• Orlando P. Boss, Medal of Honor recipient - Civil War

Sister cities

Fitchburg has three sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):

The Fitchburg Line

• Kleve, Germany
• Kokkola, Finland
• Tianjin, China
• Oni, Georgia

References

External links

• Fitchburg official website
• Fitchburg's Voice Community website
• Fitchburg Economic Development Office
• Fitchburg Riverfront Park
• Fitchburg Pride
• Fitchburg Access Television
• Fitchburg State College
• Sentinel & Enterprise
• Fitchburg in 1885, article in the Bay State Monthly, from Project Gutenberg

Coordinates: 42.578689° N 71.803383° W

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