Paxton

Paxton, Massachusetts
—  Town  —
Paxton Town Hall
Location in Worcester County in Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°18′40″N 71°55′43″W / 42.31111°N 71.92861°W / 42.31111; -71.92861Coordinates: 42°18′40″N 71°55′43″W / 42.31111°N 71.92861°W / 42.31111; -71.92861
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Worcester
Settled	1749
Incorporated	1765
Government
• Type	Open town meeting
• Town    Administrator	Carol Riches
• Board of    Selectmen	William A. Trotta Peter Bogren, Jr. John F. Malone
Area
• Total	15.5 sq mi (40.1 km2)
• Land	14.7 sq mi (38.2 km2)
• Water	0.7 sq mi (1.9 km2)
Elevation	1,158 ft (353 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	4,806
• Density	310/sq mi (120/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	01612
Area code(s)	508 / 774
FIPS code	25-52420
GNIS feature ID	0619485
Website	http://www.townofpaxton.net/

Paxton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 4,806 at the 2010 census.

History

Paxton center church at night

Paxton was first settled in 1749 and was officially incorporated in 1765.

The town of Paxton was originally taken from the towns of Leicester and Rutland, in nearly equal parts, and was incorporated February 12, 1765. It then received its name from Charles Paxton, a "Commissioner of the Customs". The inhabitants soon commenced their plan for building a meeting house, and on the first day of April, 1765, the town voted to build it. It was raised on the 18th day of June, 1766, and this is the frame of the present meeting house.

In 1766, within two years of the incorporation of the town, the foundation of the present meeting house was laid, on what is now the common, near the flag staff. The land was given by Seth Howe, from a piece of his pasture.

David Davis went to Boston with a pair of oxen and drew to Paxton the bell now in use, which was made by Paul Revere.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 15.5 square miles (40 km²), of which 14.7 square miles (38 km²) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²), or 4.78%, is water.

It is bounded on the west by Spencer and Oakham, on the northwest by Rutland, on the northeast by Holden, on the southeast by Worcester, and on the south by Leicester.

Demographics

As of the census^[11] of 2000, there were 4,386 people, 1,428 households, and 1,153 families residing in the town. The population density was 297.7 inhabitants per square mile (114.9 /km²). There were 1,461 housing units at an average density of 99.2 per square mile (38.3 /km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.69% White, 0.68% African American, 0.09% Native American, 1.07% Asian, 0.57% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.55% of the population.

There were 1,428 households out of which 36.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.1% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.2% were non-families. 15.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the town the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 13.6% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $72,039, and the median income for a family was $80,498. Males had a median income of $51,694 versus $38,409 for females. The per capita income for the town was $29,573. None of the families and 1.8% of the population were living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 4.5% of those over 64.

Government

Utilities

• Electric service is provided by the town's own municipal light department.
• Water service is provided by the town's own water department. Paxton's principal source of drinking water is Asnebumskit Pond. Recently, Paxton sells the raw Asnebumskit Pond water to Worcester, and buys back water treated at Worcester's filtration plant.
• Telephone service is provided by Verizon. All phones in Paxton are connected to Verizon's main central office in Worcester.
• Cable television service is provided by Charter Communications.
• No natural gas or sewer service is available in Paxton. At least one house on the Paxton-Worcester city line is connected to the Worcester sewer system. Paxton residents voted down the creation of the South Paxton Sewer District at a February 28, 2006 town meeting. This district, pejoratively called "Southie," would have installed sewers in the part of Paxton adjacent to Worcester.

Library

The Paxton public library began in 1877.^[12][13] In fiscal year 2008, the town of Paxton spent 1.53% ($143,354) of its budget on its public library—some $30 per person.^[14]

Education

• Anna Maria College's main campus is in Paxton, and the college recently opened a new campus in Worcester.
• Paxton is a member of the Wachusett Regional School District.
• Paxton Center School is the town's kindergarten, elementary and middle school (K-8).
• The public High school is Wachusett Regional High School, in Holden, Massachusetts.
• High school students may, as of 2005, choose to attend Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School.
• The Paxton Center School provides band (grades 5-8), chorus, physycal education,and art education

Points of interest

• Moore State Park
• Worcester County Memorial Park
• Thompson Pond (Massachusetts)

Notable residents

• Ralph Earl, portrait painter
• Jesse Brunelle, professional athlete and porn star

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Paxton, Massachusetts

v t e Municipalities and communities of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States Cities Fitchburg Gardner Leominster Southbridge Worcester Towns Ashburnham Athol Auburn Barre Berlin Blackstone Bolton Boylston Brookfield Charlton Clinton Douglas Dudley East Brookfield Grafton Hardwick Harvard Holden Hopedale Hubbardston Lancaster Leicester Lunenburg Mendon Milford Millbury Millville New Braintree North Brookfield Northborough Northbridge Oakham Oxford Paxton Petersham Phillipston Princeton Royalston Rutland Shrewsbury Southborough Spencer Sterling Sturbridge Sutton Templeton Upton Uxbridge Warren Webster West Boylston West Brookfield Westborough Westminster Winchendon CDPs Athol Baldwinville Barre Clinton Cordaville Devens East Brookfield East Douglas Fiskdale Hopedale Lunenburg Milford North Brookfield Northborough Oxford Rutland South Ashburnham South Lancaster Spencer Sturbridge Upton-West Upton Warren Webster West Brookfield Westborough Whitinsville Winchendon Other villages Gilbertville Ironstone Linwood North Uxbridge Old Furnace Still River Union Chapel Wheelockville Wheelwright