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Belmont is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. The population was 24,194 at the 2000 census.

About the town

Belmont was founded on March 18, 1859 by former citizens of, and land from, the bordering towns of Watertown (to the south), Waltham (to the west) and West Cambridge (now Arlington, to the north and east). The town was named after Bellmont, the 200 acre (0.8 km²) estate of one of the leading advocates of, and largest donor to, its creation, the wealthy China opium smuggler John Perkins Cushing. The easternmost section of the town was returned to Cambridge in a dispute over a slaughterhouse built near the local reservoir, Fresh Pond; much of that area is now a major commercial and office center for the city of Cambridge.

A brief history of the town denotes three periods. The first, which began preceding the town's incorporation, was agrarian based, with several large farms servicing Boston for produce and livestock. This lasted roughly until 1900 or so, when trolley service and better roads made Belmont even more attractive to the building of large estates, most notably on Belmont Hill, the highest point in the region.

In the second period, the economics of the town switched from pure agrarian needs to a commercial greenhouse base: much of the flower and vegetable needs for Boston were met from the Belmont 'hothouses' which still persisted until about 1983, when Edgar's, the last large greenhouse firm in the area, closed. Other bases for commercial enterprise in Belmont included mining and waste management. The transition of a large dump and quarry off Concord Avenue, into a modern high school and scenic pond (Clay Pit Pond) stands as one of the earliest, best, and lasting examples of environmental planning in a 'green' frame of mind.

With the advent of asphalt highways and the automobile, Belmont morphed into a suburban, 'home' based township, from about 1920 into the present. Large tracts of land from former farms and greenhouse estates continue to dot the town, however, forming a rich expanse of public or public-accessible areas such as Rock Meadow, Habitat (Audubon), portions of the McLean Hospital tract (a Harvard University facility) and various town fields. Belmont boasts the first public town pool in the region, built in part by a generous donation of land from the William Underwood family.

Belmont, in the 21st century is a mature and settled area with an emphasis on family, home, and quality of living.

There are three major commercial centers in Belmont: Belmont Center in the center, Cushing Square in the south, and Waverley Square in the west. Town Hall is located in Belmont Center. Belmont is best known for the mansion filled Belmont Hill neighborhood, but most of the residents live in more densely settled, low-lying areas around the Hill. The major roads in 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. Massachusetts Route 2 runs along the northern border of the town. Belmont is also served by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (the "T") Fitchburg Commuter Rail line and several bus lines. The town is home to McLean Hospital, a psychiatric hospital and research center, and the Boston Massachusetts Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Geography

Belmont is located at (42.391546, -71.174712).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 12.2 km² (4.7 mi²). 12.1 km² (4.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (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.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 24,194 people, 9,732 households, and 6,452 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,004.6/km² (5,190.2/mi²). There were 9,980 housing units at an average density of 826.9/km² (2,141.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 91.19% White, 1.10% Black or African American, 0.13% Native American, 5.76% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.41% from other races, and 1.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.82% of the population.

There were 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 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 the town the population was spread out with 22.7% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $80,295, and the median income for a family was $95,057. Males had a median income of $64,579 versus $45,505 for females. The per capita income for the town was $42,485. About 3.6% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.9% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Belmont is a part of Belmont Public Schools.

There are four public elementary schools in Belmont, the Burbank, Butler, Winn Brook, and Wellington schools. Two other public elementary schools, Payson Park and Kendall, were closed in the 1970s and 1980s, respectively (both destroyed by fire). There is one public middle school, the Chenery Middle School and one public high school, Belmont High School. Belmont High has an outstanding reputation for college placement; strong athletics, academics, music, and theater arts; a typical class size of about 280 students; and average SAT's for the class of 2004 of 1179.

Belmont Hill School is a private, non-sectarian all-male high school, grades 7-12. Belmont Day School is a private, non-sectarian PK-8 school. There are several smaller private schools.

Famous residents (present and former)

Because of its proximity to Cambridge and Boston, Belmont has had over a dozen Nobel Prize winners in residence at one time or another. Other well-known past and present residents include:

External links

Towns in Massachusetts | Middlesex County, Massachusetts

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Belmont, Massachusetts".

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