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Norwood is a town and census-designated place in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, USA. As of the 2000 census, the population was 28,587.
History
Norwood was first settled in 1678 by Ezra Morse and was officially incorporated in 1872 out of land taken from the town of Dedham, except for a small portion ceded by Walpole.
Geography
Norwood is located at (42.185974, -71.201661).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 27.3 km² (10.6 mi²). 27.1 km² (10.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.66%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 28,587 people, 11,623 households, and 7,380 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,053.2/km² (2,727.0/mi²). There were 11,945 housing units at an average density of 440.1/km² (1,139.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 90.51% White, 2.31% Black or African American, 0.09% Native American, 5.06% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.77% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.65% of the population.
There were 11,623 households out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.9% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 29.4% 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 2.41 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the town the population was spread out with 20.8% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $58,421, and the median income for a family was $70,164. Males had a median income of $50,597 versus $34,312 for females. The per capita income for the town was $27,720. About 2.7% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.5% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.
Education
As of 2005, the main public institutions of Norwood are Norwood Senior High School (NHS) and the Dr. Philip O. Coakley Middle School (formerly Norwood Junior High South). The mascot of the high school is The Mustangs; its colors are blue and gold. Sports include football, baseball, basketball, soccer, field hockey, volleyball, wrestling, lacrosse, and cross-country. NHS also offers various music programs which include a string orchestra, wind ensemble, marching band, jazz band, various choruses, and a madrigal choir. The theater department is active and puts on several shows every year.
Notes
Norwood was the long-time home of photographer and publisher Fred Holland Day. As a photographer, Day at one point rivalled Stieglitz in influence. The publishing firm of Copeland and Day was the American publisher of Oscar Wilde's Salome with illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley. The Day House is now a museum and the headquarters of the Norwood Historical Society.
A large cluster of automobile dealerships on Route 1 is known as the Norwood "Automile". The concept of having competing dealerships join together to publicize the "Automile" as an automobile shopping center was largely the work of the late Ernie Boch, famous in the Boston area for his ads urging people to "Come on down!" featuring local heroes including Kramer the Magical Donkey and Chico the llama. The chain of Boch dealerships includes what is said to be, as of March, 2005, the world's largest Honda dealership.
Norwood is the home office of semiconductor company Analog Devices, Inc. (website)
Norwood's town square is dominated by its town hall, the Norwood Memorial Municipal Building. It contains a 51-bell carillon tower, one of nine carillons in Massachusetts. Built in 1928, the neo-gothic edifice is made of Weymouth seamed-face granite. Visitors often mistake it for a church or believe it to have been a church, but it never was; its stained-glass windows depict, not saints, but local patriot Aaron Guild.
"Guild," whose name appears in local street and building names, is pronounced with a long i, like the second syllable of the word "beguiled."
Guild's significance is explained by an inscription on the Aaron Guild Memorial Stone, dedicated in 1903, which stands outside the Norwood public library. The inscription reads:
- NEAR THIS SPOT
- CAPT. AARON GUILD
- ON APRIL 19, 1775
- LEFT PLOW IN FURROW, OXEN STANDING
- AND DEPARTING FOR LEXINGTON
- ARRIVE IN TIME TO FIRE UPON
- THE RETREATING BRITISH.
Guild and his oxen are featured in the town seal.
The Fine Mortuary College in Norwood includes a one-room museum featuring antique embalming tables and centuries-old wooden coffins; college website is http://www.fine-ne.com/
Transportation
External links
"Norwood, Massachusetts"