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Rutland is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, at the geographical center of the state of Massachusetts. The population was 6,353 at the 2000 census. Worcester County's only buffalo herd is located in Rutland, at Alta Vista Farm. Rutland is the geographic center of Massachusetts, a tree, The Central Tree, located on Central Tree Rd. marks the general spot.
For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Rutland, please see the article Rutland (CDP), Massachusetts.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 94.3 km² (36.4 mi²). 91.3 km² (35.3 mi²) of it is land and 3.0 km² (1.1 mi²) of it (3.16%) is water. According to the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), Rutland is bordered by Princeton on the northeast, Holden on the east, Paxton on the southeast, Oakham on the southwest, and Barre and Hubbardston on the northwest. Rutland is about 13 miles northwest of Worcester, 52 miles west of Boston, and 181 miles from New York City. Rutland is the highest town between the Berkshires and the Atlantic. The town common is 1200 feet above sea level.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 6,353 people, 2,253 households, and 1,694 families residing in the town. The population density was 69.6/km² (180.2/mi²). There were 2,392 housing units at an average density of 26.2/km² (67.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.58% White, 1.04% Black or African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.46% Asian, 0.44% from other races, and 1.34% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.32% of the population.
There were 2,253 households out of which 42.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.1% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 19.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.21.
In the town the population was spread out with 30.8% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 33.8% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 102.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $62,846, and the median income for a family was $70,689. Males had a median income of $45,824 versus $35,390 for females. The per capita income for the town was $23,311. About 1.5% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.0% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.
History
According to the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the Town of Rutland is a residential hill town. Rutland's original lands of about 12 square miles were purchased from natives in Natick's Indian Praying Town in 1686. Frontier hostilities delayed settlement and the land wasn't finally cut up until 1714 when 62 lots of 30 acres each were finally distributed. Settlers in Rutland came from older eastern towns, like Boston, Lexington, Concord and Sudbury. First settled in 1719, the town suffered repeated Indian attacks with the last death from Indian warfare recorded in 1724. There were about 1,000 people in town in 1765 when a disastrous epidemic of dysentery killed 60 children of the town.
The early economy included agriculture and grazing. The first gristmill was built on Mill Brook in 1719 and the town was the one of the earliest in the county to establish a subscription library, before 1796. Three small villages grew up around the water powered mills of the town by 1830 and there was small-scale production of chairs, carriages, and woodenware. A tannery was opened in the 1840's to supply local boot and shoe makers and palm leaf hats were produced in quantity. The town's fresh air and still rural environment drew increasing numbers of visitors and Rutland became a minor recreational and health resort in the 1880's. In 1883 Muschapogue House hotel was built. This development was followed by the building in 1898 of the Massachusetts Hospital for Consumptive and Tubercular Patients, a state prison camp and hospital as well as the opening of a handful of small private TB sanitoria.
The town began catering to summer visitors with market garden produce and Finnish immigrants came to town from Worcester to farm. The state facilities and seasonal visitors provided a ready market for town produce. In 1923 a veterans' hospital was erected. When the Quabbin Reservoir was created, many of Rutland's industrial buildings were razed, but the jobs created by state facilities took up much of the loss. A three-mile long tunnel underneath Rutland was dug to carry water from the Reservoir.
External links
"Rutland, Massachusetts"