City of Newton, Massachusetts
—  City  —
City Hall City Hall
Official seal of City of Newton, Massachusetts Seal
Nickname(s): "The Garden City"
Location in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°20′13″N 71°12′35″W / 42.33694°N 71.20972°W / 42.33694; -71.20972Coordinates: 42°20′13″N 71°12′35″W / 42.33694°N 71.20972°W / 42.33694; -71.20972
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Middlesex
Settled	1630
Incorporated	1688
Government
• Type	Strong Mayor-Board of Aldermen
• Mayor	Setti Warren
Area
• Total	18.2 sq mi (47.1 km2)
• Land	18.1 sq mi (46.7 km2)
• Water	0.2 sq mi (0.4 km2)
Elevation	100 ft (30 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	85,146
• Density	4,600.6/sq mi (1,783.1/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	02458, 02459, 02460, 02461, 02462, 02464, 02465, 02467, 02468, 02495
Area code(s)	617 / 857
FIPS code	25-45560
GNIS feature ID	0617675
Website	http://www.ci.newton.ma.us/

Emily Lavan, Heartbreak Hill, 2005 Boston Marathon

Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.

Villages[link]

Newton is a suburban city approximately seven miles from downtown Boston. Rather than having a single city center, Newton is a patchwork of thirteen "villages", many boasting small "downtown" areas of their own. The 13 villages are: Auburndale, Chestnut Hill, Newton Centre, Newton Corner, Newton Highlands, Newton Lower Falls, Newton Upper Falls (both on the Charles River, and both once small industrial sites), Newtonville, Nonantum (also called "The Lake"), Oak Hill, Thompsonville, Waban and West Newton. Oak Hill Park is a place within the village of Oak Hill that itself is shown as a separate and distinct village on some city maps, (including a map dated 2010 on the official City of Newton website)^[1] and Four Corners is also shown as a village on some city maps. Although most of the villages have a post office, they have no legal definition and no firmly defined borders. This village-based system often causes some confusion with addresses and for first time visitors.^[2]

History[link]

Newton was settled in 1630 as part of "the newe towne", which was renamed Cambridge in 1638. Roxbury minister John Eliot convinced the Native American people of Nonantum, a sub-tribe of the Massachusetts led by a sachem named Waban, to relocate to Natick in 1651, fearing that they would be exploited by colonists.^[3] Newton was incorporated as a separate town, known as Cambridge Village, in 1688, then renamed Newtown in 1691, and finally Newton in 1766.^[4] It became a city in 1873. Newton is known as The Garden City.

In Reflections in Bullough's Pond, Newton historian Diana Muir describes the early industries that developed in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in a series of mills built to take advantage of the water power available at Newton Upper Falls and Newton Lower Falls. Snuff, chocolate, glue, paper and other products were produced in these small mills but, according to Muir, the water power available in Newton was not sufficient to turn Newton into a manufacturing city, although it was, beginning in 1902, the home of the Stanley Motor Carriage Company, the maker of the Stanley Steamer.

Newton, according to Muir, became one of America's earliest commuter suburbs. The Boston and Worcester, one of America's earliest railroads, reached West Newton in 1834. Wealthy Bostonian businessmen took advantage of the new commuting opportunity offered by the railroad, building gracious homes on erstwhile farmland of West Newton hill and on Commonwealth street. Muir points out that these early commuters needed sufficient wealth to employ a groom and keep horses, to drive them from their hilltop homes to the station.

Further suburbanization came in waves. One wave began with the streetcar lines that made many parts of Newton accessible for commuters in the late nineteenth century. The next wave came in the 1920s when automobiles became affordable to a growing upper middle class. Even then, however, Oak Hill continued to be farmed, mostly market gardening, until the prosperity of the 1950s made all of Newton more densely settled. Newton is not a typical "commuter suburb" since many people who live in Newton do not work in downtown Boston. Most Newtonites work in Newton and other surrounding cities and towns.

The city has two symphony orchestras, the New Philharmonia Orchestra of Massachusetts and the Newton Symphony Orchestra.

The Newton Free Library possesses more than 500,000 volumes of print materials (2004), as well as art, both original and prints, sound recordings and videos: the largest collection in the Minuteman Library Network.^{[citation needed]}

Each April on Patriots Day, the Boston Marathon is run through the city, entering from Wellesley on Route 16 (Washington Street) where runners encounter the first of the four infamous Newton Hills. It then turns right onto Route 30 (Commonwealth Avenue) for the long haul into Boston. There are two more hills before reaching Centre Street, and then the fourth and most infamous of all, Heartbreak Hill, rises shortly after Centre Street. Residents and visitors line the race route along Washington Street and Commonwealth Avenue to cheer the runners.

Geography[link]

Newton is in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, at 42°20′16″N 71°12′36″W / 42.33778°N 71.21°W / 42.33778; -71.21 (42.337713, -71.209936).^[5] The city is bordered by Waltham and Watertown on the north, Needham and the West Roxbury neighborhood of Boston on the south, Wellesley and Weston on the west, and Brookline and the Brighton neighborhood of Boston on the east.

From Watertown to Waltham to Needham and Dedham, Newton is bounded by the Charles River. The Yankee Division Highway, designated Interstate 95 but known to the locals as Route 128, follows the Charles from Waltham to Dedham, creating a de facto land barrier. The portion of Needham which lies east of 128 and west of the Charles, known as the Needham Industrial Park has become part of a Newton commercial zone and contributes to its heavy traffic, though the tax revenue goes to Needham.

Union Street, Newton Centre

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.2 square miles (47.1 km²), of which 18.0 square miles (46.6 km²) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²) (0.82%) is water.

Climate[link]

The record low temperature was −21 °F (−29 °C) in February 1934; the record high temperature was 101 °F (38 °C) in August 1975.^[6]

Demographics[link]

As of the census^[18] of 2010, there were 85,146 people, 32,648 households, and 20,499 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,643.6 people per square mile (1,793.2/km²). There were 32,112 housing units at an average density of 1,778.8 per square mile (686.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.6% White, 11.5% Asian, 2.5% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.71% from other races, and 1.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.1% of the population. (2010 Census Report: Census report Quickfacts.com

Newton, along with neighboring Brookline, is known for its considerable Jewish and Asian populations. The Jewish population is estimated at roughly 28,000, or about one third the population.^[19]

There were 31,201 households out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.2% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. As of the 2008 US Census, the average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.2% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.7 males.

According to a 2008 estimate, the median income for a household was $108,228, and the median income for a family was $137,493.^[20] Males had a median income of $65,565 versus $46,885 for females. The per capita income for the city was $45,708. About 2.1% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.8% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

According to 2010 income statistics the city of Newton had a median household income of $112,230. The average household income in the city had risen to $167,013 with a per capita household income of $65,049.^[21]

A 2010 study by Bizjournal's Portfolio.com ranked Newton the second wealthiest urban area in the U.S. with a population over 75,000.^[22] The rankings were based on a six-part formula that considered per capita income, median household income, percentage of households with annual incomes exceeding $200,000, the upper 20 percent threshold for household income, median home value, and the upper 25 percent threshold for home value. The study found that 23 percent of Newton households earn more than $200,000 annually; it is one of only seven communities in the study where median household income exceeds $100,000.

Today Newton home prices are not only among the most expensive in Massachusetts, but Newton real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.^[23]

Based on statistics reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Newton was the nation's safest city during 1999,^[24] 2004^[25] and 2005,^[26] and the fourth safest city in the nation in 2006 ^[27] and in 2008.^[28] The designation is based on crime statistics in six categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and auto theft.

Government[link]

City[link]

Newton has an elected strong mayor-council form of government. The council is called the Board of Aldermen. The mayor is Setti Warren, a former Naval officer and White House staffer who is the first African American to be elected Mayor of Newton.

The elected officials are:

• Mayor: Setti Warren, the city's chief executive officer and appoints the Chief Administrative Officer.
• The Board of Aldermen, Newton's legislative branch of municipal government, is made up of 24 members - sixteen at-large Aldermen and eight Ward Aldermen. Aldermen are elected every two years.

Note: Aldermen for 2012 and 2013 are listed below. The first listed person in each ward is the ward alderman, while the other two are elected at large.

• • Ward One: Scott F. Lennon, Carleton P. Merrill and Allan Ciccone Jr.;
  • Ward Two: Stephen M. Linsky, Marcia T. Johnson and Susan Albright;
  • Ward Three: Anthony Salvucci, Ted Hess-Mahan and Greer Tan Swiston;
  • Ward Four: Jay Harney, Leonard J. Gentile and Amy Mah Sangiolo;
  • Ward Five: John Rice, Deborah Crossley and Brian E. Yates;
  • Ward Six: Richard Blazar, Greg Schwartz and Victoria L. Danberg;
  • Ward Seven: R. Lisle Baker, Ruthanne Fuller and Marc Laredo; and
  • Ward Eight: Cheryl Lappin, Mitchell L. Fischman and David Kalis.

Newton also has a school committee which decides on the policies and budget for Newton Public Schools. It has nine voting members, consisting of the Mayor of Newton and eight at-large Ward representatives, who are elected by citizens.^[29] In addition to these voting members, there are two nonvoting student representatives; one from each high school.

School Committee members for 2012 and 2013 are listed below.

• • Ward One: Geoff Epstein;
  • Ward Two: Diana Fisher-Gomberg;
  • Ward Three: Angela Pitter-Wright;
  • Ward Four: Jonathan Yeo;
  • Ward Five: Steve Siegel;
  • Ward Six: Claire Sokoloff;
  • Ward Seven: Matt Hills;
  • Ward Eight: Margie Ross-Decter.

County[link]

Mismanagement of Middlesex County's public hospital in the mid 1990s left the county on the brink of insolvency, and in 1997 the Massachusetts legislature stepped in by assuming all assets and obligations of the county. The government of Middlesex County was officially abolished on July 11, 1997. The sheriff and some other regional officials with specific duties are still elected locally to perform duties within the county region, but there is no county council or commission. However, communities are now granted the right to form their own regional compacts for sharing services.

These are the remaining elected officers for Middlesex County:

• Clerk of Courts: Michael A. Sullivan
• County Treasurer: Position Eliminated
• District Attorney: Gerard T. Leone, Jr.
• Register of Deeds: Richard P. Howe, Jr. (North at Lowell), Eugene C. Brune (South at Cambridge)
• Register of Probate: Tara E. DeCristofaro
• County Sheriff: Peter J. Koutoujian, Jr.

State[link]

House of Representatives:

• John J. Lawn, Democrat of Watertown: Tenth Middlesex District, which covers Precincts 1 and 4 of Ward 1, of Newton
• Kay Khan, Democrat of Newton: Eleventh Middlesex District, which covers Precincts 2 and 3 of ward 1, precincts 1, 2 and 3 of ward 2, precincts 1, 2 and 3 of ward 3, Ward 4, precinct 4 of ward 5, and precinct 2 of ward 7, of Newton
• Ruth B. Balser, Democrat of Newton: Twelfth Middlesex District, which covers Precincts 1, 2 and 3 of ward 5, ward 6, precincts 1, 3 and 4 of ward 7, and ward 8, of Newton

Senate:

• Cynthia Stone Creem, Democrat of Newton: 1st Middlesex District and Norfolk, since 1998.

National[link]

Congress

• House of Representatives: Massachusetts's 4th congressional district: Barney Frank, Democrat, of Newton, 1981 to present
• Senate: John F. Kerry, Democrat
• Senate: Scott P. Brown, Republican

Education[link]

Preschools[link]

• Suzuki Preschool of Newton 225 Nevada Street Newtonville
• Saplings Pre-School 70 Carlton Road
• Presbyterian Church Nursery School 75 Vernon St.
• Temple Beth Avodah Nursery School, 45 Puddingstone Lane
• Beth-El Pre-School, 561 Ward St.
• Burr Cooperative Nursery School [1], 64 Hancock St., Auburndale
• The Teddy Bear Club Preschool, 1466 Commonwealth Ave, West Newton
• Bernice B. Godine JCC Early Learning Center [2], Leventhal-Sidman JCC, 333 Nahanton St.
• The Children's Cooperative Nursery School, 848 Beacon St.
• Temple Shalom Nursery School, 175 Temple St.
• Walnut PK Montessori School [3], 47 Walnut Park
• Auburndale Community Nursery School, 230 Central St.
• Rockwell Nursery School at Lasell College [4], 70 Studio Road
• Newton Community Service Center, 492 Waltham St.
• Parkside Preschool, 474 Centre St., Newton Corner
• Preschool Experience, Centre St.
• Upper Falls Nursery School, 45 Pettee St., Newton Upper Falls
• Bilingual Beginnings at Pine Village Preschool 1326 Washington St., West Newton
• West Newton Children's Center Washington St., West Newton
• Little Red Wagon Playschool 50 Winchester St., Newton Highlands
• Hills and Falls Nursery School, 258 Concord St., Newton Lower Falls

Primary and secondary education[link]

Public: Newton Public Schools

Public Elementary Schools include:

• Angier
• Bowen
• Burr
• Cabot School
• Countryside
• Franklin
• Horace Mann
• Lincoln Eliot
• Mason Rice
• Memorial Spaulding
• Peirce
• Underwood
• Ward
• Williams
• Zervas

Newton has four public middle schools:

• Bigelow
• Brown
• Oak Hill
• Day

Brown Middle School and Oak Hill Middle School graduates go on to Newton South while Frank A. Day Middle School and Bigelow Middle School graduates go on to Newton North. There are exceptions based on exact location of the student's home.

Newton has two public high schools:

• Newton North High School
• Newton South High School

• Private
  • Fessenden School [5], A K-9 day and 5-9 boarding school for boys at 250 Waltham Street in West Newton
  • Jackson School [6], Jackson School is a private, Catholic, elementary school sponsored by the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Boston.
  • Newton Country Day School [7], 785 Centre St
  • Trinity Catholic High School, 575 Washington Street. See also: Trinity Catholic High School Website
  • The Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston [8], A K-8 Conservative Jewish dayschool
  • The Newton Montessori School [9] 80 Crescent Ave.
  • The Rashi school 18 Walnut Park(now in Dedham)
  • Clearway School 61 Chestnut Street. Clearway is a small, private school specializing in educating gifted children suffering from learning disabilities.
  • Mt. Alvernia High School [10], a private girls' school for grades 7-12 located at 790 Centre Street.

Higher education[link]

Colleges and universities located in Newton include:

• Andover Newton Theological School in Newton Centre
• Boston College in Chestnut Hill
• Boston College Law School in Newton Centre
• Hebrew College in Newton Centre
• Mount Ida College in Oak Hill
• Lasell College in Auburndale

Former colleges[link]

Newton Junior College[link]

Newton Junior College, operated by the Newton Public Schools, opened in 1946 to serve the needs of returning veterans who otherwise would not have been able to continue their education due to the overcrowding of colleges and universities at that time. It used the facilities of Newton High School (now Newton North High School) until its own adjacent campus was built. It closed in 1976 due to declining enrollment and increased costs.^[31] The availability of such places as UMass Boston contributed to its demise. According to the city, its former campus is now "Claflin Park," a 25 unit multi-family development.

Others[link]

Other former colleges include Aquinas College (1961–1999), Mount Alvernia College (1959–1973) and Newton College of the Sacred Heart (1946–1975).^[31]

Hospitals[link]

Newton-Wellesley Hospital is located at 2014 Washington Street in Newton.

Houses of worship[link]

Media[link]

Newspapers[link]

The city's community newspaper is The Newton Tab, now published by the Community Newspaper Company.

This section requires expansion.

Television[link]

Residents of Newton have access to a state-of-the-art television studio and community media center, NewTV, located 23 Needham Street in Newton Highlands. Newton is also the headquarters for NECN, a regional news network.

Transportation[link]

Newton's proximity to Boston, along with its good public schools and safe and quiet neighborhoods, make it a very desirable community for those who commute to Boston or work in Newton's businesses and industries.

Newton is well-served by three modes of mass transit run by the MBTA: light rail, commuter rail, and bus service. The Green Line "D" Branch, (also known as the Riverside branch) is a light rail line running through the center of the city that makes very frequent trips to downtown Boston, ranging from 10 to 30 minutes away. The Green Line "B" Branch ends across from Boston College on Commonwealth Avenue, virtually at the border of Boston's Brighton neighborhood and the City of Newton (an area which encompasses an unincorporated suburban village referred to as Chestnut Hill). The commuter rail, serving the northern villages of Newton that are proximate to Waltham, offers less frequent service to Boston. It runs from every half-an-hour during peak times to every couple of hours otherwise. The northern villages are also served by frequent express buses that head to downtown Boston via the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Newton Centre, which is centered around the Newton Center MBTA station, has been lauded as an example of transit-oriented development.^[32]

The Massachusetts Turnpike (Interstate 90), which basically follows the old Boston and Albany Railroad main line right-of-way, runs east and west through Newton, while Route 128 (Interstate 95) slices through the extreme western part of the city in the Lower Falls area. Route 30 (Commonwealth Avenue), Route 16 (Watertown Street west to West Newton, where it follows Washington Street west) and route 9 (Worcester Turnpike or Boylston Street) also run east and west through the city. Another major Boston (and Brookline) street, Beacon Street, runs west from the Boston city line to Washington Street west of the hospital, where it terminates at Washington Street.

There are no major north-south roads through Newton: every north-south street in Newton terminates within Newton at one end or the other. The only possible exception is Needham Street, which is north-south at the border between Newton and Needham, but it turns east and becomes Dedham Street, and when it reaches the Boston border, it goes south-east.

There are some north-south streets that are important to intra-Newton traveling. Centre Street runs south from the Watertown town line to Newton Highlands, where it becomes Winchester Street and terminates at Nahanton Street. Walnut Street runs south from Newtonville, where it starts at Crafts Street, down to Newton Highlands, where it ends at Dedham Street.^[33]

Points of interest[link]

The Jackson Homestead

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

• Crystal Lake is a 33-acre (130,000 m²) natural lake located in Newton Centre. Its shores, mostly lined with private homes, also host two small parks and a town beach and bath house. The name Crystal Lake was given to the pond by a nineteenth century commercial ice harvester that sold ice cut from the pond in winter. It had previously been called Baptist Pond.

• The Jackson Homestead, now the Newton History Museum at the Jackson Homestead, is best known for its history as a stop on the Underground Railroad. It was built in 1809 as a farmhouse designed in the Federal style, and is now a museum with paintings, costumes, photographs, manuscripts, maps and historical artifacts.

• Heartbreak Hill, notably challenging stretch of the Boston Marathon, on Commonwealth Avenue between Centre Street and Boston College.

• Newton is home to many exclusive golf courses such as Woodland Country Club, Charles River Country Club, and Brae Burn Country Club, which held the United States Open in 1919.

• Echo Bridge is a notable 19th-century masonry arch bridge with views of the river and Hemlock Gorge in Hemlock Gorge Reservation just off Route 9 in Newton Upper Falls.

• Norumbega Park was located in Auburndale on the Charles River. Opening in 1897 as a trolley park, it was a popular amusement park through the 1950s before closing in 1963. Its Totem Pole Ballroom became a well-known dancing and entertainment venue for big bands touring during the 1940s. The park is now a popular dog-walking site with hills, meadows, woods, and access to the river.

Chestnut Hill Reservoir

• Chestnut Hill Reservoir is a very popular park with residents of Newton, Brookline, and the Brighton section of Boston. Although completely within the Boston city limits, it is directly contiguous to the Newton city limits. Designed by Fredrick Law Olmstead, the designer of Central Park in New York City and the Emerald Necklace in Boston, the park offers beautiful views of the Boston skyline, and is framed by stately homes and the campus of Boston College. Although not generally used to supply water to Boston, the reservoir was temporarily brought back online on May 1, 2010, during a failure of a connecting pipe at the end of the MetroWest Water Supply Tunnel.

• Bullough's Pond is an old mill pond transformed into a landscape feature when Newton became a suburban community in the late nineteenth century. It has been the subject of two books, Reflections in Bullough's Pond: Economy and Ecosystem in New England, by Diana Muir, and Once Around Bullough's Pond: A Native American Epic, by Douglas Worth. It was long maintained by the city as an ice skating venue, but skating is no longer allowed. A scene from the 2008 remake of The Women was filmed there.

• The city of Newton has designated several roads in the city as "scenic". Along with this designation come regulations aimed at curbing tree removal and trimming along the roads, as well as stemming the removal of historic stone walls.^[34] The city designated the following as scenic roads: Hobart Rd., Waban Ave., Sumner St., Chestnut St., Concord St., Dudley Rd., Fuller St., Hammond St., Valentine St., Lake Ave., Highland St., and Brookside Ave.^[35]

Notable architecture[link]

• The First Baptist Church in Newton Centre, built in 1888, was designed by John Lyman Faxon in the Richardsonian Romanesque style pioneered by architect Henry Hobson Richardson.^[36]
• The WHDH-TV tower is one of the tallest free-standing lattice towers in USA.^{[citation needed]}

Cemeteries[link]

There are several cemeteries in Newton, three of which are owned by the City of Newton, while the rest are privately owned,^[37] as follows:

• East Parish Burying Ground, called Centre Street Cemetery by the city, dates from 1664
• Newton Cemetery, 791 Walnut Street, Newton Centre, private, 155 acres (0.63 km²), dates from 1855
• West Parish Burying Ground (River Street Cemetery), West Newton, public
• St. Mary's Episcopal Church and Cemetery, 258 Concord Avenue, Newton Lower Falls, private
• South Burying Ground called Winchester Street Cemetery or Evergreen Cemetery by the city, public

Notable grave sites[link]

• East Parish Burying Ground, aka Centre Street Cemetery
  • William Jackson, politician, U.S. congressman
  • Thomas Wiswall (1601–1683), prominent early citizen of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Cambridge Village, Massachusetts
  • John Fuller (1611–1698), one of the earliest settlers and largest landholders. Built first house in Newtonville.
• Newton Cemetery
  • William Emerson Barrett, politician, U.S. congressman
  • William Claflin, politician, Massachusetts governor and U.S. congressman
  • Louis K. Liggett, drug store magnate
  • Samuel Leland Powers, politician, U. S. Congressman
  • Alexander Hamilton Rice, politician, Massachusetts governor, U.S. congressman and Boston mayor
  • Morrie Schwartz, educator, Brandeis philosophy professor
  • Samuel Francis Smith, Baptist minister, author of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee"
  • Francis Edgar Stanley, auto maker (the Stanley Steamer)

• St. Mary's Episcopal Church and Cemetery
  • Josiah Gardner Abbott, politician, judge, U.S. congressman^[38]
  • Lewis Golding Arnold, 1817–1871, Civil War general.^[39]

Events[link]

Every year on the 3rd Saturday of October there is a contest, in which students of any age can paint the windows of a local business. The drawing must be Halloween-related and be painted on a piece of window provided by the store. Each student receives a large spot on the business's window. After this event there is an award ceremony with the mayor. Winners are chosen at the ceremony. Students are required to provide their own painting utensils .

Notable people[link]

Trivia[link]

• The Fig Newton cookie is named after the city. In 1991, Newton and Nabisco hosted a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Fig Newton. A 100-inch (2,500 mm) Fig Newton was served and Juice Newton performed.^[40]
• The only Melkite Greek Catholic eparchy in America, the Eparchy of Newton, is named for Newton although its cathedral, headquarters and exarchial residence are located in the Roslindale section of Boston.
• Philippine opposition leader and former Philippine senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. (Ninoy) spent more than three years in exile in Newton (1980–83), along with his family, after spending 7 years and 7 months in solitary confinement. He was assassinated upon his return to the Philippines on August 21, 1983. Two Philippine presidents, one currently in office, lived with him in Newton during the same time: Corazon Aquino (1986–92) and her son, Benigno C. Aquino III (2010–present).

Newton in theatre and film[link]

• The plot of the 1928 Cole Porter musical Paris turns on a wealthy young man from Newton Center whose mother comes to Paris to rescue him from his intention to marry a French actress. Newton Center is chosen as the sort of place where Mayflower descendants live on family estates and do not marry French actresses.
• In Sacha Baron Cohen's movie Borat, a scene in which Borat and Azamat panicked in a bed and breakfast owned by a Jewish couple actually took place in Newton, instead of in the southern states as depicted in the story.
• In the television series ER, in the episode Parental Guidance (Season 15, episode 4), Dr Tracy Martin, played by Emily Rose, reveals that she is from Newton.^[41]
• In the television series House, in the episode Knight's Fall (Season 6, episode 17), 13 (a character) mentions that she went to Newton North High School.^[42]
• Sheldon Cooper (character in the TV series The Big Bang Theory) tells Penny that Fig Newtons were not named after Sir Isaac Newton but after "a small town in Massachusetts".
• The short-lived television series Do Over takes place in Newton.
• In the television series Falling Skies West Newton is mentioned as a destination where survivors might be able to acquire food.
• In the independent 2007 film Yellow Lights, directed by 2 students at Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, the characters attend a fictional Isaac Newton College set in Newton, MA. In actuality, the film was shot at Olin College in Needham, MA.

Newton in literature[link]

• The history of Newton is recounted in the book, Reflections in Bullough's Pond by Diana Muir.
• Newtown (an older name for the area) is mentioned in Neil Stephenson's "Quicksilver".
• Katherine Lee Bates, who wrote "America the Beautiful," lived on Centre Street in Newton Centre.
• Samuel Francis Smith, a clergyman who wrote the words to the hymn My Country, 'Tis of Thee, also known as "America", later moved to 1181 Centre Street in Newton Centre.
• Newton is mentioned in Jodi Picoult's novel Songs of the Humpback Whale

See also[link]

Boston portal

• List of Registered Historic Places in Newton, Massachusetts
• Reginald A. Fessenden House, which is the only National Historic Landmark located in Newton.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Directory of the town of Newton: containing a general directory of the citizens, and a business directory. 1871 Google books

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Newton, Massachusetts

• City of Newton official website
• Newton Citizens (general info)
• Newton/Needham Chamber of Commerce
• Newton Tab (Newspaper)

v t e Municipalities and communities of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States Cities Cambridge Everett Lowell Malden Marlborough Medford Melrose Newton Somerville Waltham Watertown Woburn Towns Acton Arlington Ashby Ashland Ayer Bedford Belmont Billerica Boxborough Burlington Carlisle Chelmsford Concord Dracut Dunstable Framingham Groton Holliston Hopkinton Hudson Lexington Lincoln Littleton Maynard Natick North Reading Pepperell Reading Sherborn Shirley Stoneham Stow Sudbury Tewksbury Townsend Tyngsborough Wakefield Wayland Westford Weston Wilmington Winchester CDPs Ayer Cochituate Devens East Pepperell Groton Hopkinton Hudson Littleton Common Pepperell Pinehurst Shirley Townsend West Concord Other villages Auburndale Chestnut Hill Gleasondale Nabnasset Newton Centre Newton Highlands Newton Lower Falls Newton Upper Falls Newtonville Nonantum North Billerica North Chelmsford Waban West Newton

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Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): The Bay State, The Old Colony, The Codfish State[1]
Motto(s): Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem (Latin)
Official language(s)	None
Demonym	Bay Stater (official)[2] Massachusite (traditional)[3][4] Massachusettsian (archaic)[5]
Capital (and largest city)	Boston
Largest metro area	Greater Boston
Area	Ranked 44th in the U.S.
- Total	10,555[6] sq mi (27,336 km2)
- Width	183 miles (295 km)
- Length	113 miles (182 km)
- % water	25.7
- Latitude	41° 14′ N to 42° 53′ N
- Longitude	69° 56′ W to 73° 30′ W
Population	Ranked 14th in the U.S.
- Total	6,587,536 (2011 est)[7]
- Density	840/sq mi  (324/km2) Ranked 3rd in the U.S.
- Median household income	$65,401 (2008) (6th)
Elevation
- Highest point	Mount Greylock[8][9][10] 3,489 ft (1063.4 m)
- Mean	500 ft  (150 m)
- Lowest point	Atlantic Ocean[9] sea level
Before statehood	Province of Massachusetts Bay
Admission to Union	February 6, 1788 (6th)
Governor	Deval Patrick (D)
Lieutenant Governor	Tim Murray (D)
Legislature	General Court
- Upper house	Senate
- Lower house	House of Representatives
U.S. Senators	John Kerry (D) Scott Brown (R)
U.S. House delegation	10 Democrats (list)
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Abbreviations	MA Mass. US-MA
Website	www.mass.gov

Massachusetts State symbols
Animate insignia
Bird(s)	Black-capped Chickadee, Wild Turkey
Fish	Cod
Flower(s)	Mayflower
Insect	Ladybug
Mammal(s)	Right whale, Morgan horse, Tabby cat, Boston Terrier
Reptile	Garter snake
Tree	American Elm
Inanimate insignia
Beverage	Cranberry Juice
Colors	Blue, Green, Cranberry
Dance	Square Dance
Food	Cranberry, Corn muffin, Navy bean, Boston cream pie, Chocolate chip cookie, Boston cream donut
Fossil	Mastodon
Gemstone	Rhodonite
Mineral	Babingtonite
Poem	"Blue Hills of Massachusetts"
Rock	Roxbury Puddingstone
Shell	Wrinkled Whelk
Ship(s)	Schooner Ernestina
Slogan(s)	Make It Yours, The Spirit of America
Soil	Paxton
Song(s)	All Hail to Massachusetts
Sport	Basketball[11]
Route marker(s)
State Quarter
Released in 2000
Lists of United States state insignia

Massachusetts (ⁱ/ˌmæsəˈtʃuːsɨts/), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Massachusetts is the 7th least extensive, but the 14th most populous and the 3rd most densely populated of the 50 United States. The state features two separate metropolitan areas – the eastern Boston metropolitan area and the western Springfield metropolitan area. Approximately two thirds of the state's population lives in Greater Boston, most of which is either urban or suburban. Western Massachusetts features one urban area – the Knowledge Corridor along the Connecticut River – and a mix of college towns and rural areas. Massachusetts is the most populous of the six New England states and has the US's sixth highest GDP per capita.

Massachusetts has played a significant historical, cultural, and commercial role in American history. Plymouth was the site of the colony founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims, passengers of the Mayflower. Harvard University, founded in 1636, is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. In 1692, the towns surrounding Salem experienced one of America's most infamous cases of mass hysteria, the Salem Witch Trials. In the 18th century, the Protestant First Great Awakening, which swept the Atlantic world, originated from the pulpit of Northampton, Massachusetts preacher Jonathan Edwards. In the late 18th century, Boston became known as the "Cradle of Liberty" for the agitation there that led to the American Revolution and the independence of the United States from Great Britain. In 1777, General Henry Knox founded the Springfield Armory, which during the Industrial Revolution catalyzed numerous important technological advances, including interchangeable parts. In 1786, Shays' Rebellion, a populist revolt by Western Massachusetts farmers, led directly to the United States Constitutional Convention. Before the American Civil War, Massachusetts was a center for the temperance, transcendentalist, and abolitionist movements. In 1837, Mount Holyoke College, the United States' first college for women, was opened in the Connecticut River Valley town of South Hadley. In the late 19th century, the (now) Olympic sports of basketball and volleyball were invented in the Western Massachusetts cities of Springfield and Holyoke, respectively. In 2004, Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to legally recognize same-sex marriage as a result of the decision of the state's Supreme Judicial Court. The state has contributed many prominent politicians to national service, including members of the Adams family and of the Kennedy family.

Originally dependent on fishing, agriculture, and trade, Massachusetts was transformed into a manufacturing center during the Industrial Revolution. During the 20th century, the state's economy shifted from manufacturing to services. In the 21st century, Massachusetts is a leader in higher education, health care technology, high technology, and financial services.