Winthrop, Massachusetts | |
|---|---|
City | |
| Town of Winthrop | |
 Aerial view of Winthrop andBoston, Massachusetts skyscrapers | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Nickname: Winthrop-by-the-Sea | |
| Motto: "Where the North Shore begins" | |
 Location inSuffolk County and the state ofMassachusetts | |
  Winthrop, Massachusetts Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates:42°22′30″N70°59′00″W / 42.37500°N 70.98333°W /42.37500; -70.98333 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| County | Suffolk |
| Settled | 1630 |
| Incorporated | 1852 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council-manager |
| • Council President | James Letterie |
| • Town Manager | Anthony Marino |
| Area | |
• Total | 8.32 sq mi (21.55 km2) |
| • Land | 1.6 sq mi (5.16 km2) |
| • Water | 6.33 sq mi (16.39 km2) |
| Elevation | 36 ft (11 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 19,316 |
| • Density | 12,072.50/sq mi (4,665.70/km2) |
| Demonym | Winthropian |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (Eastern) |
| ZIP Code | 02152 |
| Area code | 617 /857 |
| FIPS code | 25-80930 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0618335 |
| Website | www.town.winthrop.ma.us |
Winthrop is a city inSuffolk County,Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,316 at the2020 census.[2] Winthrop is an ocean-side suburban town inGreater Boston situated at the north entrance to theBoston Harbor, geographically nearby to theLogan International Airport. It is located on apeninsula, 1.6 square miles (4.2 km2) in area, connected to the city ofRevere, Massachusetts by a narrowisthmus and to multiple portions ofBoston by a bridge over the harborinlet to theBelle Isle Marsh Reservation in the neighborhood ofEast Boston, a shared line at theBoston Logan International Airport, and atDeer Island.
Settled in 1630, Winthrop is one of the oldest communities in the United States. It is also one of the smallest and most densely populated municipalities in Massachusetts. It is one of the four municipalities that comprise Suffolk County (the others areBoston,Revere, andChelsea). It is the southernmost part of theNorth Shore area, with a 7-mile (11 km)shoreline that provides views of the Atlantic Ocean to the east and of the Boston skyline to the west.
In 2005, the Town of Winthrop voted to change its governance from arepresentative town meeting adopted in 1920 to acouncil-manager form of government. Under Massachusetts law, as of 2006 when the new Town Charter took effect, Winthrop becamede jure a city. However, it is one of thirteen cities in Massachusetts that chose to remain known as a 'town.'[3]
Winthrop was settled in 1630 by English Puritancolonists as Pulling Point, so named because the tides made hard pulling for boatmen.[4][5] The present town is named afterJohn Winthrop (1587–1649), secondgovernor of theMassachusetts Bay Colony and an EnglishPuritan leader. On April 8, 1630, Winthrop departed from theIsle of Wight, England on the shipArbella, arriving inSalem in June where he was met byJohn Endecott, the first governor of the colony. John Winthrop served as governor for twelve of the colony's first twenty years of existence. It was he who decided to base the colony at theShawmut Peninsula, where he and other colonists founded what is now the City of Boston.
Originally part of an area called Winnisimmet by the nativeMassachusett tribe,[6] Pullen Poynt wasannexed by the Town of Boston in 1632 and was used as a grazing area. In 1637, it was divided into fifteen parcels of land that were given by Governor Winthrop to prominent men in Boston with the stipulation that each must erect a building on his land within two years. Few, if any, of these men ever lived on these parcels of land, but their farms prospered. One of these early houses, theDeane Winthrop House, was the home of Governor Winthrop's youngest son,Deane Winthrop, who lived there until his death in 1704. This house is still standing and is also the oldest continually occupied home in the United States. Although occupied, it is also open to the public at select times. The house is maintained by the Winthrop Improvement and Historical Association.[7]
In 1739, what is now Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, withdrew from Boston due to governmental control disputes and became the Town of Chelsea. In 1775, residents of the Town of Chelsea played a key role in theBattle of Chelsea Creek of theAmerican Revolutionary War.[8] Again, the desire for more local control resulted in Revere and Winthrop seceding from Chelsea in 1846 to become North Chelsea. Shortly thereafter, in 1852, Winthrop was incorporated as a town in its own right with aBoard of Selectmen andOpen Town Meeting form of government. In 1920, Winthrop was the second town in theCommonwealth of Massachusetts to apply for and receive a Charter for aRepresentative Town Meeting, which continued to 2006.
As noted above, Winthrop adopted a home rule charter in 2005 with acouncil-manager form of government[9][10] and is no longer governed by a representative town meeting. It is now legally a city, but chooses to be known as a town that has a city form of government.[11][12] The new Town Charter, which took effect in 2006, was passed in a special election. The Board of Selectmen and Town Meeting were abolished, and legislative powers were vested in an electedTown Council. Executive power, largely ceremonial, resides in the Council President, who is popularly elected. An appointedTown Manager serves as the head of administrative services.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 8.3 square miles (21.5 km2), of which 2.0 square miles (5.2 km2) is land and 6.3 square miles (16.3 km2) (76.02%) is water. However, according to the Town Government, Winthrop has a land area of just 1.6 square miles (4.1 km2).
Winthrop is connected by land skirting theBelle Isle Marsh Reservation, which is shared across the Belle Isle Inlet withEast Boston. The town was originally separated fromDeer Island. Although still an island by name, Deer Island has been connected to Winthrop since the former Shirley Gut channel, which once separated the island from the town, was filled in by theNew England Hurricane of 1938. The town is considered the northern dividing line betweenBoston Harbor to its west andMassachusetts Bay to its east.
The town is divided into several neighborhoods with a central downtown area, including Court Park and Cottage Park along the Boston Harbor side of town, and Point Shirley, Cottage Hill,Winthrop Beach, Ocean Spray, and Winthrop Highlands on the Massachusetts Bay side. The town is bordered byRevere to the north, and Boston on the northwest, west, and southeast. The water rights of the town extend to the edge of the county, and border those ofNahant inEssex County. As a result of the expansion ofLogan International Airport, part of four of the runways (4L/22R, 4R/22L, 15R/33L, and most of 15L/33R) lies within what was once the water rights of the town. By land, Winthrop is 5.5 miles (8.9 km) fromBeacon Hill, the measuring point for all road signs in Massachusetts.
Deer Island, though within the city limits of Boston, is located in Winthrop Bay. It ceased to be an island in the 1930s whenShirley Gut, which separated it from Winthrop, was filled in. The island has a sordid past as aninternment camp forNative Americans duringKing Philip's War, aquarantine station where many immigrants died, and the site of acounty jail. Today, the island is home to the mammothDeer Island Waste Water Treatment Plant, which provides sewage treatment for the Boston area.[13] In spite of the presence of the water treatment plant, Deer Island has been part of theBoston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area since 1996 and the remainder of the island consists of park land and offers walking, jogging, sightseeing, picnicking, and fishing. Part of the park land consists of a man-made earthenberm that partly conceals the treatment plant from view from Winthrop. The island is now popular with many Winthrop residents, due to the park landscaping and views of Boston Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean.
Massachusetts Route 145 passes through the town as its only state route and the only connection to the mainland (via Main Street and Winthrop Parkway at opposite ends of town). It enters from theOrient Heights neighborhood ofEast Boston then passes in a loop around the main body of the town (bypassing Cottage Hill and Point Shirley) before leaving the town to the north, turning into the Winthrop Parkway in Revere. Two bus routes are provided by Paul Revere Transportation, which run from Point Shirley through the highlands and center of the town and terminate atOrient Heights. Paul Revere Transportation has operated the bus service in town since 1991. The service, which is subsidized by theMBTA, operates as Route 712 Point Shirley or Winthrop Beach toOrient Heights Station via Winthrop Highlands and Route 713 Point Shirley or Winthrop Beach to Orient Heights via Winthrop Center.[14] Prior to this, the service was operated by Rapid Transit, which began bus service in Winthrop on January 28, 1940, the day immediately following the closure of theBoston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad (known as the "Narrow Gauge") which had a Winthrop Branch (1877–1940) with nine stations. TheBlue Line of theMBTA subway system crosses near the town, with stops atOrient Heights Station,Suffolk Downs Station, andBeachmont Station, all of which are just a half mile from the city limits. A water transportation dock is located at the public landing and provides ferry service across Boston Harbor. Currently, the town operates the service seasonally (May through October) between Winthrop, Quincy, and Rowes Wharf.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 544 | — |
| 1870 | 532 | −2.2% |
| 1880 | 1,043 | +96.1% |
| 1890 | 2,726 | +161.4% |
| 1900 | 6,058 | +122.2% |
| 1910 | 10,132 | +67.2% |
| 1920 | 15,455 | +52.5% |
| 1930 | 16,852 | +9.0% |
| 1940 | 16,768 | −0.5% |
| 1950 | 19,496 | +16.3% |
| 1960 | 20,303 | +4.1% |
| 1970 | 20,335 | +0.2% |
| 1980 | 19,294 | −5.1% |
| 1990 | 18,127 | −6.0% |
| 2000 | 18,303 | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 17,497 | −4.4% |
| 2020 | 19,316 | +10.4% |
| 2022 | 18,510 | −4.2% |
| Source: U.S. Decennial Census[15] [16] | ||
As of thecensus[17] of 2000, there were 18,303 people, 7,843 households, and 4,580 families residing in the town. The population density was 9,208 inhabitants per square mile (3,555/km2). There were 8,067 housing units at an average density of 4,058.5 per square mile (1,567.0/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 94.44%White, 1.68%Black, 1.15%Asian, 0.16%Native American, 0.04%Pacific Islander, 1.36% fromother races, and 1.16% of two or more races.Hispanic orLatino people of any race comprised 2.69% of the population.
There were 7,843 households, of which 23.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% weremarried couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.6% were non-families. 32.5% 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 2.3 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the town the population was spread out, with 18.6% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.
Themedian income for a household in the town was $53,122, and the median income for a family was $65,696. Males had a median income of $42,135 versus $36,298 for females. Theper capita income for the town was $27,374. About 3.3% of families and 5.5% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 4.1% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.
By the mid-1990s, large shopping malls in the nearbyNorth Shore region of Massachusetts, especiallySquare One Mall inSaugus, began to drain small businesses, though a strong small business community still prevails.
Located on Great Head (Water Tower Hill) is the Winthrop Water Tower. It is a red, white, and blue striped tower capable of holding 1 million US gallons (3,800 m3) of water. It is maintained by Winthrop's Water Department.[18]
The town is divided into four unique business areas: the Shirley Street Business District, the Highlands District, the center, and Magee's Corner District. In July 2017,Massachusetts GovernorCharlie Baker announced a $2.38 million grant to the town to redevelop its Center Business District.[19]
Winthrop has a weekly newspaper, theWinthrop Sun Transcript, which reports local news, current events, happenings, and town concerns.
Winthrop currently has four schools that are a part ofWinthrop Public Schools:
Note: Winthrop Middle School and Winthrop High School are housed in the same building, but are two separate and distinct schools with their own administration.
Winthrop has numerous beaches due to being surrounded by water. The major beaches areWinthrop Beach andYirrell Beach; others include Donovan's Beach, Halford Beach, Pico Beach and Short Beach.
Winthrop is home to two historic military forts,Fort Banks andFort Heath. Fort Banks was a United States Coast Artillery fort, which served to defend Boston Harbor from enemy attack from the sea and was built in the 1890s during what is known as the Endicott period, a time in which the coast defenses of the United States were seriously expanded and upgraded with new technology. Fort Heath was built in 1898 also as a Coast Artillery fort. It is now replaced with the Fort Heath Apartment building, Seal Harborcondominia, and a small park on thebluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean andRevere Beach.
Winthrop hasfive places on theNational Register of Historic Places.
Among numerous baseball fields and recreational parks, Winthrop's recreational facilities include Larsen Rink, an indoorice skating rink, and Winthrop Golf Course, a private 9-hole, par 35 golf course.
Municipalities and communities ofSuffolk County, Massachusetts,United States | ||
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