Barre, Massachusetts | |
|---|---|
 Barre Town Hall | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Motto: "Tranquil and Alert" | |
 Location inWorcester County and the state ofMassachusetts. | |
| Coordinates:42°25′22″N72°06′20″W / 42.42278°N 72.10556°W /42.42278; -72.10556 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| County | Worcester |
| Settled | 1720 |
| Incorporated | 1774 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Open town meeting |
| • Town Administrator | Jessica Sizer |
| Area | |
• Total | 44.6 sq mi (115.5 km2) |
| • Land | 44.3 sq mi (114.8 km2) |
| • Water | 0.27 sq mi (0.7 km2) |
| Elevation | 890 ft (270 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 5,530 |
| • Density | 125/sq mi (48.2/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (Eastern) |
| ZIP Codes |
|
| Area codes | 351/978 |
| FIPS code | 25-03740 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0619475 |
| Website | www |
Barre (/ˈbæri/BARR-ee) is a town inWorcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,530 at the 2020 census.[1] It contains thecensus-designated place of the same name.
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Located on the ancestral homeland of theNipmuc, the area was first settled by Europeans in 1720 and referred to as the Northwest District ofRutland. The town was incorporated as Hutchinson on June 17, 1774, afterThomas Hutchinson, colonial governor ofMassachusetts. The town was incorporated on August 23, 1775, along with 41 other districts in the state, by the Massachusetts Court. The next year on November 7, 1776, it was renamed Barre in honor of ColonelIsaac Barré, an Irish-bornMP who was a champion of American Independence. "This township was originally known as Rutland, West District; but prior to 1770 its name was changed to "Hutchinson", in honor of the Hon. Thomas Hutchinson who was Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in 1765, became acting Governor in 1769, and Governor in 1770. When, in 1774, on account of his Tory proclivities, Governor Hutchinson resigned his office and went to England, his name and memory were so execrated by the patriots of the township of Hutchinson that, in 1776, the General Assembly of Massachusetts changed the name of the township to "Barré."[2]
In 1849 theBoston, Barre and Gardner Railroad was founded to build a railroad fromWorcester to Barre, but it failed to raise enough capital to start construction. The project was revived in 1869, but it was re-routed to run between Worcester andGardner, bypassing Barre. When the line opened in 1871 it was still called the Boston, Barre and Gardner RR, although it never reached Barre. The line's nearestdepot to Barre was atHubbardston, 7 miles (11 km) away.[3]
On April 11, 1943, Barre held a civic welcome for Basil Izzi, a local man who was aUnited States Navy Armed Guard and had recently survived 83 days in theAtlantic Ocean on alife raft after his ship, theZaandam, was torpedoed. In 1988 theBarre Gazette claimed that the welcoming parade in his honor was "still the longest parade on record in theCommonwealth".[4] Izzi died in 1979. On May 28, 2015, a road bridge near South Barre was renamed the "Seaman 2nd Class Basil D. Izzi Memorial Bridge" in his honor.[5] The bridge carriesMassachusetts Route 32 over the Ware River.[6]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 44.6 square miles (116 km2), of which 44.3 square miles (115 km2) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km2), or 0.63%, is water. Barre is drained by theWare River.
Barre is bordered byHubbardston to the northeast,Rutland andOakham to the southeast,New Braintree to the south,Hardwick to the southwest,Petersham to the northwest, and a small portion ofPhillipston to the north.
| Climate data for Barre (Barre Dam Falls), Massachusetts (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1959–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 67 (19) | 76 (24) | 81 (27) | 96 (36) | 97 (36) | 103 (39) | 103 (39) | 100 (38) | 95 (35) | 85 (29) | 77 (25) | 69 (21) | 103 (39) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 53.5 (11.9) | 54.2 (12.3) | 64.7 (18.2) | 79.7 (26.5) | 87.0 (30.6) | 89.9 (32.2) | 91.5 (33.1) | 89.1 (31.7) | 86.2 (30.1) | 75.4 (24.1) | 66.4 (19.1) | 56.6 (13.7) | 93.2 (34.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 34.5 (1.4) | 37.7 (3.2) | 45.7 (7.6) | 59.1 (15.1) | 69.8 (21.0) | 78.2 (25.7) | 83.2 (28.4) | 81.3 (27.4) | 74.5 (23.6) | 62.0 (16.7) | 49.9 (9.9) | 39.8 (4.3) | 59.6 (15.3) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 23.7 (−4.6) | 25.6 (−3.6) | 33.7 (0.9) | 45.5 (7.5) | 56.4 (13.6) | 65.2 (18.4) | 70.4 (21.3) | 68.1 (20.1) | 61.0 (16.1) | 48.9 (9.4) | 38.6 (3.7) | 29.6 (−1.3) | 47.2 (8.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 12.8 (−10.7) | 13.6 (−10.2) | 21.7 (−5.7) | 32.0 (0.0) | 43.0 (6.1) | 52.2 (11.2) | 57.7 (14.3) | 54.9 (12.7) | 47.6 (8.7) | 35.9 (2.2) | 27.4 (−2.6) | 19.4 (−7.0) | 34.8 (1.6) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −7.7 (−22.1) | −5.6 (−20.9) | 3.0 (−16.1) | 19.8 (−6.8) | 27.9 (−2.3) | 37.0 (2.8) | 44.9 (7.2) | 42.1 (5.6) | 31.3 (−0.4) | 22.0 (−5.6) | 13.7 (−10.2) | 1.3 (−17.1) | −11.2 (−24.0) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −25 (−32) | −22 (−30) | −16 (−27) | 4 (−16) | 21 (−6) | 25 (−4) | 34 (1) | 28 (−2) | 24 (−4) | 12 (−11) | −7 (−22) | −16 (−27) | −25 (−32) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 3.51 (89) | 2.97 (75) | 3.61 (92) | 3.90 (99) | 3.68 (93) | 4.21 (107) | 4.09 (104) | 4.51 (115) | 4.37 (111) | 4.86 (123) | 3.67 (93) | 4.33 (110) | 47.71 (1,211) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 13.6 (35) | 14.9 (38) | 12.2 (31) | 3.5 (8.9) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.2 (0.51) | 2.9 (7.4) | 13.1 (33) | 60.4 (153.81) |
| Average extreme snow depth inches (cm) | 9.3 (24) | 11.2 (28) | 9.5 (24) | 3.0 (7.6) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.3 (0.76) | 2.0 (5.1) | 7.6 (19) | 15.6 (40) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 12.8 | 10.2 | 11.5 | 12.4 | 13.9 | 12.8 | 11.5 | 10.7 | 10.1 | 11.8 | 11.1 | 12.5 | 141.3 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.1 in) | 6.7 | 6.1 | 4.7 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 4.9 | 25.1 |
| Source 1: NOAA[7] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service[8] | |||||||||||||
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 2,976 | — |
| 1860 | 2,973 | −0.1% |
| 1870 | 2,572 | −13.5% |
| 1880 | 2,419 | −5.9% |
| 1890 | 2,239 | −7.4% |
| 1900 | 2,059 | −8.0% |
| 1910 | 2,957 | +43.6% |
| 1920 | 3,357 | +13.5% |
| 1930 | 3,510 | +4.6% |
| 1940 | 3,528 | +0.5% |
| 1950 | 3,406 | −3.5% |
| 1960 | 3,479 | +2.1% |
| 1970 | 3,825 | +9.9% |
| 1980 | 4,102 | +7.2% |
| 1990 | 4,546 | +10.8% |
| 2000 | 5,113 | +12.5% |
| 2010 | 5,398 | +5.6% |
| 2020 | 5,530 | +2.4% |
| 2022* | 5,533 | +0.1% |
| * = population estimate. Source:United States census records andPopulation Estimates Program data.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] | ||
As of thecensus[20] of 2000, there were 5,113 people, 1,889 households, and 1,377 families residing in the town. The population density was 115.3 inhabitants per square mile (44.5/km2). There were 1,988 housing units at an average density of 44.8 per square mile (17.3/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.63%White, 0.51%Black orAfrican American, 0.10%Native American, 0.33%Asian, 0.29% fromother races, and 1.13% from two or more races. Of the population, 0.80% wereHispanic orLatino of any race.
There were 1,889 households, out of which 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.9% weremarried couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.1% were non-families. Of all households, 22.8% were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.7 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $50,553, and the median income for a family was $56,069. Males had a median income of $40,284 versus $29,250 for females. Theper capita income for the town was $20,476. 3.4% of the population and 1.2% of families were below thepoverty line. Out of the total population, 1.5% of those under the age of 18 and 2.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Barre is part of the Quabbin Regional School District along with,Hardwick,Hubbardston,New Braintree, andOakham. Elementary School Students attend Ruggles Lane Elementary School, from grades K–5, middle school students attend Quabbin Regional Middle School from grades 6–8, and high school students attendQuabbin Regional High School from grades 9–12. It is also home to the administrative offices (including the office of the superintendent) of the Quabbin Regional School District.[21]
From 1840 into the twentieth century, it was home to the Elm Hill Private School and Home for the Education of Feeble-Minded Youth.[22]
Barre is home toStetson School.[23]
| State government | |
|---|---|
| State Representative(s): | Donald R. Berthiaume, Jr. (R) |
| State Senator(s): | Peter J. Durant (R) |
| Governor's Councilor(s): | Paul M. DePalo (D) |
| Federal government | |
| U.S. Representative(s): | James P. McGovern (D-2nd District), |
| U.S. Senators: | Elizabeth Warren (D),Ed Markey (D) |
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