Nancy Hurley
Coldwell Banker
71 Central Street
Wellesley, MA 02482
781-237-9444 x516
Nancy.Hurley@nemoves.com
Coldwell Banker
71 Central Street
Wellesley, MA 02482
781-237-9444 x516
Nancy.Hurley@nemoves.com
Wellesley, Massachusetts
Wellesley is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 26,613 at the 2000 census. It is best known as the home of Wellesley College and Babson College. The Hunnewell Arboretum abuts the Wellesley campus, and the Elm Bank Horticulture Center is also located in Wellesley. The public education services of the town are well regarded, especially Wellesley High School; in 2007 it was ranked 70th best high school in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, earning a Gold Medal.[1] Wellesley has the reputation of being one of the most affluent and prestigious suburbs of Boston. According to Boston Magazine's yearly "Best Places To Live" Wellesley ranks first in the United States in percentage of adults who hold at least one college degree. Over 66% of the households have at least one individual holding an advanced degree beyond a Bachelor's Degree.
History
Wellesley was originally part of Dedham, Massachusetts, and was subsequently a part of Needham, Massachusetts called West Needham, Massachusetts.
Historic district
The town designated Cottage Street and its nearby alleys as the historic district in its zoning plan. Most houses in this district were built around the 1860s and qualify as protected buildings certified by the town's historic commission.
Wellesley Square
Wellesley Square is in the center of the town. Along Central Street and Church Street major chain stores, as well as privately-owned boutiques, have made a home for themselves in the main shopping hub of Wellesley. The shops at Church Square is home to the historic department store E.A. Davis and Co., as well as Potpurri Designs, J. McLaughlin, Crossing Main, Cachet, Triangle Shop, and The Gifted Hand. Central Street features more nation-wide chains, as well as restaurants, a book store, and coffee shops such as Starbucks and Peets.
Recent construction
According to the Wellesley Townsman, over 500 houses in Wellesley have been razed to make way for newer, larger dwellings in the last ten years.[citation needed] The town's historic 19th century inn was demolished to make way for an upscale mixed-use development, and the Wellesley Country Club clubhouse, which is the building where the town was founded, is scheduled to be demolished. The town's pre-World War II high school building is also considered to be demolished or altered in a potential renovation project, and the entire 1960s-style Linden Street strip-mall district has been replaced by "Linden Square" - an upscale lifestyle center that includes a flagship Roche Brothers supermarket, along with a mixture of national chains and local "mom & pop" shops.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 10.5 square miles (27.2 kmē), of which, 10.2 square miles (26.4 kmē) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.8 kmē) of it (2.96%) is water.
Adjacent towns
Wellesley is located in Eastern Massachusetts. It is bordered on the east by Newton, on the north by Weston, on the south by Needham and Dover and on the west by Natick.
Neighborhoods
The town is informally divided into several sections or neighborhoods:
Wellesley Square
Wellesley Hills
Wellesley Farms
Wellesley Fells
Wellesley Lower Falls
Demographics
The Census Bureau has also defined the town as a census-designated place with an area exactly equivalent to the town.
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 26,613 people, 8,594 households, and 6,540 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,614.1 people per square mile (1,009.4/kmē). There were 8,861 housing units at an average density of 870.4/sq mi (336.1/kmē). The racial makeup of the town was 88.3% White, 6.40% Asian, 1.60% Black or African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from other races, and 1.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.32% of the population.
There were 8,594 households out of which 39.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.2% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.9% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 13.9% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 77.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $138,472, and the median income for a family was $134,769. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $53,007 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $52,866. About 2.4% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 2.1% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Wellesley Town HallThe town government has been run by town meeting since the town's founding.
Wellesley also receives significant funding from the state government, despite its upper-middle-class demographics. Local roads have been repaved several times in the 1990s and 2000s.
Since Proposition 2― limited property tax increases to 2.5% per year in 1980, the town has had to ask residents for a number of overrides to maintain funding for certain programs. Although the main 2005 override passed, a simultaneous supplemental override to preserve certain specific programs and services failed by 17 votes. The 2006 override passed with a large majority.
Wellesley opened its new Free Library building in 2003, which is part of the Minuteman Library Network. Due to the structure of budget override votes and perhaps the size of the new main branch of the library, the two branch libraries--one in Wellesley Hills, which was purpose-built to be a branch library in the 1920s, another in Wellesley Fells--closed in the summer of 2006. The branch libraries reopened in September, 2008.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellesley,_Massachusetts"
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History
Wellesley was originally part of Dedham, Massachusetts, and was subsequently a part of Needham, Massachusetts called West Needham, Massachusetts.
Historic district
The town designated Cottage Street and its nearby alleys as the historic district in its zoning plan. Most houses in this district were built around the 1860s and qualify as protected buildings certified by the town's historic commission.
Wellesley Square
Wellesley Square is in the center of the town. Along Central Street and Church Street major chain stores, as well as privately-owned boutiques, have made a home for themselves in the main shopping hub of Wellesley. The shops at Church Square is home to the historic department store E.A. Davis and Co., as well as Potpurri Designs, J. McLaughlin, Crossing Main, Cachet, Triangle Shop, and The Gifted Hand. Central Street features more nation-wide chains, as well as restaurants, a book store, and coffee shops such as Starbucks and Peets.
Recent construction
According to the Wellesley Townsman, over 500 houses in Wellesley have been razed to make way for newer, larger dwellings in the last ten years.[citation needed] The town's historic 19th century inn was demolished to make way for an upscale mixed-use development, and the Wellesley Country Club clubhouse, which is the building where the town was founded, is scheduled to be demolished. The town's pre-World War II high school building is also considered to be demolished or altered in a potential renovation project, and the entire 1960s-style Linden Street strip-mall district has been replaced by "Linden Square" - an upscale lifestyle center that includes a flagship Roche Brothers supermarket, along with a mixture of national chains and local "mom & pop" shops.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 10.5 square miles (27.2 kmē), of which, 10.2 square miles (26.4 kmē) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.8 kmē) of it (2.96%) is water.
Adjacent towns
Wellesley is located in Eastern Massachusetts. It is bordered on the east by Newton, on the north by Weston, on the south by Needham and Dover and on the west by Natick.
Neighborhoods
The town is informally divided into several sections or neighborhoods:
Wellesley Square
Wellesley Hills
Wellesley Farms
Wellesley Fells
Wellesley Lower Falls
Demographics
The Census Bureau has also defined the town as a census-designated place with an area exactly equivalent to the town.
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 26,613 people, 8,594 households, and 6,540 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,614.1 people per square mile (1,009.4/kmē). There were 8,861 housing units at an average density of 870.4/sq mi (336.1/kmē). The racial makeup of the town was 88.3% White, 6.40% Asian, 1.60% Black or African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from other races, and 1.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.32% of the population.
There were 8,594 households out of which 39.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.2% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.9% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 13.9% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 77.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $138,472, and the median income for a family was $134,769. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $53,007 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $52,866. About 2.4% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 2.1% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Wellesley Town HallThe town government has been run by town meeting since the town's founding.
Wellesley also receives significant funding from the state government, despite its upper-middle-class demographics. Local roads have been repaved several times in the 1990s and 2000s.
Since Proposition 2― limited property tax increases to 2.5% per year in 1980, the town has had to ask residents for a number of overrides to maintain funding for certain programs. Although the main 2005 override passed, a simultaneous supplemental override to preserve certain specific programs and services failed by 17 votes. The 2006 override passed with a large majority.
Wellesley opened its new Free Library building in 2003, which is part of the Minuteman Library Network. Due to the structure of budget override votes and perhaps the size of the new main branch of the library, the two branch libraries--one in Wellesley Hills, which was purpose-built to be a branch library in the 1920s, another in Wellesley Fells--closed in the summer of 2006. The branch libraries reopened in September, 2008.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellesley,_Massachusetts"
Hidden categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since December 2
WellesleyOpenHouse.com
"Wellesley's Best Real Estate Web Site"
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