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| Winthrop, Massachusetts | |
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| Nickname(s): Winthrop-by-the-Sea | |
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
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| State | Massachusetts |
| County | Suffolk |
| Settled | 1635 |
| Incorporated | 1852 |
| Government | |
| - Type | City - Town Council |
| Area | |
| - Total | 8.3 sq mi (21.5 km²) |
| - Land | 2.0 sq mi (5.2 km²) |
| - Water | 6.3 sq mi (16.3 km²) |
| Elevation | 36 ft (11 m) |
| Population (2007) | |
| - Total | 20,154 |
| - Density | 10,077/sq mi (3,875.8/km²) |
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 02152 |
| Area code(s) | 617 / 857 |
| FIPS code | 25-80930 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0618335 |
| Website: http://www.town.winthrop.ma.us/ | |
Winthrop is a coastal town in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,303 at the 2000 census. Standing on Winthrop's edge one can see the city of Boston and Deer Island.
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History
The town was first settled in 1635. It was officially incorporated in 1852 and named Winthrop after Deane Winthrop, the son of the first Governor of Massachusetts, John Winthrop, and is one of the four municipalities in Suffolk County (the others are the cities of Boston, Revere, and Chelsea). It is located on a peninsula, at the beginning of the North Shore, with seven miles of shoreline that provides views of the ocean to the east and of the Boston skyline to the west.
Originally part of an area called Winnesimmet by the Native Americans, the peninsula was annexed by Boston in 1632 and within five years became the grazing area for farm animals of the rapidly growing Boston colony. In 1637 it was divided into 15 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 here, but their farms prospered. One of these early houses, built initially during the first half of the 1600s,and rebuilt in 1675, was the home of Governor Winthrop’s youngest son, Deane Winthrop, who lived there until his death in 1703. This house is still standing and is maintained, for public viewing, by the Winthrop Improvement and Historical Association.[1]
In 1739, what is now Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop withdrew from Boston due to governmental control disputes and became the Town of Chelsea. 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 a Board of Selectmen and Town Meeting form of government. In 1920, Winthrop was the second town in the Commonwealth to apply for and receive a Charter for a Representative Town Meeting, which continued to 2006.
In 2006, a new Town Charter, establishing a city form of government, was passed in a special election. The Board of Selectmen and Town Meeting were abolished, and legislative powers were vested in an elected Town Council. Executive power, largely ceremonial, resides in the Council President, who is popularly elected. An appointed Town Manager serves as the head of administrative services.
On July 26, 2007, the Winthrop Sun Transcript reported that a movement was beginning to abolish the Town Council and return to a Representative Town Meeting. The multi-step process to reverse the changes made by the 2006 charter is quite complex, so it remains to be seen what form of government Winthrop will have going forward.
Deer Island, though within the city limits of Boston, is located in Winthrop Bay. It ceased to be an island in the 1930s when Shirley Gut, which separated it from Winthrop, was filled in. The island has a sordid past as an internment camp for Native Americans during King Philip's War, a quarantine station where many immigrants died, and the site of a county jail. Today the island is home to the mammoth Deer Island Waste Water Treatment Plant, which provides sewage treatment for the Boston area.1
Winthrop includes Snake Island in Boston Harbor as well as a portion of Logan Airport.
Winthrop has a weekly newspaper, the Winthrop Sun Transcript, which reports local current events, happenings, and concerns.
Shopping
Winthrop has a town center with a number of businesses, including CVS/pharmacy, Michael's mall (a small strip mall), Samuel's Pharmacy and The Pizza Center. The town center always had a modestly vibrant business community. However, by the mid-1990s, large shopping malls in the nearby North Shore region of Massachusetts, especially Square One Mall in Saugus, began to drain away measurable amounts of business. A small business community still survives.
Geography
According to the United 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) of it is land and 6.3 square miles (16.3 km²) of it (76.02%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 18,303 people, 7,843 households, and 4,580 families residing in the town. The population density was 9,208.3 people per square mile (3,551.2/km²). There were 8,067 housing units at an average density of 4,058.5/sq mi (1,565.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.44% White, 1.68% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 1.15% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.36% from other races, and 1.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.69% of the population.
There were 7,843 households out of which 23.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were married 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 2.30 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.
The median 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. The per capita income for the town was $27,374. About 3.3% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.1% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.
Transportation
Winthrop is served by the MBTA Blue Line station Orient Heights in East Boston and Route 145. It also has many bus stops throughout town.
Points of interest
- Deane Winthrop House, Shirley Street- (one of the longest Constant lived in houses in the U.S.)
- Fort Banks (an underground bunker is all that remains), off Revere and Almont Streets. (Also once used as the Halloween attraction the Haunted Dungeon.)
- Fort Heath, now replaced with the Fort Heath Apartment building.
- Winthrop Shore Drive
- Belle Isle Marsh
Belle Isle Marsh Reservation
Winthrop abuts the largest salt marsh in Boston Harbor, the 350 acre Belle Isle Marsh Reservation. This marsh also borders East Boston and Revere. It used to be a Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) reservation, and is now run by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR.) This marsh is a reserve for a variety of wildlife and plants. It is maintained in part by the Friends of Belle Isle Marsh, a grassroots environmental organization.
Beaches
Annual Events in Winthrop
July
- 4th of July Fireworks & "Horribles Parade". Parade starts at the Public Landing and ends at Coughlin Park. A fireworks display follows at nightfall.
- Summer Concert Series, at the Ingleside Park gazebo. Wednesday nights.
October
- Fall Fair and Craft Show at Ingleside Park.
December
- Santa Claus' ride through town on the fire department's fire truck.
Notable natives
- Mark Bavaro - NFL tight end
- Rick DiPietro - hockey goalie for the National Hockey League's New York Islanders
- Mike Eruzione - former ice hockey player who was the captain of the 1980 Winter Olympics United States national team that upset the Soviet Union in the famous Miracle on Ice game
- Michael Goulian - Aviator and Red Bull Air Racer
- Edward J. King - Governor of Massachusetts (1979-1983)
- Robert Ellis Orrall - country music and indie rock musician
- Sylvia Plath - Poet
- Larry Thomas - Major League Pitcher for the Chicago White Sox.
- Benjamin Whorf - an American linguist
- Deane Winthrop - Son of John Winthrop, founder of the town and Massachusetts first Governor
- Dale Dunbar - former National Hockey League defenseman
- Unearth - Metalcore band
- Steven Van Zandt - Musician with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Also played Silvio Dante from the Sopranos.
- Terry Driscoll - All-American basketball player at Boston College; 4th pick in the first round of the 1969 NBA draft; played on the Detroit Pistons, Baltimore Bullets and Milwaukee Bucks.
- The Renowns - A rock and roll vocal group, originally recorded in the early 60's and currently recording and performing.
- Edward Rowe Snow - Prolific author and historian. Focused his work primarily on the history of Boston Harbor. He is also noted for saving Fort Warren on Georges Island and for dropping gifts to the children of lighthouse keepers as the "Flying Santa".
Trivia
- Winthrop's sports team is the Winthrop Vikings.
- Winthrop residents are collectively kown as Winthropites.
- Winthrop, a song about the town, appears on the 2005 Indigo Girls album Rarities
References
- ^ "Deer Island Factsheet". Boston Harbor Islands Partnership. Retrieved on August 21, 2006.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
External links
- Discover Winthrop
- Winthrop Sun Transcript
- Winthrop Chamber of Commerce
- Town of Winthrop
- Town Charter
- Weird Winthrop
- Viking Pride Foundation
- Winthrop Community Forums
- Winthrop, Massachusetts is at coordinates Coordinates:
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Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 16 November 2008, at 06:33.
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