Ayer

Ayer is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Originally part of Groton, it was incorporated February 14, 1871, and became a major commercial railroad junction. The town was home to Camp Stevens, a training camp for Massachusetts volunteers during the American Civil War. Later, Fort Devens was established by the federal government to train New England soldiers for World War I. The name of the Nashaway village, its people and the brook, pronounced by locals as /n n k s/, was also recorded in early English sources as 'Nonajcoyjicus,' 'Nonocoyecos,''nonacoiacus' and 'Nonaicoics' The name was likely a reference to a series of small mounds along the banks of the Nonacoicus Brook. The Nashaway likely cultivated corn, beans and squash, but depended on foraging for fruits, nuts, tubers and seeds to supplement their diets. The arrival of English settlers in the seventeenth century was a great disruption. Virgin soil epidemics such as smallpox, leptospirosis, influenza, scarlet fever and measles ravaged Native communities due to their lack of immunity to Old World diseases. English settlers also led to competition for land and resources and efforts to subjugate and assimilate the Native peoples. By 1675, the peace between the English settlers and the Native Americans was broken with the uprising of the Wampanoag sachem Metacometag. The Praying Indians, the inhabitants of the Praying towns such as Nashoba, were rounded up by colonial militias and sent to Deer Island, where most froze or died.

History

Ayer was originally inhabited by the Nashaway, a Nipmuc people that inhabited the lands along the Nashua River and its tributaries. A small settlement was located along the banks of the Nonacoicus Brook, located in the western part of the town. The Nashaway likely cultivated corn, beans and squash, but depended on foraging for fruits, nuts, tubers and seeds to supplement their diets. The arrival of English settlers in the seventeenth century was a great disruption. Virgin soil epidemics such as smallpox, leptospirosis, influenza, scarlet fever and measles ravaged Native communities due to their lack of immunity to Old World diseases. In 1675, the peace between the English settlers and the Native Americans was broken with the uprising of the Wampanoag sachem Metacomet. The Praying Indians, the inhabitants of the Praying towns such as Nashoba, were rounded up by English colonial militias and sent to Deer Island, where most froze or starved to death. Many left the region and chose to seek safety with the Abenaki and the French colonists in what is now Canada. The first settlement in the portion of Groton that would become Ayer was in 1667, when a mill was constructed to serve a small hamlet that had developed around the South Junction. The community eventually came to be known as Groton, South Junction, or South Ayer, with the arrival of the railroad. The town was settled by English colonists as early as 1655.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 9.6 square miles (24.8 km²) Ayer borders the towns of Shirley, Groton, Littleton, and Harvard. Ayer is located at an average elevation of 5.75 feet (1.4 meters) and has a population of 1,788. The town is located on the Connecticut River, which runs through the center of the town. It is the only town in the town of Ayer to have a post office, which was established in 1872. The population was 1,774 at the 2010 U.S. Census, a decline of 1.7% since the 1990s. The city's population is 1,856. It has an average rainfall of 0.6 square miles (0.8 km²), and 0.4 square miles (1 sq mi) of land. The area has a topography that is mostly made up of hills, valleys, and valleys. It also has a few rivers and streams, which are the town's main sources of water. The village has a history of being heavily affected by the Great Depression. It was also the site of the Great Fire of 1875. It suffered a devastating fire that claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people in 1875 and 1876. The community has a reputation for being a hardworking town, with many residents working hard to keep the town going.

Demographics

At the 2010 census, there were 7,427 people, 3,118 households and 1,831 families residing in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 84.3% White, 5.9% African American, 0.3%. Native American, 3.6% Asian, 2.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.7% of the population. The median household income was $54,899, and the median family Income was $78,947. The per capita income for the town is $32,179. About 8.0% of families and 12.8% of people were below the poverty line. The town is located on the U.S.-Mexico border. The U.N. has a consulate in the city. It has a population of 7,400. The city is home to the National Guard and the National Park Service. It is also the location of the National Museum of American History and Culture, which was founded in 1876. It was the site of the first recorded European-American settlement in 1788. The state's first post office was established in 1808. The last post office closed in 1881. The current post office opened in 1883. The post office is located in the downtown area of the city, which is located near the town's main square. It closed in 1913 and was replaced by a new post office in 1885. It reopened in 1891.

Government

As a New England town, Ayer is governed by town meeting and a three-member board of selectmen. Ayer has a population of 2,000. The town is located on the Massachusetts Turnpike, which runs through the town of Ayer. It is located at the junction of the New York and New Hampshire Turnpiked Rivers. The Ayer River flows through the center of the town, and the town is on the Turnpikes' eastern edge. It also runs through Ayer's southern tip, where the town's population is about 1,000 people. The city's name comes from Ayer, New Hampshire, which is located in the south of the state and is known as "Ayer" or "Ayers" for short. It was named for Ayer County, New York, which was once part of New York State. It's also known as Ayer Township, after the town where Ayer was founded in 18th-century Ayerville, New Jersey. The name Ayer refers to the first town in the area, which dates back to 17th century Ayer and is now called Ayer Town. The first town meeting was held in 1808. The current town meeting is held in the town hall building, which opened in 1809. It has been in the same location since 1809, and has a town hall since 1810. The mayor is a member of the Town Board of Selectmen, a position that was created by the Town Council in 1903.

Economy

Former head office for North America operations for Vitasoy (2016 to 2018) and now as US regional office. Former head office was in New York City, now in Washington, DC. Now in Atlanta, Georgia, as regional office for the US and Georgia region. The company is now based in Atlanta and has offices across the U.S. and in Mexico. It is based in China, with offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong. It was founded in 1903 and is now in its current location in Atlanta. It has been in the United States for more than 50 years and employs more than 1,000 people. It also has offices in Mexico and the Philippines, with more than 100 employees in each of those countries. It's based in the city of New York, which is home to the company's North America headquarters. It used to be in the same building as the head office in Chicago, where it was based until 2016. It now has its own offices in Washington and Atlanta, as well as other offices in Georgia and Georgia. It recently moved to Atlanta, and now has a regional office in Atlanta as part of the US-Georgia region. It will also have an office in Dallas, Texas, which was previously in the Atlanta, Texas area, and will have more offices in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas in the future. It previously had offices in New Jersey, Kansas, and Miami, and other locations in the Midwest and Texas. It had its own headquarters in Atlanta in the 1980s and 1990s.

Education

Ayer is served by the Ayer Shirley Regional School District. The district also includes the Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School. Ayer is home to the Page Hilltop Elementary School and the Shirley High School. The Ayer High School is located in the neighboring town of Shirley. The town has a population of about 2,000 people. It is located on the banks of the Susquehannock River, which runs through the center of the town. It was founded in 1858. The city's name is derived from the town's French name, "Ayer" and "Shirley" meaning "home" or "town" in French. It also means "town of the hills" in English. It has a history of being known as "The Town of the Hills" in the U.S. and "The town of the Mountains" in France. It had a population in the early 1900s of about 1,000. It now has a total of 2,200 people. The community has a high school and a middle school. The high school has a middle and high school, as well as an elementary school and an elementary. The school district also has a charter elementary school. It includes the Shirley Regional Middle School and Shirley Regional High School, which are located in Shirley, New Hampshire. The elementary school is called "Page Hilltop" and the high school is named "The Hilltop School" It is also known as the "Hilltop Elementary Elementary School" in Shirley.

Transportation

Ayer is located on routes 2A, 110, and 111. It is one town away from both Interstate 495 and Route 2. The MBTA Commuter Rail's Fitchburg Line provides service to and from North Station in Boston at Ayer station. Freight trains travel daily through Ayer over the tracks of the historic Stony Brook Railroad. The southern segment of the Nashua River Rail Trail commences in Ayer. The Montachusett Regional Transit Authority (MART) serves the town of Ayer and is part of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) The town is home to the Ayer High School, Ayer Middle School, and Ayer Elementary School. Ayer is one of the towns in the New England region of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The town has a population of 2,000. It was the site of the Battle of the Bulge, which took place in 1864. The Battle was followed by the Civil War, which ended in 1875. The Ayer River, which runs through the town, is a tributary of the Naugatuck River. It runs through New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, and New York. It also serves as a major corridor of Pan Am Railway's District 3, which connects New Hampshire and Maine with western Massachusetts, Vermont and NewYork. The city is located near the junction of the New Hampshire-Massachusetts Turnpike and the New York-Vermont-New York Railroad.

Points of interest

The Billiards Cafe on Ayer's Main Street is notable as the home of the only full-sized (6 ft by 12 ft) snooker table in New England. St. Andrew's Church (1892) is also on the National Register of Historic Places. Ayer is located on the Massachusetts Turnpike, which runs through the town of Ayer. It is the second-largest town in the state, after Boston. The town has a population of 2,000, with the majority of its residents living in the central part of the town. The city is home to a number of historic buildings, including the Community Memorial Hospital, the Fort Devens Historic District, the Pleasant Street School, and the Ayer Main Street Historic District. In addition to the hospital, Ayer has a public school, a fire station, a public library, a park, a theater, and a bowling alley. It has been listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places for the past decade and is in the National  Register of Historical Parks and Pleasant Street District for the past year and the State Reconstructions and Planning Commission and Designation periods for that period and year. It was added to the N  Register of Historic Places in 1973. The Ayer Main Street Historic District was added in 1978.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Ayer, Middlesex County, Massachusetts = 43.5. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 43. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 10. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Ayer = 3.5 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 8,040 individuals with a median age of 39.9 age the population grows by 1.56% in Ayer, Middlesex County, Massachusetts population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 880 residents per square mile of area (340/km²). There are average 2.17 people per household in the 1,293 households with an average household income of $60,432 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 9.10% of the available work force and has dropped -4.08% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 22.74%. The number of physicians in Ayer per 100,000 population = 389.3.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Ayer = 41.7 inches and the annual snowfall = 62 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 126. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 201. 84 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 12.7 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 49, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Ayer, Middlesex County, Massachusetts which are owned by the occupant = 41.10%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 65 years with median home cost = $265,620 and home appreciation of -3.47%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $11.70 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $7,518 per student. There are 12.6 students for each teacher in the school, 635 students for each Librarian and 231 students for each Counselor. 8.57% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 14.77% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 10.27% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).