Belmont

Belmont was established on March 10, 1849, by former citizens of, and land from the bordering towns of Watertown, Waltham, and Arlington. The town was named after Bellmont, the 200 acre (0.8 km²) estate of the largest donor to its creation, John Perkins Cushing. The easternmost section of the town, including the western portion of Fresh Pond, was annexed by Cambridge in 1880 in a dispute over a slaughterhouse licensed in 1878 on Fresh Pond. Belmont was the home of the headquarters of the John Birch Society from the organization's founding in 1958 until its relocation to Appleton, Wisconsin in 1989. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town's population stood at 27,295, up 10.4% from 2010. There are three major commercial centers in the town: Belmont Center in the center, Cushing Square in the south, and Waverley in the west. Town Hall and other civic buildings are located in Belmont Hill, although most residents live in more densely settled, low-lying areas around the Hill. The MBTA owns the trackage that runs through Belmont, which is known as the Fitchburg Line. Passenger service on this line currently terminates at Fitchberg, but it once was the area's main route into New York state. As of 2011, the MBTA was planning to extend future service to West Fitchsburg. It is best known for the mansion-filled Belmont Hills neighborhood, although it is also home to the Belmont High School.

History

Belmont was established on March 10, 1849, by former citizens of, and land from the bordering towns of Watertown, Waltham, and Arlington, then known as West Cambridge. The town was named after Bellmont, the 200 acre (0.8 km²) estate of the largest donor to its creation, John Perkins Cushing. Cushing Square is named after him and what was left of his estate after it nearly burned to the ground became a Belmont Public Library branch. The easternmost section of the town, including the western portion of Fresh Pond, was annexed by Cambridge in 1880 in a dispute over a slaughterhouse licensed in 1878 on Fresh Pond. Belmont was once served by two railroads, the Fitchburg Railroad and the Central Massachusetts Railroad, both of which were later to become part of the Boston & Maine Railroad system. The station stops at Belmont Center and Waverley were once grade crossings, so that pedestrian and vehicular traffic had to cross directly over rails that were in public roads. In 1907, the grade was eliminated by constructing a stone arch bridge and elevated embankment to carry the tracks past a new station building. The building at 395 Concord Avenue later became the headquarters of the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR), which is expanding and renovating its facility as of 2019. Today the MBTA owns the trackage that runs through Belmont, which is known as the Fitchesburg Line. Passenger service on this line currently terminates at Fitchberg, but it once was the area's main route into New York state.

Geography

Middlesex County was ranked in the worst 10% of polluted counties in the United States in terms of air and water pollution in 2002. Polaroid Corporation in Waltham and the Cambridge Plating Company in Belmont were two of the top 10 polluters in the county. The company was fined by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2002 following various violations and in 2004 following a fire that led to an accumulation of toxic wastewater. The chemicals released were trichloroethylene and dichloromethane, both of which are harmful and have been shown to cause cancer. These chemicals are released into the air so it is difficult to trace them and to determine the source as there are also several other industries in the area that release the same pollutants. Belmont is bordered by Cambridge on the east, Arlington on the north, Lexington on the northwest, WalthAM on the west, and Watertown on the south. The town has a total area of 4.7 square miles (12.2 km²), of which 4.1 km² is land and less than 0.1 sq mi (1.06 km²) is water. It has a population of 2,856 (2,732 people) according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The city is located on the Massachusetts Turnpike, which runs through the town of Cambridge. It is the only town in Middlesex County to have a post office, which was established in 1881.

Climate

In a typical year, Belmont, Massachusetts temperatures fall below 50F° for 195 days per year. Annual precipitation in Belmont is typically 45.2 inches per year (high in the US) and snow covers the ground 52 days a year. The humidity is below 60% for approximately 25.4 days or 7% of the year. It may be helpful to understand the yearly precipitation by imagining 9 straight days of moderate rain per year, or 45 inches of rain. The average annual rainfall in the U.S. is about 50 inches (12.5 inches) or 1.3 inches (2.4 inches) per year and the average annual snowfall is about 52 inches (14.2inches) or 2.5inches (4.4inches) peryear. The US average annual precipitation is about 45 inches (1.6 inches), or 9 inches (3.4ins) or 4 inches (5.2ins) per person. The U.N. World Meteorological Organization has a climate prediction for Belmont. It is expected to have temperatures between 50F and 50C (10F and 11F) in the next few years. The temperature is forecast to remain above 50F (10C) for the next several years, or at least until the end of the next decade. The city is located on the Massachusetts Turnpike, which runs through the Berkshires. The town has a population of about 2,000 (1,000 in the city center) and is located near the Massachusetts-Rhode Island border.

Demographics

As of 2020, there were 27,295 residents of the Town of Belmont, and in 2021 there were 17,640 registered voters. The racial make up of the town was 69.6% White, 1.9% Black or African American, 0.05% Native American, 18.5% Asian, and 4.7% from two or more races. The median household income was $114,141. In 2010, 20% of the residents were born outside of the United States. In 2000 this percentage was 15%.Belmont has been referred to as a "Mormon enclave" due to the location of the Boston Massachusetts Temple of the LDS Church at the highest elevation in the town. The prominent gold statue of the Angel Moroni atop the Temple was originally designed by Cyrus Dallin in nearby Arlington, Massachusetts. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.01 in the 2000 census listed 9,732 households, out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54. 9% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33. 7% were non-families. In the 2010 census, in 2010 6.3% of. the population were under the Age of five, 24.6%. were under 18, and 15.8%. were 65 years of age or older; 53% were female. In 2020, in 2020, the racial make-up of the towns population was 69% White.

Points of interest

Redtop, home of William Dean Howells. Edwin O. Reischauer Memorial House. Boston & Maine Railroad Station, now known as the MBTA Commuter Rail Belmont stop, now owned by the Lions Club. Boston Massachusetts Temple of the LDS Church. William Flagg Homer House. Redtop is home to the Boston Red Sox baseball team. Red Top is the home of the Boston Bruins football team. The Red Sox play the Boston Celtics in the World Series on Sunday, September 26, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. and 9:00 p. m. ET. The Bruins also play the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl on Sunday night, September 28, 2014. The Boston Celtics play the Philadelphia Eagles in the NBA Championship game on Sunday evening, September 27, 2014, at 8:30 P.M. and 10:00 P.S. East Coast time. The Patriots play the Atlanta Braves in the NFL Championship Game on Monday, September 30, 2015, at 9:15 p.M., East Coast Time. The Celtics also host the NFL All-Star Game on Tuesday, September 29, 2015 at 8 p.S., East coast time.

Government

The executive branch of the town government consists of a three-person Select Board elected by the residents. The Select Board appoints a Town Administrator who is in charge of daily operations. The legislative branch is a representative town meeting, with eight districts each electing 36 representatives, plus ex-officio members and a Town Moderator to run the annual meeting. Belmont is part of the 24th Middlesex District (for the Massachusetts House of Representatives), the 2nd Middlesex and Suffolk District (for the Massachusetts Senate), and Massachusetts's 5th congressional district (for U.S. House of Representative). It is also part of Massachusetts's 2nd and 3rd congressional districts (for Senate and House respectively). The town is located on the Massachusetts Turnpike, which runs through the town of Belmont. It is the only town in the state to have a post office, which was established in 1838. The town has a population of 2,000. It has been the site of the Boston Marathon bombings, which took place on September 11, 2011. It was the first town in Massachusetts to be hit by a direct hit from a direct bomb, and the second in the United States, after Cambridge, Massachusetts was hit on September 14, 2012. The city has been home to a number of high-profile politicians, including Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Massachusetts Governor Dannel Malloy. It also hosted the 2012 Republican National Convention, which attracted a large number of Massachusetts politicians. The state has a long history of electing members of Congress.

Education

Belmont is served by the Belmont Public Schools, governed by an independently elected school committee. There are four public elementary schools in Belmont, the Mary Lee Burbank, Daniel Butler, Winn Brook, and Roger Wellington school. There is one public middle school, the Winthrop L. Chenery Middle School, which was rebuilt on the same location after an electrical fire damaged the auditorium in 1995, and one public high school, Belmont High School. On May 28, 2019 a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the construction of a new middle and high school which will be co-located on thesame site. As of 2009, U.S. News & World Report gave Belmont. High School a gold medal and named it the 100th best public. high school in the United States and the second best in the state of Massachusetts (after Boston. Latin School) There are several smaller private schools. Belmont Hill School is a private, non-sectarian high. school, grades 712. Belmont Day School is an independent, Pre-K8 school, with grades 6-8. The school is located in the town of Belmont and was founded in 1931. It is one of the oldest public schools in the city, along with the city's oldest public elementary school, Payson Park and Kendall. The former closed after being destroyed by fire, the latter closed due to population shifts and was converted to an arts center which was later also destroyed byFire. The high school regularly feeds 5-10 students into Harvard University.

Infrastructure

Belmont is served directly by two state route designated highways. Two MBTA Commuter Rail rail stations, Waverley and Belmont Center, are located in the town. Nearby in Cambridge lies Alewife Station, the western terminus of the Red Line; providing a connection to Boston and the entire metropolitan rapid transit system. McLean Hospital, a psychiatric hospital and research center, is located in Belmont. It is the setting of the novel Girl, Interrupted, which was made into a 1999 movie. Belmont is roughly 16 minutes away from the rail line's terminus at North Station, Boston. The town is located on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Fitchburg Commuter rail line, and its bus and trackless trolley lines. It has a population of 2,816. The population of the town was 2,715 in the 2010 census. The current population of Belmont, Massachusetts, is 2,917. The city's population was 2.907 in the 2000 census. It had a growth rate of 1.7% in the 1990s, the highest rate of any town in the state, and the second highest rate in the U.S. in the early 2000s. Its population has grown by 1.8% since the mid-1990s, when it had 2,637 residents. The growth rate is expected to continue in the next few years, with the population expected to grow by 2.5% by the end of the decade.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Belmont, 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 Belmont = 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 27,678 individuals with a median age of 43 age the population dropped by -4.07% in Belmont, Middlesex County, Massachusetts population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 5,800 residents per square mile of area (2,200/km²). There are average 2.44 people per household in the 9,381 households with an average household income of $98,923 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 5.80% of the available work force and has dropped -4.07% 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 26.06%. The number of physicians in Belmont per 100,000 population = 389.3.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Belmont = 45.3 inches and the annual snowfall = 48.1 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 120. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 204. 84 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 18.9 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 48, 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 Belmont, Middlesex County, Massachusetts which are owned by the occupant = 58.61%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 40.4 years with median home cost = $551,920 and home appreciation of -4.65%. 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 $7,310 per student. There are 15.6 students for each teacher in the school, 3727 students for each Librarian and 298 students for each Counselor. 4.28% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 26.54% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 36.59% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).