Westwood

Westwood was first settled in 1641 and was part of the town of Dedham, originally called 'West Dedham', until it was officially incorporated in 1897. In July 2005, CNN/Money and Money magazine ranked Westwood 13th on its list of the 100 Best Places to Live in the United States. Westwood is located in eastern Massachusetts, bordered by: Needham to the north, Canton to the east, Norwood to the south, Dover to the west, and Walpole to the southwest. The town has a total area of 11.1 square miles (29 km²), of which, 11.0 sq mi (28 km²) of it is land and 0.2sq mi (0.52 km²") of it (1.35%) is water. The population was 16,266 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. It was originally to have been named the "Town of Nahatan," owing to its alleged similarity to the name Nahant. In order to remove every trace of friction, however trivial, and thus expedite matters, the name was changed to Westwood. It has a charter that defines a degree of autonomy in regards to internal affairs. This means that the town is given the power to select the board of directors, which serves as the executive branch of the government, and to appoint the town's mayor. The mayor of Westwood has the authority to issue a writ of incorporation for the new town.

History

Westwood was first settled in 1641 and was part of the town of Dedham, originally called 'West Dedham', until it was officially incorporated in 1897. It was originally to have been named the "Town of Nahatan," owing to its alleged similarity to the name Nahant. In July 2005, CNN/Money and Money magazine ranked Westwood 13th on its list of the 100 Best Places to Live in the United States.

Geography

Westwood is located in eastern Massachusetts, bordered by the towns of Needham, Dedham, Canton, Norwood, Walpole, Dover, and Walpole. The town has a total area of 11.1 square miles (29 km²), of which, 11.0 squaremile (28 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square mile (0.52 km²") of it (1.35%) is water. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Westwood has a population of 1,816. The population of the town was 1,715 in the 2010 Census. The Town of Westwood is part of the Winthrop, Massachusetts Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes the cities of Winthrop and Waltham, as well as parts of Dedham and Canton. It is located on the Massachusetts Turnpike, which runs north-south through the town. The Westwood River runs through the center of the Town of Needam. The Needham River flows through the Westwood portion of theTown. The Northampton River, which flows through Westwood, flows through Needham and into the Southampton River. The Southampton Branch of the Massachusetts River flows into the Northampton Branch, which connects the two towns. Westwood and Needham are located in Massachusetts' Berkshires, and are bordered to the south by the town of Canton and to the east by the city of Norwood. The  town of Walpole is located to the southwest, and is bordered on the west by Dover.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 14,117 people, 5,122 households and 3,867 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,286.7 people per square mile (496.9/km²). There were 5,251 housing units at an average density of 478.6/sq mi (184.8/ km²) The racial makeup of the town was 95.98% White, 0.50% African American, 0,04% Native American, 2.48% Asian, 0.,21% from other races, and 0.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.94% of the population. The median income for a household in theTown was $128,984, and the median income. for a family was $157,656. About 1.3% of families and 2.5% of residents were below the poverty line, including 5.0% of those age 65 or over. The town is located on the U.S.-Mexico border and is located near the border of the state of New Mexico. It is located at the junction of Interstate 80 and I-20. The U.N. Census Bureau estimates that the town has a population of 14,000, with 7,000 of those living in households. The average household size is 2.73 and the average family size is 3.24. The city's population is 6,000 and it has a median age of 41 years.

Government

The town of Westwood operates under a home rule charter. This means that the town is given a degree of autonomy in regards to internal affairs. The charter defines the powers of elected boards, including the select board, which serves as the executive branch of government. The legislative branch operates through open town meeting, which meets at least once and often twice a year where all residents are entitle to speak and vote on approval of warrant articles. The town seal, designed by a descendant of Nathaniel Colburn, includes a drawing of the Town Pound. On May 14, 1700, Lt. Joseph Colburn was paid "forty shillings" for constructing an animal pound measuring 33' square on his land. The pound was originally made out of wood and later reconstructed with stone. By including the tree, the new town was paying homage to Dedham, which includes the Avery Oak on its seal. The tree was toppled in the 1938 New England hurricane, but a new oak was planted in its place. The Town Administrator appoints town staff who manage public safety, recreation, and other services. The select board appoints residents to various volunteer boards and committees. The Select Board has three members who serve overlapping three-year terms. Michael F. Walsh, John M. Hickey, and Robert Gotti are currently Westwood's Select Board officials. Hickey's term will be up in 2022, Walshs in 2023 and Gottis in 2024. It is estimated that Westwood will have a population of 4,000 by the end of the year.

Education

Westwood has five public elementary schools and one public middle school. Westwood High School, the only high school in Westwood, was rebuilt over 15 years ago. The gymnasium and swimming facility from the old school were refurbished and are part of the new high school campus. Xaverian Brothers High School is an all-boys Catholic prep school and the Westwood Montessori School is a preschool. The Westwood area is home to the New York Mets, New York Knicks, and New York Yankees. The New York City Marathon passes through Westwood on its way to the East River, where it will take place on September 11, 2013. The city's tallest building, the Empire State Building, is located in the center of Westwood. It is the tallest building in New York state, surpassing the Manhattan skyscrapers, which were built in the late 20th century and early 30th century. The town has a population of around 2,000 people, the majority of whom live in or near Westwood's downtown area. The average income is around $50,000, and the average household income is about $60,000. The area has a high school graduation rate of about 60%. The average age of Westwalkers is about 40. The median home value is approximately $100,000; the average house price is $80,000 (or less than $200,000 in some areas of the city). The city has a median household income of about $75,000 (£62,000), the highest in the city.

Points of interest

Hale (formerly called Hale Reservation) is a private non-profit educational organization with 1,137 acres of land. University Station abuts Route 128 station, a rail station serving Amtrak and the MBTA commuter rail. The rock that King Philip's men hid inside during King Philip’s War is on display at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. The town's new library was opened in Summer 2013. A school built in 1877 that is listed in the National Register of Historic Places is listed as a national historic landmark. The city's new public library is a national historical landmark. It was built in 2013 and is located in the heart of Westwood, a suburb of New York City. It is located on the banks of the New York River, which runs through the center of the town. It has a public library, a public park, a park center, and a shopping mall. It also sits on the site of the former Buckmaster Pond, which is on the New Jersey Turnpike. The pond is a popular destination for kayakers and other water-sports enthusiasts, and the town also has a park with hiking trails and a pond for canoeing. It's on the shores of the Hudson River, where the city's water supply is sourced from. The water is also used to power the town's water treatment system, and to power a number of nearby power plants, including a water treatment plant and a sewage treatment plant.

Houses of worship

Westwood has an active Interfaith Council. Westwood is home to several churches and a number of synagogues. It is also home to the U.S. Army's Westwood Barracks, which is located on the edge of the town. The town is also the home of the U of W, a U of U-U-A-affiliated Unitarian Universalist church. It also has the Temple Beth David and St. Denis parishes, both of which are affiliated with the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. The Westwood Police Department is based in the town and patrols the area around the churches. The U ofW-Westwood is a member of the United Church of Christ and the UU-W-Boston Board of Trustees, which was established in 1883. The United Church-Westwoods is a U.U.U.-Boston-based Unitarian-Universalist Church. It was founded in 1881 and is affiliated with U.W.U-B-W. and the Union for Reform Judaism. The church is also affiliated with several other religious groups, including the Catholic Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Massachusetts. It has been home to U.C.W.-Westwood for more than 100 years and is now home to more than 40 synagogs and other religious organizations. The community also has a large number of non-denominational churches, many of which have been established in recent years. The city also has several public parks, some of which were built in the 1930s.

Transportation

Commuter rail service from Boston's South Station is provided by the MBTA with the Route 128 station on its Providence/Stoughton Line. Amtrak trains to Providence, New Haven, New York City and Washington, D.C. also stop at the route 128 station. The Islington station on the Franklin Line is also on the route. The station is located on the Massachusetts Turnpike, which runs from Boston to New York. It is located near the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue, and is known as the "Turnpike Station" The station was built in the early 1900s as a stop for the Boston-New York-New Haven rail line. It was named after the town's first post office, which was opened in 1805. It has since been renamed the Islington Station in honor of its former owner, William Islington, who was a member of the Boston Celtics football team in the 1930s and 1940s. The current station is named after its former home, Islington Park, which is located in the Boston suburb of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It also has a park-and-ride lot, which opened in the 1950s and is used by the Boston Marathon and Boston's other major transit agencies, such as Amtrak and the New England Railroad. The Route 128 Station is on the Providence/ Stoughton line, which connects Boston with New York and New Haven. The Franklin Line, which links Boston with Providence and New York, also stops at Islington. The route is also used by trains to New Haven and Washington.

Trivia

The remains of a cave sit along Route 109, that King Philip and his men hid inside during King Philip's War. The massive rock that once contained the cave was known as the "Oven's Mouth" It was blown up along with most of the cave in the 1950s to straighten out Route 109. Westwood was a dry town until 2005. Restaurants can now apply for liquor licenses. The town is home to the oldest animal pound in the United States. It is also the site of the Battle of Bunker Hill, where Maj. Robert Steele, the Continental Army drummer boy during the Battle, is buried in the old Westwood Cemetery off Route 109 in Westwood, New Hampshire. It was also the location of the First World War Battle, which took place in 1864. It's also the home of Westwood's oldest animal shelter, the Westwood Animal Shelter, which was established in 1872. It has been open to the public for more than 100 years, and is the largest animal shelter in the U.S., with more than 2,000 animals. It also has the oldest dry town in the country, having been dry until 2005, when restaurants were allowed to apply for licenses to serve alcohol. It used to be known as "The Dry Town" because it was the only town in New Hampshire that was dry at the same time as the state of New Hampshire, with no dry towns in the state at the time of the dry town's founding.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Westwood, Norfolk County, Massachusetts = 26.9. 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 35. 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 Westwood = 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 1,867 individuals with a median age of 42.1 age the population dropped by -0.55% in Westwood, Norfolk County, Massachusetts population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 572.7/km 2 (1,478.7 residents per square mile of area). There are average 2.68 people per household in the 5,184 households with an average household income of $111,638 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 6.10% 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 25.76%. The number of physicians in Westwood per 100,000 population = 414.4.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Westwood = 44.6 inches and the annual snowfall = 53.1 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 127. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 201. 82 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 16.9 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 50, 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 Westwood, Norfolk County, Massachusetts which are owned by the occupant = 86.08%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 46 years with median home cost = $516,280 and home appreciation of 3.12%. 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 $11.91 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 $7,775 per student. There are 13.9 students for each teacher in the school, 414 students for each Librarian and 605 students for each Counselor. 6.50% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 33.53% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 24.07% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).