Maynard, Massachusetts
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Maynard is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is located 22 miles west of Boston, in the MetroWest and
Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern a ...
region of Massachusetts and borders Acton,
Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...
, Stow and
Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal el ...
. The town's population was 10,746 as of the
2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...
. Maynard is located on the Assabet River, a tributary of the
Concord River The Concord River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed October 3, 2011 tributary of the Merrimack River in eastern Massachusetts in the United States. The river drains ...
. A large part of the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge is located within the town, and the Assabet River Rail Trail connects the Refuge and downtown Maynard to the South Acton commuter rail station. Historic downtown Maynard is home to many shops, restaurants, galleries, a movie theater, and the former Assabet Woolen Mill, which produced wool fabrics from 1846 to 1950, including cloth for
Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
uniforms during the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
. Maynard was the headquarters for
Digital Equipment Corporation Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC ), using the trademark Digital, was a major American company in the computer industry from the 1960s to the 1990s. The company was co-founded by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson in 1957. Olsen was president un ...
from 1957 to 1998. Owners of the former mill complex currently lease space to office and light-industry businesses.


History

Maynard, located on the Assabet River, was first settled as a farming community by
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...
colonists in the 1600s who acquired the land comprising modern-day Maynard from local Native American tribe members who referred to the area as Pompositicut or Assabet.History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, volume 2 (J. W. Lewis & Company: 1890), pg. 442–443 https://books.google.com/books?id=gZ5DAQAAMAAJ In 1651 Tantamous ("Old Jethro") transferred land in what is now Maynard to
Herman Garrett Herman Garrett (also known as Harman Garrett) (c. 1607 – c.1656/57) was an early American gunsmith, blacksmith, and landowner in colonial Massachusetts. Herman Garrett was from Wickham Market in England and in 1628 he married Susan Tofts in I ...
by defaulting on a mortgaged mare and colt, and in 1684 Tantamous' son
Peter Jethro Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...
, a praying Indian, and Jehojakim and ten others transferred further land in the area to the settlers. In 1676 during
King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...
, Native Americans gathered on Pompasitticut Hill (later known as Summer Hill) to plan an
attack on Sudbury The Sudbury Fight (April 21, 1676) was a battle of King Philip's War, fought in what is today Sudbury and Wayland, Massachusetts, when approximately five hundred Wampanoag, Nipmuc, and Narragansett Native Americans raided the frontier settl ...
. There is a story, unconfirmed by any evidence, that pirates briefly stayed at the Thomas Smith farm on Great Road, circa 1720, buried treasure nearby, and departed, never to return. Residents of what is now Maynard fought in the Revolutionary War, including
Luke Brooks Luke Brooks (born 21 December 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League (NRL) in 2024. He previously played for the Wests Tigers in the Nati ...
of Summer Street who was in the Stow militia company which marched to Concord on April 19, 1775. In 1851 transcendentalist
Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and h ...
wrote about his walk through the area in his famous journal. and he published a poem about Old Marlboro Road, part of which runs through Maynard. During the American Civil War, at least thirty-six residents of Assabet Village fought for the Union. The area now known as Maynard was originally known as "Assabet Village" and was then part of the towns of Stow and
Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal el ...
. The Town of Maynard was incorporated as an independent municipality in 1871. There were some exploratory town-founding rumblings in 1870, followed by a petition to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, filed January 26, 1871. State approval was granted April 19, 1871. In return, the new town paid Sudbury and Stow about $23,600 and $8,000 respectively. Sudbury received more money because more land came from Sudbury and Sudbury owned shares in the railroad, and the wool mill and paper mill were located in Sudbury. The population of the newly formed town—at 1,820—was larger than either of its parent towns.Sheridan, Ralph (1971). A History of Maynard 1871–1971. Town of Maynard Historical Committee. Formation of new towns carved out of older ones was not unique to Maynard. Nearby Hudson, with its cluster of leather processing and shoe-making mills, seceded from Marlborough and Stow in 1866. In fact, the originally much larger Stow formed in 1683 lost land to Harvard, Shirley, Boxborough, Hudson and Maynard. The usual reason to petition the State's Committee on Towns was that a fast-growing population cluster—typically centered around mills—was too far from the schools, churches and Meeting Hall of the parent town. The community was named after Amory Maynard, the man who, with William Knight, had bought water-rights to the Assabet River, installed a dam and built a large carpet mill in 1846–1847. The community grew along with the Assabet Woolen Mill and made wool cloth for U.S. military uniforms for the Civil War. Further downstream along the Assabet, the
American Powder Mills American Powder Mills (1883–1929) was a Massachusetts gunpowder manufacturing complex on the Assabet River. It expanded to include forty buildings along both sides of the river in the towns of Acton, Concord, Maynard, and Sudbury. Press mills, ...
complex manufactured gunpowder from 1835 to 1940. The woolen mill went bankrupt in 1898; it was purchased in 1899 by the American Woolen Company, a multi-state corporation, which greatly modernized and expanded the mill complex from 1900 through 1919. There was an attempt in 1902 to change the town's name from "Maynard" to "Assabet". Some townspeople were upset that Amory Maynard had not left the town a gift before he died in 1890, and more were upset that Lorenzo Maynard, Amory's son, had withdrawn his own money from the Mill before it went bankrupt in 1898. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts decided to keep the name as "Maynard" without allowing the topic to come to a vote by the residents. In the early twentieth century, the village of Maynard was more modern and urbanized than many of the surrounding areas, and people would visit Maynard to shop, including
Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
who lived in nearby Sudbury during the baseball off-season, and would visit Maynard to buy cigars and play pool at pool halls on Main Street. The town had a train station, an electric trolley, hotels and movie halls. In 1942 the U.S. Army seized one-fifth of the town's land area, from the south side, to created a munitions storage facility. Land owners were evicted. The land remained military property for years. In 2005 it became part of the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge. After the woolen mill finally shut down in 1950, a Worcester-based group of businessmen bought the property in July 1953 and began leasing it as office or manufacturing space. Major tenants included
Raytheon Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitali ...
and Dennison Manufacturing Company. Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) moved into the complex in 1957, initially renting only for $300/month. The company grew and grew until it bought the entire complex in 1974, which led to Maynard's nickname "Mini Computer Capital of the World". DEC remained in Maynard until 1998 when it was purchased by
Compaq Compaq Computer Corporation (sometimes abbreviated to CQ prior to a 2007 rebranding) was an American information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced ...
, which was itself later bought out by
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in 2002. "The Mill", as locals call it, was renovated in the late 1990s and renamed "Clock Tower Place" (2000–2015), and then renamed "Mill & Main Place" by new owners in 2016. The site houses many businesses, including the headquarters of
Powell Flutes Verne Q. Powell Flutes Inc. is a producer of professional flutes and piccolos since 1927. The company produces handmade musical instruments in wood, silver, platinum, and gold. History Verne Q. Powell Verne Q. Powell (b. 7 Apr 1879 Danvil ...
. The mill complex is also home to the oldest, still-working, hand-wound clock in the country (see image). The clock tower was constructed in 1892 by Lorenzo Maynard as a gift to the town. The weights that power the E. Howard & Co. tower clock and bell-ringing mechanisms are wound up once a week – more than 6,000 times since the clock was installed. The process takes one to two hours. The four clock faces have always been illuminated by electric lights. For three months a year the Mill parking lot adjacent to Main Street is used on Saturdays for the Maynard Community Farmers' Market. Glenwood Cemetery (incorporated 1871), located south of downtown Maynard, was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 2004. This still-active cemetery is the site of approximately 7,000 burials. On its east side it abuts St. Bridget's Cemetery, also in Maynard.


The Maynard family

John Maynard, born 1598, emigrated from England with his wife Elizabeth (Ashton) Maynard around 1635. Five generations later, Isaac Maynard was operating a mill in Marlborough. When he died in 1820 at age 41 his teenage son, Amory Maynard, took over the family business. The City of Boston bought Amory's water rights to Fort Meadow Pond in 1846. He partnered with William Knight to start up a woolen mill operation on the Assabet River. Amory and his wife Mary (Priest) Maynard had three sons: Lorenzo (1829–1904), William (1833–1906) and Harlan (1843–1861). Amory managed the mill from 1847 to 1885 (Knight retired in 1852). Lorenzo took over from 1885 to 1898. William had less to do with the family business—he lived in Boston a while, then Maynard again, then off to Pasadena, California, in 1885 for reasons of ill health (possibly tuberculosis). He recovered and moved back east to Worcester in 1888 for the remainder of his life. Harlan died at age 18. Lorenzo married Lucy Davidson and had five children, but all of them died without issue—the four daughters passing away before their parents. William married Mary Adams and had seven children. Descendants of two—Harlan James and Lessie Louise—are alive today, but not living locally. William's granddaughter, Mary Augusta Sanderson, who died in 1947, was the last descendant to live in Maynard. The Maynard Crypt is a prominent feature on the north side of Glenwood Cemetery, within sight of passers-by on Route 27. It is an imposing earth-covered mound with a granite facade facing the road. The mound is across and about tall. The stonework facade is approximately across. The ceiling of the crypt has a glass skylight surmounted by an exterior cone of iron grillwork. The granite lintel above the door reads "MAYNARD." Chiseled above the lintel are the year 1880 and the Greek letters Alpha and Omega entwined with a Fleur-de-lis Cross. Amory Maynard, his wife, Mary, and twenty-one of their descendants or spouses thereof are interred in the crypt. At one point in time Amory's first son, Lorenzo, along with Lorenzo's wife and their four daughters, were also in the crypt, but in October 1904 Lorenzo's son arranged to have his six family members moved to a newly constructed mausoleum in
Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States, located on the line between Cambridge and Watertown in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, west of Boston. It is the burial site of many prominent Boston Brah ...
,
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
. Lorenzo had contracted for the mausoleum while still alive but died before it was completed. William, Amory's second son, was buried in the Hope Cemetery, Worcester, along with his wife and four of their seven children.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...
, Maynard has a total area of 5.4 square miles (13.9 km), of which 5.2 square miles (13.6 km) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km), or 2.42%, is water. Average elevation is roughly above sea level; the highest point is Summer Hill, elevation ; the lowest is the Maynard/Acton border next to the Assabet River, at . The Assabet River flows through Maynard from west to east, spanned by seven road bridges and one foot bridge. The river's vertical drop from the Stow border to the Acton border is . Initially, this was sufficient to hydropower the wool and paper mills, but both later added coal-powered steam engines. Average flow in the river is . However, in summer months the average drops to under , in drought conditions as low as The flood of March 2010 reached . Recent, monthly and annual riverflow data is available from the U.S. Geological Service. Average precipitation, long-term, is per year, which includes of snow. (The snow-to-water conversion is roughly eight inches of snow melts to one inch of water.) However, there has been a trend over the past 100 years of increasing precipitation, so the more recent average is closer to , and six of the snowiest winters on record have been since 1992–93. Maynard borders the towns of Acton,
Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal el ...
and Stow. The town owns water rights to White Pond, located about three miles south of Maynard, in Stow and Hudson.


Transportation

The nearest rail station is in South Acton on the
MBTA Commuter Rail The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track to 141 different stations, with 58 stati ...
Fitchburg Line The Fitchburg Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system which runs from Boston's North Station to Wachusett station in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The line is along the tracks of the former Fitchburg Railroad, which was built across northe ...
, which is from the Maynard town line. The express commuter rail is approximately 30 minutes to Porter Square in Cambridge and 45 minutes to North Station in Boston. By driving, the connection to
Route 2 The following highways are numbered 2. For roads numbered A2, see list of A2 roads. For roads numbered B2, see list of B2 roads. For roads numbered M2, see list of M2 roads. For roads numbered N2, see list of N2 roads. International * AH2, As ...
is from downtown Maynard. Connections to
I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...
in the east and I-495 in the west are both from downtown Maynard. Construction of a portion of the Assabet River Rail Trail was completed in September 2018. It runs from the South Acton train station at the north end, though the center of Maynard and along the Assabet River to the Maynard:Stow border, where, via White Pond Road, there is access to the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge. ARRT is open to pedestrians and non-motorized transportation (skateboards, bicycles, rollerblades, etc.).


Demographics (2010 and 2020 data)

The 2020 census put the population at 10,746 residents, a 6.3% increase from the 10,106 reported for 2010. There were 4,262 households and 2.52 people per household. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...
was 1,938 people per square mile (748/km). Agewise, the population was 7.6% under the age of 5 years, 21.6% under the age of 18 years, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median income for a household in the town was $105,254. The median income per capita was $50,946. Percent of persons in poverty was 3.8%. The racial makeup of the town was 92.4%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
, 1.3%
Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
or
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.0% Native American, 1.7% Asian and 1.7% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race were 3.4% of the population. From 2010 census results: The average household size was 2.38. For the households, 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.4% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.5% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The population distribution was 24.2% under the age of 19, 32.0% from 20 to 44, 30.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.3 years. By
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
, Maynard ranked 113 out of 351 Massachusetts towns and cities, at $39,447. The median income for a household in the town was $77,622, and the median income for a family was $104,398. About 5.6% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
.


Education

Maynard has three public schools on adjoining campuses off Route 117. There is also an adult education program. One private school offers a classical Christian education program for grades K through 8. * Green Meadow School: grades Pre-K through 3; 2015–2016 enrollment: 509 students; building opened for start of 1956–1957 school year; major expansion 1988. * Fowler School: grades 4 through 8; 2015–2016 enrollment: 427 students; building opened January 2001. * Maynard High School: grades 9 through 12; 2015–2016 enrollment: 485 students; Building opened for start of 2013–2014 school year. * Hudson Maynard Adult Learning Center offers free adult literacy classes: English Spoken with Other Languages (ESOL) and GED preparation classes. * The Imago School teaches grades K through 8; enrollment: 90 students; classical Christian education program; opened in 1980.


Government

Maynard uses the Open Town Meeting form of town government popular in small to mid-sized Massachusetts towns. Anyone may attend a town meeting, but only registered voters may vote. Before the meeting, a warrant is distributed to households in Maynard and posted on the town's website. Each article in the warrant is debated and voted on separately. A minimum of 75 registered voters is required as a
quorum A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to '' Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...
to hold a town meeting and vote on town business. The quorum requirement was reduced from 100 in 2009 because at times, meetings were failing to achieve a quorum. Important budgetary issues approved at a town meeting must be passed by a subsequent ballot vote. Maynard's elected officials are a five-member Board of Selectmen. Each member is elected to a three-year term. Also filled by election are the School Committee, Housing Authority, Maynard Public Library Trustees and a Moderator to preside over the town meetings. Positions filled by appointment include the Town Administrator and other positions. Details of government are in the Maynard Town Charter and Town of Maynard Bylaws.


State and federal government

In the
Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...
, Maynard is represented by Rep. Kate Hogan and Sen.
Jamie Eldridge James Bradley Eldridge (born August 11, 1973) is an American politician and lawyer. He serves as a Democratic member of the Massachusetts Senate from the Middlesex and Worcester District. Eldridge previously served three terms in the Massachus ...
. In the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
, Maynard is represented by Rep.
Lori Trahan Lori Ann Trahan ( ; Loureiro; born October 27, 1973) is an American businesswoman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2019. The district covers Boston's northwestern suburbs, and includes Lowell, Lawrence, Concord, a ...
in the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
. The state's senior ( Class I) member of the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...
is
Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as ...
. The junior ( Class II) senator is
Ed Markey Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American lawyer, politician, and former Army reservist who has served as the junior United States senator from Massachusetts since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. represent ...
.


Places of worship

*Baha'i Faith Devotional Meetings. *First Bible Baptist Church. *Holy Annunciation Orthodox Church; services started 1915; church built 1916. *Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses; hall built 1967. *New Hope Fellowship Church of the Nazarene; 51 Old Marlboro Road. *St. Bridget Roman Catholic Church; services started 1865 in a church on Main Street; cornerstone for current church laid 1881 and church dedicated September 21, 1884. *St. Mary's Indian Orthodox Church; consecrated 2003; building had been St. Casimir Roman Catholic Church (1928–1999), and before that the power station for the Concord, Maynard and Hudson electric trolley (1901–1923). *St. Stephen's Knanaya Church; building built as Finnish Temperance Society ("Alku") in 1910. History of former places of worship: *Congregation Rodoff Shalom 1921–1980; Acton Street. Building status: private residence *Mission Evangelical Congregational Church 1906–2019; Walnut Street. Services started 1906; church built 1913. Building status: private residence. *St. John's Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church 1907–1967; Glendale Street. Building status: private residence *St. Casimir Roman Catholic Church 1928–1999; Parish established 1912, holding services at St. Bridget until moving to own building in 1928. Building status: St. Mary's Indian Orthodox Church since 2003 *St. George's Episcopal Church 1895–2006; Summer Street. Building status: two private residences *United Methodist Church of Maynard 1895–2014; Main Street. Parish established 1867, church built 1895, closed May 2014. Building status: empty *Union Congregational Church 1852–2017; Main Street. Church built 1853, closed June 2017. Building status: privately owned, rented for events, named "The Sanctuary"


Sites of interest

*Acme Theater Productions: Established in 1992. Acme is a non-profit community theater company located in the ArtSpace building. *Artspace: Established in 2001. Artists' studios and gallery occupy former Maynard school buildings constructed in 1917 and 1927. *Fine Arts Theatre Place: Established in 1949 by Burton Coughlan, on land that had been a horse stable and livery (later an auto repair shop) started by his father in 1897. Restored in 2007. Three screens. Shows first run movies and classics. * Glenwood Cemetery: Established in 1871. Of the approximately 7,000 burials, about two dozen pre-date the official creation of the cemetery. Contains the Maynard family crypt. The Town of Maynard has a self-guided walking tour of the cemetery.Historic Walking Tours of Maynard
/ref> * Maynard Public Library, Established in 1881. Was located in building next to Town Hall 1962–2006. Moved to current location at 77 Nason Street in 2006. * Presidential district/New Village: A housing project for mill workers built 1902–1903 for employees of the American Woolen Company. The American Woolen Company (owner/operator of the mill) initially built 206 houses for workers, on new streets on the south side of town, on farmland purchased from the Reardon and Mahoney families. Added 50 more dwellings in 1918. The district later came to be referred to as the Presidential district because the streets were named after eight post-Civil War Presidents: Arthur, Cleveland, Garfield, Grant, Harrison, Hayes, McKinley and Roosevelt. These were all originally rented housing, but in August 1934 the woolen mill put 101 houses and 49 two-family dwellings up for auction.


Recreation

*Alumni Field: provides tennis courts and a 400-meter all-weather rubberized track around the perimeter of the football field. Open to the public. The parcel of land had been the town's Poor Farm. The field was in place for the 1928 high school football season. From 1931 to 1935 the federal New Deal agencies Civil Works Administration (CWA), Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the field house, bleachers, tennis courts, running track and a hockey rink. * Assabet River Rail Trail: Maynard section paved 2017. As planned, the entire trail will follow the route of the South Acton-to-Marlborough railroad line, which had been an active railroad from 1850s to 1960s. The Maynard section is long, from the Acton border in the north to the Stow border in the south. The Trail continues in Acton another to the South Acton train station. At the south end there is access to the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge. There is no trail connection to the southern part in Hudson and Marlborough that was completed ~2005. Starting in the fall of 2018, a project named "Trail of Flowers" was initiated with the goal of planting thousands of blooming bulbs plus perennial flowering plants, bushes and trees along the trail. The cost of plants is paid for by donations and the plantings conducted by volunteers. * Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge: Established in 2000 but not opened to the public until 2005. In 1942 during World War II the U.S. Army had seized land in Maynard, Hudson, Stow and Sudbury from private owners and operated a munitions transportation complex. After the war the land was designated as the Fort Devens-Sudbury Training Annex associated with Natick Laboratories into the 1980s, then a
Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency ...
clean-up site from 1990 to 2000, prior to the creation of the Refuge. The Refuge, , offers hunting, fishing and of trails, half of which are open to bicycling. No motorized vehicles, no boating on the ponds, no fires, no camping, no dogs, no horses. The Friends of the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge is a non-profit organization of dedicated and conservation-minded volunteers who work to protect and enhance the refuge's flora and fauna. *Boating and fishing: The Assabet River upstream from the Ben Smith Dam offers miles of still water for fishing, canoeing and kayaking. There is a kayak/canoe launch dock at Ice House Landing, Winter Street, and an area at White Pond Road suitable to put boats into the water. This part of the river has a warm water, Class B, "fishable and swimmable" water quality classification. The mill pond adjacent to Main Street is the property of Mill & Main Place, the mill building complex. Inflow is from the Assabet River and outflow is to the Assabet River. Both are controlled by Mill & Main. Fishing is allowed but no boating or ice skating. *Crowe Park: Baseball and recreational field on Route 117. The park was named John A. Crowe Park in 1915. Six acres of land had been purchased by the town in 1901. Reverend Crowe was pastor of St. Bridget's Church 1895–1905. He was responsible in getting the town to buy the land, and was the first superintendent of the park. *Maynard Dog Park: Located at the southwest edge of the Maynard solar field on Waltham Street. It is open to residents of Maynard and the surrounding area, free of charge, and provides a fenced area where dogs can be off the leash. *Hiking trails and open spaces: The Maynard Conservation Commission provides on-line maps of the town's open spaces and public trails, including on Summer Hill . *Historic Walking Tours: The Town of Maynard has established six self-guided walking tours of Maynard. PDFs can be downloaded from the town's website. *Maynard Golf Course: Nine hole golf course, 2,601 to 3,013 yards depending on choice of tees, established in 1921 as Maynard Country Club. Purchased by Town of Maynard in 2012. Managed by Sterling Golf Management, Inc. The former country club building is the headquarters for the Maynard Senior Center, a service of the Maynard Council on Aging. *Maynard Rod and Gun Club: Had its beginnings as Maynard Gun Club in 1902. Moved to current location off Old Mill Road in 1946. Owns 93 acres in Maynard and Sudbury. Offers two lighted skeet fields, two trap ranges, a 100-yard outdoor rifle range, one outdoor pistol range, an indoor pistol range, archery range, fishing pond, sports fields and a function hall.


Notable people

* Julie Berry, author of ten children's and young adults books; currently living in California *
Luke Brooks Luke Brooks (born 21 December 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League (NRL) in 2024. He previously played for the Wests Tigers in the Nati ...
(1731–1817) Revolutionary War minuteman at the
Battle of Lexington The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, ...
*
Elizabeth Updike Cobblah Elizabeth Updike Cobblah (born 1955) is an American art teacher and ceramicist, painter, and illustrator in Massachusetts. She is the eldest child of author John Updike, and was the model for several of his characters. She is married to Tete Cobblah ...
, artist, daughter of
John Updike John Hoyer Updike (March 18, 1932 – January 27, 2009) was an American novelist, poet, short-story writer, art critic, and literary critic. One of only four writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once (the others being Booth Tar ...
* John "Red" Flaherty (1917–1999), born in Maynard,
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...
baseball umpire 1953–1973 *
Michael Goulian Michael George "Mike" Goulian (born September 4, 1968 in Winthrop, Massachusetts) is an American aerobatic national champion aviator who raced in the Red Bull Air Race World Series under the number 99. Biography Goulian was born into an aviat ...
, airshow performer and RedBull Air Race pilot * Herb Greene, noted photographer of the
Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, world music, ...
, moved to Maynard in 1999 *
Waino Kauppi Waino Kauppi (1898 – November 25, 1932) was a musician who played both the cornet and the trumpet. Known as the "Boy Wonder", at age 12 Kauppi was one of the first triple-tonguing cornetists. He played as a cornet soloist for bands like the E ...
, child prodigy cornet player who later went on to be featured with several New York bands * Amory Maynard (1804–1890), started woolen mill in 1846; alive when Assabet Village became Town of Maynard * Leo Mullin, CEO of Delta Airlines (1997–2003), born and grew up in Maynard * Frank Murray (1885–1951), born in Maynard, college football coach
Marquette University Marquette University () is a private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Martin Henni, the first Bishop of the diocese of ...
and
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
;
College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vo ...
*
Ken Olsen Kenneth Harry "Ken" Olsen (February 20, 1926 – February 6, 2011) was an American engineer who co-founded Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in 1957 with colleague Harlan Anderson and his brother Stan Olsen. Background Kenneth Harry Olsen w ...
(1926–2011), founder and president of Digital Equipment Corporation, in Maynard, 1957–1992 *
Hermon Hosmer Scott Hermon Hosmer Scott (March 28, 1909 – April 13, 1975, aged 66) was a pioneer in the Hi-Fi industry and founder of H.H. Scott, Inc. Scott graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fr ...
(1909–1975), was founder of H.H. Scott, Inc., a Hi-fi company located in Maynard from 1957–1975 *
Jarrod Shoemaker Jarrod Shoemaker (born July 17, 1982) is a professional triathlete based in Maynard, Massachusetts. He is the 2009 ITU Duathlon World Champion. Athletic career Raised in Sudbury, Massachusetts, Shoemaker began his running career while attendi ...
, professional triathlete; currently living in Florida * Tantamous (Old Jethro), (–1676), Native American leader in colonial Massachusetts; forced by colonial court to surrender land, executed during King Philip's War * William G. Tapply (1940–2009), born in Waltham, lived in Maynard, author of fiction and non-fiction books


Cultural events

*Maynard Fest, every fall since 1992. *Maynard Christmas Parade, since 1966. *Maynard Farmers Market, on Main Street adjacent to the Mill on Saturdays from June to October, since 1996.


See also

*
List of mill towns in Massachusetts * Adams, Massachusetts, Adams * Amesbury, Massachusetts, Amesbury * Athol, Massachusetts, Athol * Attleboro, Massachusetts, Attleboro * Chicopee, Massachusetts, Chicopee * Clinton, Massachusetts, Clinton * Dalton, Massachusetts, Dalton * Dedha ...


References


Further reading and information

*Boothroyd, Paul and Lewis Halprin (1999). ''Maynard Massachusetts'', Images of America. Mount Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing. *Boothroyd, Paul and Lewis Halprin (1999). ''Assabet Mills'', Images of America. Mount Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing. *Boothroyd, Paul and Lewis Halprin. (2005) ''Maynard'', Postcard History Series. Mount Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing. *Brown, Peggy Jo (2005). ''Hometown Soldiers: Civil War Veterans of Assabet Village and Maynard Massachusetts''. Maynard, MA: Flying Heron Press. *Cummings, O.R. (1967). ''Concord, Maynard & Hudson Street Railway''. Warehouse Point, CN: National Railway Historical Society. *Earls, Alan R. (2004) ''Digital Equipment Corporation''. Mount Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing. *Fuller, Ralph. (2009). ''Stow Things''. Stow Historical Publishing Company. *Gutteridge, William H. (1921). ''A Brief History of the Town of Maynard, Massachusetts''. Maynard, MA: Town of Maynard. Available at Maynard Historical Society as 19 MB pdf: http://collection.maynardhistory.org/archive/files/maynard-1921-gutteridge-web_5bacc350d3.pdf *Mark, David A. (2011). ''Maynard: History and Life Outdoors''. Charleston, SC: The History Press. *Mark, David A. (2014). ''Hidden History of Maynard''. Charleston, SC: The History Press. *Mullin, John R
"Development of the Assabet Mills in 19th Century Maynard"
Faculty Publication Series, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1992. *Schein, Edgar H. (2003). ''DEC is Dead, Long Live DEC''. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishing. *Sheridan, Ralph (1971). ''A History of Maynard 1871–1971''. Town of Maynard Historical Committee. Available at Maynard Historic Society as a 95 MB pdf: http://collection.maynardhistory.org/archive/files/maynard-1871-1971-web_4226f59f9f.pdf *Town of Maynard (2020). ''Maynard Massachusetts: a Brief History''. Town of Maynard Sesquicentennial Steering Committee. Charles ton, SC: The History Press. *Voogd, Jan (2007). ''Maynard Massachusetts, A House in the Village''. Charleston, SC: The History Press.


External links


Town of Maynard official website

Maynard Historical Society

Maynard Public Library
{{authority control Towns in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Towns in Massachusetts Populated places established in 1871 1871 establishments in Massachusetts