Auburn is a town in

Worcester County, Massachusetts Worcester County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 862,111, making it the second-most populous county in Massachusetts. Being 1,510.6 ...

, United States. The population was 16,889 at the 2020 census.

History

The Auburn area was first settled in 1714. On April 10, 1778, parts of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

and

Oxford, Massachusetts Oxford is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 13,347 as of the 2020 United States Census. It was the birthplace of Clara Barton, the first president and founder of the American Red Cross. History Pre-Co ...

were incorporated as the Town of Ward, in honor of

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

General

Artemas Ward Artemas Ward (November 26, 1727 – October 28, 1800) was an American major general in the American Revolutionary War and a Congressman from Massachusetts. He was considered an effective political leader, President John Adams describing him as ...

(second in command to George Washington). In 1837, the town changed its name to Auburn after the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

complained that the name was too similar to the nearby town of

Ware WARE (1250 AM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to Ware, Massachusetts, United States, the station serves the Springfield radio market. The station is currently owned by Success Signal Broadcasting ...

. Before incorporation, most of Auburn was known as the South Parish of

; other portions fell within the town limits of

and Millbury.

Robert H. Goddard Robert Hutchings Goddard (October 5, 1882 – August 10, 1945) was an American engineer, professor, physicist, and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first liquid-fueled rocket, which was successfully lau ...

launched the first liquid-fueled rocket from Pakachoag Hill, on his aunt Effe Ward's farm, in Auburn on March 16, 1926. Goddard is commemorated in Goddard Memorial Park, located downtown next to the Auburn Fire Department Headquarters. The park features a model of Goddard's prototype liquid-fueled rocket and a

Polaris missile The UGM-27 Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fuel rocket, solid-fueled nuclear warhead, nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). As the United States Navy's first SLBM, it served from 1961 to 1980. In the mid-1950s the Navy ...

(Type A-1). A second replica of Goddard's prototype stands at Auburn High School. Goddard's launch is also commemorated with a small monument, the

Goddard Rocket Launching Site The Goddard Rocket Launching Site is a National Historic Landmark commemorating the launch site of the world's first successful liquid-fueled rocket. History Dr. Robert H. Goddard launched his historic rocket on March 16, 1926, from what was then ...

, between the first and ninth holes of Pakachoag Golf Course.

Demographics

The 2010 Auburn, MA, population was 16,188. There are 1,053 people per square mile. The median age is 40.8. The US median is 37.6. 61.86% of people in Auburn, MA, are married. 8.00% are divorced. The average household size is 2.41 people. 22.71% of people are married, with children. 5.08% have children, but are single. According to the 2000 census, 97.21% of people are white, 0.81% are black or African American, 1.19% are Asian, 0.10% are Native American, and 1.00% are "other". 1.24% of the people in Auburn, MA, are of Hispanic ethnicity.

Arts and culture

Points of interest include: * Auburn Mall *

Worcester Flood Diversion Channel The Worcester Flood Diversion Channel is a flood control channel located in Auburn and Millbury, Massachusetts. It was built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers because of the Flood Control Act of 1944. Its aim was to protect the city of ...

Government

The form of government is

representative town meeting A representative town meeting, also called "limited town meeting", is a form of municipal legislature particularly common in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and permitted in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. Representative town meetings function ...

. There are 24 town-meeting members from each of the five precincts of the town, for a total of 120 who represent the people at the annual town meeting each May. The town also has a Board of Selectmen which consists of five elected members, each serving for a term of three years. As of 2009, the town adopted a new charter which allowed for the creation of a Town Manager.

Education

Schools in Auburn include: * Bryn Mawr School (grades K–2) * Pakachoag School (grades K–2) * Swanson Road Intermediate School (grades 3–5) * Auburn Middle School (grades 6–8) * Auburn High School (grades 9–12)

Infrastructure

Highways

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

I-290 Interstate 290 may refer to the following Interstate Highways in the United States: *Interstate 290 (Illinois), a highway from Chicago, Illinois, to Rolling Meadows, Illinois *Interstate 290 (Massachusetts), a highway in Massachusetts that connects ...

* I-395 * Route 12 *

US 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Highway, United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major ...

Notable people

Paul Allaire Paul Arthur Allaire (July 21, 1938 – February 24, 2019) was an American entrepreneur who served as CEO and chairman of Xerox Corporation, and as a director on several other public companies. Allaire graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Insti ...

(1938–2019), CEO of Xerox Corp. from 1990 to 2001 *

Jacob Whitman Bailey Jacob Whitman Bailey (1811–1857) was an American naturalist, known as the pioneer in microscopic research in America.Makers of American Botany, Harry Baker Humphrey, Ronald Press Company, Library of Congress Card Number 61-18435 Biography J ...

(1811–1857), biologist, educator * Tyler Beede (born 1993), baseball pitcher for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

* John Curdo (1931–2022), chess master, winner of numerous titles, including the US Senior Championship, who lived here in later life * Patrick Allen Joslyn (born 1986), drag performer known onstage as Joslyn Fox *

Robert Goddard Robert Hutchings Goddard (October 5, 1882 – August 10, 1945) was an American engineer, professor, physicist, and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first liquid-fueled rocket, which was successfully lau ...

(1881–1945), rocket scientist *

Jeffrey Lynn Jeffrey Lynn (born Ragnar Godfrey Lind; – November 24, 1995) was an American stage-screen actor and film producer who worked primarily through the Golden Age of Hollywood establishing himself as one of the premier talents of his time. T ...

(1909–1995), stage-screen actor and film producer

References

External links

Town of Auburn
{{Authority control Populated places established in 1778 1778 establishments in the Province of Massachusetts Bay Towns in Massachusetts Towns in Worcester County, Massachusetts