Douglas, Massachusetts
Location in Worcester County in Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°03′15″N 71°44′24″W / 42.05417, -71.74
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Worcester
Settled	1721
Incorporated	1775
Government
- Type	Open town meeting
Area
- Total	37.7 sq mi (97.7 km²)
- Land	36.4 sq mi (94.2 km²)
- Water	1.3 sq mi (3.5 km²)
Elevation	582 ft (177 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	7,045
- Density	193.7/sq mi (74.8/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	01516
Area code(s)	508 / 774
FIPS code	25-17300
GNIS feature ID	0619479
Website: www.douglasma.org

Douglas is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,045 at the 2000 census.

For geographic and demographic information on the village of East Douglas, please see the article East Douglas, Massachusetts.

History

The name of Douglas was first given to the territory of the town in the year 1746. New Sherburn or "New Sherburn Grant" had previously to this date been its designation since its first occupancy by the English settlers which was as early as 1715. The original settlers came primarily from Sherburn, although many hailed from Natick as well. The name was given in 1746, Dr William Douglas, an eminent physician of Boston in consideration of the privilege of naming the township offered the inhabitants the sum of $500.00 as a fund for the establishment of free schools together with a tract of 30 acres of land with a dwelling house and barn theron. EN Jenckes store is a museum that depicts early history of Douglas. ^[1] Douglas's forests gave rise to a woodcutting industry, and the Douglas axe company. ^[1] A woolen manufacturing company, on the Mumford River in East Douglas, in recent times held by the Schuster family, has been prominent in the history of this community.

The geological formation consists of quartz, feldspar,and mica. Boulders are plentifully scattered all over town and gold and silver ores are said to be found in some localities. Large quantities of building and ornamental stone are quarried from the granite ledges found in the center of town which is shipped to almost every section of New England.

The principal elevations are Bald Hill 711 feet (217 m), Wallum Pond Hill 778 feet (237 m), and Mount Daniel 735 feet (224 m). The largest of the numerous ponds is Wallum Pond in the southwest section, covering about 150 acres (0.6 km²); Badluck Pond in the western part of town covering about 110 acres (0.4 km²); Reservoir Pond also in the western part of town covering about 400 acres (1.6 km²); and Manchaug Pond in the northern part about 93 acres.

The town is bounded on the north by Oxford, Sutton and Uxbridge, on the east by Sutton and Uxbridge, on the south by Burrillville, RI and on the west by Thompson, CT and Webster.

From a very early period reaching beyond 1635, bands of Native Americans, principally the Nipmuc tribe, monopolized this region of Worcester County. The Blackstone River was once called the Nipmuc River. Most of Douglas is part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor.^[1] References taken from Emerson's History of Douglas by Wm A Emerson 1879.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 37.7 square miles (97.7 km²), of which, 36.4 square miles (94.2 km²) of it is land and 1.3 square miles (3.5 km²) of it (3.55%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 7,045 people, 2,476 households, and 1,936 families residing in the town. The population density was 193.7 people per square mile (74.8/km²). There were 2,588 housing units at an average density of 71.2/sq mi (27.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.36% White, 0.48% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.64% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.95% of the population.

There were 2,476 households out of which 43.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.6% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.8% were non-families. 17.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the town the population was spread out with 29.6% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 36.4% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 100.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $60,529, and the median income for a family was $67,210. Males had a median income of $45,893 versus $31,287 for females. The per capita income for the town was $23,036. About 2.3% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.4% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.

Adjacent Towns

• Burrillville, Rhode Island
• Oxford, Massachusetts
• Sutton, Massachusetts
• Thompson, Connecticut
• Uxbridge, Massachusetts
• Webster, Massachusetts

Government

Points of interest

• Douglas is the starting point for the Rhode Island North-South Trail and Massachusetts Midstate Trail.

Notes

External links

• Douglas official website
• National Heritage Corridor, Valley sites- Douglas, Nortbridge, Sutton

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of Worcester County, Massachusetts
Cities	Fitchburg | Gardner | Leominster | Southbridge | Worcester
Towns	Ashburnham | Athol | Auburn | Barre | Berlin | Blackstone | Bolton | Boylston | Brookfield | Charlton | Clinton | Douglas | Dudley | East Brookfield | Grafton | Hardwick | Harvard | Holden | Hopedale | Hubbardston | Lancaster | Leicester | Lunenburg | Mendon | Milford | Millbury | Millville | New Braintree | North Brookfield | Northborough | Northbridge | Oakham | Oxford | Paxton | Petersham | Phillipston | Princeton | Royalston | Rutland | Shrewsbury | Southborough | Spencer | Sterling | Sturbridge | Sutton | Templeton | Upton | Uxbridge | Warren | Webster | West Boylston | West Brookfield | Westborough | Westminster | Winchendon
CDPs	Athol | Baldwinville | Barre | Clinton | Cordaville | East Brookfield | East Douglas | Fiskdale | Fort Devens | Hopedale | Lunenburg | Milford | North Brookfield | Northborough | Oxford | Rutland | South Ashburnham | South Lancaster | Spencer | Sturbridge | Upton-West Upton | Warren | Webster | West Brookfield | Westborough | Whitinsville | Winchendon
Villages	Gilbertville | Ironstone | Linwood | North Uxbridge | Old Furnace | Wheelockville | Wheelwright