Dunstable, Massachusetts
Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°40′30″N 71°29′00″W / 42.675, -71.483333
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Middlesex
Settled	1656
Incorporated	1673
Government
- Type	Open town meeting
Area
- Total	16.7 sq mi (43.4 km²)
- Land	16.6 sq mi (42.9 km²)
- Water	0.2 sq mi (0.5 km²)
Elevation	224 ft (68 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	2,826
- Density	170.88/sq mi (66.0/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	01827
Area code(s)	351 / 978
FIPS code	25-17825
GNIS feature ID	0618222
Website: http://www.dunstable-ma.gov/

Dunstable is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 2,826 at the 2000 census.

History

Dunstable was first settled in 1656 and was officially incorporated in 1673. It is likely named after the town of Dunstable in Bedfordshire, England, United Kingdom.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 16.7 square miles (43.4 km²), of which, 16.5 square miles (42.9 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²) of it (1.13%) is water. Dunstable borders Pepperell to the west, Groton to the south, Tyngsborough to the east, and Nashua and Hollis, New Hampshire to the north.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 2,826 people, 923 households, and 798 families residing in the town. The population density was 171.0 people per square mile (66.0/km²). There were 944 housing units at an average density of 57.0/sq mi (22.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.49% White, 0.11% African American, 0.04% Native American, 1.52% Asian, 0.07% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.53% of the population.

There were 923 households out of which 47.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.7% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.5% were non-families. 10.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.07 and the average family size was 3.31.

In the town the population was spread out with 31.1% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 6.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $86,633, and the median income for a family was $92,270. Males had a median income of $61,425 versus $39,946 for females. The per capita income for the town was $30,608. About 2.1% of families and 1.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 2.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Dunstable has one elementary school, Swallow Union Elementary, located in town while middle school and high school students attend regional schools in neighboring Groton. The school system is the Groton-Dunstable Regional School District.

Points of interest

• "The Little Red Schoolhouse" is a historical building located on route 113 near the Tyngsboro border. Local students take field trips there to historically re-enact a school day. An annual Strawberry Festival is also held there. Once a year around Mothers Day the local Boy Scout Troop 28 has a mothers day pancake breakfest there.

Notable residents

• Isaac Fletcher (1784-1842), United States Representative from Vermont
• Amos Kendall (1789-1869), United States Postmaster General during the administration of Andrew Jackson
• Amos Lawrence (1786-1852), merchant and philanthropist
• Samuel Parris (1653-1720), Puritan minister during the Salem witch trials
• Ellen Swallow Richards (1842-1911), chemist, first woman admitted to MIT

Trivia

• Dunstable is a dry town. No liquor is sold in either of the town's two small grocery stores.
• The town hall once housed both Police Department and Library, though recent renovations in the town gave construct to dedicated buildings for each.

References

Further reading

• Nason, Elias and George Bailey Loring. A History of the Town of Dunstable, Massachusetts. A. Mudge: 1877.
• 1871 Atlas of Massachusetts. by Wall & Gray. Map of Massachusetts. Map of Middlesex County.
• History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Volume 1 (A-H), Volume 2 (L-W) compiled by Samuel Adams Drake, published 1879-1880. 572 and 505 pages. Dunstable article by Rev. Elias Nason in volume 1 pages 416-427.

External links

• Dunstable official website

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Cities	Cambridge | Lowell | Malden | Marlborough | Medford | Melrose | Newton | Somerville | Waltham | Watertown | Woburn
Towns	Acton | Arlington | Ashby | Ashland | Ayer | Bedford | Belmont | Billerica | Boxborough | Burlington | Carlisle | Chelmsford | Concord | Dracut | Dunstable | Framingham | Groton | Holliston | Hopkinton | Hudson | Lexington | Lincoln | Littleton | Maynard | Natick | North Reading | Pepperell | Reading | Sherborn | Shirley | Stoneham | Stow | Sudbury | Tewksbury | Townsend | Tyngsborough | Wakefield | Wayland | Westford | Weston | Wilmington | Winchester
CDPs	Ayer | Cochituate | Fort Devens | East Pepperell | Groton | Hopkinton | Hudson | Littleton Common | Pepperell | Pinehurst | Shirley | Townsend | West Concord
Villages	North Billerica | North Chelmsford