Hardwick, Massachusetts
Covered bridge in Gilbertville
Location in Worcester County in Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°21′00″N 72°12′00″W / 42.35, -72.2
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Worcester
Settled	1737
Incorporated	1739
Government
- Type	Open town meeting
Area
- Total	40.8 sq mi (105.8 km²)
- Land	38.6 sq mi (99.9 km²)
- Water	2.3 sq mi (5.8 km²)
Elevation	880 ft (268 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	2,622
- Density	67.9/sq mi (26.2/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	01031
Area code(s)	413
FIPS code	25-28740
GNIS feature ID	0619481
Website: www.townofhardwick.com

Hardwick is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States, about 20 miles west of the city of Worcester. It includes the villages of Hardwick, Gilbertville, Wheelwright and Old Furnace.

History

Hardwick was first settled in 1737 and was officially incorporated in 1739, named in honor of Lord Hardwicke, an English nobleman. In 1762, General Timothy Ruggles introduced the Hardwick Fair, now the oldest annual fair in the United States. During the late 1800s, Hardwick experienced an expansion of its manufacturing industry, textile and paper mills, both of which left the area by the 1930s. The town has retained its agricultural roots, a long standing tradition in the region. Hardwick is the home of Eagle Hill School, founded in 1968.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 40.8 square miles (105.8 km²), of which, 38.6 square miles (99.9 km²) of it is land and 2.2 square miles (5.8 km²) of it (5.51%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 2,622 people, 997 households, and 689 families residing in the town. The population density was 67.9 people per square mile (26.2/km²). There were 1,086 housing units at an average density of 28.1/sq mi (10.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.79% White, 0.53% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.19% from other races, and 1.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.88% of the population.

There were 997 households out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.4% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the town the population was spread out with 28.0% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $45,742, and the median income for a family was $54,667. Males had a median income of $37,763 versus $30,057 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,824. About 5.5% of families and 7.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.7% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government

References

External links

• Town of Hardwick

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