Sterling, Massachusetts
Location in Worcester County in Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°26′15″N 71°45′40″W / 42.4375, -71.76111
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Worcester
Settled	1720
Incorporated	1781
Government
- Type	Open town meeting
- Executive Secretary	Tim Bragan
Area
- Total	31.6 sq mi (81.8 km²)
- Land	30.5 sq mi (79.0 km²)
- Water	1.1 sq mi (2.8 km²)
Elevation	502 ft (153 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	7,257
- Density	237.7/sq mi (91.8/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	01564
Area code(s)	351 / 978
FIPS code	25-67385
GNIS feature ID	0619490
Website: http://www.town.sterling.ma.us/

Sterling is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, USA. The population was 7,257 at the 2000 census.

History

Sterling was first settled in 1720 and was officially incorporated in 1781.

Residents recently approved and built new facilities for the police and fire departments. The town enjoys a low crime rate even though it has large metropolitan areas both north and south of its borders.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 31.6 square miles (81.8 km²), of which, 30.5 square miles (79.0 km²) of it is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²) of it (3.42%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 7,257 people, 2,573 households, and 2,068 families residing in the town. The population density was 237.7 people per square mile (91.8/km²). There were 2,637 housing units at an average density of 86.4/sq mi (33.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.06% White, 0.58% African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.81% of the population.

There were 2,573 households out of which 39.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.8% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.6% were non-families. 15.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the town the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 99.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $67,188, and the median income for a family was $76,943. Males had a median income of $51,227 versus $32,734 for females. The per capita income for the town was $28,844. About 1.7% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.5% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Blood Family Homestead (1859) in Sterling, by Mary Blood Mellen (1817-1882)

Taxes

The tax rate in Sterling has remained fairly steady over recent years and has occasionally been reduced by a small percentage. These small decreases however have been dramatically overshadowed by extreme increases in house valuations resulting in many residents effectively paying 50-75% more in taxes in 2005 as compared with 5 years ago.

The Waushacum Homeowner's Association, however, being a private neighborhood southeast of the Sterling Junction, employs a system in which the land is leased from the neighborhood committee, which creates low house valuations in the area.

Utilities

Sterling provides town water and the quality is now very good after installing a purification system. The water is drawn from a private underground spring which flows from the Chickopee Water Table. Approximately 5 years ago the town water supply was affected by high bacteria levels and residents were forced to boil water for 3 weeks until the situation was resolved. With the exception of the Waushacum Home Owner's Association (whose residents enjoy a private purification system) there are no town sewer services - all houses have private septic systems.

The town also offers curbside trash pickup for no additional fee and has a very good recycling center with one of the highest recycling percentages in the state.

Sterling is one of 38 or so communities in the state that has it own municipal electric light company. It is a well managed department separate from other municipal government functions and to date (12-8-06) the residents enjoy some of the lowest electricity rates in the entire state. On the other hand, investor owned utilities (IOU's) such as N-Star and National Grid are significantly more expensive for those communities in the state that are locked into using them. Sterling ratepayers are the owners of this utility and reap the benefits of exceptional service and an early payment discount on their monthly bills. Once a year ratepayers receive an increased discount, usually in the month of November. This year (2006) they will receive a 40% discount. This is the only municipal light department in the state, of which we are aware, that currently offers this year end discount as a way of giving a "dividend" to customers. The utility also gives a $40,000 in-lieu-of tax payment to the town each year.

Points of interest

An annual event, the Sterling Fair, is a popular place to be in early to mid-september. There are Carnival games and Spinning rides.

Notable residents

• Adam Aijala, progressive bluegrass guitarist and singer
• Ebenezer Butterick (29 May 1826 – 31 March 1903), inventor of tissue paper dress patterns, which revolutionized home sewing. The town's municipal building is located in the old Butterick School, which was named after Ebenezer Butterick.
• Charles Herbert Colvin, aeronautical engineer
• Jay Cutler, bodybuilder, 2006 Mr. Olympia
• Prentiss Mellen, United States Senator (1818-1820)
• Le Gage Pratt, U.S. Representative from New Jersey

Film and literary references

• The 2001 film Shallow Hal had scenes shot in Sterling.
• Sterling is the setting of Sarah Josepha Hale's famous poem, "Mary Had a Little Lamb". Mary Sawyer, the subject of the historically true poem, lived in Sterling. The Sawyer's house was burned down in August 2007.

References

1. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

External links

• Sterling official website
• History of Sterling Massachusetts: Images, photos and postcards from the past

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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