Whitinsville, Massachusetts
Area map
Coordinates: 42°6′44″N 71°40′22″W / 42.11222, -71.67278
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Worcester
Government
- Type	part of Northbridge, Massachusetts
Area
- Total	4.0 sq mi (10.5 km²)
- Land	3.6 sq mi (9.4 km²)
- Water	0.4 sq mi (1.1 km²)
Elevation	322 ft (98 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	6,340
- Density	1,742.0/sq mi (672.6/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	01588
Area code(s)	508
FIPS code	25-79495
GNIS feature ID	0611078

Whitinsville is a census-designated place (CDP) on the Mumford River, a tributary of the Blackstone River, in the town of Northbridge in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,340 at the 2000 census. Whitinsville is pronounced as if it were spelled "White-ins-ville."

History

The Whitin Mill, owned by the Whitin family, for whom Whitinsville is named, is located in downtown Whitinsville as is the Whitin Machine Works, or "The Shop," an internationally renowned maker of textile machinery. The Shop” specialized in making machines for picking, carding and spinning cotton and wool. During its more than 100 year run, The Shop was the world's largest producer of textile spindles. Today you can still see much of the original village, including the housing for workers and their families, churches and the Community Center. The textile machine company and industrial village were written up as one of the Harvard studies of history in business. ^[1]

Whitin Community Center

The Whitin Community Center, operated by a non-profit organization and commonly called The Gym, is located at 60 Main Street on what used to be the 11-acre John C. Whitin estate. The front 3.5 acre site and the funds necessaary to build a recreation center on it were donated in 1922 by the four Whitin sisters, who had inherited the estate from their father, George Marston Whitin. They retained the remaining 7.5 acres on which the John C. Whitin mansion stood. The building erected on the front parcel was called the Whitin Community Center. In 1941, the surviving family members decided that none of them wanted to live in the mansion, so they had it torn down and donated the rest of the estate to the Community Center. In 1959, the recereation building built in 1922 was severely damaged by fire, but was rebuilt.^[2]

St. Camillus Health Center

The St. Camillus Health Center, originally St. Camillus Hospital for Incurable Diseases, is located at 447 Hill Street on the historic E. Kent Swift Estate named for the husband of one of George Marston Whitin's daughters. The historic mansion on the rear of the estate was restored in 1999 and is now known as Father Turci Manor.

Geography

Whitinsville is located at 42°6′44″N, 71°40′22″W (42.112208, -71.672890).^[3]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 10.5 km² (4.1 mi²). 9.4 km² (3.6 mi²) of it is land and 1.1 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (10.12%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 6,340 people, 2,342 households, and 1,639 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 672.5/km² (1,742.0/mi²). There were 2,427 housing units at an average density of 257.4/km² (666.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 94.79% White, 1.01% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.18% from other races, and 2.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.38% of the population.

There were 2,342 households out of which 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.0% were non-families. 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 29.3% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.4 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $44,627, and the median income for a family was $61,016. Males had a median income of $40,665 versus $26,325 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $21,264. About 4.8% of families and 6.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.2% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

Ethnic groups

The 19th Century expansion of the Whitin mills brought many Irish immigrants in to work. Later immigrant groups that came to work and to settle in Whitinsville were Armenians, French-Canadians and Dutch.

Education

Public

• Northbridge Public Schools^[5] administrative building is located at 87 Linwood Avenue.
  • Northbridge High School is at 427 Linwood Avenue.
  • Northbridge Middle School is at 171 Linwood Avenue'
  • Balmer Elementary School is on Crescent Street.
  • Northbridge Elementary School is at 30 Cross Street

• • Northbridge High School is well known for it's football program, capturing 8 MIAA Super Bowl Championships, as recently as 2007. The team has won championships in 1974, 1987, 1989, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, and 2007.

Private

• Whitinsville Christian School is located at 279 Linwood Avenue in Whitinsville. The school is well known in the area for its excellent placement in athletics; in particular, the Whitinsville Christian School Crusaders high school boys basketball team was the Division III state champions in the 2004-2005 season.

Government

The Northbridge Town Hall is located at 7 Main Street in Whitinsville.

Notable natives and residents

• Steve Spagnuolo pro football defensive coach for New York Giants, was born in Whitinsville in 1959.
• Paul C Whitin, was the founder of the Whitin Machine Works

References

External links

• Town of Northbridge website
• Northbridge Public Schools
• Whitin Community Center website

• Whitinsville, Massachusetts is at coordinates 42°06′44″N 71°40′22″W / 42.112208, -71.67289 (Whitinsville, Massachusetts)Coordinates: 42°06′44″N 71°40′22″W / 42.112208, -71.67289 (Whitinsville, Massachusetts)

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