Stan Jurga writes, 'Storybook Cottage is the creation of my father-in-law, Dave Holden. Massachusetts Correctional Institution – Shirley, a medium/minimum security state prison.A new regional school system shared with the neighboring Town of Ayer officially launched in 2011.About 1.9% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.1% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over. The per capita income for the town was $20,556. Males had a median income of $42,078 versus $32,130 for females. The median income for a household in the town was $53,344, and the median income for a family was $66,250. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 151.8 males. For every 100 females, there were 137.8 males. In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.7% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 39.2% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.09. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 2,067 households, out of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.2% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.86% of the population.

The racial makeup of the town was 83.90% White, 6.72% Black or African American, 0.47% Native American, 2.10% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 5.12% from other races, and 1.62% from two or more races. There were 2,156 housing units at an average density of 136.2 per square mile (52.6/km 2). The population density was 402.7 inhabitants per square mile (155.5/km 2). Īs of the census of 2000, there were 6,373 people, 2,067 households, and 1,426 families residing in the town. Source: United States census records and Population Estimates Program data. See also: List of Massachusetts locations by per capita income Historical population Year Significant wetlands are Spruce Swamp (drained by Spruce Swamp Brook) and Tophet Swamp. It is bounded by the Squannacook and Nashua rivers and contains Mulpus Brook and Catecunemaug Brook. The town has a total area of 15.9 square miles (41.2 km 2), of which 15.8 square miles (41.0 km 2) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.2 km 2) (0.50%) is water. The town also operates a Senior Center located at 9 Parker Road, which previously was a preschool/kindergarten. Shirley Shaker Village closed in 1908.Ī medium-security state prison was built on land surrounding the remains of the Shaker village in Shirley, and continues to operate. The Shaker movement peaked in the 1840s, but gradually dwindled, perhaps because of greater employment opportunities offered by the Industrial Revolution, or because succeeding generations grew less tolerant of the Shaker church's insistence on self-abnegation. They are renowned for their plain architecture and furniture. The Shakers advocated pacifism, common property, celibacy, and communal living. Shirley Shaker Village in 1884Ī utopian religious community, Shirley Shaker Village, was established in Shirley in 1793.

Two of the large 19th-century mill buildings have been subdivided and adapted for use by 21st-century businesses. Other local products included iron, nails, textiles, rope, belts, suspenders, and athletic equipment. The town established a paper mill around 1790, and the first of seven cotton mills in 1812. In 1753 it separated from Groton and was incorporated, named in honor of William Shirley, governor of Massachusetts (1741–1757). Once part of 'The Plantation of Groton,' Shirley was first settled by English pioneers about 1720. The inhabitants at the time of European encounter were Nipmuc (or Pennacook) Indians, who called the area Catacunemaug. (The neighboring maximum-security Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center lies just outside the town limits in the town of Lancaster.) The remains of a Shaker village have been preserved within the grounds of the prison. It is home to the Massachusetts Correctional Institution – Shirley, a medium-security state prison. The town has a well-preserved historic New England town center. The population was 7,431 at the 2020 census. It is approximately thirty miles west-northwest of Boston. Shirley is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States.

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