Northborough Water Department (mwra)

Northborough Water Department (mwra) Municipal Water Report Info

Originally part of Marlborough, then Westborough, Northborough was incorporated in 1766 and gained full representation rights at Boston's Great and General Court by 1775. The town's center of activity was its first Meeting House, built on land donated by Captain James Eager, located approximately where the First Congregational Unitarian Church stands today on Church Street.

Town meetings and mandatory church services were both held at this location. In early Massachusetts Bay Colony, only the Congregational Church with its strong Calvinist principles was permitted. The church "tithing men" served as legally elected town officials, while ministers wielded considerable influence over town and family matters, including school oversight.

Today, Northborough operates under its own home rule charter with a five-member select board and town meeting comprised of registered voters. Historical town meetings were sometimes moved from unheated meeting houses to the warmth of Monroe's Tavern, a famous Post Road stop now relocated to the corner of Blake and Pierce streets.

The town's official offices have relocated several times - from the first church to the second church sacristy, then to the Old Town House, followed by the "old" Town Hall (recognized as a Historical Architectural Monument for having the longest roof span of any known French Mansard roof style building), and finally to the current Town Hall, which was formerly Northborough High School built in the 1930s.

Along the historic Boston Post Road, commemorative markers highlight significant events, including where Mary Goodnow was attacked by Native Americans in 1707. The town's industrial heritage is evident in the mills scattered along Assabet River tributaries, signifying where textile manufacturing once thrived before declining.

While Northborough still maintains several working farms and hosts a growing research and development business park, it primarily serves as a residential community for Boston and Worcester commuters.