

Most Newtonites work in Newton and other surrounding cities and towns. Newton is not a typical "commuter suburb" since many people who live in Newton do not work in downtown Boston. Even then, however, Oak Hill continued to be farmed, mostly market gardening, until the prosperity of the 1950s made all of Newton more densely settled. The next wave came in the 1920s when automobiles became affordable to a growing upper middle class. One wave began with the streetcar lines that made many parts of Newton accessible for commuters in the late nineteenth century. Muir points out that these early commuters needed sufficient wealth to employ a groom and keep horses, to drive them from their hilltop homes to the station.įurther suburbanization came in waves.

Wealthy Bostonian businessmen took advantage of the new commuting opportunity offered by the railroad, building gracious homes on erstwhile farmland of West Newton hill and on Commonwealth street. The Boston and Worcester, one of America's earliest railroads, reached West Newton in 1834. Newton, according to Muir, became one of America's earliest commuter suburbs. Snuff, chocolate, glue, paper and other products were produced in these small mills but, according to Muir, the water power available in Newton was not sufficient to turn Newton into a manufacturing city, although it was, beginning in 1902, the home of the Stanley Motor Carriage Company, the maker of the Stanley Steamer. In Reflections in Bullough's Pond, Newton historian Diana Muir describes the early industries that developed in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in a series of mills built to take advantage of the water power available at Newton Upper Falls and Newton Lower Falls. Newton was incorporated as a separate town, known as Cambridge Village, in 1688, then renamed Newtown in 1691, and finally Newton in 1766. Roxbury minister John Eliot convinced the Native American people of Nonantum, a sub-tribe of the Massachusetts led by a sachem named Waban, to relocate to Natick in 1651, fearing that they would be exploited by colonists. Newton was settled in 1630 as part of "the newe towne", which was renamed Cambridge in 1638. Historian and local resident Diana Muir has written about the history surrounding Bullough's Pond a scene from the 2008 production of The Women was also filmed there. These include Crystal Lake (which is fronted by several historical homes), the East Parish and West Parish Burying Grounds, and the Jackson Homestead, which now houses the Newton History Museum. There are several historical sites of interest in the Newton area. Newton was settled in 1630 as part of "the newe towne", which became Cambridge in 1638 it became its own town in 1688. In August 2012, Money magazine named Newton fourth best small city among places to live in America. Newton has consistently ranked as one of the best cities to live in in the country. Newton is served by three modes of mass transit run by the MBTA: light rail, commuter rail, and bus service. Newton's proximity to Boston along with its historic homes, good public schools, and safe and quiet neighborhoods make it a desirable community for those who commute to Boston. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state. Rather than having a single city center, Newton is a patchwork of thirteen villages. It is approximately 7 miles (11 km) west of downtown Boston and is bordered by Boston's Brighton and West Roxbury neighborhoods to the east and south, respectively, and by the suburb of Brookline to the east, the suburbs of Watertown and Waltham to the north, and Wellesley and Needham to the west. Newton is a suburban city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2018 ACS 5-Year Estimates.Emily Lavan, Heartbreak Hill, 2005 Boston Marathon Newton Building Structure & Housing Statisticsįind Newton Residential Housing Units, Occupied Residential Buildings Construction Year, Occupied Residential Buildings Room Characteristics, Occupied Residential Buildings Bedroom Characteristics, and Occupied Residential Building Facility Characteristics.ĭata Source: U.S.
