Lunenburg, Massachusetts

History

Lunenburg was first settled in 1718 and was officially incorporated in 1728. The name stems from one of the titles of King George II of Great Britain, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. During King George's War, natives raided the village and took settlers captive to Quebec. Areas of neighboring Fitchburg were once part of Lunenburg, but broke away around this time because the walking distance to church and town meetings was too great for many. Closed in 2000, Whalom Park on Whalom Lake was a famous amusement park in Lunenburg. It closed with the rising popularity of Six Flags New England in Agawam. It was home of the famous Flyer Comet, now demolished.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 27.7 square miles (72 km²), of which 26.4 square miles (68 km²) is land and 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²), or 4.59%, is water.

Lunenburg is bordered by Townsend to the north, Shirley to the east, Lancaster to the southeast, Leominster to the south, Fitchburg to the west, and Ashby to the northwest.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,401 people, 3,535 households, and 2,668 families residing in the town. The population density was 355.8 people per square mile (137.4/km²). There were 3,668 housing units at an average density of 138.8 per square mile (53.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.01% White, 0.69% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.15% of the population.

There were 3,535 households out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.6% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were non-families. 20.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.3% 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 3.08.

In the town, the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $56,813, and the median income for a family was $63,981. Males had a median income of $47,451 versus $31,934 for females. The per capita income for the town was $26,986. About 3.3% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.7% of those under age 18 and 1.4% of those age 65 or over.

Library

The Lunenburg public library began in 1853. In fiscal year 2008, the town of Lunenburg spent 1.13% ($290,801) of its budget on its public library—some $29 per person.

Education

The public schools in town are the Lunenburg Primary School, Thomas C. Passios Elementary School (now closed), Turkey Hill Elementary School, and Lunenburg Middle-High School (recently opened).

Lunenburg High and Middle are now in the same building on adjacent property to Turkey Hill and Thomas C. Passios buildings.

Private schools include Applewild School, established in 1957, - a private, independent co-educational day school for grades Preschool - 8th grade located in Fitchburg, MA.

Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical High School serves the town and surrounding communities located in Fitchburg, MA.

Transportation

The Montachusett Regional Transit Authority (MART) supplies Councils-On-Aging service for elderly and disabled residents. Portions of Lunenburg are also on MART's regular bus routes. The nearest rail stations are Shirley, Fitchburg and North Leominster on the MBTA Commuter Rail Fitchburg Line.

Notable people