Milton, Massachusetts
Encyclopedia
Milton is a town in Norfolk County
Norfolk County, Massachusetts
-National protected areas:* Adams National Historical Park* Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area * Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site* John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site-Demographics:...

, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and part of the Greater Boston
Greater Boston
Greater Boston is the area of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts surrounding the city of Boston. Due to ambiguity in usage, the size of the area referred to can be anywhere between that of the metropolitan statistical area of Boston and that of the city's combined statistical area which includes...

 area. The population was 27,003 at the 2010 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...

 and architect Buckminster Fuller
Buckminster Fuller
Richard Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller was an American systems theorist, author, designer, inventor, futurist and second president of Mensa International, the high IQ society....

. Milton also has the highest percentage of residents per capita citing Irish heritage of any town in the United States; 38%. In 2007, 2009, and 2011, Money Magazine
Money (magazine)
Money is published by Time Inc. Its first issue was published in October 1972. Its articles cover the gamut of personal finance topics ranging from investing, saving, retirement and taxes to family finance issues like paying for college, credit, career and home improvement...

 listed Milton 7th, 5th, and 2nd, respectively, on its annual list of the "Best Places to Live" in the United States.

History

Milton is located between the Neponset River
Neponset River
The Neponset River is a river in eastern Massachusetts in the United States. The headwaters of the Neponset are at the Neponset Reservoir in Foxborough, near the Gillette Stadium...

 and the Blue Hills
Blue Hills Reservation
Blue Hills Reservation is a state park in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. Managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, it extends into Milton, Quincy, Braintree, Canton, Randolph, and Dedham south of Boston.-Description:...

. It is bordered by Boston's Dorchester neighborhood
Dorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is named after the town of Dorchester in the English county of Dorset, from which Puritans emigrated and is today endearingly nicknamed "Dot" by its residents. Dorchester, including a large...

 and Mattapan neighborhood
Mattapan, Massachusetts
Mattapan is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts. Historically a section of neighboring Dorchester, Mattapan became a part of Boston when Dorchester was annexed in 1870. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 36,480...

 to the north and its Hyde Park neighborhood
Hyde Park, Massachusetts
Hyde Park is a dissolved municipality and currently the southernmost neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Hyde Park is home to a diverse range of people, housing types and social groups. It is an urban location with suburban characteristics...

 to the west, Quincy
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...

 to the east and south, Randolph
Randolph, Massachusetts
The Town of Randolph is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 32,112. Randolph adopted a new charter effective January 2010 providing for a council-manager form of government instead of the traditional town meeting...

 to the south and Canton
Canton, Massachusetts
Canton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,561 at the 2010 census. Canton is part of Greater Boston, about 15 miles southwest of downtown Boston.- History :...

 to the west. It has water access to Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeast.-History:...

 through the Neponset Estuary.

Milton was settled in 1640 as part of Dorchester
Dorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is named after the town of Dorchester in the English county of Dorset, from which Puritans emigrated and is today endearingly nicknamed "Dot" by its residents. Dorchester, including a large...

. Referred to as "Unquity", the term used by the Neponset Tribe of the Massachusetts Indians meaning "Lower Falls," which was translated into "Lower Mills" after the establishment of the Stoughton Grist Mill in 1634. In 1662, "that part of the Town of Dorchester which is situated on the south side of the Neponsett River commonly called 'Unquatiquisset' was established as an independent town and named Milton in honor of Milton Abbey, Dorset, England."

A powder mill
Powder mill
The term powder mill is usually used for a mill that manufactures blackpowder, a type of gunpowder.A powder mill could be driven by wind or water power, and contained rollers for grinding the ingredients of gunpowder together, as well as presses and tumbling barrels and sieves for compacting,...

 established in 1674 may be the earliest in the colonies, taking advantage of the town's water power sites. Boston investors, seeing the potential of the town and its proximity to the city, provided the capital to develop 18th century Milton as an industrial site with an iron slitting mill, paper and sawmills, and the first chocolate factory in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

 (the Walter Baker Chocolate Factory) in 1764, which was converted from the old Stoughton Grist Mill. Laying of streetcar lines fueled the rapid expansion of residential development. Between 1870 and 1915, Milton grew into the community it is now: a streetcar suburb
Streetcar suburb
A streetcar suburb is a residential community whose growth and development was strongly shaped by the use of streetcar lines as a primary means of transportation. Early suburbs were served by horsecars, but by the late 19th century cable cars and electric streetcars, or trams, were used, allowing...

 with some chocolates, biscuits and market produce
Produce
Produce is a generalized term for a group of farm-produced goods and, not limited to fruits and vegetables . More specifically, the term "produce" often implies that the products are fresh and generally in the same state as where they were harvested. In supermarkets the term is also used to refer...

 to remind residents of the past. By 1929, many of the big estates
Estate (house)
An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...

 were broken into subdivisions as the town's residential growth continued.

The Suffolk Resolves
Suffolk Resolves
The Suffolk Resolves was a declaration made on September 9, 1774 by the leaders of Suffolk County, Massachusetts, of which Boston is the major city. The convention that adopted them first met at the Woodward Tavern in Dedham, which is today the site of the Norfolk County Courthouse...

 were signed in Milton in 1774, and were used as a model by the drafters of the Declaration of Independence
Declaration of independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...

 in 1776. The Suffolk Resolves House
Suffolk Resolves House
The Suffolk Resolves House is the building where the Suffolk Resolves were signed on September 4, 1774. The Resolves were an important predecessor document to the Declaration of Independence....

, where the Resolves were passed, still stands and it is maintained as the headquarters of the Milton Historical Society. The house was moved to a new location at 1370 Canton Avenue in West Milton in order to save it from demolition at its previous location in "Milton Village" at Lower Mills. They were the "Suffolk Resolves" because Milton was part of Suffolk County
Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Suffolk County has no land border with Plymouth County to its southeast, but the two counties share a water boundary in the middle of Massachusetts Bay.-National protected areas:*Boston African American National Historic Site...

 until 1793, when Norfolk County
Norfolk County, Massachusetts
-National protected areas:* Adams National Historical Park* Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area * Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site* John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site-Demographics:...

 split off, leaving only Boston and Chelsea in Suffolk County.

Two royal governors of Massachusetts, Jonathan Belcher
Jonathan Belcher
Jonathan Belcher was colonial governor of the British provinces of Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and New Jersey.-Early life:Jonathan Belcher was born in Cambridge, Province of Massachusetts Bay, in 1682...

 and Thomas Hutchinson, had houses in Milton. The Governor Belcher House
Belcher-Rowe House
The Belcher-Rowe House is a historic house at 26 Governor Belcher Lane in Milton, Massachusetts.It was built in 1776 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982....

 dates from 1777, replacing the earlier home destroyed in fire in 1776, and it is privately owned on Governor Belcher Lane in East Milton. Although Hutchinson's house is gone, Governor Hutchinson's Field
Governor Hutchinson's Field
Governor Hutchinson's Field is a nature reserve located in Milton, Massachusetts. The field is owned by The Trustees of Reservations.- History :In 1734, Thomas Hutchinson, last civilian royal governor of Massachusetts, built a country estate on the property...

, owned by the Trustees of Reservations today is a wide expanse of greenery on Milton Hill, with a view of the Neponset River estuary and the skyscrapers of Boston six miles (10 km) away. Both Governor Belcher's house and Governor Hutchinson's field are on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

.

The town was home to America's first piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 factory. Revolutionary Milton is the setting of the opening of the 1940 bestselling historical novel Oliver Wiswell by Kenneth Roberts. The Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory
Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory
The Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory, also known as Great Blue Hill Weather Observatory, Blue Hill Weather Observatory, or simply the Blue Hill Observatory, in Milton, Massachusetts is the foremost structure associated with the history of weather observations in the United States...

 is located in the town, home of the nation's oldest continuously kept meteorological records.

The Granite Railway
Granite Railway
-References:** privately printed for The Granite Railway Company, 1926.* Scholes, Robert E. , .******Dutton, E.P. Published 1867. A good map of roads and rail lines around Quincy and Milton including the Granite Railroad.* * *...

 passed from Quincy to the Neponset River in Milton, beginning in 1826. It is often called the first commercial railroad in the United States, as it was the first chartered railway to evolve into a common carrier
Common carrier
A common carrier in common-law countries is a person or company that transports goods or people for any person or company and that is responsible for any possible loss of the goods during transport...

 without an intervening closure. A centennial historic plaque from 1926 and an original switch frog and section of track from the railway can be found in the gardens on top of the Southeast Expressway (Interstate 93) as it passes under East Milton Square. The frog had been displayed at the Chicago World's Fair
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...

 in 1893.

East Milton Square developed as a direct result of the Granite Railway. Four sheds there were used to dress the granite stone prior to it being brought by rail to the wharf for transfer to boats. East Milton Square was originally termed the "Railway Village" and a train station was located there after 1871 when the Granite Railway became a passenger line of the Old Colony Railroad
Old Colony Railroad
The Old Colony Railroad was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island. It operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall River, New Bedford, Newport, Providence, Fitchburg, Lowell and Cape Cod...

. The Blue Bell Tavern, which was also a hotel, served as the headquarters of the Granite Railway and it was later named the Russell House. It was located on the site of the current United States Post Office in East Milton Square.
In 1801 Josiah Bent began a baking operation in Milton, selling "water crackers" or biscuits made of flour and water that would not deteriorate during long sea voyages from the port of Boston. The crackling sound occurred during baking, hence the name. This is where the American term "cracker" originated. His company later sold the original hardtack crackers used by troops during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. The company, Bent's Cookie Factory
G. H. Bent Company
The G.H. Bent Company, better known as Bent's Cookie Factory, is a business specializing in cookies that has been operating in Milton, Massachusetts, since 1801....

, is still located in Milton and continues to sell these items to Civil War reenactors and others.

Robert Bennet Forbes
Robert Bennet Forbes
Captain Robert Bennet Forbes , was a sea captain, China merchant, ship owner, and writer. He was active in ship construction, maritime safety, the opium trade, and charitable activities.-Captain, opium trader and humanitarian:...

 was a noted China Trade merchant, sea captain, and philanthropist during the Irish Famine. He built a Greek Revival mansion in 1833 at 215 Adams Street on Milton Hill. The Captain Robert Bennet Forbes House
Captain Robert Bennet Forbes House
The Captain Robert Bennet Forbes House, also known as the R. B. Forbes House, is a house museum located at 215 Adams Street, Milton, Massachusetts. It is now a National Historic Landmark, and is open several afternoons per week. An admission fee is charged.The house was built in 1833 for their...

 is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 and is open for tours. In addition to artifacts from the China Trade period, the museum's grounds include a log cabin replica and a collection of Lincoln memorabilia.

George Herbert Walker Bush was born at 173 Adams Street on Milton Hill on June 12, 1924. He became the 41st President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

, serving from 1989 to 1993, and his son would become the 43rd President. Coincidentally, Adams Street is named for the family of Presidents John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...

 and John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...

, who lived on the same street just a few miles southeast in Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...

. The Bush Family moved from Milton to Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...

 in 1925. The Victorian house where President Bush was born is now privately owned and not open to the public.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the town has a total area of 13.3 square miles (34.4 km²), of which, 13.0 square miles (33.8 km²) is land and the balance is water.

Great Blue Hill
Great Blue Hill
Great Blue Hill is a hill of 635 feet located within the Blue Hills Reservation in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Massachusetts, 10 miles southwest of Boston. It is the highest point in Norfolk County...

 in the Blue Hills Reservation
Blue Hills Reservation
Blue Hills Reservation is a state park in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. Managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, it extends into Milton, Quincy, Braintree, Canton, Randolph, and Dedham south of Boston.-Description:...

 is the highest point in Norfolk County, and at 635 feet (193.5 m), is the highest point within 10 miles (16.1 km) of the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 coast south of central Maine, making it an important weather observatory and radio and television transmitter site.

There are no official wards or neighborhoods defined in the town's governance and community planning processes.

There are three GNIS populated places located in the town:
  • Milton (42°14'58"N 07°10'358"W),
  • Milton Center (42°15'15"N 07°10'448"W), and
  • East Milton (42°15'30"N 07°10'233"W).

Climate

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 26,062 people, 8,982 households, and 6,754 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 1,999.1 people per square mile (771.7/km²). There were 9,161 housing units at an average density of 702.7 per square mile (271.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 85.4% White, 10.2% Black or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.1% Native American, 2.0% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.6% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.7% of the population.

The top six ancestries of Milton are Irish
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...

 (38.0%), Italian
Italian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...

 (11.3%), English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 (8.6%), West Indian (4.8%), and German
German American
German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry and comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group...

 (4.7%).

Milton also has been cited as having the highest percentage of residents citing Irish lineage of any town in the United States per capita — 38% — There were 8,982 households out of which 37.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.1% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 21.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.27.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.2 males.

According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the town was $88,205, and the median income for a family was $107,261. Males had a median income of $61,194 versus $40,875 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the town was $37,138. About 1.6% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.2% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

There are six public schools in Milton, including four elementary schools: Collicot, Cunningham, Glover, and Tucker; one middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...

, Charles S. Pierce; and the Milton High School
Milton High School (Massachusetts)
Milton High School is a public high school in Milton, Massachusetts, educating grades 9 through 12 with over a thousand students enrolled. Famous alumni include the Boston Red Sox pitcher Rich Hill, and Hannah Molloy, professional banker and friend of Melissa Craven...

. There are also private high schools and elementary/middle schools, including the girls' school Fontbonne Academy
Fontbonne Academy
Fontbonne Academy is a private Roman Catholic college preparatory High School for girls, located in Milton, Massachusetts, USA. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. It was started in 1954 by the Sisters of St. Joseph. The school was fully accredited in 1959 by the New...

, St. Mary of the Hills
St. Mary of the Hills
Saint Mary of the Hills is a Roman Catholic church and school located around the corner from each other in Milton, Massachusetts. They serve residents of Milton, Randolph, Holbrook, Hyde Park, Mattapan, Quincy, and Avon and many other cities and towns in the South Shore, in the Roman Catholic...

, St. Agatha's, Thacher Montessori, and Delphi Academy.

Milton is also home to the prep school
University-preparatory school
A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...

 Milton Academy
Milton Academy
Milton Academy is a coeducational, independent preparatory, boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts consisting of a grade 9–12 Upper School and a grade K–8 Lower School. Boarding is offered starting in 9th grade...

, and Curry College
Curry College
Curry College is a private liberal arts-based institution in Milton, Massachusetts that started as the School of Elocution in 1879.-History:...

, a small liberal arts institution.

Milton is also one of the few school systems which offer a French immersion program, starting in Grade 1. For those students that participate in this program, all classes are taught in French during grades 1 and 2, allowing children to become fluent in this language. In grades 3 - 5, some classes are taught in English as well to prepare for the MCAS. This program continues through grade 12. Spanish/English is taught as well. In the middle school Latin is available for the Spanish/English students.

Transportation

Milton lies within the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, often referred to as the MBTA or simply The T, is the public operator of most bus, subway, commuter rail and ferry systems in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. Officially a "body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the...

 district. Fixed-route service includes the Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line
Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line
The Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line or also known as the "M-Line" in Boston and Milton, Massachusetts is considered to be part of the MBTA's Red Line, even though it uses different equipment and passengers have to change at Ashmont. The only MBTA line to run through a cemetery, the line opened on...

, a light rail extension of the Red Line
Red Line (MBTA)
The Red Line is a rapid transit line operated by the MBTA running roughly north-south through Boston, Massachusetts into neighboring communities. The line begins west of Boston, in Cambridge, Massachusetts at Alewife station, near the intersection of Alewife Brook Parkway and Route 2...

. Milton has 4 stops: Milton
Milton (MBTA station)
Milton Station is a rail station on the border of Milton, Massachusetts and Boston, Massachusetts on the MBTA Mattapan High Speed Line, which provides light rail service between Ashmont and Mattapan stations....

, Central Avenue
Central Avenue (MBTA station)
Central Avenue is a station on MBTA's Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line, a branch of the Red Line. The station is located on Central Avenue off Eliot Street on the border of Milton, Massachusetts and Boston, Massachusetts. Central Avenue consists of two side platforms which serve the...

, Valley Road
Valley Road (MBTA station)
Valley Road is a station on MBTA's Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line, a branch of the Red Line. The station is located on Valley Road off Eliot Street in Milton, Massachusetts. Valley Road consists of two side platforms which serve the Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line's two tracks. The station...

, and Capen Street
Capen Street (MBTA station)
Capen Street is a station on MBTA's Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line, a branch of the Red Line. The station is located on Capen Street off Eliot Street in Milton, Massachusetts. The station opened on August 26, 1929, as did the rest of the line. On June 24, 2006, it closed for a yearlong...

. This was originally a steam railway prior to becoming a trolley line. Massachusetts Route 28 and Massachusetts Route 138 run north and south across Milton, and Interstate 93
Interstate 93
Interstate 93 is an Interstate Highway in the New England section of the United States. Its southern terminus is in Canton, Massachusetts, in the Boston metropolitan area, at Interstate 95; its northern terminus is near St. Johnsbury, Vermont, at Interstate 91...

, which is also U.S. Route 1
U.S. Route 1 in Massachusetts
In the U.S. state of Massachusetts, U.S. Route 1 is a major north–south state highway through Boston. The portion of US 1 south of Boston is also known as the Boston-Providence Turnpike, and portions north of the city are known as the Northeast Expressway and the Newburyport Turnpike.-Route...

 and Massachusetts Route 3, loops around the town near the southern and eastern borders.

Cycling is a popular form of transportation and recreation in Milton. The opening of the Neponset River Greenway reconnected Milton with Boston Harbor via Port Norfolk, Dorchester. Other cycling routes and locations include Turner's Pond, Brook Road, Blue Hills Parkway, Milton Cemetery
Milton Cemetery
Milton Cemetery is a historic cemetery at 211 Centre Street in Milton, Massachusetts.It was founded in 1672 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. Among those interred in the cemetery are:...

, and the Pine Tree Brook greenway.

The Milton Yacht Club began in 1902, with a small building in the Lower Mills area beside the Neponset River that was formerly the police department for the town of Milton. Various boats continue to be anchored there or stored on the dock during the winter.

Notable residents

  • Dana Barros
    Dana Barros
    Dana Bruce Barros is a retired American professional basketball player from the NBA. Before the NBA he played at Boston College, finishing as one of the school's all-time leading scorers....

    , former NBA player
  • Jonathan Belcher
    Jonathan Belcher
    Jonathan Belcher was colonial governor of the British provinces of Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and New Jersey.-Early life:Jonathan Belcher was born in Cambridge, Province of Massachusetts Bay, in 1682...

    , former governor of Massachusetts Bay and New Hampshire Provinces (1730–1741) and later of New Jersey Province (1747–1757)
  • Josiah Bent
  • Tim Bulman
    Tim Bulman
    Timothy Ryan Bulman is an American football defensive end for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2005...

    , NFL player, Houston Texans
  • George H. W. Bush
    George H. W. Bush
    George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...

    , 41st president of the United States
  • Ken Casey
    Ken Casey
    Ken Casey is the bass guitarist and a vocalist of the Boston Celtic punk group Dropkick Murphys. Casey was one of the original members, starting it in 1996 with Rick Barton and Mike McColgan. He is the only original member of the Dropkick Murphys left in the band, though drummer Matt Kelly joined...

    , bassist and co-lead vocalist of the Irish-punk rock group Dropkick Murphys
    Dropkick Murphys
    Dropkick Murphys are an Irish-American punk rock band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. The band was initially signed to independent punk record label Hellcat Records, releasing five albums for the label, and making a name for themselves locally through constant playing and yearly St....

  • Chris Cleary
    Chris Cleary
    Chris Cleary is a retired American soccer player whose professional career had been played entirely in Europe...

    , former professional soccer player
  • Hal Clement
    Hal Clement
    Harry Clement Stubbs better known by the pen name Hal Clement, was an American science fiction writer and a leader of the hard science fiction subgenre.-Biography:...

    , science fiction Grand Master
    Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award
    The Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award is an award given by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. It is awarded to a living author for lifetime achievement in science fiction and/or fantasy. Officially, it is not a Nebula Award though it is awarded at the Nebula ceremony...

    , Hugo Award
    Hugo Award
    The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...

  • Jill Ker Conway
    Jill Ker Conway
    Jill Ker Conway is an Australian-American author. Well known for her autobiographies, in particular her first memoir, The Road from Coorain. She was also Smith College's first woman president, from 1975–1985, and now serves as a Visiting Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology...

    , Australian-born novelist
  • Stephen Davis
    Stephen Davis (music journalist)
    Stephen Davis is an American music journalist and historian.Davis was born in New York City and attended Boston University. He began his career writing for the Boston Phoenix in 1970...

    , music journalist and biographer.
  • T. S. Eliot
    T. S. Eliot
    Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...

    , poet, student at Milton Academy
    Milton Academy
    Milton Academy is a coeducational, independent preparatory, boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts consisting of a grade 9–12 Upper School and a grade K–8 Lower School. Boarding is offered starting in 9th grade...

  • William Ralph Emerson
    William Ralph Emerson
    -Biography:Emerson was born in Alton, Illinois, a cousin of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and trained in the office of Jonathan Preston , an architect–builder in Boston, Massachusetts. He formed an architectural partnership with Preston , practiced alone for two years, then partnered with Carl Fehmer...

    , "Father" of the Shingle Style form of architecture
  • Jim Fahey
    Jim Fahey
    James Fahey is a professional ice hockey defenseman who currently is currently a Free Agent. He last played for the Krefeld Pinguine of the DEL.-Playing career:...

    , NHL player, NJ Devils
  • Thomas Flatley
    Thomas Flatley
    Thomas J. Flatley was a Boston real estate tycoon and philanthropist. He immigrated from Ireland in 1950 with a net worth of US$32; at the time of his death his fortune was estimated at $1.3 billion...

    , real-estate developer
  • Elbie Fletcher
    Elbie Fletcher
    Elburt Preston "Elbie" Fletcher was a professional baseball first baseman. He played all or part of 12 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Boston Braves and Bees , Pittsburgh Pirates and Braves again . Fletcher batted and threw left-handed.Fletcher made his major league debut in 1934 in an...

    , All-Star first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates
    Pittsburgh Pirates
    The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...

  • John Ferruggio
    John Ferruggio
    John Joseph Ferruggio was an American in-flight director who led the evacuation of Pan Am Flight 93, which was hijacked by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. There were no fatalities among the plane's 153 passengers and crew due to Ferruggio's actions...

    , led the evacuation of Pan Am Flight 93 in 1970
  • Buckminster Fuller
    Buckminster Fuller
    Richard Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller was an American systems theorist, author, designer, inventor, futurist and second president of Mensa International, the high IQ society....

    , architect and futurist
  • George V. Higgins
    George V. Higgins
    George V. Higgins was a United States author, lawyer, newspaper columnist, and college professor. He is best known for his bestselling crime novels. His full name was George Vincent Higgins, but his books were all published as by George V. Higgins. ACtually, his full name was George V...

    , attorney, writer
  • Rich Hill, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox
    Boston Red Sox
    The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...

  • Thomas Hutchinson (governor)
  • Abigail Johnson, President of Fidelity Investments
    Fidelity Investments
    FMR LLC or Fidelity Investments is an American multinational financial services corporation one of the largest mutual fund and financial services groups in the world. It was founded in 1946 and serves North American investors. Fidelity Ventures is its venture capital arm...

    , 5th richest woman in the world according to Forbes magazine
  • Howard Deering Johnson
    Howard Deering Johnson
    Howard Deering Johnson was an entrepreneur, businessman, and the founder of an American chain of restaurants and motels under one company of the same name, Howard Johnson's.-Early life:...

    , restaurateur, founder of Howard Johnson's
    Howard Johnson's
    Howard Johnson's is a chain of hotels and restaurants, located primarily throughout the United States and Canada. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Howard Johnson's was the largest restaurant chain in the United States, with over 1,000 restaurants...

     franchising
  • Trish Karter
    Trish Karter
    Trish Karter is an American entrepreneur and the founder of the Dancing Deer Baking Co..-Early life and education:Karter is a graduate of Lyme-Old Lyme High School, Wheaton College, and the Yale School of Management....

    , entrepreneur
  • Jordan Knight
    Jordan Knight
    Jordan Nathaniel Marcel Knight is an American singer-songwriter best known as the lead singer in the boy band, New Kids on the Block , and actor, who rose to fame in the 1980s and 1990s. He is best known for his distinctive falsetto style of singing, influenced by The Stylistics. After New Kids On...

    , singer New Kids on the Block
    New Kids on the Block
    New Kids on the Block are an American boy band from Boston, Massachusetts, assembled in 1984 by producer Maurice Starr. The band currently consists of brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood.New Kids on the Block enjoyed success in the late 1980s and...

  • Marcus Loew
    Marcus Loew
    Marcus Loew was an American business magnate and a pioneer of the motion picture industry who formed Loews Theatres and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .-Biography:...

    , Loews Theatres owner
  • Johnny Martorano
    Johnny Martorano
    John James Vincent Martorano also known as "Vincent Joseph Rancourt," "Richard Aucoin", "Nick," "The Cook" and "The Executioner" and "The Basin Street Butcher" , is a former hitman for the Winter Hill Gang in Boston, Massachusetts who has admitted to 20 gang-related killings.-Early life:Johnny...

    , Winter Hill Gang member
  • Kate O'Neill
    Kate O'Neill
    Kate O'Neill is an American long-distance runner from Milton, Massachusetts. She represented the United States in the 2004 Summer Olympics, competing in the 10,000 metres...

    , long distance runner
  • William Ordway Partridge
    William Ordway Partridge
    William Ordway Partridge was an American sculptor whose public commissions can be found in New York City and other locations....

    , sculptor, poet, and author
  • Deval Patrick
    Deval Patrick
    Deval Laurdine Patrick is the 71st and current Governor of Massachusetts. A member of the Democratic Party, Patrick served as an Assistant United States Attorney General under President Bill Clinton...

    , current Governor of Massachusetts
  • Mike Ryan, NHL player, Buffalo Sabres
  • Jenny Slate
    Jenny Slate
    Jenny Slate is an American actor and comedian best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2009–2010 and for her recurring role as Stella on the HBO comedy series Bored to Death.-Early life:...

    , comedian on Saturday Night Live
    Saturday Night Live
    Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...

    .
  • Luis Tiant
    Luis Tiant
    Luis Clemente Tiant Vega , born November 23, 1940 in Marianao, Cuba, , is a former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians , Minnesota Twins , Boston Red Sox , New York Yankees , Pittsburgh Pirates and California Angels...

    , former Boston Red Sox
    Boston Red Sox
    The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...

     pitcher
  • Steve Trapilo
    Steve Trapilo
    Stephen Paul "Steve" Trapilo was a former professional American football Guard in the National Football League. He attended Boston College...

    , former NFL player for New Orleans Saints
    New Orleans Saints
    The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....

  • John Valentin
    John Valentin
    John William Valentin is a former shortstop and third baseman in Major League Baseball. He played most of his major league career with the Boston Red Sox, with his final season being for the New York Mets. He batted and threw right-handed...

    , former Boston Red Sox infielder
  • Mark Vonnegut
    Mark Vonnegut
    Mark Vonnegut is an American pediatrician and memoirist. He is the son of the late writer Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and his first wife, Jane Cox. He is also the brother of Edith and Nanette Vonnegut. He described himself in the preface to his 1975 book as "a hippie, son of a counterculture hero, B.A...

    , writer, son of American author Kurt Vonnegut
    Kurt Vonnegut
    Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...

  • Roger Vose
    Roger Vose
    Roger Vose was a United States Representative from New Hampshire. He was born in Milton, Massachusetts. He moved to New Hampshire in 1766 with his parents, who settled near Walpole. He graduated from Harvard University in 1790...

    , United States Representative from New Hampshire
    New Hampshire
    New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

  • Keith Yandle
    Keith Yandle
    Keith Yandle is an American ice hockey defenseman and alternate captain for the National Hockey League's Phoenix Coyotes.-Amateur:...

    , NHL player, Phoenix Coyotes

Points of interest

Milton has twenty-seven sites or districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

, including,
  • Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory
    Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory
    The Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory, also known as Great Blue Hill Weather Observatory, Blue Hill Weather Observatory, or simply the Blue Hill Observatory, in Milton, Massachusetts is the foremost structure associated with the history of weather observations in the United States...

  • Captain Robert Bennet Forbes House
    Captain Robert Bennet Forbes House
    The Captain Robert Bennet Forbes House, also known as the R. B. Forbes House, is a house museum located at 215 Adams Street, Milton, Massachusetts. It is now a National Historic Landmark, and is open several afternoons per week. An admission fee is charged.The house was built in 1833 for their...

  • Governor Hutchinson's Field
    Governor Hutchinson's Field
    Governor Hutchinson's Field is a nature reserve located in Milton, Massachusetts. The field is owned by The Trustees of Reservations.- History :In 1734, Thomas Hutchinson, last civilian royal governor of Massachusetts, built a country estate on the property...

  • Granite Railway
    Granite Railway
    -References:** privately printed for The Granite Railway Company, 1926.* Scholes, Robert E. , .******Dutton, E.P. Published 1867. A good map of roads and rail lines around Quincy and Milton including the Granite Railroad.* * *...

  • Suffolk Resolves House
    Suffolk Resolves House
    The Suffolk Resolves House is the building where the Suffolk Resolves were signed on September 4, 1774. The Resolves were an important predecessor document to the Declaration of Independence....


Other places of interest include,
  • Blue Hills Reservation
    Blue Hills Reservation
    Blue Hills Reservation is a state park in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. Managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, it extends into Milton, Quincy, Braintree, Canton, Randolph, and Dedham south of Boston.-Description:...

  • Houghton's Pond
    Houghton's Pond
    Houghton's Pond is a spring-fed kettle hole pond in Milton, Massachusetts, south of Boston. Like many ponds and lakes in the United States, it was formed by receding glaciers about 10,000 years ago...

  • Milton Academy
    Milton Academy
    Milton Academy is a coeducational, independent preparatory, boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts consisting of a grade 9–12 Upper School and a grade K–8 Lower School. Boarding is offered starting in 9th grade...

  • Curry College
    Curry College
    Curry College is a private liberal arts-based institution in Milton, Massachusetts that started as the School of Elocution in 1879.-History:...


Filming locations featuring Milton

  • Myopia vs. Dedham (1899)
  • The Thomas Crown Affair
    The Thomas Crown Affair (1968 film)
    The Thomas Crown Affair is a 1968 film by Norman Jewison starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. It was nominated for two Academy Awards and won the Award for Best Song with Michel Legrand's "Windmills of Your Mind"...

     (1968)
  • Love Story
    Love Story (1970 film)
    Love Story is a 1970 romantic drama film written by Erich Segal and based on his novel Love Story. It was directed by Arthur Hiller. The film, well known as a tragedy, is considered one of the most romantic of all time by the American Film Institute , and was followed by a sequel, Oliver's Story...

     (1970)
  • The Friends of Eddie Coyle
    The Friends of Eddie Coyle
    This is an article about the movie. For information about George V. Higgins' 1970 novel, go to The Friends of Eddie Coyle .The Friends of Eddie Coyle is a 1973 crime film starring Robert Mitchum and Peter Boyle. Directed by Peter Yates, the screenplay was adapted from the novel by George V. Higgins...

    (1973)
  • This Old House
    This Old House
    This Old House is an American home improvement magazine and television series aired on the American television station Public Broadcasting Service which follows remodeling projects of houses over a number of weeks.-Overview:...

    TV Series
  • Three Sovereigns for Sarah (1985)
  • The Witches of Eastwick
    The Witches of Eastwick
    The Witches of Eastwick is a 1984 novel by John Updike.-Plot summary:The story, set in the fictional Rhode Island town of Eastwick in the late 1960s, follows the witches Alexandra Spofford, Jane Smart, and Sukie Rougemont, who acquired their powers after leaving or being left by their husbands....

    (1987)
  • What's the Worst That Could Happen?
    What's the Worst That Could Happen?
    What's the Worst That Could Happen? is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Sam Weisman and starring Martin Lawrence and Danny DeVito. Loosely based on the book of the same name by Donald Westlake, the film's supporting cast includes John Leguizamo, Bernie Mac, Larry Miller, Nora Dunn, GQ, and...

    (2001)
  • Freedom Park (2004)
  • Spartan
    Spartan (film)
    Spartan is a 2004 American political thriller film written and directed by David Mamet. It features Val Kilmer, Derek Luke, Tia Texada, Ed O'Neill, William H. Macy, and Kristen Bell. It was released in The United States and Canada on 12 March 2004....

     (2005)
  • The Box (2009)
  • The Social Network
    The Social Network
    The Social Network is a 2010 American drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. Adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires, the film portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits...

    (2010)

External links


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