Massachusetts is home to a number of historic town and cities line Boston, Concord and Lexington. Boston has carved its reputation as being the nation’s center of higher education with its Ivy League universities, notably in Cambridge. But it is also home to some of the most tranquil and low profile communities like Holliston MA nestled in the same Middlesex county as the Greater Boston metropolis.
A Short History
The Bay Puritans first settled in this sleepy town back in 1658. It was named Hollis’ Town and later shortened to Holliston in honour of an Esquire of London, Thomas Hollis, who was also a benefactor of Boston’s Harvard College founded just a year back in 1639. About the only high point in its history was the fact that General George Washington passed Holliston in 1776 after taking a beating from the Brits in Boston, and had his men rested in the town.
Since then, the town has prospered more as a residential haven attracting a few commercial stores to cater to its growing populace. For some time, Holliston MA was known as the nation’s larger producer of shoes. But a few fires gutted many stores over the years and nearly all have closed shop thanks to competition from cheaper imports.
Some Demographics
With a population of just 14,000 over its 18.7-mile land areas, Holliston doesn’t impress as an industrial or commercial center but is actually considered the bedroom community for the busier towns and cities around it. In 2007, the medium income was $78,000 considered upscale by today’s standards. 2.4% of the population lives below the poverty line, 10% over 65 years of age and 3% below 18 years. This leaves a good 87% between 18 and 65 years old – a robust workforce that explains its reputation as a bedroom residential community where people commute to the more industrial and commercial cities and town close by.
Places to Visit
Holliston MA is home to picturesque Victorian and Greek revival homes amidst well-landscaped gardens especially along Washington Street. It has a few white steepled churches, a town hall, a town library and its Town Center is dotted with traditional stores, several antique shops and clothing boutique shops. You can marvel at the 5-ton Holliston Balancing Rock north of Route 16 that heads to Milford. It looks precariously balanced over a granite edge and it is said that when General George Washington and his men rested in the town on their retreat from Boston, they all tried to unseat it to no avail. Other interesting places to visit include:
•Casey’s Crossing, the town’s first train station built in 1840s and is now a pub and family restaurant.
•Fatima Shrine, a rustic peaceful haven for meditative prayer with its Rosary Walk, the world largest rosary.
•Upper Charles River Trail, a recreational outdoor haven for hiking, biking, roller blading and other non-motorized sport.
•Holliston Mill Artist Studio, formerly the Goodwill Shoe Company factory that is now home to the town’s creative arts
