Charlton #12: Central MA’s Best Communities

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Thursday, June 28, 2012

GoLocalWorcester Best Communities Team

An 1800s farming town, Charlton is ranked #12 on the Central MA Best Communities list.  

Charlton’s Old Home Day festival, held annually on Labor Day weekend, is not to be missed. With a 5 mile road race, frog jumping and lumberjack contests, a doll carriage parade and classic car show, the event has something for everyone. Committee organizers also recognize the Citizen of the Year and honor residents for their community service.

The town now features two rest stops on the Massachusetts Turnpike, but oddly enough no exits into the town. Charlton also houses the final resting place of John "Grizzly" Adams and the former home of John Spurr, a Major General in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

Charlton ranks 10th for affordability and 11th for economic condition, and its lowest ranking, for restaurants (#29) is still better than more than half of the Central MA communities.  

Established: 1775
Population: 12,981
Median household income: $87,758
Median housing price: $191,000

2012 Best Communities rankings
Overall ranking: 12
Affordability ranking: 10
Education ranking: 20
Economic condition ranking: 11
Safety ranking: 21
Arts & Culture ranking: 26
Restaurant ranking: 29

History in a nutshell:

Charlton and its Public Library gained national attention in 1906 after it banned Mark Twain's short story "Eve's Diary" because of its various nude illustrations of Eve. Twain commented on the incident as "amusing," and the book remained off the shelves for the next 105 years. Besides its library stint, Charlton was a predominately agricultural town until the building of woolen mills in the early twentieth century. 

Famous residents:  

William T.G. Morton MD, Discoverer of ether as anesthesia 

Famous residents source: Wikipedia 
Additional reporting by Grace Fenton

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