Marlborough is blessed with a central location to the cities of Boston and Worcester as to numerous companies along the high tech belt in Massachusetts. The town began its history in the 1650s when several families left the nearby town of Sudbury to start a new town. Their new community, based in farming became incorporated as a town in 1660 and its population and business activity grew as a favored rest stop on the Boston Post Road. Many travelers stopped at its inns and taverns, including George Washington, who visited the Thayer Tavern soon after his inauguration in 1789.
In 1836, Samuel Boyd and his brother Joseph opened the first shoe manufacturing operation. Marlborough soon became a major shoe manufacturing center, producing boots for Union soldiers as well as footwear for the civilian population during the Civil War. Marlborough became so synonymous with its shoe industry that its official seal was decorated with the images of a factory, a shoe box, and a pair of boots when it was incorporated as a city in 1890. Shoe manufacturing continued in Marlborough long after the industry departed from other New England communities. Famous Frye boots were manufactured here through the 1970s, and The Rockport Company continues to maintain its corporate headquarters in the city.
In 1990, when Marlborough celebrated its centennial as a city, the festivities included the construction of a park in acknowledgment of the shoe industry, featuring statues by the sculptor David Kapenteopolous. Proximity to Interstates 495 and 290 and the Massachusetts Turnpike Route 90 enable Marlborough to participate in a new industry: high technology and specialized electronics.
Today, thousands from nearby communities commute here to work at Fidelity, Raytheon, Compaq and the many other electronics and computer firms that provide the strong business community in the city. Because of the Marlboroughs central location with easy access to major highways and the pro-business, pro-development policies of the city government, the population of Marlborough has more than doubled in the last 25 years to over 32,000. To meet the challenge of this growth, the school department provides students with three elementary schools, an intermediate elementary school, a middle school and a high school.
The city successfully balances its development with its ability to maintain a family-orientated residential community, appealing to those who want open space while still being close to convenience. There is an abundance of single-family homes in Marlborough, a town that possesses a clearly suburban setting with trees and lawns on quiet streets.
In August 2008, the average home sales price for a single family home or condo in Marlborough, MA was $295,975. While this data is collected from the MLS and deemed reliable, it is not guaranteed.
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