Fitchburg, Massachusetts, United States

🇺🇸 Fitchburg is a city in northern Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State University as well as 17 public and private elementary and high schools.

History Fitchburg was first settled in by Europeans in 1730 as part of Lunenburg, and was officially set apart from that town and incorporated in 1764. The area was previously occupied by the Nipmuc tribe. It is named for John Fitch, one of the committee that procured the act of incorporation. In July 1748 Fitch and his family, living in this isolated spot, were abducted to Canada by Native Americans, but returned the next year.

Fitchburg is situated on both the Nashua River and a railroad line. The original Fitchburg Railroad ran through the Hoosac Tunnel, linking Boston and Albany, New York. The tunnel was built using the Burleigh Rock Drill, designed and built in Fitchburg. Fitchburg was a 19th-century industrial center. Originally operated by water power, large mills produced machines, tools, clothing, paper, and firearms. The city is noted for its architecture, particularly in the Victorian style, built at the height of its mill town prosperity. A few examples of these 19th century buildings are the Fay Club, the old North Worcester County Courthouse and the Bullock house.

In 1922, it was affected by the 1922 New England Textile Strike, shutting down the mills in the city over an attempted wage cut.

As the city is one of Worcester County's two shire towns, it has hosted the Northern Worcester County Registry of Deeds, established in 1903, and the county jail on Water Street.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.1 square miles (73 km²), of which 27.8 square miles (72 km²) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km²), or 1.07%, is water. The city is drained by the Nashua River. The highest point in Fitchburg is the summit of Brown Hill near the north-western corner of the city, at 1,210 feet (370 m) above sea level.

Fitchburg is bordered by Ashby to the north, Lunenburg to the east, Leominster to the south, Westminster to the west, and a small portion of Ashburnham to the northwest.

Neighborhoods Fitchburg is divided into multiple different neighborhoods/villages, including: • Cleghorn • Crockerville • College Area • Downtown Fitchburg • East Side • Green Acres Village • North Fitchburg • The Patch • Prichard-Pleasant Street • South Fitchburg • Tar Hill • Upper Common • Waite's Corner • West Fitchburg.

Fitchburg Art Museum The museum was founded in 1925 through the bequest of artist, collector and Fitchburg native Eleanor Norcross (1854–1923). The museum's four building complex features over 20,000 square feet of gallery and educational workshop space and includes the historic "Cross Barn" built in 1883, and the Simond's building completed in 1989. 12 galleries feature American, European, African, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Asian, and Pre-Columbian art.

Rollstone Boulder Fitchburg is noted for the "Rollstone Boulder", a 110-ton specimen of porphyritic granite, which is in a small triangular park adjacent to the city green. The boulder was a feature of the summit of Rollstone Hill; it was exploded and reassembled on the green in 1929 and 1930.

Crocker Field Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this athletic facility was a gift of Alva Crocker, in 1918, to the City Of Fitchburg's school children. Alvah Crocker hired the famous Olmsted Brothers Landscaping and Design Firm of Brookline, MA to design his "field of dreams". Babe Ruth once visited Crocker field and asked Clarence Amiott, then the Fitchburg High School Athletic Director, "What professional team plays here?" to which Mr. Amiott answered "The Fitchburg High School teams".

Fitchburg Historical Society The Society houses more than 200,000 items related to the history of Fitchburg. Included in the archives are original Sentinel newspapers from 1838 to 1976, city directories, photographs, scrapbooks, manuscripts, family genealogies, postcards, files on industries in the City, and books and pamphlets on Fitchburg's history from the 1700s to the present. In addition there is an extensive Civil War collection and a collection on the railroad. The Research Library is open to the public.

The Society also has a remarkable collection of artifacts which tell the story of Fitchburg—early iron hearth cooking tools, the first printing press of the Fitchburg Sentinel, machines illustrating the strong industrial heritage of the City, a stellar collection of early paintings, and clothing representing many decades in Fitchburg. A comprehensive strategic plan completed in 2001 pointed out a need to find a building better suited our needs in order to continue collecting and preserving the history of Fitchburg and conducting programs for students and the general public. The Historical Society is now in the final stages of renovation and upgrading our building located at 781 Main Street. As a result of the renovations to the H. M. Francis Phoenix Building the Society has moved to its new location of 781 Main Street.

Coggshall Park Coggshall Park is a Victorian park with miles of wooded trails branching out from around Mirror Lake, which is encircled by a walking path. Stone steps built into a hillside face a gazebo on the water, making this a popular spot for weddings and photos. A classic stone house on the property overlooks Mirror Lake. The tables and benches scattered around the park draw picnickers as well as those simply seeking a place to relax. A playground sits adjacent to the pond and a disc golf course.

Coggshall Park was a gift to the City from Mr. Henry Coggshall, an executive of The Fitchburg Gas Company, and his wife in 1894. The initial donation included 86 acres (35 ha), but the couple subsequently purchased and donated additional parcels to create the 212-acre park that exists today. Coggshall Park also abuts a large parcel of conservation land and a bird sanctuary, providing a total of approximately 300 acres (120 ha) for visitors to enjoy.

The Friends of Coggshall Park was founded in 1992 when approximately $1 million in state and federal funds were used to renovate the park. Since the group's founding, the Friends have contributed significantly to the upkeep and beautification of Coggshall Park. Annual spring clean-up projects, to which the Friends contribute both volunteer labor and supplies (including more than 60 yards of mulch each year), ensure the park's landscaping remains well-kept. Other investments made by the Friends have been even more significant, such as the purchase of a new fountain for Mirror Lake and a specialized off-road firefighting vehicle for use in Coggshall or elsewhere around the city as needed.

Medical care There is a medical facility in Fitchburg, Hospital (Burbank Campus). Fitchburg is also served by Hospital HealthAlliance (Leominster Campus), which is located in neighboring Leominster.

Library The Fitchburg Public Library was established in 1859 after citizens of Fitchburg approved an article on the warrant requesting $1851 and quarters in the Town Hall for the first Fitchburg Public Library.

In 1885, Rodney Wallace built and furnished the Wallace Library and Art Gallery at the corner of Main Street and Newton Place as a gift to the people of Fitchburg. In 1899, a child-specific library service began in one of the country's first Children's rooms. It was not until 1950 that a new separate Fitchburg Youth Library was opened. Service of the library was increased with the purchase of a bookmobile which extended service to outlying areas of the city.

Fitchburg Public Library became the first regional library in the Massachusetts Regional Library System in 1962.

The existing Wallace Library, named for George R. Wallace, Jr. and his wife Alice G. who provided the library building, was dedicated in 1967. The Federal Library Services and Construction Act, money from the City of Fitchburg also funded the project and the Helen E. Vickery Fund provided a new bookmobile.

In fiscal year 2008, the city of Fitchburg spent 1.34% ($1,111,412) of its budget on its public library—approximately $27 per person. In fiscal year 2009, the city of Fitchburg spent.48% ($388,977) of its budget on its public library—$9.23 per person. This represented a year over year drop in municipal funding of 65% between FY2008 and FY2009. As a result, the Fitchburg Public Library did not meet Massachusetts minimum standards of public library services and was not certified by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners for FY2009. It returned to certification in FY2012.

Furthermore, on going support comes from the Friends of the Fitchburg Public Library. The Friends of FPL establish closer relations between the library and the people it serves, promotes support of services, and funds several important services such purchasing books for the library and the fees for the museum passes. The Friends work with area museums to bring library patrons Museum Passes that can be used to visit exhibits for reduced fees.

In 2014 the Fitchburg Law Library opened at the Fitchburg Public Library in response to the closure of the office on Elm Street in Fitchburg. The new library location is fully accessible and open to the public.

Education: Universities • Fitchburg State University

Established in 1894 by an act of the Massachusetts Legislature, the State Normal School in Fitchburg opened in temporary quarters in the old high school building on Academy Street.

Transport Transportation for Fitchburg is largely supplied by the Montachusett Regional Transit Authority (MART). MART operates fixed-route bus services, shuttle services, as well as paratransit services within the Montachusett Region. It also provides two connections to the MBTA Commuter Rail line at Fitchburg Station and Wachusett Station. The Fitchburg Station is the second to last stop on the Fitchburg Line from the North Station in Boston and the Wachusett Station is the last stop.

The Fitchburg Municipal Airport occupies 335 acres (136 ha) off Airport Road in Fitchburg near the Leominster border. In 1940, the airport land was donated to the City of Fitchburg and serves the greater Fitchburg area.

Business Throughout the early twentieth century, Fitchburg was known for its paper industry, which occupied the banks of the Nashua River and employed a large segment of the European immigrant population. It has been noted by many residents in Fitchburg that the Nashua River would be dyed the color the paper mills had been coloring the paper that day. • Founded in 1939, the Wachusett Potato Chip Company purchased the former County Jail buildings and grounds in the 1940s and has operated as a manufacturing and distributing facility for snack products since that time. It was purchased by UTZ in 2011 and still makes chips for local distribution using the Wachusett name. • Two truck manufacturing firms, the Wachusett Truck Company and the New England Truck Company, operated in Fitchburg during the early twentieth century. • Simonds International, Saw manufacturer founded in Fitchburg in 1832 and still operating on Intervale Road. • The Iver Johnson Arms and Cycle Works made motorcycles for a short time, in addition to their primary products, firearms and bicycles. • Assumption Life, a large financial services company, was founded in Fitchburg in 1903 before moving to Moncton, New Brunswick. • Long time businesses that continued to grace Main Street are Shack's Clothing and Duvarney Jewelers. • New businesses that have opened on Main Street are Tryst Lounge, Strong Style Coffee, and Rise & Grind Coffee. • When completed in June 2014 Great Wolf Lodge New England will have spent over 70 million dollars in renovations to former Holiday Inn/Coco Key Water Resort There will be over 400 new permanent jobs created from this project.

Fitchburg Central Steam Plant The Fitchburg Central Steam Plant (locally known by its nickname: the PLT) was built in 1928 to provide steam and electricity to the many local paper mills. As the paper mills were abandoned or improved the Central Steam Plant fell into disuse and was abandoned. In 2008, the EPA designated the Central Steam Plant a brownfield site due to contamination of the site soil and groundwater with metals and inorganic contaminants. The EPA provided the City of Fitchburg $50,500 in grant money to help clean up hazardous substances on the site.

Cleanup of the Central Steam Plant started in 2010 and is ongoing as of July 2011. Unfortunately as of December 2015 the Fitchburg Central Steam Plant has been razed. The last structure to fall being the massive smokestack.

Recreation Sports facilities • Crocker Field – stadium and track field • Wallace Civic Center – ice rink hosting youth hockey.

Parks The Fitchburg Parks and Recreation Department maintains parks in Fitchburg.

Conservation land Flat Rock Wild Life Sanctuary, a 326-acre wild life sanctuary that is part a network of Mass Aududon land, with 6 miles of trails. It is located within minutes from downtown Fitchburg, the hustling sounds of the city fade into a chorus of songbirds, rustling leaves, and zipping dragonflies. This wooded area provides habitat for species needing relatively large territories such as fisher, coyote, and red fox. Bobcat and black bear occasionally travel through these woods over rocky ledges and through hemlock groves.

West Fitchburg Steam Line Trail The West Fitchburg Steam Line Trail is a bike and walking path located in Fitchburg on Route 2A. It is 0.6 miles long and runs along the Nashua River and Flag Brook in the Waites Corner neighborhood. The path is gravel and is relatively easy terrain. The trail is the first contracted part of a planned project to build a mixed use bike and walking trail through Fitchburg. This trail will eventually connect with trails in the neighboring towns of Leominster and Westminster. Additional parts of the proposed trail are in the Riverfront and Gateway Parks.

The Fitchburg Steam Line Trail is located near the junction of Route 31 (Princeton Rd) and Route 2A (Westminster St) at 465 Westminster Street. The trail parking lot is marked with signs, and is on the south side of 2A approximately ¼ mile East of Route 31. The parking lot can accommodate about 10–12 vehicles.

The trail starts to the left of the Fitchburg Central Steam Plant.

Media: Print • Raivaaja • Sentinel & Enterprise • Telegram & Gazette.

Media: Television • Fitchburg has its own access TV station, Fitchburg Access Television. The station covers various local events, ranging from local school sports to municipal government meetings. FATV operates three Public, Education, and Government (PEG) channels. FATV channels can be viewed on Comcast (channels 8, 9, & 99) and on Verizon (channels 35, 36, & 37). FATV is not available on satellite TV.

Media: Radio • WPKZ, AM-1280 FM-105.3 Originally licensed in 1941 • WXPL, FM-91.3 Fitchburg State Radio • WXLO, FM-104.5 • WQPH, FM-89.3 (Queen of Perpetual Help) Shirley/Fitchburg an EWTN Catholic Radio affiliate.

Culture Fitchburg's cultural highlights include: • Arthur J. DiTommaso Memorial Bridge • Fitchburg Art Museum • Fitchburg Historical Society • Fitchburg Longsjo Classic • Fitchburg Military Band • The Finnish Center at Saima Park • Hammond Campus Center Art Gallery • New Players Theatre Guild • Riverfront Children's Theater • Rollstone Studios • Stratton Players • Wallace Civic Center.