Princeton, Massachusetts

During King Philip's War in 1676, Native Americans brought their captive Mary Rowlandson to Princeton to release her to the colonists at Redemption Rock. The town of Princeton was incorporated in 1759, out of land that was previously part of Rutland. It was named after the Rev. Thomas Prince.[2] In 1810, it annexed a piece of Hubbardston, and in 1870, it annexed a piece of Westminster.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 35.8 square miles (93 km²), of which, 35.4 square miles (92 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km²) of it (1.12%) is water.

As of the census[13] of 2000, there were 3,353 people, 1,166 households, and 959 families residing in the town. The population density was 94.6 inhabitants per square mile (36.5/km²). There were 1,196 housing units at an average density of 33.7 per square mile (13.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.75% White, 0.30% African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.95% Asian, 0.63% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.46% of the population.

There were 1,166 households, out of which 41.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.7% were married couples living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.7% were non-families. Of all households, 13.5% were made up of individuals, and 5.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.9% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 29.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $120,559, and the median income for a family was $152,884. The per capita income for the town was $54,940. About 2.7% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.3% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.

Backside of the Princeton Public Library

• Cornerstone Ranchers
• Harrington Farm
• Mount Wachusett
• Princeton Historical Society
• Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary
• Wachusett Mountain Ski Area
• Wachusett Mountain State Reservation
• Redemption Rock
• Hubbard farm

• Daniel Davis Jr. (1813–1887) - inventor
• Ward Nicholas Boylston (1747–1828), gentleman, businessman, and philanthropist, lived in Princeton from September, 1804 until his death. He bequeathed $1000 to the town of Princeton for its church and minister and the support of indigent and deserving widows and orphan children[19]
• Moses Gill (1734–1800), Massachusetts lieutenant governor and acting governor
• Louise H. Gregory (1880–1954), professor of zoology at Barnard College
• Ezra Heywood (1829–1893), anarchist, slavery abolitionist, and feminist
• Vanessa Marcotte (1989–2016), murder victim, whose case attracted national media attention[20]
• Edward Savage (1761–1817), portrait artist, engraver, and early museum proprietor

• The 2001 film Shallow Hal had scenes shot in Princeton at Wachusett Mountain.
• The 2006 film The Legend of Lucy Keyes is a movie about Princeton and its old legend, about four-year-old Lucy Keyes, who follows her sisters to fetch some water from Wachusett Lake but vanishes and never returns to the house. Her mother, Martha, spends night and day looking for her and calling her name. Some believe Lucy and her mother Martha still haunt on and around Wachusett Mountain.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Princeton, Massachusetts.

• Official Princeton (town) website
• A brief history of Princeton
• Books.google.com: Vital Records of Princeton, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849.
• Hearts for Heat NGO Website