Wellesley, Massachusetts

Wellesley was settled in the 1600s as part of Dedham, Massachusetts. It was subsequently a part of Needham, Massachusetts called West Needham, Massachusetts. On October 23, 1880, West Needham residents voted to secede from Needham, and the town of Wellesley was later christened by the Massachusetts legislature on April 6, 1881. The town was named after the estate "Wellesley" of local benefactor Horatio Hollis Hunnewell.{{Cite news |url=http://www.wickedlocal.com/wellesley/town_info/history/x884488013/Monument-marks-birthplace-of-Wellesley |title=Monument marks birthplace of Wellesley |date=October 26, 2009 |newspaper=The Wellesley Townsman |first=Anne-Marie |last=Smolski |access-date=March 14, 2010}}{{Cite web |url=https://wellesleyma.gov/472/History-of-Wellesley |access-date=July 17, 2021 |title=History of Wellesley |first=Beth |last=Hinchliffe}}

Wellesley's population grew by over 80 percent around the 1920s.{{Cite book |title=Access for All: Transportation and Urban Growth |first1=K. H. |last1=Schaeffer |first2=Elliott |last2=Sclar |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=1980 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xSty8KR3clIC&q=Braintree+suburbanization&pg=PA86 |access-date=January 16, 2010 |isbn=0-231-05165-4}}

Wellesley is located in eastern Massachusetts. It is bordered on the east by Newton, on the north by Weston, on the south by Needham and Dover and on the west by Natick. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of {{convert|10.49|mi2|km2}}, of which {{convert|10.18|mi2|km2}} is land and {{convert|0.32|mi2|km2}} is water.

{{Div col}}

• Wellesley Farms{{cite web |last1=Shulkin |first1=Traci |title=WELLESLEY NEIGHBORHOODS |url=http://tracishulkin.com/wellesley-neighborhoods/ |website=The Traci Shulkin Group |access-date=August 29, 2020}}
• The Fells
• Wellesley Hills (02481){{cite web |title=Zip Code 02481, Wellesley Hills, MA |url=https://www.zipdatamaps.com/02481 |website=zipdatamaps.com |access-date=August 29, 2020}}
• Wellesley Square (02482){{cite web |title=Zip Code 02482, Wellesley, MA |url=https://www.zipdatamaps.com/02482 |website=Zip-codes.com |access-date=August 29, 2020}}
• Poets' Corner
• Babson Park (02457){{cite web |title=ZIP Code 02457 |url=https://www.zipdatamaps.com/02457|website=zipdatamaps.com |access-date=August 29, 2020}}
• Peirce Estates
• College Heights
• Wellesley Lower Falls

{{Div col end}}

Wellesley has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb under the Köppen climate classification system), with high humidity and precipitation year-round.

{{Weather box|location = Wellesley, Massachusetts

|single line = Y

|Jan record high F = 66

|Feb record high F = 67

|Mar record high F = 74

|Apr record high F = 82

|May record high F = 91

|Jun record high F = 95

|Jul record high F = 100

|Aug record high F = 97

|Sep record high F = 97

|Oct record high F = 87

|Nov record high F = 77

|Dec record high F = 66

|Jan high F = 33.6

|Feb high F = 34.7

|Mar high F = 43.4

|Apr high F = 54.9

|May high F = 66.4

|Jun high F = 74.7

|Jul high F = 80

|Aug high F = 78

|Sep high F = 70.9

|Oct high F = 60.5

|Nov high F = 48.9

|Dec high F = 37.4

|Jan mean F= 26

|Feb mean F= 26

|Mar mean F= 33

|Apr mean F= 42

|May mean F= 53

|Jun mean F= 62

|Jul mean F= 68

|Aug mean F= 66

|Sep mean F= 60

|Oct mean F= 50

|Nov mean F= 39

|Dec mean F= 30

|Jan low F = 18.3

|Feb low F = 18.8

|Mar low F = 27

|Apr low F = 36.5

|May low F = 46.4

|Jun low F = 55.4

|Jul low F = 61.5

|Aug low F = 60.3

|Sep low F = 53.4

|Oct low F = 43.4

|Nov low F = 33.7

|Dec low F = 22.8

|Jan record low F = -14

|Feb record low F = -21

|Mar record low F = -5

|Apr record low F = 6

|May record low F = 27

|Jun record low F = 31

|Jul record low F = 44

|Aug record low F = 32

|Sep record low F = 28

|Oct record low F = 20

|Nov record low F = 5

|Dec record low F = -19

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 4.2

|Feb precipitation inch = 3.9

|Mar precipitation inch = 4.6

|Apr precipitation inch = 4.1

|May precipitation inch = 3.7

|Jun precipitation inch = 3.6

|Jul precipitation inch = 3.7

|Aug precipitation inch = 4.1

|Sep precipitation inch = 4

|Oct precipitation inch = 4

|Nov precipitation inch = 4.4

|Dec precipitation inch = 4.4

|Jan precipitation days = 12

|Feb precipitation days = 11

|Mar precipitation days = 13

|Apr precipitation days = 12

|May precipitation days = 12

|Jun precipitation days = 12

|Jul precipitation days = 11

|Aug precipitation days = 10

|Sep precipitation days = 9

|Oct precipitation days = 10

|Nov precipitation days = 11

|Dec precipitation days = 12

|Jan snow inch = 16.1

|Feb snow inch = 16

|Mar snow inch = 12

|Apr snow inch = 3.1

|May snow inch = 0.1

|Jun snow inch = 0

|Jul snow inch = 0

|Aug snow inch = 0

|Sep snow inch = 0

|Oct snow inch = 0.3

|Nov snow inch = 2.7

|Dec snow inch = 11.7

|source 1 = [https://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=744920&cityname=Dedham%2C+Massachusetts%2C+United+States+of+America&units== Climate Summary for Dedham, Massachusetts]

|source 2= [https://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weatherall.php3?s=744920&cityname=Dedham%2C+Massachusetts%2C+United+States+of+America&units==== Monthly- All Data for Dedham, Massachusetts]

|date = February 24, 2023

}}

{{See also|List of Massachusetts locations by per capita income}}

{{Historical populations | type=USA

| 1890|3600

| 1900|5072

| 1910|5413

| 1920|6224

| 1930|11439

| 1940|15127

| 1950|20549

| 1960|26071

| 1970|28051

| 1980|27209

| 1990|26615

| 2000|26613

| 2010|27982

| 2020|29550

| 2024*|31242

| footnote=* = population estimate. Source: United States Census records and Population Estimates Program data.{{cite web | title=City and Town Population Totals: 2020−2024| publisher=United States Census Bureau | access-date=May 18, 2025 | url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html}}{{cite web | title=TOTAL POPULATION (P1), 2010 Census Summary File 1, All County Subdivisions within Massachusetts | publisher=United States Census Bureau | access-date=September 13, 2011 | url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/P1/0400000US25.06000 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212202839/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/P1/0400000US25.06000 | url-status=dead | archive-date=February 12, 2020 }}{{cite web | title=Massachusetts by Place and County Subdivision – GCT-T1. Population Estimates | publisher=United States Census Bureau | access-date=July 12, 2011 | url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=04000US25&-_box_head_nbr=GCT-T1&-ds_name=PEP_2009_EST&-_lang=en&-format=ST-9&-_sse=on | archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212040628/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=04000US25&-_box_head_nbr=GCT-T1&-ds_name=PEP_2009_EST&-_lang=en&-format=ST-9&-_sse=on | archive-date=February 12, 2020 | url-status=dead }}{{cite web | title=1990 Census of Population, General Population Characteristics: Massachusetts | id=1990 CP-1-23 | at=Table 76: General Characteristics of Persons, Households, and Families: 1990 | publisher=US Census Bureau | access-date=July 12, 2011 |date=December 1990 | url=https://www.census.gov/prod/cen1990/cp1/cp-1-23.pdf}}{{cite web | title=1980 Census of the Population, Number of Inhabitants: Massachusetts | id=PC80-1-A23 | at=Table 4. Populations of County Subdivisions: 1960 to 1980 | publisher=US Census Bureau | access-date=July 12, 2011 |date=December 1981 | url=http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1980a_maABC-01.pdf}}{{cite web | title=1950 Census of Population | volume=1: Number of Inhabitants | at=Section 6, Pages 21–10 and 21–11, Massachusetts Table 6. Population of Counties by Minor Civil Divisions: 1930 to 1950 | publisher=Bureau of the Census | access-date=July 12, 2011 | year=1952 | url=http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/23761117v1ch06.pdf}}{{cite web | title=1920 Census of Population | at=Number of Inhabitants, by Counties and Minor Civil Divisions. Pages 21–5 through 21–7. Massachusetts Table 2. Population of Counties by Minor Civil Divisions: 1900, 1910, and 1920 | publisher=Bureau of the Census | access-date=July 12, 2011 | url=http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/41084506no553ch2.pdf}}{{cite web | title=1890 Census of the Population | at=Pages 179 through 182. Massachusetts Table 5. Population of States and Territories by Minor Civil Divisions: 1880 and 1890 | publisher=Department of the Interior, Census Office | access-date=July 12, 2011 | url=http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/41084506no553ch2.pdf}}

}}

The Census Bureau has also defined the town as a census-designated place with an area exactly equivalent to the town.

As of the census of 2000, there were 26,613 people, 8,594 households, and 6,540 families residing in the town. The population density was {{convert|2,614.1|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 8,861 housing units at an average density of {{convert|870.4|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. According to a 2007 Census Bureau estimate, the racial makeup of the town was 84.6% White, 10.0% Asian, 2.2% Black, 0.01% Native American, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.4% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.4% of the population.

There were 8,594 households, out of which 39.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.2% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.9% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.1% under the age of 18, 13.9% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 77.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.1 males.

The median income for a household was $159,167, and the median income for a family was $186,518. The per capita income in the town was $72,046.Massachusetts locations by per capita income About 2.4% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 2.1% of those age 65 or over.

Wellesley is home to the headquarters of many local, national and global businesses including Benchmark Senior Living, Blank Label Apparel, Eagle Investment Systems, EPG Incorporated, GrandBanks Capital, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Livingston and Haynes PC, and Sun Life Financial U.S.

According to Wellesley's 2023 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[https://wellesleyma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/38053/FY23-Financial-Report City of Wellesley CAFR] the top employers in the city are:

The town designated Cottage Street and its nearby alleys as the historic district in its zoning plan. Most houses in this district were built around the 1860s and qualify as protected buildings certified by the town's historic commission.{{cite web |url=https://www.wellesleyma.gov/388/Historic-District-Commission |title= Historic District Commission |website=Town of Wellesley |publisher=Wellesleyt Historic Commission |access-date=March 12, 2023}}

The town's historic 19th-century inn was demolished to make way for condominiums and mixed-use development in 2006.{{Cite news |url=http://www.wickedlocal.com/wellesley/news/x1817193862 |date=March 29, 2006 |title=No rooms at the inn |newspaper=The Wellesley Townsman |first=Barbara |last=Lehmann |access-date=March 14, 2010}} The Wellesley Country Club clubhouse, which is the building where the town was founded, was demolished in 2008, and a new clubhouse was built. The town's pre-World War II high school building was torn down and replaced with a brand new high school finished in 2012.{{Cite news |url=http://www.wickedlocal.com/wellesley/news/x560173421/Wellesley-High-School-project-moving-ahead |date=September 4, 2009 |title=Wellesley High School project moving ahead |newspaper=The Wellesley Townsman |first=Elana |last=Zak |access-date=March 14, 2010}} The entire 1960s-style Linden Street strip-mall has been replaced by "Linden Square"—a shopping district that includes a flagship Roche Bros. supermarket, restaurants, cafes, clothing stores, along with a mixture of national chains and local shops.{{Cite news |url=http://www.wickedlocal.com/wellesley/news/x1817193864 |date=March 29, 2006 |newspaper=The Wellesley Townsman |title=Design Review approves Linden Street plan |first=Rachel |last=Lebeaux |access-date=March 14, 2010}}

Wellesley opened its new Free Library building in 2003, which is part of the Minuteman Library Network. Due to the structure of budget override votes and perhaps the size of the new main branch of the library, the two branch libraries—one in Wellesley Hills, which was purpose-built to be a branch library in the 1920s, another in Wellesley Fells—closed in the summer of 2006. The branch libraries reopened in September 2008.{{Cite news|url=http://www.wickedlocal.com/wellesley/news/x1001333809/Branch-Libraries-reopen-this-week|title=Branch Libraries reopen this week|date=September 4, 2008|newspaper=The Wellesley Townsman|access-date=March 14, 2010}} The main library branch near Wellesley Square underwent a major interior renovation in 2021.{{Cite web|date=October 19, 2021|title=2021 Renovation - Wellesley Free Library|url=https://www.wellesleyfreelibrary.org/2021-interior-renovation/|access-date=November 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019161723/https://www.wellesleyfreelibrary.org/2021-interior-renovation/|archive-date=October 19, 2021}}

Image:2004-12-19 - Wellesley (1).jpg

The town was governed through an open town meeting after it was incorporated. In 1933, citizens approved a ballot question to adopt a representative town meeting government, dividing the town into four precincts with 60 representatives each. The new form of government came into effect in 1934.{{cite book |title=1932 Chap. 0202. An Act Establishing In The Town Of Wellesley Representative Town Government By Limited Town Meetings |date=1932 |publisher=Secretary of the Commonwealth |location=Boston |url=https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/items/b3a2005c-4922-4270-9167-32904cc292d5 |access-date=January 26, 2024}} In 2016, citizens rejected a ballot question to adopt a Selectmen-Manager government.{{cite news |last1=Brown |first1=Bob |title=Wellesley votes No on Town Manager for now |url=https://theswellesleyreport.com/2016/03/wellesley-votes-no-on-town-manager-for-now/ |access-date=January 26, 2024 |work=The Swellesley Report |date=March 15, 2016}}

The town is part of the Massachusetts Senate's Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex district.

In 2010 Wellesley's Sustainable Energy Committee (SEC) was formed by Town Meeting. The committee's primary objective was a 10% town-wide reduction in Wellesley's carbon footprint and 20% reduction in carbon footprint for all municipal departments by the end of 2013. In 2014 Town Meeting voted to support a new goal of 25% reduction by 2020 using 2007 as the base year. The committee is responsible for Wellesley's adoption of the Massachusetts Stretch Building Code approved by Town Meeting effective January 2012.{{Cite web |url=http://www.wellesleyma.gov/397/Sustainable-Energy-Committee |title=Sustainable Energy Committee: Wellesley, MA. |access-date=March 3, 2021}}

Image:Wellesley College Tower Court.jpg]]

The school system also contains a middle school and seven elementary schools (Bates, Upham, Schofield, Fiske, Hardy, Hunnewell, and Sprague). Wellesley includes a primary and secondary school which are Wellesley Middle School (also known as Wellesley Junior High) and Wellesley High School, respectively; and are the home of the Raiders. {{citation needed|date=January 2018}}

The town contains a private elementary school, Tenacre Country Day School, one private Catholic elementary school (St. John the Evangelist) and a preparatory school for girls, Dana Hall School. Also, the Wellesley A Better Chance outfit started in the early 1970s brings promising young women from underserved areas into town to attend Wellesley High School and live nearby.{{cite web | url=http://theswellesleyreport.com/2012/11/wellesley-a-better-chance-celebrates-40-years-of-helping-young-women-thrive | title=Wellesley a Better Chance celebrates 40 years of helping young women thrive | date=November 5, 2012 }}

Wellesley also contains the main campus of three colleges: Wellesley College, a women's liberal arts college, Massachusetts Bay Community College, a two-year public college, and Babson, a business college.

In 2024, Upham was officially closed following the rebuilds of Hunnewell and Hardy.

Events of significance to members of the Wellesley community are recorded in two local news publications: The Wellesley Townsman{{Cite web|url=https://www.wellesleyfreelibrary.org/research/researchwellesley-townsman-newspaper/|title=The Wellesley Townsman|website=Wellesley Free Library|access-date=March 28, 2018}} has been published since 1906, and The Swellesley Report since 2005. Both are available online and digitized copies of the paper-based Townsman are available from the Wellesley Free Library.

Image:Wellesley Hills station.jpg

Wellesley has had rail service to Boston since 1833. Rail service is currently provided through Wellesley's participation in the MBTA, which offers a total of 17 weekdays Commuter Rail trains inbound towards Boston and outbound towards Framingham and Worcester. Wellesley's stations are (east to west) Wellesley Farms, Wellesley Hills, and Wellesley Square. The Wellesley Farms station is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. MWRTA bus service also runs along Walnut Street, Cedar Street, and Route 9.

The highways Interstate 95/Massachusetts Route 128, Massachusetts Route 9, Massachusetts route 16 (as Washington Street) and Massachusetts route 135 run through Wellesley.

Wellesley is serviced by the Wellesley Municipal Light Plant.

The three colleges voluntarily pay a premium to purchase electricity generated by wind power.

In 2012, Wellesley was designated a Green Power Community by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Deborah |date=June 3, 2019 |title=Wellesley Stands Mighty with Its 36th Consecutive Tree City Designation. |url=https://theswellesleyreport.com/2019/06/wellesley-stands-mighty-with-its-36th-consecutive-tree-city-designation/ |access-date=March 3, 2021 |website=The Swellesley Report}}

• Danny Ainge, executive director of basketball operations and general manager of the Boston Celtics
• Ray Allen, former player for the Boston Celtics
• Emily Greene Balch, Nobel Peace Prize winner
• Roger Nash Baldwin, co-founder of American Civil Liberties Union
• Arthur Batcheller, U.S. radio inspector
• Katharine Lee Bates, author of "America the Beautiful"{{Cite book |last=Bates |first=Katharine Lee |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yRmBQuA889kC |title=Yellow Clover: A Book of Remembrance |publisher=E.P. Dutton |year=1922 |location=New York |pages=viii |isbn=978-1-4255-0904-0 |access-date=January 6, 2012}}
• Gamaliel Bradford, poet, biographer
• Dee Brown, former basketball player for the Boston Celtics and NBA executive
• Laurence E. Bunker, United States Army colonel, aide to Gen. Douglas MacArthur, leader within the John Birch Society
• R. Nicholas Burns, former U.S. Under Secretary of State, Ambassador to NATO and to Greece, and State Department spokesman
• Karl E. Case, developer of the Case–Shiller index
• Dan Chiasson, poet and New Yorker critic
• Gene Clapp, Olympic silver medalist men's eight
• Katharine Coman, historian, professor of economics and sociology, author
• Greg Comella, former professional football player with the New York Giants, Titans, Texans and Buccaneers
• Jane Curtin, comedian, original cast member of Saturday Night Live
• Richard Darman, economist, former head of the Office of Management and Budget
• Erik Davis, former pitcher for the Washington Nationals
• Blake Dietrick, WNBA basketball player with the Seattle Storm and former standout with the Princeton Tigers
• Dennis Eckersley, former pitcher for the Oakland A's
• Nancy Hasty Evans, politician
• Carl Everett, former center fielder for the Boston Red Sox
• Nicole Freedman (born 1972), Olympic cyclist
• Nate Freiman (born 1986), first baseman for the Oakland Athletics
• Wendell Arthur Garrity Jr., U.S. District Court judge
• Curt Gowdy, sports commentator
• Michael S. Greco, president of American, Massachusetts, and New England bar associations
• Lester Grinspoon, psychiatrist, professor, and drug policy reform advocate
• Ariulf Eric Hampe, German electrical and aeronautical engineer {{cite web | url=https://eu.wickedlocal.com/story/wellesley-townsman/2009/06/10/ariulf-eric-hampe/40731289007/ | title=Ariulf Eric Hampe }}
• Gordon Hayward, small forward for the Boston Celtics
• H. H. Hunnewell (1810–1902), railroad financier and horticulturist
• Andrea Jung, CEO of Avon Products
• Phil Laak, professional poker player, winner of 2004 World Poker Tour
• Christopher Leggett, film producer
• Xihong Lin, Department of Biostatistics chair at the Harvard School of Public Health
• Gregory Mankiw, Harvard economics professor
• Daisuke Matsuzaka, former pitcher for the Boston Red Sox
• Bijan Mazaheri, distance runner
• Fred McLafferty, professor, analytical chemist, author, inventor, leading developer of mass spectrometry
• Drew Meekins, figure skater
• Ossian Everett Mills, founder of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity
• Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America
• Bill Mueller, former third baseman for the Boston Red Sox
• Joseph E. Murray, surgeon, winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1990
• Vladimir Nabokov, Russian-American author
• Joe Nash, retired NFL player for the Seattle Seahawks
• Sylvia Plath, poet and author, The Bell Jar
• Richard Preston and Douglas Preston, best-selling authors
• Aneesh Raman, former presidential speechwriter at the White House and CNN Middle East Correspondent
• Edward Thomas Ryan, president, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; professor, Harvard University
• James St. Clair, defense lawyer for Richard Nixon during Watergate
• Jack Sanford, former MLB pitcher, 1957 MLB Rookie of the Year Award recipient
• Billy Squier, rock musician
• Brad Stevens, former head coach and current general manager of the Boston Celtics
• Biz Stone, Twitter co-founder
• Steven Tyler, rock musician, lived in Wellesley during the late 1990s and early 2000s
• Michael von Clemm, banker, anthropologist and founder of Canary Wharf
• Rasheed Wallace, retired professional basketball player
• Greg Yaitanes, Emmy Award-winning film director, writer, actor
• Eddie Yost, baseball player and coach[http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/27ab6dec Eddie Yost at SABR Baseball Biography Project]

{{Reflist|2}}

{{wikivoyage|Wellesley|Wellesley, Massachusetts}}

{{Commons category|Wellesley, Massachusetts}}

{{Wikisource1911Enc|Wellesley}}

• [http://www.wellesleyma.gov/ Town of Wellesley website]

{{Norfolk County, Massachusetts}}

{{Greater_Boston}}

{{Massachusetts}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Towns in Norfolk County, Massachusetts

Category:Populated places established in 1660

Category:1660 establishments in the Massachusetts Bay Colony

Category:Populated places established in 1881

Category:Towns in Massachusetts