Watertown, Massachusetts

{{Use American English|date=June 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Watertown, Massachusetts | settlement_type = City | official_name = | nickname = | motto = {{force singular}} {{nowrap|''In pace condita'' {{smaller|([[Latin]])}}<br>{{smaller|"Founded in peace"}}}} | image_skyline = Main Street Watertown MA 2.jpg | imagesize = | image_caption = Watertown's Main Street, facing westward | image_seal = Seal of Watertown, Massachusetts.png | image_flag = Flag of Watertown, Massachusetts.png | image_map = Middlesex County Massachusetts incorporated and unincorporated areas Watertown highlighted.svg | mapsize = 250px | map_caption = Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts | image_map1 = | mapsize1 = | map_caption1 = | pushpin_map = Boston Metro#Massachusetts#USA | pushpin_label = Watertown | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = United States | subdivision_type1 = State | subdivision_name1 = [[Massachusetts]] | subdivision_type2 = [[List of counties in Massachusetts|County]] | subdivision_name2 = [[Middlesex County, Massachusetts|Middlesex]] | established_title = Settled | established_date = July 1630 | established_title2 = Incorporated | established_date2 = September 7, 1630 | established_title3 = | established_date3 = | government_type = [[Council-manager]] | leader_title = [[City Manager]] | leader_name = George Proakis | area_magnitude = | area_total_km2 = 10.68 | area_total_sq_mi = 4.12 | area_land_km2 = 10.35 | area_land_sq_mi = 4.00 | area_water_km2 = 0.33 | area_water_sq_mi = 0.13 | population_as_of = [[2020 United States census|2020]] | population_total = 35329 | population_density_km2 = 3413.41 | population_density_sq_mi = 8841.09 | elevation_m = 11 | elevation_ft = 36 | timezone = [[Eastern Standard Time Zone|Eastern]] | utc_offset = −5 | timezone_DST = [[Eastern Standard Time Zone|Eastern]] | utc_offset_DST = −4 | coordinates = {{coord|42|22|15|N|71|11|00|W|region:US-MA_type:city(35,000)|display=inline,title}} | website = [https://www.watertown-ma.gov/ www.watertown-ma.gov] | postal_code_type = ZIP Code | postal_code = 02472 | area_code = [[Area code 617|617]]/[[Area code 857|857]] | blank_name = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]] | blank_info = 25-73440 | blank1_name = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID | blank1_info = 0612401 | footnotes = | unit_pref = Imperial | area_footnotes = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_25.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 21, 2022}}</ref> | pop_est_as_of = | pop_est_footnotes = | population_est = | population_footnotes = }}

'''Watertown''' is a city in [[Middlesex County, Massachusetts]], United States, part of [[Greater Boston]]. The population was 35,329 in the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]]. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, [[Watertown Square]], and the West End.

Watertown was one of the first [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] settlements organized by [[Puritans|Puritan settlers]] in 1630. The city is home to the [[Perkins School for the Blind]], the [[Armenian Library and Museum of America]], and the historic [[Watertown Arsenal]], which produced military armaments from 1816 through [[World War II]].

== History ==

Archeological evidence suggests that Watertown was inhabited for thousands of years before [[European colonization of the Americas|colonization]].<ref>Dincauze, Dina F.; Williams, Steven. “Archaeological Reconnaissance in the Greater Boston Area: 1969-1972”. March 12, 1973. Peabody Museum Library, Harvard University, Cambridge MA.</ref> At the time of the earliest European reports in the 1600s, there were at least two important settlements of [[Massachusett]] people along the river later known as the [[Charles River|Charles]]: [[Nonantum, Massachusetts|Nonantum]] in present-day Newton, and Pequossette or Peguusset, "where the narrows open out"<ref>{{Cite book |last=Douglas-Lithgow |first=Robert Alexander |url=http://archive.org/details/dictionaryofamer00doug |title=Dictionary of American-Indian place and proper names in New England; with many interpretations, etc. |date=1909 |publisher=Salem, Mass., Salem Press |others=Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center}}</ref> near modern-day Watertown Square.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ci.watertown.ma.us/199/History-Tourism|title=History & Tourism – Watertown, MA – Official Website|website=www.ci.watertown.ma.us}}</ref> A contemporary English source lists "Pigsgusset" as the native name of "Water towne."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wood|first=William|title=Wood's Vocabulary of Massachusett|publisher=Evolution Publishing: American Language Reprints|year=2002|isbn=978-1-889758-97-8|location=Merchantsville, NJ|pages=14}}</ref> Massachusett people built a [[fishing weir]] at Pequossette to trap herring at the site of the current [[Watertown Dam]]. The annual fish migration, as both [[alewife (fish)|alewife]] and [[blueback herring]] swim upstream from their adult home in the sea to spawn in the fresh water where they were hatched, still occurs every spring.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wickedlocal.com/watertown/news/x986605647/Zubrowski-The-herring-run-through-Watertown-from-Mother-s-Day-to-Father-s-Day|title=Watertown Tab "Zubrowski: The herring run through Watertown from Mother's Day to Father's Day" (June 10, 2009)|work=Wicked Local|access-date=October 7, 2014}}</ref>

Watertown, first known to settlers as Saltonstall Plantation, was one of the earliest of the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] settlements. Founded in early 1630 by a group of settlers led by [[Richard Saltonstall]] and [[George Phillips (Watertown)|George Phillips]], it was officially incorporated that same year. The alternate spelling "Waterton" is seen in some early documents.<ref>Young, Alexander (1846). ''Chronicles of the First Planters of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, 1623–1636'', pp. 313–14. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown.</ref>

The first buildings were upon land now included within the limits of [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]] known as Gerry's Landing. For its first quarter century Watertown ranked next to [[Boston]] in population and area. Since then its limits have been greatly reduced. Thrice portions have been added to Cambridge, and it has contributed territory to form the new towns of [[Weston, Massachusetts|Weston]] (1712), [[Waltham, Massachusetts|Waltham]] (1738), [[Lincoln, Massachusetts|Lincoln]] (1754) and [[Belmont, Massachusetts|Belmont]] (1859). In 1632 the residents of Watertown protested against being compelled to pay a tax for the erection of a [[stockade]] fort at Cambridge; this was the first protest in America against [[No taxation without representation|taxation without representation]] and led to the establishment of [[representative democracy]] in the colony. As early as the close of the 17th century, Watertown was the chief horse and cattle market in [[New England]] and was known for its fertile gardens and fine estates. Here about 1632 was erected the first [[gristmill]] in the colony, and in 1662 one of the first [[textile manufacturing|woolen mills]] in America was built here.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Watertown (Massachusetts)|display=Watertown|volume=28|page=411}}</ref> The first burying ground, on Arlington Street, was established in the 1660s. It contains a monument to Joseph Coolidge, the only Watertown resident killed during the British retreat from Concord in April 1775.<ref name="EB1911"/> [[Image:Gerry Landing.jpg|thumb|left|Saltonstall's landing spot in Watertown, also known as Elbridge Gerry Landing]]

===Revolutionary War era===

Much excitement was generated in Watertown towards the start of the [[American Revolutionary War]] period. In 1773, many of its citizens were engaged with the [[Sons of Liberty]] in another tax protest, this time against the [[Tea Act|British Tea Tax]] which resulted in the famous [[Boston Tea Party]] protest.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://maintour.com/watertown-massachusetts-tourist-information/|title=Watertown Tour|website=maintour.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215220612/https://maintour.com/watertown-massachusetts-tourist-information/ |archive-date=15 February 2020}}</ref>

Then later (April 1775), some 134 Watertown [[minutemen]] responded to the [[Lexington Alarm|alarm from Lexington]] to rout the British soldiers from their march to Concord. Thereafter many of these citizen soldiers were part of the first battle line formed at the [[Siege of Boston]]. Another Watertown citizen, [[Israel Bissel]], was the first rider to take the news of the British attack and rode all the way to Connecticut, New York and Philadelphia.<ref>"Bissell Outrode Paul Revere But History Left Him in the Dust", ''[[Hartford Courant]]'', April 16, 2007</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-declaration-of-independence/the-five-riders/|title=The Five Riders|website=www.constitutionfacts.com}}</ref>

[[Image:Fowle House - Watertown, Massachusetts.JPG|thumb|right|200px|[[Edmund Fowle House]], built in the 1700s and used by the Massachusetts government during the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]]]] The [[Massachusetts Provincial Congress]], after adjournment from [[Concord, Massachusetts|Concord]], met from April to July 1775 in the First Parish Church, the site of which is marked by a monument. On July 3, [[George Washington]] was greeted in Watertown; the following day he took command of the Army in Cambridge.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ci.watertown.ma.us/360/Did-You-Know|title=Did You Know? {{!}} Watertown, MA – Official Website|website=www.ci.watertown.ma.us|access-date=February 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215220611/https://www.ci.watertown.ma.us/360/Did-You-Know |archive-date=15 February 2020}}</ref> The [[Massachusetts General Court]] held its sessions here from 1775 to 1778. Committees met in the nearby [[Edmund Fowle House]]. Boston [[town meeting]]s were held here during the [[siege of Boston]], when many Boston families made their homes in the neighborhood. For several months early in the [[American Revolution]] the [[Committees of safety (American Revolution)|committees of safety]] and [[committee of correspondence]] made Watertown their headquarters and it was from here that [[Joseph Warren|General Joseph Warren]] set out for [[Battle of Bunker Hill|Bunker Hill]].<ref name="EB1911"/><ref>Hodges, Maud deLeigh. 1980. Crossroads on the Charles. Phoenix Publishing, Canaan, NH</ref> [[File:Browne House - Watertown, Massachusetts.JPG|thumb|right|200px|[[Browne House]], built {{circa|1694}}]]

The [[Treaty of Watertown]], the first treaty signed between the newly formed United States of America and a foreign power, the St. John's and [[Mi'kmaq people|Mi'kmaq]] First Nations of [[Nova Scotia]], was signed in this house.{{clarify|reason=Which: Fowle House or Browne House?|date=February 2020}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/documentaryhisto24main|title=Documentary history of the state of Maine ..|last=Maine Historical Society|publisher=Portland|via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Paul|first=Daniel N.|author-link=Daniel N. Paul|title=We Were Not the Savages: A Mi'kmaq Perspective on the Collision Between European and Native American Civilizations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HikaAQAAIAAJ&pg=PP1|edition=2nd|year=2000|publisher=Fernwood|isbn=978-1-55266-039-3|pages=169–170}} (includes full text of both treaties).</ref>

The Coolidge Tavern, built in 1742, was frequented by minutemen during the war. Here, Washington was entertained on his New England tour in 1789.<ref name="EB1911"/> The tavern was demolished in 1918 to make way for a [[tram|trolley]] terminal.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Coolidge Tavern |url=https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:7d278v012 |access-date=2026-03-01 |website=www.digitalcommonwealth.org |language=en}}</ref>

=== Industrial era ===

From 1832 to 1834, [[Theodore Parker]] conducted a private school and his name is still preserved in the Parker School,<ref name="EB1911"/> though the building no longer operates as a public school.

Mount Auburn Cemetery was founded in 1831, creating the first garden cemetery in the United States. The landscape of Mount Auburn provided inspiration for the nation's first public parks and picturesque suburbs designed by the early generations of American landscape architects. Mount Auburn has been recognized as one of the most significant designed landscapes in the country. Although perceived as a Cambridge institution, almost all of the cemetery is actually in Watertown.

The [[Watertown Arsenal]] operated continuously as a military munitions and research facility from 1816 until 1995, when the Army sold the property, by then known as the Army Materials Technology Laboratory,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/watertown.htm|title=History of the AMTL|author=John Pike|access-date=October 7, 2014}}</ref> to the town of Watertown. The Arsenal is notable for being the site of a 1911 [[strike action|strike]] prompted by the management methods of operations research pioneer [[Frederick Winslow Taylor]] (Taylor and 1911 Watertown Arsenal Strike). Taylor's method, which he dubbed "Scientific Management," broke tasks down into smaller components. Workers no longer completed whole items; instead, they were timed using stopwatches as they did small tasks repetitively, as Taylor attempted to find the balance of tasks that resulted in the maximum output from workers. The strike and its causes were controversial enough that they resulted in Congressional hearings in 1911; Congress passed a law in 1915 banning the method in government owned arsenals. Taylor's methods spread widely, influencing such industrialists as Henry Ford, and the idea is one of the underlying inspirations of the factory (assembly) line industrial method. The Watertown Arsenal was the site of a major superfund clean-up in the 1990s, and has now become a center for shopping, dining and the arts, with the opening of several restaurants and a new theatre. The site includes the [[Arsenal Center for the Arts]], a regional [[arts centre|arts center]] that opened in 2005. The Arsenal was owned by the electronic health record system maker [[athenahealth]], until it was sold to [[Alexandria Real Estate Equities]] in 2019, adding to the life science focused development along Arsenal Street.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Logan |first1=Tim |title=Developer buys athenahealth's Watertown campus for $525.5 million |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2019/12/20/developer-buys-athenahealth-watertown-campus-for-million/hhmXvhEFO1ausVxJr6DQjN/story.html |access-date=21 October 2024 |work=Boston Globe}}</ref> Arsenal Street features two shopping malls across the street from one another, with the Watertown Mall on one side and [[Arsenal Yards]] on the other.

The Stanley Brothers built the first of their steam-powered cars, which came to be known as [[Stanley Motor Carriage Company|Stanley Steamers]], in Watertown in 1897.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z11210/Stanley_Steamer%20Rocket/default.aspx |title=1906 Stanley Steamer Rocket Images, Information and History |publisher=Conceptcarz.com |access-date=January 19, 2013}}</ref>

The [[Locomobile Company of America]], founded in 1899, also produced steam-powered cars in Watertown until the company moved to [[Bridgeport, Connecticut]].

=== 21st century === Shortly after midnight of April 18–19, 2013, the two suspects in the [[Boston Marathon bombing]] engaged in a [[Boston Marathon bombing#Watertown shootout|protracted battle with police]], in Watertown involving the use of firearms and explosives. [[Tamerlan Tsarnaev]] was critically wounded and later pronounced dead and the town was completely [[lockdown|locked down]] for hours as police, [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]], and [[Army National Guard]] personnel patrolled it, looking for the remaining suspect, [[Dzhokhar Tsarnaev]], who was captured wounded but alive in a boat shortly after the lockdown ended on the following evening.

In the November 2021 election, the citizens voted to amend the official name of the city to "The City of Watertown"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Breitrose |first=Charlie |date=2021-11-03 |title=See Precinct Results for 2021 Town Council, School Committee, Library Trustees Races and the Charter Questions |url=https://www.watertownmanews.com/2021/11/03/see-precinct-results-for-2o21-town-council-school-committee-library-trustees-races-and-the-charter-questions/ |access-date=2023-08-03 |website=Watertown News |language=en-US}}</ref> (from "The City Known as the Town of Watertown")

==Geography== Watertown is located at {{coord|42|22|17|N|71|10|55|W|type:city}} (42.37139, −71.18194).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> To the north, it is bordered by the town of [[Belmont, Massachusetts|Belmont]], along Belmont Street; to the south, it is bordered by the city of [[Newton, Massachusetts|Newton]]. The city of Boston's [[Brighton, Massachusetts|Brighton]] neighborhood also lies to the south and east—the border being largely formed by the [[Charles River]]. Though the majority of the town lies north of the Charles, from [[Watertown Square]], the nexus of the town, the town's border extends south of the Charles to encompass the neighborhood surrounding Casey Playground. To the east lies the [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|City of Cambridge]], the border to which is almost entirely the well-known [[Mount Auburn Cemetery]], most of which is actually in Watertown. To the west lies the more expansive city of [[Waltham, Massachusetts|Waltham]], but there is no distinct geographic feature or major road dividing the two municipalities.

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|4.2|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|4.1|sqmi|km2}} is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km{{sup|2}} or 1.20%) is water.

===Adjacent cities and towns=== {{Geographic location |width=auto | Centre = Watertown | North = [[Belmont, Massachusetts|Belmont]] | Northeast = [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]] | South = [[Newton, Massachusetts|Newton]] | East = [[Boston]] | West = [[Waltham, Massachusetts|Waltham]] }}

==Demographics== {{See also|List of Massachusetts locations by per capita income}} {{Historical populations |type= USA |1840|1810 |1850|2837 |1860|3270 |1870|4326 |1880|5426 |1890|7073 |1900|9766 |1910|12875 |1920|21457 |1930|34913 |1940|35427 |1950|37329 |1960|39092 |1970|39307 |1980|34384 |1990|33284 |2000|32986 |2010|31915 |2020|35329 |2024*|35985 |source={{center|U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/watertowntowncitymassachusetts,US/PST045219|title=U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: United States|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=September 16, 2021}}</ref>}} |footnote=* = population estimate. {{Historical populations/Massachusetts municipalities references}}<ref>{{cite web | title=City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2024| publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] | access-date=December 2, 2025 | url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html}}</ref> }} As of the census<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> of 2000, there were 32,986 people, 14,629 households, and 7,329 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|8,025.7|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 15,008 housing units at an average density of {{convert|3,651.5|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 91.42% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 1.73% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.16% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 3.87% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.02% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.85% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.95% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 2.68% of the population.

There were 14,629 households, out of which 17.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.9% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 49.9% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 14.1% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 39.8% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $59,764, and the median income for a family was $67,441. Males had a median income of $46,642 versus $39,840 for females. The per capita income for the city was $33,262. About 4.5% of families and 6.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.6% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

===Armenian population=== [[File:St. Stephen Armenian Church Watertown, MA.JPG|right|thumb|250px|St. Stephen Armenian Apostolic Church]] [[File:Hairenik Association building - Watertown, Mass.JPG|thumb|Hairenik Association building – Watertown, Mass.]] Watertown is a major center of the [[Armenian diaspora]] in the United States, with the third-largest Armenian community in the United States, estimated as numbering 7,000<ref>[http://www.hayk.net/destinations/watertown-ma/ Armenians in Watertown, MA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121223033235/http://www.hayk.net/destinations/watertown-ma/ |date=December 23, 2012 }} in Hayk the Ubiquitous Armenian</ref> to over 8,000<ref>[https://www.armeniapedia.org/wiki/Watertown Watertown] in Armeniapedia.org</ref> as of 2007.<ref>Keith O'Brien, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120130055422/http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/08/18/adl_local_leader_fired_on_armenian_issue/ "ADL local leader fired on Armenian issue"], ''The Boston Globe'', August 18, 2007.</ref> Watertown ranks only behind the California cities of [[Glendale, California|Glendale]] and [[Fresno, California|Fresno]]. Watertown is also the venue for the publication of long-running Armenian newspapers in English and [[Armenian language|Armenian]], including: * Baikar Association Inc.'s ** ''[[Armenian Mirror-Spectator]]'' ** ''[[Baikar]]'' * [[Hairenik Association|Hairenik Association Inc.'s]] ** ''[[Armenian Weekly]]'' ** Հայրենիք ''([[Hairenik]] Weekly)'' ** ''[[Armenian Review]]'' ** Hairenik Association also runs a [[internet radio|web radio]] and a [[internet television|web TV station]]. Several Armenian grocery stores are found in East Watertown that sell produce and imported Armenian and Mediterranean products.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chudy |first=Katie |date=2015-07-15 |title=An Armenian Food Treasure Trove in Watertown: Lamejun, Boregs, and More |url=https://boston.eater.com/2015/7/15/8966061/cheap-eats-watertown-armenian-markets |access-date=2023-07-03 |website=Eater Boston |language=en}}</ref>

== Economy == Major employers based in Watertown include the Tufts Health Plan, [[New England Sports Network]], the [[Perkins School for the Blind]], [[Exergen Corporation]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.exergen.com/|title=Changing The Way The World Takes Temperature|website=Exergen|access-date=November 28, 2017}}</ref> [[Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.]], and [[athenahealth]].<ref>{{Cite web | title = Labor Market Information | access-date = December 16, 2014 | url = http://lmi2.detma.org/lmi/Top_employer_list.asp?gstfips=25&areatype=05&gCountyCode=000093 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150513225219/http://lmi2.detma.org/lmi/Top_employer_list.asp?gstfips=25&areatype=05&gCountyCode=000093 |archive-date=13 May 2015}}</ref>

== Transportation == Watertown borders [[Soldiers Field Road]] and the [[Massachusetts Turnpike]], major arteries into downtown Boston. Watertown is served by several [[Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority|MBTA]] bus and formerly [[Trolleybuses in Greater Boston|trackless trolley]] routes. Most of them pass through or terminate in [[Watertown Square (MBTA station)|Watertown Square]] or [[Watertown Yard (MBTA station)|Watertown Yard]]. The former [[Green Line A branch|A-Watertown]] branch of the [[Green Line (MBTA)|MBTA's Green Line]] ran to Watertown until 1969.

== Education == Public schooling is provided for approximately 2,600 students by [[Watertown Public Schools]], which operates three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school ([[Watertown High School (Massachusetts)|Watertown High School]]).<ref>{{cite web |title=Schools |url=https://www.ci.watertown.ma.us/66/Schools |publisher=Town of Watertown |access-date=December 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181228082825/https://www.ci.watertown.ma.us/66/Schools |archive-date=28 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.watertown.k12.ma.us/ |publisher=Watertown Public Schools |access-date=December 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020604063842/https://www.watertown.k12.ma.us/ |archive-date=4 June 2002}}</ref>

Private day schools: * [[Perkins School for the Blind|Perkins School]] * [[St. Stephen's Armenian Elementary School]] * Atrium School

There is also a supplementary Armenian language school, St. James Erebuni Armenian School ({{langx|hy|Սբ. Հակոբ Էրեբունի հայկական դպրոց}}), affiliated with the {{ill|St. James Armenian Apostolic Church|hy|Սուրբ Հակոբ եկեղեցի (Ուոթերթաուն)}}, which teaches both [[Western Armenian]] and [[Eastern Armenian]] to children. It originated as a solely Eastern Armenian supplementary school established in 1988 by the Armenian Society of Boston (Iranahye Miutyun); it was Greater Boston's first Eastern Armenian supplementary school. It became church-affiliated in 2015, and it merged with a Western Armenian school,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://mirrorspectator.com/2018/04/19/erebuni-school-at-st-james-celebrates-30th-anniversary/|title=Erebuni School at St. James Celebrates 30th Anniversary|newspaper=[[Armenian Mirror-Spectator]]|date=April 19, 2018|access-date=June 18, 2019}}</ref> St. Sahag & St. Mesrob Armenian School, in September of that year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://stjameswatertown.org/organizations/schools/armenian-school/|title=St. James Erebuni Armenian School|publisher=St. James Armenian Church|access-date=June 18, 2019}}</ref>

==Notable people==

[[File:BRCurtis.jpg|thumb|right|160px|[[Benjamin Robbins Curtis]]]] [[File:Eliza Dushku 2009.jpg|thumb|right|160px|[[Eliza Dushku]]]] {{div col}} * [[George Bachrach]], state senator representing Greater Boston Area; Democratic candidate for governor in 1994 and 1998 * [[Richard Bakalyan]] (1931–2015), actor<ref>{{IMDb name|id=0048147}}</ref> *[[Bertha Isabelle Barker]] (1868–1963), bacteriologist * [[Outram Bangs]] (1863–1932), zoologist * [[Seth Bemis]] (1775–1851), industrialist and entrepreneur * [[Hampartzoum Berberian]] (1905–1999), Armenian composer * [[Anna Bingham]] (1745–1829), businesswoman and innkeeper * [[Charles Brigham]] (1841–1925), nationally known architect and designer of the Watertown town seal * [[Benjamin Robbins Curtis]] (1809–1874), American jurist. Dissented in the [[Dred Scott]] case and defended [[Andrew Johnson]] during the president's impeachment trial * [[Frederick C. Crawford]] (1891–1994), American industrialist, founder of [[TRW Inc.|TRW]] and [[Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum]] * [[Jeff DaRosa]] (born 1982), musician, member of [[Dropkick Murphys]] and former member of [[the Exit]] * [[Small Saves|James DeMarco]] (born 1968), artist and cartoonist * [[Eliza Dushku]] (born 1980), film and TV actress, grew up in Watertown and graduated from Watertown High School * [[Convers Francis]] (1795–1863), minister ordained at the Watertown Unitarian Church, who, along with [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], [[Henry David Thoreau]] and others, had an important role in [[transcendentalism]] * [[Eugene Goodheart]] (1931–2020), literary critic at [[Brandeis University]] * [[Arshile Gorky]] (born Vostanik Manoug Adoian, 1904–1948), Armenian-American painter who had a seminal influence on Abstract Expressionism, lived in Watertown in the 1920s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Arshile Gorky |url=https://www.guggenheim-venice.it/en/art/artists/arshile-gorky/ |publisher=Peggy Guggenheim Collection |access-date=29 August 2024}}</ref> * [[Thomas Hastings (colonist)]] ({{circa|1605}}–1685), English immigrant ancestor of Rev. [[Theodore Parker]], among others * [[Charles Foster Hathaway]], founder of [[C.F. Hathaway Company]] shirt company * [[Harriet Hosmer]] (painter and sculptor), (1830–1908) known as the first female professional sculptor * [[Noah Kahan]] (artist and songwriter), (1997–present) known for his breakout 2022 album [[Stick Season]]. A Vermont native, Kahan moved to Watertown in July 2022. * [[Drastamat Kanayan]], better known as Dro (Դրօ), was an Armenian military commander and politician, a member of the [[Armenian Revolutionary Federation]]. He served as Defense Minister of Armenia in 1920, during the country's brief independence. Dro died in Watertown on March 8, 1956, and was buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery * [[Rachel Kaprielian]], former head of Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, and former state representative * [[Hakob Karapents]] (1925–1994), Iranian-Armenian writer * [[Helen Keller]] (1880–1968), attended the [[Perkins Institute for the Blind]] * [[Tim Kurkjian]], [[Major League Baseball]] analyst on [[ESPN]] * [[Nancy Masterton]], Maine state representative * [[Thomas Mayhew]], early settler and Governor of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and adjacent islands * [[Ross Miner]] (born 1991), skating coach and retired competitive figure skater * [[Stephen P. Mugar]] (1901–1982), founder of [[Star Market]], philanthropist * [[John Oldham (colonist)|John Oldham]] (1592–1636), early Puritan settler * [[Charles Pratt]] (1830–1891), wealthy oil industry pioneer and philanthropist * [[Thomas Reilly (Massachusetts politician)|Thomas Reilly]], Massachusetts attorney general (1999–2007) * [[Robert Seeley]] (1602–1668), co-founder of Watertown, landowner * [[Joe Seiders]], musician, drummer for the rock band [[The New Pornographers]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bostonherald.com/2008/05/02/meet-the-everyday-visuals/|title=Meet: The Everyday Visuals|last=Purcell|first=Kerry|publisher=[[Boston Herald]]|quote=The band: Kyle Fredrickson (guitar, keyboard) and Christopher Pappas (vocals, guitar, keyboard) share an apartment together in Watertown. They live just down the street from Joe Seiders (drums, vocals) and Eli Scheer (guitar, vocals, keyboard).|date=November 17, 2018|accessdate=April 18, 2025}}</ref> * [[Charles Sumner Tainter]] (1854–1940), inventor, associate, and nephew of [[Alexander Graham Bell]] * [[Warren Tolman]], Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor in 1998, governor in 2002, and attorney general in 2014 * [[Tui T. Sutherland]], author of [[Wings of Fire (novel series)|Wings of Fire]] * [[Steven Van Zandt]] (born 1950), guitarist of Springsteen's E-Street Band, actor from ''The Sopranos'', lived at 16 Edgecliff Road until the age of seven {{div col end}}

==Culture==

* [[Armenian Library and Museum of America]] at 65 Main Street in the former Coolidge Bank building * [[Hairenik Association]] at 80 Bigelow Avenue * [[Perkins Braille and Talking Book Library]], on the campus of the Perkins School for the Blind * Watertown Free Public Library<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.watertownlib.org/|title=Today at the WFPL|access-date=October 7, 2014}}</ref> at 123 Main Street, in a newly renovated and expanded building *The [[Mosesian Center for the Arts]] is a regional arts center located in the former US Army Arsenal along the Charles River. Offerings include visual and performing arts productions, classes, and workshops for all ages, literary/art discussions, and world-class theatrical and musical performances. * [[New Repertory Theatre]] is the resident professional theatre company at the [[Mosesian Center for the Arts]], 321 Arsenal Street * The [[Watertown Children's Theatre]] at the [[Mosesian Center for the Arts]] has been offering classes and productions for children in the area for 35 years. * The Plumbing Museum, located at 80 Rosedale Road in a former ice house next to the [[J.C. Cannistraro]] corporate offices. ''(Temporarily closed while searching for a new location.)''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.watertownmanews.com/2022/06/01/plumbing-museum-leaving-space-in-watertown/ | title=Plumbing Museum Leaving Space in Watertown }}</ref> * The [[Edmund Fowle House]] (1772) and Museum, at 28 Marshall St., the second oldest surviving house in Watertown (after the Browne House), later moved to its present location and remodeled by [[Charles Brigham]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=David J. Russo |url=http://www.davidjrusso.com/architecture/brigham/buildings/AddressSummary.php?id=11960132304264 |access-date=2023-07-03 |website=www.davidjrusso.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=HSW |url=http://www.historicalsocietyofwatertownma.org/HSW/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=65 |access-date=2023-07-03 |website=www.historicalsocietyofwatertownma.org}}</ref> * The [[Abraham Browne House]] (built {{circa|1694–1701}}) is a colonial house located at 562 Main Street. It is now a nonprofit museum operated by Historic New England and open to the public two afternoons a year. * [[Mount Auburn Cemetery]], founded in 1831, consists of 151.1 acres of well manicured grounds with numerous species of both indigenous and exotic tree and shrub species. It is Watertown's largest contiguous open space and extends into Cambridge to the east. It also features the George Washington Tower.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://mountauburn.org/washington-tower/ | title=Washington Tower | Mount Auburn Cemetery }}</ref> Parking is available for visitors. * [[Gore Place]] is an early 19th-century historic house museum and National Historic Landmark in Waltham, Massachusetts, with 31.6 acres of the 45-acre estate located in Watertown. * The [[Watertown Arsenal]] was a major American arsenal located on the northern shore of the Charles River in Watertown. Its site is now registered on the ASCE's List of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks and on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

==See also== * [[Greater Boston]] * [[Town council]] * [[Robert Seeley]] * [[Watertown Branch Railroad]] *[[Armenian Americans in Massachusetts]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080404033909/http://www.salemdeeds.com/atlases_results.asp?ImageType=index&atlastype=MassWorld&atlastown=&atlas=MASSACHUSETTS+1871&atlas_desc=MASSACHUSETTS+1871 ''1871 Atlas of Massachusetts''.] by Wall & Gray. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080404035120/http://www.salemdeeds.com/atlases_pages.asp?ImageName=PAGE_0010_0011.jpg&atlastype=MassWorld&atlastown=&atlas=MASSACHUSETTS+1871&atlas_desc=MASSACHUSETTS+1871&pageprefix= Map of Massachusetts.] [https://web.archive.org/web/20080404034546/http://www.salemdeeds.com/atlases_pages.asp?ImageName=PAGE_0044_0045.jpg&atlastype=MassWorld&atlastown=&atlas=MASSACHUSETTS+1871&atlas_desc=MASSACHUSETTS+1871&pageprefix= Map of Middlesex County.] * ''History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=QGolOAyd9RMC&q=intitle:History+intitle:of+intitle:Middlesex+intitle:County+intitle:Massachusetts Volume 1 (A-H)], [https://books.google.com/books?id=hNaAnwRMedUC&dq=intitle:History+intitle:of+intitle:Middlesex+intitle:County+intitle:Massachusetts&pg=PA3 Volume 2 (L-W)] compiled by Samuel Adams Drake, published 1879–1880. ** [https://books.google.com/books?id=hNaAnwRMedUC&dq=History+of+Middlesex+County,+Massachusetts&pg=PA433 Watertown article] by Francis S. Drake in volume 2, pages 433–460. * [https://books.google.com/books?id=htkiAAAAMAAJ&q=History+of+Watertown,+Massachusetts An Historical Sketch of Watertown, in Massachusetts], by Convers Francis, published in 1830. * Bond, Dr. Henry, ''Genealogies of Watertown, Massachusetts, Boston'': Higginson Book Company (undated modern reprint of 1860 edition). * Thompson, Roger, ''Divided We Stand, Watertown, Massachusetts 1630–1680'', Amherst: [[University of Massachusetts Press]], 2001. * Tourtellot, Arthur B., ''The Charles (Rivers of America series),'' New York: Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., 1941. * [[David Hackett Fischer|Fischer, David Hackett]], ''[[Albion's Seed, Four British Folkways in America]]'', New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.

==External links== {{Commons category}} * [https://www.watertown-ma.gov/ Watertown official website] * [http://www.historicwatertown.org/ Watertown History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430102855/http://www.historicwatertown.org/ |date=April 30, 2019 }} * [https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3764w.pm020040/ Zoomable view of Watertown circa 1879] {{Watertown, Massachusetts}} {{Middlesex County, Massachusetts}} {{Massachusetts}} {{Greater_Boston}} {{Boston Marathon}}

[[Category:Watertown, Massachusetts| ]] [[Category:Cities in Massachusetts]] [[Category:New England Puritanism]] [[Category:Populated places established in 1630]] [[Category:Armenian-American culture in Massachusetts]] [[Category:Armenian diaspora communities in the United States]] [[Category:Charles River]] [[Category:1630 establishments in the Massachusetts Bay Colony]] [[Category:Cities in Middlesex County, Massachusetts]] [[Category:Boston Marathon bombing]] [[Category:Streetcar suburbs]]