Randolph, Massachusetts
Randolph is a town in
Norfolk County,
Massachusetts,
United States. As of the 2003 census, the town population was 32,963.
Randolph is located at (42.173417, -71.049124). Located fifteen miles south of Boston, at the intersection of Routes 128 and 24, Randolph's location has been an important factor in its economic and social history.
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 27.2
km² (10.5
mi²). 26.1 km² (10.1 mi²) of it is land and 1.1 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (4.10%) is water.
The Town was Incorporated in 1793 and was formerly the "south precinct" of the Town of Braintree. Randolph was named after Peyton Randolph, the First President of Continental Congress.
Randolph was formerly the home of several large
shoe companies. Many popular styles were made exclusively in Randolph, including the "Randies". At the time of Randolph's incorporation in 1793, local farmers were making shoes and boots to augment household incomes from subsistence farming. In the next half
century, this sideline had become the town's major
industry, attracting workers from across
New England,
Canada and
Ireland and later from
Italy and
Eastern Europe, each adding to the quality of life in the town. By 1850 Randolph had become one of the nation's leading boot producers, shipping boots as far away as
California and
Australia.
The decline of the shoe industry at the beginning of the
twentieth century led to Randolph's evolution as a suburban residential community. Boot and shoe making has been supplanted by light manufacturing and service
industries. The town's proximity to major transportation networks has resulted in an influx of families from
Boston and other localities who live in Randolph but work throughout the metropolitan area.
This town is the most DIVERSE in the South Shore with 70% African Americans and 20% White and 10% of different origins. Randolph has the most students in schools that are in the ESL program which helps students who can't speak english.
Randolph has a representative town meeting form of government(240 members elected from eight precincts plus at-large members). An elected five member board of selectmen, and an executive secretary who is appointed by the board of selectmen. There also are the following elected boards:
*Three member Board of Health
*Five member Board of Public Works
*Five member Planning Board
*Three member Board of Assessors
*Five member School Committee
Randolph has 5 elementry schools, a middle school and a high school.The school system is run by a school committee.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 30,963 people, 11,313 households, and 7,986 families residing in the town. The
population density was 1,187.2/km² (3,075.2/mi²). There were 11,533 housing units at an average density of 442.2/km² (1,145.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 62.83%
White, 20.85%
Black or
African American, 0.23%
Native American, 10.18%
Asian, 0.04%
Pacific Islander, 2.53% from
other races, and 3.35% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 3.25% of the population.
There were 11,313 households out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were
married couples living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.4% were non-families. 23.6% 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 2.71 and the average family size was 3.25.
In the town the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $55,255, and the median income for a family was $61,942. Males had a median income of $41,719 versus $32,500 for females. The
per capita income for the town was $23,413. About 2.5% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 4.5% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.
*
Master Plan Implementation Committee*
Welcome to Randolph, Massachusetts*
Randolph Town Clerk*
Randolph Public Schools*
Randolph Community Television
