Town Spotlight! Southbridge, MA

5/13/2020 (Permalink)

Welcome to part two of our 'Spotlight Series'! This week, we'll discuss the town of Southbridge, MA! 

Southbridge, as you may know, is located in Worcester County, MA. As of July 2018, the population was 16,931. The town was incorporated in the winter of 1816. Before becoming incorporated, the Nipmuck and Mohegan tribes lived in Southbridge. 

Fun fact! Southbridge is one of the 14 municipalities in the state of Massachusetts that are technically cities, but remain to have 'The town of..." in their name. 

With water power coming from the Quinebaug River, Southbridge became a hub for saw and gristmills (flour or corn mill) in the 18th century, when the 19th century came around, textile mills started to take over the town! 

Southbridge has earned the title "Eye of the Commonwealth" (of Massachusetts" due to their long running history of making optical products! The American Optical Company was founded in 1826 in Southbridge, prior to this, most frames and lenses had to be imported from Europe. William Beecher from Connecticut traveled to Southbridge to begin a life in the jewelry trade. Then, one day, he got a pair of awful eyeglasses. He thought to himself "I can do this better!" then he got to work, and what we now know as the American Optical Company soon began, and for a lack of better words, exploded!! By 1905, they were already employing 2,000 people! 

By the 1960's, Southbridge had a movie theater, an airport, and an AM radio station! 

Today, the Town of Southbridge has a (semi) brand new middle/high school, one private catholic school, 2 elementary schools, a fully functional police and fire department, and a hospital! If you're into nature and hiking, Southbridge is home to some beautiful parks, conservation areas, and trails! 

To learn more about the wonderful town of Southbridge, you can visit here and here

SERVPRO of Southern Worcester County is proud to be able to provide water and fire damage restoration services to cities and towns like Southbridge! Don't forget...we're available 24/7/365 for any of your restoration or cleanup needs!

(508) 223-0505