The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Fitchburg

FITCHBURG, Mass., city, one of the county-seats of Worcester County, on the New York, New Haven and Hartford and the Boston and Maine railroads, 50 miles northwest of Boston. It comprises the villages of Traskville, Rockville, South Fitchburg, West Fitchburg and Cleghorn. It contains a public library, high school, State normal school, large musical library, Burbank Hospital, an old ladies' home, a home for working women, a children's home, electric street railroad, electric lights, several national and savings banks, and a number of daily and weekly newspapers. The various industries employ about 5,000 people. There are manufactories of pianofortes, tools, machinery, paper, saws, electrical apparatus, turned-wood novelties, axle grease, boilers, lining metals, castings, pumps, steam-engines, bicycles, firearms, cotton and woolen goods, etc. The United States census of manufactures for 1914 showed within the city limits 137 industrial establishments of factory grade, employing 9,570 persons; 8,837 being wage earners receiving annually a total of $4,815,000 in wages. The capital invested aggregated $24,881,000, and the year's output was valued at $23,983,000: of this, $7,886,000 was the value added by manufacture. Fitchburg was settled in 1719, but formed a part of Lunenburg until 1764, when it was incorporated. It was chartered as a city in 1872. The government is administered, under the original city charter, by an annually elected mayor. Fitchburg owns its waterworks. Pop. 40,507. Consult Torrey, &lsquo;History of Worcester County&rsquo; (Philadelphia 1889).