Maynard MA Town and School Info

 

The Assabet River runs through the town of Maynard and has shaped its entire history, past and present. Although settled in 1638, Maynard belonged to Stow and Sudbury until its incorporation in 1871. The town was named after entrepreneur Amory Maynard, who owned and operated the Assabet Woolen Mill, which produced much of the material for uniforms of the Union Army in the Civil War. 

 

Never as affluent as its neighbors, Maynard has long been viewed as a blue-collar town of hardworking and patriotic citizens who band together in tough times. When the woolen mill closed in 1950, local business people purchased the property and attracted office renters. The most famous of these was Digital Equipment Corporation. Maynard became its international headquarters. Unfortunately, Digital did not survive the dot-com bust of the late 80’s and was sold to Compaq Computer which was later acquired by Hewlett Packard and moved from town.   Now the mill has been reborn as “Clock Tower Place". Many start up firms lease space, including Monster.com and " 38 Studios", owned by Red Sox great Curt Schilling.

 

Maynard is small, only 5.4 total square miles. Some of that is water-- the fast flowing Assabet River.

 

 In 2005, the federal government gave Maynard the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge, offering 10 miles of trails. This gift represented the return of some lost territory. The story is, that in 1942 the federal government needed an ammunition depot. Maynard property owners were forced to sell over 800 acres of the towns most valuable and scenic farm land.   The Maynard National Ordnance Supply Depot came into existence. It is no longer used for that purpose and the site has been thoroughly cleaned. 

 

 Today, Maynard has over 10,000 residents and a sense of pride in its heritage and capacity for positive change.