COMMUNITY SNAPSHOT
Milton
February 20, 2005
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MILTON -- If a river could have dirt under its nails, the Neponset would have been black with it, as it supplied the power to run the iron, paper, and saw mills as well as the first chocolate factory in New England during the formative days of this town.
The mills are gone, the chocolate factory is a condominium development, and the Neponset supplies ambience to this affluent suburb that shares both a border and an Irish influence with Boston.
''It's an old Yankee town that over the course of the 20th century became one of the most Irish communities the United States," said Charles McCarthy, chairman of the Board of Selectmen. ''In town records, you see some of the Mayflower names and Mayflower-sounding names. Yet, if you looked at a town report today it would be O-this and Mc-that."
According to the US Census, 10 percent of Milton residents are black, a fact that McCarthy points to with pride. But one study suggested the police department was unduly targeting minorities driving through the town, an assertion rejected by police, and over the years, some critics have said minority families run into roadblocks as they try to buy a home here.
''We have some work to do, but with that said . . . we are a truly racially integrated town," McCarthy said. In some communities, he said, racial integration is defined by a black family buying the house of a white family, which then leaves town. ''Milton has had a fairly steady minority component without white flight, without real estate redlining. . . . We meet on the soccer field and we meet in church and we meet in the marketplace, and it is an unremarkable state of mind in Milton."
One remarkable process now underway here is the $100 million-plus overhaul to the town's elementary, middle, and high schools, an effort that often divided the town because of its cost, but which also led a Milton-based private foundation to donate about $10 million to pay for athletic facilities at the high school. About 26 percent of residents are under 18, according to the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. ''The school system is terrific," McCarthy said.
On a recent week, Realtor.com listed 83 single-family homes, ranging from $349,900 for a three-bedroom, one-bath, 1,200-square-foot home to $2.9 million for a four-bedroom, five-bath, 10,000-square-foot home.
With most of the town built out, McCarthy said officials are looking for ways to help folks who grew up in Milton come home again.
''We don't want to be Wellesley," he said. ''We want to be Milton."
JOHN ELLEMENT
© Copyright 2005 Globe Newspaper Company.
380 Central Ave. One-family Colonial, built in 1938, 1,776 square feet, 6 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, on 10,019-square-foot lot. $629,000
16 Gerald Road One-family ranch, built in 1952, 1,115 square feet, 6 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, on 7,405-square-foot lot. $430,000
267 Hillside St. One-family Colonial, built in 1932, 4,035 square feet, 10 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, on 142,006-square-foot lot. $1,266,100
49 Hinckley Road One-family Colonial, built in 1925, 3,104 square feet, 7 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, on 11,326-square-foot lot. $735,000
70 Sassamon Ave. One-family ranch, built in 1958, 1,315 square feet, 5 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, on 13,939-square-foot lot. $390,000
