Carlisle

Miles from Boston 20

Population 4,717

Median house price $828,444 (2005)

Tax rate $12.99

Transportation Routes 27, 225

MCAS Member Concord-Carlisle Regional High School, whose students ranked 14th out of 373 systems statewide, according to a Globe analysis of 2004 MCAS results. Member Minuteman Regional High School of Applied Arts and Sciences in Lexington.

Census facts Median family income is $142,350 compared $50,046 nationally; 83 percent held a bachelor's degree or higher compared to US rate of 24 percent.

Website www.carlisle.org

CARLISLE -- The police log, as printed in the Carlisle Mosquito newspaper, included the following event on Jan. 17 at 4:43 p.m.: ''Horses were loose at Hillside Drive and Meadowbrook Road. The owners went after them."

Situated 20 miles northwest of Boston, Carlisle is a former copper mining, dairy farming, barrel-making town that has settled into its role of suburb without the hustle and bustle of its neighbors.

''Carlisle has chosen to grow slowly and idiosyncratically and to keep many of the values of its rural past," according to a town history.

What is here, in addition to expensive housing on large lots, is some of the prettiest conservation areas around, including the Great Brook Farm State Park, a 1,000-acre park that includes a working dairy farm and 20 miles of trails, according to the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.

About 25 percent of the town is state park, town forest, privately held reservations, or conservation easements on private property, the town estimates.

Carlisle was incorporated in 1805 and current attractions include its rural character and high-performing schools. It retains its historic open town meeting.

Realtor.com recently listed 26 single-family homes, from $547,500 for a three-bed, three-bath, 1,869-square-foot home to $2.59 million for a five-bed, six-bath, 7,200-square-foot new home on 5.6 acres. Median price of a single-family home in 2005 was $828,444, according to the Warren Group, which publishes real estate information.

JOHN RICHARDSON ELLEMENT