Holbrook

The playground at Holbrook's South Elementary School was rebuilt through a community wide volunteer effort. (MATTHEW J. LEE/GLOBE STAFF/FILE 2008)

Median home price: Single family, $325,000; Condominiums, $217,500
Residential tax rate: $12.42
Average tax bill: $3,762
Choice location: Holbrook Town Forest is a 115 acres of natural paths and backs onto the Cranberry Pond area of Braintree.
Cocktail party nugget: While the town is 136 years old, it has only celebrated 33 "birthdays" because it was incorporated on Feb. 29, 1872, a leap year.
SOURCES: Warren Group, Town of Holbrook, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

THE GOODS This small South Shore town has holiday and community celebrations throughout the year, emphasizing the importance of remaining tight-knit. The library offers extensive programs for youth, parents, and elders and is planning for an upgrade. A small strip mall is under construction in downtown, which is defined by the intersection of Routes 37 and 139. Pizza shops and locally owned restaurants are plentiful. There is an MBTA commuter rail stop on the Holbrook/Randolph line on Route 139, a Stop & Shop supermarket, and CVS and Walgreens drugstores.

PROS Housing runs the gamut: First-time homebuyers can have their choice of low-priced (below $200,000) ranch homes in neighborhoods built for World War II veterans. Those looking for more amenities can find the higher-end new construction, many of which take shape as center-entrance Colonials priced around $600,000. Historic Federal-style homes built after the shoe industry boomed in town can be found on North Franklin, Union, and Center streets. North Franklin Street is also home to many two-story, hip-roofed elegant Federals. At the turn of the century, large homes varying in Victorian degrees were built with front entrances and wraparound porches.

CONS There is little industry so the tax burden falls heavily on homeowners. After its second request for an override was defeated, town officials reworked their zoning to attract business. To ease trash removal costs, officials are negotiating a controversial lease with a company to run a transfer station in the industrial section of town. Also, some neighborhoods have poor water quality, some of it rust-tainted, and the town is amidst an expensive, long-term clean-up.

JOHN R. ELLEMENT