Stow, Massachusetts

Stow, Massachusetts
Town center of Stow
Town center of Stow
Official seal of Stow, Massachusetts
Motto(s): 
"A place for growing up in and a place for coming back to"
Location of Stow in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°26′13″N 71°30′22″W / 42.43694°N 71.50611°W / 42.43694; -71.50611
CountryUnited States
StateMassachusetts
CountyMiddlesex
Settledc. 1660
Established1669
IncorporatedMay 16, 1683
Government
 • TypeOpen town meeting
 • Town
   Administrator
Denise Dembkowski
Area
 • Total18.1 sq mi (46.9 km2)
 • Land17.6 sq mi (45.6 km2)
 • Water0.5 sq mi (1.2 km2)
Elevation
231 ft (70 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total7,174
 • Density407.6/sq mi (157.4/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (Eastern)
ZIP Code
01775
Area code351 / 978
FIPS code25-68050
GNIS feature ID0618236
Websitewww.stow-ma.gov

Stow is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is located 21 miles (34 km) west of Boston, in the MetroWest region of Massachusetts. The population was 7,174 at the 2020 census.[1] Stow was officially incorporated in 1683 with an area of approximately 40 square miles (100 km2).

Over centuries it gave up land as newer, smaller towns were created, ceding land to Harvard (1732), Shirley (1765), Boxborough (1783), Hudson (1866) and Maynard (1871). Stow now has an area of 18.1 square miles (47 km2). With the exception of factories at Assabet Village and Rock Bottom (later Maynard and Gleasondale), Stow was primarily sparsely settled farm and orchard land until the 1950s.

  1. ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Stow town, Middlesex County, Massachusetts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 6, 2021.