“Framingham men have been among the first,the finest,the bravest…willing to endure personal sacrifice so that all may enjoy the liberties and freedoms that are ours today.”
Framingham Historian Tom A.C. Ellis
(From Stephan W. Herring's Framingham,An American Town)
Framingham Memorial Veterans Park
Image: City of Framingham Webpage/Wayne Dion
Some food for thought...
As we walk through history,it is helpful to consider the size of our population base when examining the service,impact and sacrifices made by the citizens of Framingham.For example, during the American Revolutionary War,they fought along Battle Road and on the battlefields of Bunker Hill,White Plains, Saratoga and beyond.According to eminent Framingham Historian Josiah H. Temple in his 1887 "History of Framingham Massachusetts," 153 Framingham men fought along Battle Road and approximately 80 were at the Battle of Bunker Hill.The town’s contribution to the cause included the supreme sacrifice of at least twenty-seven (27) of its citizens.At the time, the town's total population was only 1,500.
Edgell Memorial Library
Image: Framingham History Center (FHC)
Civil War Records indicate 530 of its men fought in that conflict.Most served in Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry units.There were 52 fatalities,while another eighty-one (81) were wounded in action.Eleven-hundred (1,100) Framingham Citizens served in WWI of which 33 did not return.By the end of WWII,the number of Framingham men and women in the services surpassed 3,000,including 200 women.Framingham News articles from 1943 claim the town had 500 men in the Army Air Corps of which 150 were commissioned pilots.Eighty-seven (87) Framingham citizens made the ultimate sacrifice in that war. We will explore other historical periods in the near future.
Here are the historical population counts for Framingham, Massachusetts from 1699 to 2022 (Sources:FHC,US Census)
- 1699: 350
- 1765: 1,313
- 1790: 1,598
- 1841: 2,881(estimate)
- 1850: 4,252
- 1860: 4,227
- 1865: 4,665
- 1870: 4,968
- 1880: 6,235
- 1890: 9,239
- 1900: 11,302
- 1910: 12,948
- 1920: 17,033
- 1930: 22,210
- 1940: 23,214
- 1950: 28,086
- 1960: 44,526
- 1970: 64,048
- 1975: 65,000
- 1980: 65,113
- 1990: 64,989
- 2000: 66,910
- 2010: 68,318
- 2020: 72,362
- 2022: 70,963
Captain Arthur R. Brooks, WW1 Framingham Ace
Image: National Air and Space Museum
Lieutenant Colonel Norm MacDonald, WWII Framingham Double Ace
Image: American Air Museum
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