FITCH′BURG. A city (including the
villages of West Fitchburg, South Fitchburg, Cleghorn, Crockerville, Rockville, and Traskville) and one of the county-seats of Worcester County, Mass., 25 miles north of Worcester and 50 miles northwest of Boston; on a branch of the Nashua River, and on the Fitchburg division of the Boston and Maine, and the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroads (Map: Massachusetts, D 2). It is the seat of the Fitchburg State Normal School, and has a public library, Burbank Hospital, an old ladies' home, and a children's home. The industrial interests include granite quarries, and manufactures of cotton yarns and woolens, ginghams, zephyrs, worsteds, cars, firearms, bicycles, steam-engines, electrical appliances, saws, paper, machinery, tools, etc. Fitchburg was settled in 1719, but formed a part of Lunenburg until 1764, when it was incorporated. It was chartered as a city in 1872. The government is administered, under the
city charter, by an annually elected mayor
and a bicameral city council, of which the upper
house is elected at large and the common council
by wards. With the consent of the board of
aldermen, the executive nominates the park
commission, board of health, license commission, library trustees, and police department; all other municipal officials are elected by the council. The city owns and operates its water-works. Population, in 1890, 22,037; in 1900, 31,531. Consult Torrey, History of the Town of Fitchburg (Fitchburg, 1865).