Holliston

The town of Holliston is located 24.6 miles west of Boston and is within short driving distance of Interstate 495 and the Massachusetts Turnpike. Route 16 and Route 126 pass through the town. Once populated by farms up until the latter part of the nineteenth century, Holliston has now transformed itself into a bedroom community for Boston and the Route 128 technology belt. Holliston is known for its quaint Town Center with its Fiske's General Store, the Superette, numerous antique shops and boutiques, public library, town hall, and white-steepled churches. A surplus of white antique colonial, Greek revival and Victorian homes with well-manicured lawns dot the landscape along Washington Street (Massachusetts Route 16), with Holliston Center and the Town Green wedged in between - a scene reminiscent of the distinctive New England character. The Town of Holliston has a public school system which serves students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district include two elementary schools, a middle school and a high school. Public schools include: Sam Placentino Elementary School, Fred W. Miller Elementary School, Robert H. Adams Middle School, and Holliston High School. Holliston was first settled in 1659 by Massachusetts Bay Puritans. The town of Holliston was incorporated on December 3, 1724 by virtue of approval by the General Court petition requesting that "the western part of Sherborn be a Town." The name was taken in honor of Thomas Hollis, Esq. of London, England, a benefactor of Harvard College. The first town meeting was held at the house of Timothy Leland on December 23, 1724, "at which five selectmen and all other required officers were chosen." The town has grown from a community of a few hundred residents setting aside ten pounds per year for public education to a community of 13,801 with an annual budget of over $40 million including more than $23 million for a nationally recognized school system.