It is now a suburban industrial town at the junction of the Boston-Merrimack corridor, but for most of its history it was almost entirely agricultural, selling hops and rye to Boston and supplementing that income with small shoe-making shops. Early railroad expansion passed the town by (although the town was serviced by the Middlesex Turnpike), limiting its early development, and Burlington continued to cure hams for the Boston market and produce milk, fruit, and vegetables.
This picture changed drastically, however, as soon as Route 128 was built. The highway kicked off an enormous expansion, and between 1955 and 1965 Burlington was the fastest growing town in the state. In one five-year period, its population tripled as residential and commercial retail development exploded creating the town's present character.
Burlington's public schools have recently graduated many prominent athletes, including four Olympians, and others who have gone to have successful careers the NHL, NFL, and Major League Baseball. In addition, Burlington is home to national champion Pop Warner cheerleading teams and also won States in Men's Gymnastics and Wrestling. The High School Varsity Cheerleading team has also won states every year so far starting in 2004 as well as the NCA Nationals in 2007 making them the first team from New England to win at that competition. The football team is the Burlington Red Devils.
Points of
Interest:
The Burlington Town Common and Simonds Park
are in the center of town and there are
multiple parks and public recreation
facilities throughout town which have
basketball courts, tennis courts, baseball
fields, soccer fields, gymnasia, an indoor
skating rink (Burlington Ice Palace) and a
skatepark.
The Burlington Public Library is on Sears
Street adjoining the Town Common.
The Burlington Historical Museum
The Meeting House of the Second Parish in
Woburn is on Lexington Street, just off of
the Town Common.
The Mill Pond Conservation Area is in the
eastern part of town bordering Woburn and
Wilmington. The largest conservation area in
Burlington, the Mill Pond Conservation Area
includes over 140 acres (0.57 km2) of
rolling and steep terrain. Numerous marked
and unmarked trails cross through the
conservation area. These trails allow for
long enjoyable hiking or biking experiences.
The land has numerous access points,
including the corner of Winter and Chestnut
Streets, through a gate at the end of Hansen
Avenue, and through a gate at the end of the
offshoot from Town Line Road.
The Mill Pond located within the Mill Pond
Conservation Area. Fishing is allowed with
special permit. The pond is feeding one of
the two water treatment plants in
Burlington. The Mill Pond Water Treatment
Plant has been upgraded in 2007 and has the
capacity to treat up to 6 million gallons of
water per day. On the pond's island there's
is a rope swing, an attraction for many
locals.
The Burlington Landlocked Forest, also known
as the Burlington Landlocked Parcel,
consists of 270 acres (1.1 km2) spanning the
borders of Burlington, Bedford, and
Lexington, and contains 12 miles (19 km) of
hiking/mountain biking trails, vernal pools,
abundant wildlife, historic stone walls and
other structures, meadows, and old growth
forest. The majority of the land is owned by
the Town of Burlington which has kept it as
open space since acquiring it by eminent
domain in 1985. It borders Route 3 in
Burlington to the east, Route 62 in Bedford
to the north, conservation land in Lexington
to the west and Route 128 to the South. The
main trail head to the Forest is located at
the intersection of Routes 3 and 62 in
Bedford. A secondary trail head can be found
on Turning Mill Road in Lexington, under the
power lines at the site of the future West
Lexington Greenway. The Landlocked Parcel is
currently not protected land and there were
discussions in 2008 between the Town of
Burlington and Patriot Partners to sell the
land to the developer who would develop part
of the forest to build a large biotechnology
complex. A citizen group, Friends of the
Burlington Landlocked Forest, has been
organized to prevent this sale and to make
the Forest designated conservation land.
The Mary Cummings Park was envisioned as one
of the great public parks of Greater Boston,
however it fell into great neglect. This
over 200-acre (0.81 km2) public park on the
Burlington-Woburn border was created by Mary
P.C. Cummings 1927 and was entrusted to the
City of Boston to be kept forever open as a
recreational park. In recent years, the City
of Boston has tried to discourage public
access and has investigated selling the park
to fund the Rose Kennedy Greenway. The
Burlington RC Flyers maintain a field in the
park.
The Kevin James movie Mall Cop was filmed in
the Burlington Mall and scenes from the Ben
Affleck movie The Company Men were filmed in
an office building off of Wall Street, near
Route 128.
