Burlington, Massachusetts

Burlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Though it is widely believed that Burlington takes its name from the English town of Bridlington, Yorkshire, this has never been confirmed. It was first settled in 1641 and was officially incorporated in 1799. Several of the early homesteads, such as the Francis Wyman House (dating from 1666) are still standing.

Burlington is now a suburban industrial town at the junction of the Boston-Merrimack corridor. For most of its history, however, 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 but this picture changed dramatically as soon as Route 128 was built. The highway kicked off an enormous expansion. Between 1955 and 1965, Burlington was the fastest growing town in the entire state.

Situated in northeastern Massachusetts, Burlington is bordered by Bedford on the west, Billerica on the northwest, Wilmington on the northeast, Woburn on the southeast and south and Lexington on the south. Burlington is 12 miles (19 km) south of Lowell, 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Boston and 224 miles (360 km) from New York City. The largest body of water is the 500-million-US-gallon (1,900,000 m3) Mill Pond Reservoir in the eastern part of the town.