Shirley, Massachusetts
Shirley, Massachusetts | |
|---|---|
Old Shirley Municipal Building in 2008. | |
|
Seal | |
Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts | |
| Coordinates: 42°33′31″N 71°38′47″W / 42.55861°N 71.64639°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| County | Middlesex |
| Settled | 1720 |
| Incorporated | 1753 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Open town meeting |
| Area | |
• Total | 15.9 sq mi (41.2 km2) |
| • Land | 15.8 sq mi (41.0 km2) |
| • Water | 0.077 sq mi (0.2 km2) |
| Elevation | 279 ft (85 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 7,431 |
| • Density | 469/sq mi (181/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (Eastern) |
| ZIP Codes |
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| Area code | 351 / 978 |
| FIPS code | 25-61590 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0618234 |
| Website | shirley-ma |
Shirley is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately thirty miles west-northwest of Boston. The population was 7,431 at the 2020 census. It contains census-designated place of Shirley and part of Devens. The town has a well-preserved historic New England town center.
It is home to the Massachusetts Correctional Institution – Shirley, a medium-security state prison. (The neighboring maximum-security Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center lies just outside the town limits in the town of Lancaster.) The remains of a Shaker village have been preserved within the grounds of the prison.