Belmont was established on March 18, 1859, by former citizens of, and on land from the bordering towns of,
Watertown, to the south;
Waltham, to the west; and
Arlington, then known as West Cambridge, to the north. The founders desired a
dry township (alcohol is now legal to purchase in Belmont). The town was named after
Bellmont, the estate of the largest donor to its creation,
John Perkins Cushing, after which Cushing Square is named. After Cushing's estate nearly burned to the ground, it was converted to a Belmont Public Library branch. The easternmost section of the town, including the western portion of
Fresh Pond, was annexed by
Cambridge in 1880. The annexation was the result of a dispute over a
slaughterhouse licensed in 1878 and situated next to Fresh Pond; Cambridge wished to protect Fresh Pond (part of its
water supply network) by removing neighboring buildings. Before its incorporation, Belmont was an
agrarian town, with several large farms servicing Boston for produce and livestock. It remained largely agrarian until the turn of the 20th century, when
trolley service was introduced and roads were improved, making it more attractive as a residential area, most notably for the building of large estates. Belmont's population grew by over 70 percent during the 1920s. Other commercial enterprises in Belmont included
clay mining and waste management. The reclamation of a large dump and quarry off Concord Avenue into sites for the
Belmont High School and the
Clay Pit Pond is a lasting example of environmental planning. With the introduction of
automobiles and
highways, Belmont continued its transition to a commuter-based suburb throughout the 20th century. The
John Birch Society was headquartered in Belmont from its founding in 1958 until its relocation to
Appleton, Wisconsin, in 1989. The building at 395 Concord Avenue later became the headquarters of the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR), which is expanding and renovating its facility .
Railroad history , but the building itself is now privately owned. Belmont was once served by two railroads, the
Fitchburg Railroad and the
Central Massachusetts Railroad, both of which later became part of the
Boston & Maine Railroad system. Originally the two railroads each had their own separate trackage through town, but in 1952 the Central Mass tracks were removed between Hill's Crossing and
Clematis Brook (Waltham), and rail traffic was rerouted over the Fitchburg line. Presently, the
MBTA operates the
Fitchburg Line through Belmont as part of its
MBTA commuter rail service. Passenger service on the line terminates at
Wachusett station in
Fitchburg. The station stops at
Belmont Center and
Waverley were once
level crossings, and pedestrian and vehicle traffic had to cross directly over rails on public roads. In 1907, a stone
arch bridge, elevated embankment, and station building were constructed such that the track runs over the road. At Waverley, the grade was lowered so that the tracks ran under Trapelo Road, though the platform did not have an enclosed structure there. A second historic railroad station building exists in Belmont, though it is not obvious. The one-room Wellington Hill Station was built in the 1840s as a private school, not far from its current location in Belmont Center. It was then used by the Fitchburg Railroad from 1852 to 1879. When the railroad decided to replace the station with a larger structure, the building was moved to the Underwood Estate and used as a summer house. In 1974, the station was donated to the Belmont Historical Society. It was restored and moved to its current location in 1980. As of 2024, plans are underway to construct the
Belmont Community Path, a
rail trail across Belmont, using the abandoned
Central Massachusetts Railroad right-of-way along the existing Fitchburg Line tracks. When completed this trail will be part of the
Mass Central Rail Trail.
Present day Belmont remains a primarily residential suburb, with little population growth since the 1950s. It is best known for the mansion-filled Belmont Hill neighborhood, although most residents live in more densely settled, low-lying areas around the Hill. There are three major commercial centers in the town: Belmont Center in the center, Cushing Square in the south, and Waverley Square in the west. Town Hall and other civic buildings are in Belmont Center. Large tracts of land from former farms and greenhouse estates form public or publicly accessible areas such as Rock Meadow, Habitat, portions of the
McLean Hospital tract and various town fields. ==Geography==