Barre, Massachusetts
town in Massachusetts, United States
Barre ( BARR-ee) is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,530 at the 2020 census. It contains the census-designated place of the same name.
History
Originally called the Northwest District of Rutland, it was first settled by Europeans in 1720. The town was incorporated as a district on June 17, 1774, as Hutchinson after Thomas Hutchinson, colonial governor of Massachusetts. Eventually, along with 41 other districts in the state, they were all incorporated on August 23, 1775, by the Massachusetts Court. The next year on November 7, 1776, it was renamed Barre in honor of Colonel Isaac Barré, an Irish-born MP who was a champion of American Independence. "This township was originally known as Rutland, West District; but prior to 1770 its name was changed to "Hutchinson", in honor of the Hon. Thomas Hutchinson who was Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in 1765, became acting Governor in 1769, and Governor in 1770. When, in 1774, on account of his Tory proclivities, Governor Hutchinson resigned his office and went to England, his name and memory were so execrated by the patriots of the township of Hutchinson that, in 1776, the General Assembly of Massachusetts changed the name of the township to "Barré."
In 1849 the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad was founded to build a railroad from Worcester to Barre, but it failed to raise enough capital to start construction.
“Barre, Massachusetts” enters the record as town in Massachusetts, United States. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Barre, Massachusetts and town can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Barre, Massachusetts” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Barre, Massachusetts and town provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 25, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3635167. VIAF identifies the subject as 134873411. The Library of Congress control number is n81018368. Authority coordinates are 42.423, -72.106. 4 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1720, 1774 and 1775.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Barre, Massachusetts”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Barre, Massachusetts primary sources, Barre, Massachusetts archive and Barre research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Barre, Massachusetts” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.