Conservative Small Town (Boston, Springfield, Lowell: middle-class, low crime, homes)

[yankee clipper]

What is the most conservative small town in Massachusetts? Looking for a town smaller then 10,000 population. I'm looking for conservative residents, politicians, judges, media, business, churches and schools. Good old fashioned america the way it was 50 years ago. Low crime and friendly people who dont view old time viewpoints or morals as a step backwards or anti-progressive. If you have first hand knowledge of the recommended area all the better. Thanks in advance. Looking forward to your responses.

[Xenos]

No hippies or lefties, at all?

You might be able to find something like Massachusetts 1958, but you are not going to find Iowa 1958. The best time-warp candidates would be certain small towns that retain the colonial-era feel to their downtowns, or still evoke the 19th-century milltown economies.

Take a look at the towns along Rt 1A heading south of West Roxbury. Dedham is a combination of old yankees with money and white ethnic working class types. Dedham came up with the jury that convicted Sacco and Vanzetti, which would probably be a plus for you.

Farther down the road, check out Walpole. Great little league baseball teams, solid schools and lots of church-going folks. A few evangelical churches, a conservative Catholic parish, and I think there is even one of those splitter 'Anglican' Episcopal churches that hold fast to the old prayer book and the old abhorrence of . Since I was educated at an Anglican boarding school in England, I could tell them they have it all backward, but that would be impolite of me.

A bit farther south you get the very picturesque colonial town of Wrentham. Very Waspy, but not too snooty. Visited a friend there and she reached into a drawer and pulled out some silverware given by John Adams to John Q. Adams. Old farms and limited development, aside from a great discount luxury mall on 495. A comfortable spot surrounded by deeply rooted history, with a great feeling of authenticity.

[RockinghamNative]

Most of Massachusetts is conservative--- in a Barry Goldwater way. Conservative personal morals, quiet living, fiscal prudence, and general propriety are old Puritan, New England virtues that are alive and well in "liberal" Massachusetts. Believe it or not, outside of Boston, Cambridge, and the various wealthy suburbs of Boston, California-style liberalism and pushiness is definitely not part of the landscape. Massachusetts small towns also have stringent policing, strict liquor laws, and a generally tight lid on things.

That said-- Massachusetts-style conservatism is very different from, say, Texas-style conservatism. It is not acceptable to ask people you've just met in a secular setting about their religious faith or specific church, and it never was in New England after about 1710. There are many very religious people in Massachusetts, including a growing community of evangelical Protestants, but asking acquaintances about their religious practices is considered an invasion of privacy. It is never acceptable to criticize a friend's religion.

Aside from that, you'll find that Massachusetts is in many ways one of the most conservative places in America in a social sense. Nudie bars and the like are resisted to the death in small towns, bars in general are frowned upon (or banned-- many Mass. towns are dry towns with no liquor sales), and if some high-school kids are dumb enough to throw a party, about 25 cops are on hand to arrest them.

North-eastern Massachusetts might be your cup of tea in particular along with the South Shore towns mentioned above. Here is a small selection:

Tewksbury and Chelmsford. Middle-class suburbs of Lowell, with a blue-collar flavor (many successful plumbers, electricians, and mechanical technicians live in these towns). Youth hockey is the passion, as are all sports. Fiscally conservative, many Republicans.

Wenham. Ancient North Shore town. The bluest of blue-blood, this town's residents were on the welcoming committee for the Mayflower. Ancient country club. Ancient mansions and colonial homes. They would rather move to North Korea than vote for a Kennedy. They miss Calvin Coolidge, and do many New Englanders.

Topsfield. Home of the famous Topsfield Fair. Pumpkin patches, antique stores, pickup trucks and the American flag are everywhere.

Merrimac (not to be confused with Merrimack, New Hampshire) and Groveland. Catty-corner to each other across the Merrimack just east of Haverhill, quiet old mill towns with strong Republican leanings.

Haverhill. Blue-collar shoe-manufacturing town reinventing itself as a high-tech suburb of Boston. No-nonsense, many vets, the epitome of "Regan Democrat" territory.

In fact, come to think of it, it would be easier to list the towns in Mass. that DON'T meet your parameters. Here they are:

Cambridge
Boston
Newton
Brookline
Wellseley
Weston
Northhampton
Springfield
Holyoke
Chelsea
Newburyport
Provincetown

[seamusnh]

Try New Hampshire.....

[holden125]

Up by Boxford and Topsfield, some places in SE Mass. or Western Mass.

[clevedark]

Are you planning some kind of TV show?