Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE           

Contact: Abbie Goodman or Susan D’Olimpio
Monday-Friday: Main: 617/227-5551

June 2, 2004        

Natick is the Center of Population for Massachusetts: Based on the 2000 Census
Ceremonial Marker Unveiled June 2, 2004

If Massachusetts was a flat, rigid, weightless surface and the entire population of 6,349,097 weighed exactly the same, where would the perfect balance point be? For the 2000 Census, the balance point or Center of Population for Massachusetts is in Natick, MA, at the Natick School Department's Memorial Field Athletic Complex. On June 2, local officials, students and high school teachers, and members of the Massachusetts Association of Land Surveyors and Civil Engineers (MALSCE) gathered at this key point to unveil a monument signifying the population center of Massachusetts.

“For the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the US Census Bureau has determined that the total population, as of the 2000 census, is 6,349,097 people and that the state's center of population lies at 42.271831 degrees north latitude and 71.363628 degrees west longitude,” said MALSCE President Emily Holmberg, PLS, at today’s ceremony. Holmberg owns the land surveying firm of EB Holmberg and Associates of Easthampton, MA.

The Massachusetts Association of Land Surveyors and Civil Engineers (MALSCE) has set a high accuracy survey control monument representing the Commonwealth’s Center of Population in Natick based on the 2000 Census, as used by the US Census Bureau. The concept of the center of population is that of a balance point: the center of population is the point at which an imaginary, weightless, rigid, and flat (no elevation effects) surface representation of the 48 conterminous states and the District of Columbia (or 50 states as appropriate to the computation) would balance if weights of identical size were placed on it so that each weight represented the location on one person.

Land surveying is one of the world’s oldest professions. Surveyors perform boundary surveys to tell people about their property boundaries, map the topography of land for engineering design, establish elevations of homesites for flood insurance, perform title surveys for real estate transactions, certify that structures are built according to design, lay out buildings, subdivisions and other construction projects so the construction companies can relate the engineering plans to the real world, and build control networks that all land parcels can relate to in a given area.

The Center of Population (COP) project was initiated by the US Census Bureau, National Geodetic Survey (NGS), National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) and American Congress on Surveying & Mapping (ACSM). MALSCE is affiliated with NSPS and ACSM. This project showcases improvements in Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, the adaptation of this technology by land surveyors, and the ability to develop cooperative initiatives among the private sector and federal, state and local surveying and mapping professionals.

The US Census Bureau recently completed the compilation and analysis of the 2000 decennial census data. From these data, they have computed the Center of Population for the United States, and the population centers of each state and the District of Columbia. This event showcases improvements in GPS (Global Positioning Systems) technology, the adaptation of that technology by surveyors, and the ability to develop cooperative initiatives between the private sector, federal, state and local surveying and mapping professionals.

The National Geodetic Survey (NGS), in cooperation with individual state professional surveying associations such as MALSCE, and the national groups, encourages each state to set a commemorative geodetic control monument at or near the computed location of each state’s population center (the "Center Station") as determined by the US Census Bureau.

The nation’s center of population for the 2000 Census is in Edgar Springs, MO, a rural community with a population of less than 200. The exact location is approximately 34.7 miles southwest of the 1990 population center, located near the town of Steelville, MO. According to the Census Bureau, historically the Center of Population has followed a trail that reflects immigration and migration. Since 1790, the location has moved westerly, then in a more southerly pattern. The new Center of Population is more than 1,000 miles from the first Center in 1790, which was located near Chestertown, Maryland.

Beginning in 1960, the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, now the National Ocean Service, established a high accuracy geodetic control monument at or near the computed location, to commemorate the completion of this important activity.

Established in 1954, the Massachusetts Association of Land Surveyors and Civil Engineers has been working for 50 years to enhance the overall status of the land surveying and civil engineering professions. The society offers events, continuing education and networking opportunities for its nearly 700 members.

Population and Population Center by State: 2000

State                     Population            Latitude                               Longitude

Massachusetts      6,349,097               42.271831 degrees    -71.363628 degrees