Acton, Massachusetts

The Acton Congregational Church is a mid-19th century, white clapboard, church building and active congregation in Acton, Massachusetts that become the center of national attention in 2018 when a case decided by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that churches cannot receive public funds to support religious activities. In 2016 the Acton Town Meeting approved a Community Preservation Act bundle of grants with a total of $51,237; $49,500 for the purpose of develop a master plan to restore and preserve the Church's building and two adjacent mid-19th century houses that it rents out, the remainder of the funds to be used to restore the Church's stained glass windows. The Washington, D.C. based Americans United for Separation of Church and State brought suit alleging that the grant violates the Anti-Aid Amendment of the Massachusetts Constitution.

The Acton Center Historic District encompasses the historic heart of the once-rural, now suburban, town of Acton, Massachusetts. The district includes properties on Main Street, Wood and Woodbury Lanes, Newtown, Concord, and Nagog Hill Roads, and has been the town's civic heart since its establishment in the 1730s. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Acton Memorial Library is a public library at 486 Main Street in Acton, Massachusetts. In 1889 William Allan Wilde (1827-1902), a Sunday school publisher and philanthropist who was a native of Acton, donated funds to construct the library to memorialize Acton's citizens who served in the American Civil War. The historic Romanesque Revival library building was constructed in 1890 by the architects Hartwell and Richardson of Boston and contractor, Charles H. Dodge. Large additions were constructed in 1967 and 1996. The library is part of the Minuteman Library Network. It is contributing property in the Acton Centre Historic District.

The John Robbins House is a historic house at 144 Great Road in Acton, Massachusetts. Built in 1800, it is a well-preserved example of a late Georgian/early Federal country house, and was the farmhouse for one of Acton's largest 19th-century farms. The interior includes well-preserved period details, including stencilwork by the itinerant artist Moses Eaton, Jr. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 25, 2003.

The Jonathan and Simon Hosmer House is a historic house at 300 Main Street in Acton, Massachusetts. The 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame house was built in 1760, and is one of Acton's best-preserved colonial-era houses. It is an unusual double house, consisting of one section with a square plan, and the other with a typical colonial "half house" plan, having three bays and an off-center chimney. Its two entries are finished with relatively high-style Georgian entries. The house was built by Jonathan Hosmer, Jr., a bricklayer whose workmanship is evident in the house's many fireplaces. Hosmer was also prominent in civic and military affairs; he served (along with his son, who was killed) in the 1777 Battle of Bennington. In the 19th century the house was owned by Francis Tuttle, who owned a dry goods store in the center of town. In 1974 the property was acquired by the Acton Historical Society, which rents one of the units, and operates the rest of the property as a museum.The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

The old Acton High School, also known as the McCarthy-Towne Elementary School, is a historic school building at 3 Charter Road in Acton, Massachusetts. Built in 1925, this Renaissance Revival building served as the town's high school for 30 years, and then as an elementary school for 45. It was the town's first purpose-built high school. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

John E. "Dropkick" Murphy (May 12, 1912 in Malden, Massachusetts – October 17, 1977 in Concord, Massachusetts) was an American professional wrestler and sanatorium owner. He operated the Bellows Farms Sanatorium, an alcoholic rehabilitation facility in Acton, Massachusetts from 1941 to 1971. The band Dropkick Murphys is named after him.

Acton-Boxborough Regional High School (ABRHS) is an open-enrollment high school in Acton, Massachusetts, United States. A part of the Acton-Boxborough Regional School District, it serves the Massachusetts towns of Acton and Boxborough and has students in grades 9 through 12. It is situated downhill from the Raymond J. Grey Junior High School, at 36 Charter Road in Acton. Raymond J. Grey Junior High School occupies the facility that, until 1973, was the high schoolIn 1999 multiple fires were set at ABRHS. The first fire began near the gymnasium but was quickly extinguished. The second fire, a five-alarm blaze in the school auditorium, seriously damaged the auditorium and forced the evacuation of all 1,300 students and canceled school the following day. No students or staff were injured, but one firefighters was hospitalized after suffering from smoke inhalation. ABRHS underwent a $40 million renovation and expansion in 2005.

WHAB (89.1 FM) is a high school radio station licensed to serve Acton, Massachusetts. The station is owned by Acton-Boxborough Regional High School and licensed to the Acton-Boxborough Regional School District. It airs a high school radio format. WHAB is one of more than a dozen FCC-licensed high school radio stations in the state of Massachusetts.The station was assigned the WHAB call letters by the Federal Communications Commission.After technical issues that left the station silent for a time in the early 1990s, WHAB returned to full-time broadcasting in 1995. In addition to its FM signal, WHAB's programming is carried on Acton Community Television and in a studio room near the high school's cafeteria.

Great Hill is a 358-foot (109 m) hill in Acton, Massachusetts, the site of a 192-acre (78 ha) wooded conservation area containing hiking trails, wetlands, and recreational facilities. It is the largest single parcel of conservation land in the town. The hill has evidence of Native American use, including a stone mortar. There are also 18th-century farmers' stone walls criss-crossing the property, as well as picnic facilities near a small skating pond and athletic fields adjacent to the South Acton Fire Station. The hill abuts the Discovery Museum, which often uses Great Hill for educational programs.

The Nashoba Brook Pencil Factory Site contains the ruins of a 19th-century dam-powered pencil factory. This factory was one of several in Acton and Concord, Massachusetts at the time that brought important developments to pencil manufacturing. All that remain today of the factory are the ruins of its dam and a few mechanical components. The site is in the Nashoba Brook Conservation Area in Acton, Massachusetts, along Nashoba Brook and the old Davis Road Dam. Visitors can access the site by following a marked path from the Davis Road parking area for the Nashoba Brook Conservation Area

Discovery Museum is a hands-on museum for families that blends science, nature, and play, located in Acton, Massachusetts, United States. After an $8.8M expansion and renovation, the museum reopened in March 2018 as a 16,000 sq ft (1,500 m2), accessible, single-building museum; a 550 sq ft (51 m2) tree house and accessible nature playscape were added to the campus in July 2016. The museum was originally founded in 1982.