Town Edition
Middlesex County
Holliston, Massachusetts
Photo: Pvmoutside, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Holliston bought its own rail trail one piece at a time. In 2014 the town paid CSX Transportation $660,000 out of Community Preservation Act money for the two miles of dead railroad running through the middle of town, a state transportation bond bill covered the 2.5 miles out to the Sherborn line, and by the end of 2015 the whole corridor belonged to Holliston. Then Town Meeting voted $790,000 more to rebuild the 8-Arch Bridge that carries it over Bogastow Brook, and in 2018 the town threw a ribbon cutting and put a laser light show on an 1846 granite viaduct. Every one of those votes happened in a room any registered voter in Holliston can walk into. Then in October 2024 that same room voted to ask the Legislature to rewrite the town’s government, and by that June Holliston had a Town Manager for the first time. This guide shows you where the rooms are and how to get into them.
Holliston at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Middlesex, and Holliston is the only town in Middlesex County that borders both Norfolk and Worcester counties. It covers 18.655 square miles, about 804 people to the square mile.
- Government: open Town Meeting, with an elected three-member Select Board and an appointed Town Manager, Frank Gervasio
- Schools: Holliston Public Schools, about 2,651 students across four schools, led by Superintendent Dr. J. Kimo Carter.
How Holliston’s Government Works
Holliston runs on an open Town Meeting, which means there are no elected Town Meeting members at all: every registered voter in Holliston is a member, and any of them can walk in, speak, and vote on the budget. Voters also elect a 3 member Select Board to set policy between meetings and the School Committee that oversees the schools. The Select Board hires a professional Town Manager to run the town day to day. So the money is voted by whoever shows up, the direction is set by the Select Board, and the daily work is carried out by the Town Manager.
Town Meeting
The legislative body, and it is not a committee. Every registered voter in Holliston is a member. Town Meeting adopts the annual budget, passes town bylaws, and approves major spending. This is direct democracy in its literal sense.
Select Board
3 members elected town-wide. They set policy, sign the warrants that decide what reaches Town Meeting, appoint residents to many town boards, and hire and supervise the Town Manager.
Town Manager
The appointed chief administrator. Runs the departments, builds the budget, and answers to the Select Board. Hired under contract, not elected.
School Committee
7 members, elected by the voters of the district the schools serve. It sets school policy, approves the school budget, and hires the Superintendent.
- Residents elect the 3 members of the Select Board and the School Committee.
- The Select Board hires the Town Manager and decides what goes on the Town Meeting warrant.
- Town Meeting votes the budget and the bylaws, and every registered voter present can vote.
- You take part: register at 16, vote at 18, and once you are registered you are already a member of Town Meeting.
Civic Calendar
- Select Board: Mondays, usually twice a month, at 7:00 pm in Holliston Town Hall, 703 Washington Street. Each agenda is posted in advance on the town’s Agenda Center, so check it before you go.
- Town Meeting: an Annual Town Meeting each May and a Fall Town Meeting each October. The Annual Town Meeting of May 11, 2026 acted on 30 articles. Town Moderator Michelle F. Zeamer presides.
- Town elections: Holliston votes each May, across four precincts, with all four voting at the High School Gymnasium from 7 am to 8 pm. The 2026 Annual Town Election was held on Tuesday May 19.
- State and federal elections: even-numbered years. The 2026 primary and general are this fall.
Explore the Holliston Edition
- Town Manager’s OfficeThe town’s chief administrator
- Select BoardYour three board members
- School CommitteeSuperintendent & committee
- Town DepartmentsWho does what at Town Hall
- Boards & CommissionsWhere residents serve
- LegislatorsYour voice in Boston & D.C.
- Holliston History1724, the shoe shops, and Mudville
- DemographicsWho lives in Holliston
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataHolliston schools by the numbers
Your County Officials
Two of the people with the most direct power over your life are elected countywide. The district attorney decides who gets charged with a crime, and what they get charged with. The sheriff runs the county jail. Both of them answer to the voters of Middlesex County, and that includes Holliston. They appear on your ballot. Now you know what to look for.
Every county in Massachusetts elects its own, and the job is the same everywhere: the charging decisions, the jail. Look up any town in the state and see who holds these two offices there.
Your First Civic Action in Holliston
You do not have to wait until you can vote to be heard in your own town. Here is how to take a real concern to the people who decide.
- Pick the right body. Town policy, roads, and police or fire go to the Select Board. Schools go to the School Committee. The budget and bylaws are voted by Town Meeting.
- Find the meeting. The Select Board meets on Mondays, usually twice a month, at 7:00 pm at Holliston Town Hall, 703 Washington Street, and the agenda is posted in advance on the town’s Agenda Center.
- Know your members. Three Select Board members are elected town-wide, so every one of them answers to you.
- Speak. Meetings are open to the public and residents may address the board. On June 8, 2026 a resident who simply came and asked got the board to start work on a snow removal policy for commercial properties, with a Town Meeting vote in view.
- Or skip the trip. Report a pothole, a broken light, or a missed pickup to the Highway Department at 508-429-0615, which is the department that owns the repair.
- Town Hall: 703 Washington Street, Holliston, MA 01746. Main line 508-429-0600, Select Board and Town Manager’s office 508-429-0608.
- Town Clerk & agendas: 508-429-0601, with meeting agendas and minutes posted at townofholliston.us.
- Public schools: Holliston Public Schools, 508-429-0654, holliston.k12.ma.us.
Local government works best when residents show up. Find your Select Board, speak at a meeting on the town’s published calendar, or simply register to vote and take your seat at Town Meeting.