Shirley, Massachusetts

Shirley, Massachusetts
Town
Old Shirley Municipal Building in 2008.
Seal
Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°33′31″N 71°38′47″W / 42.55861°N 71.64639°W / 42.55861; -71.64639
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Middlesex
Settled	1720
Incorporated	1753
Government
• Type	Open town meeting
Area
• Total	15.9 sq mi (41.2 km2)
• Land	15.8 sq mi (41.0 km2)
• Water	0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2)
Elevation	279 ft (85 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	7,431[1]
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (Eastern)
ZIP code	01464
Area code	351 / 978
FIPS code	25-61590
GNIS feature ID	0618234
Website	http://www.shirley-ma.gov/

Shirley is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately thirty miles west-northwest of Boston. The population was 7,431 at the 2020 census. The town has a well-preserved historic New England town center.

It is home to the Massachusetts Correctional Institution – Shirley, a medium-security state prison. (The neighboring maximum-security Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center lies just outside the town limits in the town of Lancaster.) The remains of a Shaker village have been preserved within the grounds of the prison.