Southbridge is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States.

[4] The area was initially inhabited by the Nipmuck and Mohegan tribes, with the Quinebaug River dividing their territories.

[5] Among the first settlers was Moses Marcy, who owned a home on the site of what is now Notre Dame church and was elected to Congress, and the Dennison family.

After the Civil War, many immigrants of Irish and French Canadian descent came to work and live there; by the 1930s they had been joined by Poles, Greeks, Italians and others.

By the early 1960s, the mill town had a movie theatre, an AM radio station (WESO), and an airport.

The American Optical Company shut down in 1984, and Southbridge is still struggling from the loss of these and other manufacturing jobs.

The principal road in Southbridge is Route 131, known as Main Street through downtown and East Main Street past the "AO Rotary" and through Sandersdale, a village on the town's east side.

It is a member of Central Massachusetts Regional Library System (CMRLS) and C/W MARS.

Southbridge residents can also attend Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School in Charlton.

On January 26, 2016, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education placed Southbridge School District in state receivership.