[1] It is bordered by Westford and Littleton to the north, Concord and Carlisle to the east, Stow, Maynard, and Sudbury to the south and Boxborough to the west.

Acton was named the 11th Best Place To Live among small towns in the country by Money Magazine in 2015, and the 16th best in 2009 and in 2011.

The current geography of Acton was created when the last wave of glaciers retreated approximately ten thousand years ago.

Both stream systems empty into the Assabet River, which passes briefly through the town at its southern corner.

It was first settled by Native Americans who used the Assabet, Sudbury and Concord rivers for transportation and the fields for farming seasonal crops.

When the colonists arrived in this area, the Native American population dropped dramatically due to European diseases for which they had no immunity.

[28] Acton residents participated in the growing hostility with Great Britain by sending a list of grievances to King George III on October 3, 1774.

[29] At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, on April 19, 1775, a company of minutemen from Acton responded to the call to arms initiated by Paul Revere (who rode with other riders, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott, with Prescott the only one of the three who was able reach Acton itself) and fought at the North Bridge in Concord as part of the Battle of Lexington and Concord.

When a company was needed to lead the advance on the bridge which was defended by the British regulars, Captain Davis was heard to reply, "I haven't a man who is afraid to go."

[30] The colonists advanced on the bridge; in the exchange of musket fire that followed, Captain Isaac Davis and Private Abner Hosmer of Acton were killed.

In local terms, the events of the day were characterized as "the battle of Lexington, fought in Concord, by men of Acton.

[32] The American Powder Mills complex extended downstream along the Assabet River and manufactured gunpowder from 1835 to 1940.

South Acton became a busy rail center and was the division point for the Marlborough Branch Railroad.

Acton also has a water district, which is run separately from town government, as a public utility.

[34] The town services are primarily funded through the residential property tax, which is subject to the limitations imposed by state statute known as Proposition 2½.

On the federal level, Acton is part of Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district, represented by Lori Trahan.

The district's system consists of 106 miles (171 km) of water main, four storage tanks, and water treatment facilities including aeration, activated granulated carbon (GAC), an advanced Zenon(R) filtration facility, plus fluoridation and state mandated chlorination.

Most homes and businesses in Acton (approximately 80%) use private on-site sewage systems (i.e. septic tanks).

[36] Acton is part of Minuteman Technical High School District along with Arlington, Bolton, Concord, Dover, Lancaster, Lexington, Needham, and Stow.

The town has five elementary schools serving K–6: CT Douglas, Gates, Luther Conant, McCarthy-Towne and Merriam.

ABRSD has an uncommon method of assigning students to elementary schools, called "Open Enrollment".

As a result, students and families are likely to have broad social connections in all parts of the town rather than being limited to neighborhoods.

Theatre III was founded in 1956 when three organizations (a local chorus, dance group, and dramatic troupe) combined to present a show.

They perform and rehearse in the Dragonfly Theatre, located inside the R. J. Grey Junior High School.

The MBTA Commuter Rail Fitchburg Line train stops at the South Acton station.

Railroad service provided to Fitchburg, Leominster, Shirley, Ayer, Littleton, Concord, Lincoln, Weston, Waltham, Belmont, Cambridge, and Boston.

Yankee Lines provides a commuter bus service to Copley Square in Boston from the "77 Great Road Mall" in Acton on MA-2A and MA-119.

The Bruce Freeman Rail Trail provides a paved bicycle commuter option north to Westford, Chelmsford and Lowell.