Boxford, Massachusetts


Boxford, Massachusetts
The Holyoke-French House (c. 1760) in central Boxford
The Holyoke-French House (c. 1760) in central Boxford
Location in Essex County in Massachusetts
Location in Essex County in Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°39′40″N 70°59′50″W / 42.66111°N 70.99722°W / 42.66111; -70.99722
Country United States
State Massachusetts
County Essex
Settled 1645
Incorporated 1685
Government
 - Type Open town meeting
Area
 - Total 24.6 sq mi (63.6 km2)
 - Land 24.0 sq mi (62.1 km2)
 - Water 0.6 sq mi (1.5 km2)
Elevation 95 ft (29 m)
Population (2000)
 - Total 7,921
 - Density 330.4/sq mi (127.6/km2)
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code 01921
Area code(s) 351 / 978
FIPS code 25-07420
GNIS feature ID 0618294
Website http://www.town.boxford.ma.us/

Boxford is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,921 at the 2000 census.

Part of the town comprises the census-designated place of Boxford.

Contents

History

Boxford was first settled in 1646 and was officially incorporated in 1685. The community takes its name from a town of the same name in the United Kingdom. The Eames family founded this town and came to the states in 1629 carrying deep roots from Scotland and Britain.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 24.6 square miles (63.6 km²), of which, 24.0 square miles (62.1 km²) of it is land and 0.6 square miles (1.5 km²) of it (2.40%) is water.

The highest natural point in Boxford is Bald Hill, at an elevation of 243 feet (74 meters). It sits in a corner of the Boxford State Forest, near the town's border with Middleton.

Boxford is a geographically large town with almost no commercial development. The town is traditionally divided into Boxford Village (commonly called East Boxford) and West Boxford Village, corresponding to the respective East and West Boxford centers. The "centers" of town each consist of a Congregational church (First Congregational in Boxford and Second Congregational in West Boxford), a general store, a library, and a fire department.

The town is heavily forested, and criss-crossed by various brooks and streams. A number of ponds dot Boxford, among them Stiles Pond, Cedar Pond, Spofford Pond, Lowe Pond, Four Mile Pond and Baldpate Pond. Throughout town there are also a number of scenic hiking trails.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,921 people, 2,568 households, and 2,254 families residing in the town. The population density was 330.4 people per square mile (127.6/km²). There were 2,610 housing units at an average density of 42.0 persons/km² (108.9 persons/sq mi). The racial makeup of the town was 97.37% White, 0.34% African American, 0.11% Native American, 1.21% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more races. 0.85% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In 2008, approaching the 2010 census, the current population is slightly upwards of 9,000. Recent public Town budget discussions regarding the possibility of the need for future expansion of the elementary school facilities note that from all evidence, the Boxford Town population has leveled off enough for there to be no current need to address any need in the near future for expansion of either of the two Boxford Town elementary schools.

There were 2,568 households out of which 48.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 80.0% were married couples living together, 6.0% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 12.2% were non-families. 9.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.08 and the average family size was 3.32.

In the town the population was spread out with 32.2% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 28.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $113,212, and the median income for a family was $119,491. Males had a median income of $90,397 versus $48,042 for females. The per capita income for the town was $48,846. 1.4% of the population and 0.8% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 0.8% are under the age of 18 and 3.1% are 65 or older

Education

Boxford has one high school, Masconomet Regional High School. It is commonly believed to be in Topsfield because it has a Topsfield Post Office box address. However, the school, which is located on Endicott Road, lies entirely within Boxford.

There are also two elementary schools in Boxford. The Harry Lee Cole School, which serves Preschool through Grade 2, is located near East Boxford center. The Spofford Pond School, serving Grades 3 through 6, is located on the western side of the town's geographic center.

Fire department

The fire department consists of 2 stations (East and West) with a mix of 2 Full time firefighters, a full time chief (Kerry Stickney), and approximately 40 call firefighters

Points of interest

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
  • Boxford State Forest, near Interstate 95 and the towns of Topsfield and Middleton, boasts numerous walking trails that weave through heavily forested areas.
  • Commercial landmarks in and around town include Benson's Ice Cream, Paisley's Farm Stand and West Village Provisions in West Boxford center, Ingaldsby Farm, the Boxford Community store in East Boxford (also known as "Jack's" or "Wayne's", after its former and current owners), and the Boxford House of Pizza, which lies near the border of Boxford and Georgetown.
  • "Witch Hollow Farm", formerly the home of one of those tried in the famous 1693 Salem Witch Trials, found at the intersection of Main Street and Ipswich Road in Boxford, is considered a nationally recognized "Haunted House"
  • The Town has a retirement community called Four Mile Village, which sits adjacent to Four Mile Pond. The waiting list to get into this community is significant, and prospective applicants must either be former Boxford residents, or primary family members of current Boxford residents.
  • Boxford's centrally located Stiles Pond is the site for the town beach, where membership can be purchased by Boxford residents only, each season for a nominal fee through the Boxford Athletic Association (BAA). The adjacent ballpark and play area were recently designated by unanimous vote at Town Meeting as "Keith Koster Memorial Baseball Park" in memory of one of Boxford's beloved young people, a former Boxford beach lifeguard and baseball player, victim of a senseless act of crime in 2006.
  • Camp Rotary is a popular summer co-ed boarding camp located on Stiles Pond off of Ipswich Road in Boxford.
  • Danvers YMCA holds another popular summer day camp on Stiles Pond, next to the town beach.
  • Camp Stepping Stone, a summer day camp for students with special needs, is also hosted just past the Danvers YMCA camp, also along the Stiles Pond Shoreline.
  • Baldpate Pond, and the adjacent state recreation area, is another popular swimming, fishing, boating, and hiking location.
  • Boxford currently has one Town Library, in East Boxford. The West Boxford branch of the library closed on April 1st, 2009 due to financial difficulties.[1] The East Boxford Library is housed in a previously private, renovated home, donated to the Town in the 1940s. Although longtime Boxford residents hold great affection for these buildings and libraries, in recent years it has been recognized that these buildings will outlive or have outlived their original functional purpose as libraries for the current population of Boxford. There is a current movement afoot, in the planning stages, to build a new, central Boxford Town Library.

Notable residents

  • Johnny Bucyk (1935-) Boston Bruins - Hall of Fame - Former team captain
  • Raymond Bourque (1960-) Boston Bruins - Hall of Fame - Former team captain
  • Tim O'Brien (1946-) Author: The Things They Carried about the Vietnam War
  • Cherie Hendrickson (1986-) Professional Hockey Player; defenseman for the Burlington Barracudas of the CWHL
  • Luke Juergens (1994-) Professional Table Tennis Player. Olympic Champion 1990

References

  1. ^ Boxford Town Library , Announcement from the Library Trustees.

External links

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