Georgetown, Massachusetts
Georgetown, Massachusetts | ||
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FIPS code 25-25625 | | |
GNIS feature ID | 0619445 | |
Website | www |
Georgetown is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,470 at the 2020 census.[1] It was incorporated in 1838 from part of Rowley.
History
Georgetown was originally settled in 1639 as a part of the town of Rowley by the Reverend Ezekiel Rogers. The town at the time stretched from the Atlantic coast to the Merrimack River, south of Newbury and north of Ipswich. Several farmers, finding suitable meadowlands in the western half of the settlement, began settling along the Penn Brook by the middle of the seventeenth century, creating Rowley's West Parish. Though not directly involved in King Philip's War, the village nonetheless did become a victim of Indian raids. The village, which became known as New Rowley, grew for many years, with small mills and eventually a shoe company opening up in the town. By 1838, the town was sufficiently large enough for its own incorporation, and was renamed Georgetown. Small industry continued, and today the town is mostly residential in nature, a distant suburb of Boston's North Shore.[2]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 13.2 square miles (34.1 km2), of which 12.9 square miles (33.3 km2) is land and 0.31 square miles (0.8 km2), or 2.20%, is water.[3] Georgetown is located on the edge of the hills and coastal plain of northeastern Massachusetts. It has many streams and brooks, as well as two major ponds, Rock Pond and Pentucket Pond. The town has several areas of protected land, including the Georgetown-Rowley State Forest to the south, the Crane Pond Wildlife Management Area to the north, the Lufkins Brook Area to the west, and a small portion of the Boxford State Forest in the southwest.
Georgetown is located approximately 10 miles (16 km) east of
Demographics
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1850 | 2,052 | — |
1860 | 2,075 | +1.1% |
1870 | 2,088 | +0.6% |
1880 | 2,231 | +6.8% |
1890 | 2,117 | −5.1% |
1900 | 1,663 | −21.4% |
1910 | 1,621 | −2.5% |
1920 | 1,478 | −8.8% |
1930 | 1,853 | +25.4% |
1940 | 1,803 | −2.7% |
1950 | 2,411 | +33.7% |
1960 | 3,755 | +55.7% |
1970 | 5,290 | +40.9% |
1980 | 5,687 | +7.5% |
1990 | 6,384 | +12.3% |
2000 | 7,377 | +15.6% |
2010 | 8,183 | +10.9% |
2020 | 8,470 | +3.5% |
2022* | 8,408 | −0.7% |
* = population estimate. Source: United States census records and Population Estimates Program data.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] |
As of the
There were 2,937 households, out of which 40.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.9% were married families, 3.1% had a male householder with no wife present, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.0% were non-families. Of all households, 17.8% were made up of individuals, and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.18.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.0% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 33.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.8 males.
According to the 2010 census the median income for a household in the town was $108,137, and in 2008 the median income for a family was $79,649. Males had a median income of $58,806 versus $36,108 for females. The
Government
Georgetown employs the
On the state level, Georgetown is under the jurisdiction of the Central District Court of Essex County, located in Haverhill. It is patrolled by the Newbury barracks of Troop A of the
Education
Georgetown, unlike its neighboring municipalities, has its own municipal school district, and is not part of a regional school association or district. Georgetown has three schools:
- Perley Elementary School (formerly Perley High School) is a Blue Ribbon Schools Programaward-winning elementary school for preschool only.
- Penn Brook Elementary School is an elementary school on Elm Street in Georgetown for grades kindergarten–6.
- Georgetown Middle-High School is the only high school/middle school in the town and serves grades 7–12.
Points of interest
- Brocklebank-Nelson-Beecher House
- Dickinson-Pillsbury-Witham House
- Adams–Clarke House
- Georgetown Central School Memorial Town Hall
- Erie 4 Fire Company is the oldest privately owned and operated volunteer fire company in America.[17]
- Georgetown-Rowley State Forest
- Goodrich Massacre Site[18]
- The "Old Nancy" cannon, a relic of the Revolutionary War, may be viewed at the Town Hall.[19]
- Union Cemetery. Cuffee Dole, an African-American man, was buried on the outskirts of the cemetery, but as it grew his plot became more centrally located.
- Georgetown Peabody Library is the town's only public library and named for the noted philanthropist George Peabody who provided the funds to build the library to honor his mother. Peabody provided the funds necessary for the building of the Peabody Institute Libraries in Danvers and Peabody, as well Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Baltimore, Thetford, Vermont, Austin, Texas and others. He funded the establishment of the Peabody Museums at Harvard and Yale and in Salem. The Georgetown Peabody Library finished an addition and renovation in September 2007.
Notable people
- Matt Antonelli, former MLB player
- Bill Chisholm, Founder - Symphony Technology Group (STG)
- Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers tight end
- Charles Beecher, American minister, composer of religious hymns, and prolific author, preached in Georgetown and died in Georgetown as well
- Jeremiah Chaplin, theologian
- Paul Harding, best known for his debut novel Tinkers (2009), which won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction[20]
- William Dutton Hayward, founder of Hayward, California
- Oliver Waterman Larkin, author, winner of 1950 Pulitzer Prizein history for Art and Life in America
- Terry O'Reilly, Boston Bruins hockey player, long time Georgetown resident
- David Pingree (1795–1863), a merchant and landowner
- St. John's)
- Fred Tenney, baseball player born in Georgetown, buried in Harmony Cemetery
- Jenny Thompson, U.S. Olympic swimming star, lived in town from 1974 to the early 1980s
- Raymond H. Torrey, journalist and hiking pioneer
- John Updike, novelist, resided at 58 West Main Street from 1976 to 1982. His jogs through Georgetown provided backdrop for his 1981 novel Rabbit Is Rich, which won him the National Book Critics Circle Award, the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction[21]
In popular culture
- Georgetown served as the filming location for Diane English's movie The Women (2008). The movie starred numerous Hollywood leading ladies, including Eva Mendes, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Annette Bening, Jada Pinkett Smith, Candice Bergen, Bette Midler and Debra Messing. The primary filming location was at Camp Leslie, along the shore of Pentucket Pond.[22]
References
- ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Georgetown town, Essex County, Massachusetts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
- ^ "Town of Georgetown, MA - History of Georgetown". Archived from the original on 2010-01-13. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
- ^ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Georgetown town, Essex County, Massachusetts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
- ^ "Total Population (P1), 2010 Census Summary File 1". American FactFinder, All County Subdivisions within Massachusetts. United States Census Bureau. 2010.
- ^ "Massachusetts by Place and County Subdivision - GCT-T1. Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ^ "1990 Census of Population, General Population Characteristics: Massachusetts" (PDF). US Census Bureau. December 1990. Table 76: General Characteristics of Persons, Households, and Families: 1990. 1990 CP-1-23. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ^ "1980 Census of the Population, Number of Inhabitants: Massachusetts" (PDF). US Census Bureau. December 1981. Table 4. Populations of County Subdivisions: 1960 to 1980. PC80-1-A23. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ^ "1950 Census of Population" (PDF). Bureau of the Census. 1952. Section 6, Pages 21-10 and 21-11, Massachusetts Table 6. Population of Counties by Minor Civil Divisions: 1930 to 1950. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ^ "1920 Census of Population" (PDF). Bureau of the Census. Number of Inhabitants, by Counties and Minor Civil Divisions. Pages 21-5 through 21-7. Massachusetts Table 2. Population of Counties by Minor Civil Divisions: 1920, 1910, and 1920. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ^ "1890 Census of the Population" (PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. Pages 179 through 182. Massachusetts Table 5. Population of States and Territories by Minor Civil Divisions: 1880 and 1890. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ^ "1870 Census of the Population" (PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. 1872. Pages 217 through 220. Table IX. Population of Minor Civil Divisions, &c. Massachusetts. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ^ "1860 Census" (PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. 1864. Pages 220 through 226. State of Massachusetts Table No. 3. Populations of Cities, Towns, &c. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ^ "1850 Census" (PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. 1854. Pages 338 through 393. Populations of Cities, Towns, &c. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ^ "City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2022". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 14, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
- ^ "Board of Selectmen | Georgetown MA". www.georgetownma.gov.
- ^ "Erie Fire Association No. 4, Inc". Archived from the original on 2008-09-03. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
- ^ "Georgetown massacre remembered this week - Georgetown, MA - Georgetown Record". Archived from the original on 2008-09-17. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
- ^ ="Town Keeps a Spirited Battle over 'Old Nancy'". October 2013.
- ^ "Georgetown man's novel wins Pulitzer Prize for fiction » Local News » NewburyportNews.com, Newburyport, MA". Archived from the original on 2012-09-08. Retrieved 2010-04-18.
- ^ Penguin Classics | The Best Classic Books, Poetry & Cult Novels Archived 2008-02-08 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Bette Midler, Meg Ryan and Annette Bening film 'The Women' in Georgetown - Georgetown, MA - Georgetown Record
Further reading
- Sammarco, Anthony Mitchell, Georgetown, Arcadia Publishing, Images of America series, 2002
External links
- Town of Georgetown official website
- Georgetown Peabody Library
- Georgetown Historical Society
- Erie 4 Fire Co.website
- Georgetown Record newspaper
- 1794 Map of Rowley by Joseph Chaplin
- 1830 Map of Rowley by Philander Anderson, which includes the New Rowley Parish which was incorporated in 1838 as Georgetown
- 1872 Atlas of Essex County. Map of Georgetown on Plate 59, Map of Georgetown Center on plate 61