Middleton, Massachusetts

Before European colonial settlement, the area was home to a number of native settlements. The area fell along an ill-defined "border" region between the Massachusett and Pennacook. The tribes in this region generally spoke the Abenaki language, with major local tribes being the Naumkeag and Agawam.{{Cite book|last1=Wilkie|first1=Richard|url=https://www.geo.umass.edu/faculty/wilkie/Wilkie/maps.html|title=Historical Atlas of Massachusetts|last2=Tager|first2=Jack|year=1991|pages=12}}{{Cite web|title=Indian Territories by Perley|url=https://salemdeeds.com/NAD/maps/perley-indian-tribes.jpg}} Will's Hill in modern-day Middleton was home to a winter village founded by an Algonquin Sachem.{{Cite web|title=Native American Indian Landscape|url=https://salemdeeds.com/NAD/focuspoints1.aspx|website=Southern Essex District Registry of Deeds}}

Middleton was first settled by Europeans in 1659, and was officially incorporated in 1728. Prior to 1728 it was considered a part of Topsfield, and contained territory previously within the city of Salem.[http://www.rays-place.com/town/ma/middleton.htm Vital records of Middleton, Massachusetts, Topsfield Historical Society. 1904]

The name Middleton is derived from its location midway between the important early settlements of Salem and Andover. It was first settled by Bray Wilkins, who came from Salem with a large family, having purchased 600 acres from Governor Bellingham. The town grew as a farming community, mostly due to its location on the Ipswich River, with homesteads of hundreds of acres. However, during the 18th century, Middleton also contained a vital ironworks industry, located in the area of what is now Mill and Liberty Streets. This enterprise originally involved Thomas Flint, Sr. and his son, Thomas Flint Jr, of Salem, John How of Boxford, and Thomas Cave Jr. of Topsfield and was carried on for approximately seventy years.[https://web.archive.org/web/20041128114338/http://www.historicnewengland.org/resources/articles/pdf385.pdf The Ironworks in Middleton, Massachusetts, by Lura Woodside Watkins] The area is home to a number of intact homes from the colonial period, such as the Thomas Fuller House, which was constructed in 1684, and the Deacon Edward Putnam, Jr. House.{{Cite web |title=Home - MACRIS|url=https://mhc-macris.net/#!/details?mhcid=MDL.14 |access-date=July 25, 2022 |website=mhc-macris.net}}

File:MiddletonMA DeaconEdwardPutnamJrHouse.jpg]]

Although the town no longer has any functional rail systems, there have been rail lines previously running through the area. Notably, the Essex Railroad had termini in Salem and North Andover, running through Middleton from the mid-1840s through the mid-20th century, when passenger and freight demands dropped off.{{cite book |last1=Ronald |first1=Dale Karr |title=Lost railroads of New England |year=1996 |publisher=Branch Line Press |isbn=9780942147049 |url=https://archive.org/details/lostrailroadsofn00karr/mode/2up}}

In the late 18th and to the mid-19th centuries Middleton was a vacation town to those who lived in areas such as Lawrence and Lowell. It is home to one of the oldest trees in Massachusetts, being approximately 400 years old, and which is located at 39 Peabody Street. The oldest still standing house is the Wilkins house, which was built in 1693, and served as a tavern on the main road between Salem and Lawrence.

File:Flint Public Library, June 2010, Middleton MA.jpg, opened in 1891 at the bequest of

Charles L. Flint, the first Secretaries of the MA Board of Agriculture a former president of UMass Amherst as Mass. Agricultural College]]

Middleton is one of the fastest-growing towns in the Commonwealth, and the fastest on the North Shore. When locally grouped it is grouped with Salem, Danvers, and Beverly, but also occasionally Topsfield and Boxford, as these three towns are a tri-town. These three towns share Masconomet Regional High School (named after Chief Masconomet, sagamore of the Agawam tribe, which lived in Essex County at the time of English colonization) which serves grades 9–12, while its middle school serves grades 7 and 8.

File:Thomas Fuller House, Middleton MA.jpg

Image:Middleton MA downtown looking east.jpgAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 14.5 square miles (37.4 km{{sup|2}}), of which 14.0 square miles (36.2 km{{sup|2}}) is land and 0.5 square mile (1.2 km{{sup|2}}) (3.32%) is water. Middleton lies along the border of Essex County, and is bounded by North Reading in Middlesex County to the west, and North Andover to the northwest, Boxford to the northeast, Topsfield to the east, Danvers to the southeast, Peabody to the south, and shares a 0.3 mile border with Lynnfield to the southwest. Middleton lies eight miles northwest of Salem, 11 miles southeast of Lawrence, and 19 miles north of Boston. Middleton is part of a tri-town with two other towns which are Topsfield and Boxford.

Middleton lies in the low hills of northeastern Massachusetts. The Ipswich River flows through town, flowing from the North Reading/Lynnfield line along the Peabody and Danvers borders before turning northward into town, exiting along the border between Boxford and Topsfield. Several brooks feed into the river throughout town, and the town is also home to two larger ponds, Middleton Pond and Andover Meadow Pond, as well as several smaller ones. Within the town, there are portions of the Harold Parker State Forest and Boxford State Forest, as well as the Peabody Reservation, Sanford Reservation and Middleton Conservation Land.

Middleton lies just west of Interstate 95, with two very short parts of the highway passing through corners of the town before and after passing through Topsfield. There are exits off the highway in Boxford and in Danvers, which both provide access to the town. Route 114, which follows the path of the old "Essex Turnpike", passes through the center of town, and is crossed there by Route 62, which merges with Route 114 for a 0.2 mile stretch there. There is no rail service within town; there are two lines (the Haverhill/Reading Line and the Newburyport/Rockport Line) of the MBTA Commuter Rail to the west and south of town, both of which provide access to Boston's North Station. The nearest small air service is located at Beverly Municipal Airport, with the nearest national and international air service being located at Logan International Airport. Despite the abandonment of the Essex Railroad line, the Middleton Rail Trail Alliance began a project in 2018 to convert the former train lines into walking and biking trails. The trail aims to link with rail trails in neighboring towns, such as the Danvers Rail Trail.{{Cite web |title=Middleton Rail Trail Alliance (MiRTA) {{!}} Middleton MA 01949 |url=https://www.middletonrailtrail.org/ |access-date=July 25, 2022 |website=Middleton Rail Trail |language=en}} Such links could serve to bring the town into the Border to Boston trail system, connecting New Hampshire to Boston via bike trails.{{Cite web |title=Border To Boston Trail - The Essex Heritage National Area |url=https://essexheritage.org/explore/border-to-boston/ |access-date=July 25, 2022 |website=Essex National Heritage Area |language=en-US}}

{{Weather box

|location = Middleton, Massachusetts (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1935-present)

|single line = Y

|Jan record high F = 69

|Feb record high F = 78

|Mar record high F = 86

|Apr record high F = 93

|May record high F = 97

|Jun record high F = 105

|Jul record high F = 101

|Aug record high F = 102

|Sep record high F = 96

|Oct record high F = 88

|Nov record high F = 80

|Dec record high F = 74

|Jan avg record high F = 55

|Feb avg record high F = 55

|Mar avg record high F = 65

|Apr avg record high F = 76

|May avg record high F = 85

|Jun avg record high F = 90

|Jul avg record high F = 92

|Aug avg record high F = 90

|Sep avg record high F = 86

|Oct avg record high F = 78

|Nov avg record high F = 69

|Dec avg record high F = 58

|year avg record high F= 93

|Jan high F = 35.0

|Feb high F = 37.8

|Mar high F = 44.2

|Apr high F = 56.0

|May high F = 66.7

|Jun high F = 75.3

|Jul high F = 80.7

|Aug high F = 79.5

|Sep high F = 72.8

|Oct high F = 61.7

|Nov high F = 50.2

|Dec high F = 40.2

|year high F=

|Jan mean F = 25.6

|Feb mean F = 27.6

|Mar mean F = 34.4

|Apr mean F = 45.5

|May mean F = 56.0

|Jun mean F = 64.9

|Jul mean F = 70.6

|Aug mean F = 69.2

|Sep mean F = 62.3

|Oct mean F = 51.1

|Nov mean F = 40.8

|Dec mean F = 31.4

|year mean F=

|Jan low F = 16.1

|Feb low F = 17.4

|Mar low F = 24.6

|Apr low F = 35.0

|May low F = 45.3

|Jun low F = 54.6

|Jul low F = 60.5

|Aug low F = 59.0

|Sep low F = 51.8

|Oct low F = 40.5

|Nov low F = 31.4

|Dec low F = 22.6

|year low F=

|Jan avg record low F = -3

|Feb avg record low F = 0

|Mar avg record low F = 9

|Apr avg record low F = 25

|May avg record low F = 34

|Jun avg record low F = 43

|Jul avg record low F = 51

|Aug avg record low F = 48

|Sep avg record low F = 37

|Oct avg record low F = 27

|Nov avg record low F = 18

|Dec avg record low F = 4

|year avg record low F= -6

|Jan record low F = -22

|Feb record low F = -16

|Mar record low F = -6

|Apr record low F = 8

|May record low F = 27

|Jun record low F = 35

|Jul record low F = 42

|Aug record low F = 33

|Sep record low F = 27

|Oct record low F = 15

|Nov record low F = -3

|Dec record low F = -16

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 3.49

|Feb precipitation inch = 3.27

|Mar precipitation inch = 4.54

|Apr precipitation inch = 4.35

|May precipitation inch = 3.73

|Jun precipitation inch = 4.25

|Jul precipitation inch = 3.79

|Aug precipitation inch = 3.32

|Sep precipitation inch = 3.84

|Oct precipitation inch = 4.75

|Nov precipitation inch = 4.00

|Dec precipitation inch = 4.79

|year precipitation inch= 48.12

|Jan snow inch = 13.4

|Feb snow inch = 13.2

|Mar snow inch = 9.4

|Apr snow inch = 1.8

|May snow inch = 0

|Jun snow inch = 0

|Jul snow inch = 0

|Aug snow inch = 0

|Sep snow inch = 0

|Oct snow inch = 0

|Nov snow inch = 1.1

|Dec snow inch = 8.9

|year snow inch= 47.8

|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in

|unit snow days = 0.1 in

|Jan precipitation days = 10

|Feb precipitation days = 9

|Mar precipitation days = 10

|Apr precipitation days = 12

|May precipitation days = 12

|Jun precipitation days = 12

|Jul precipitation days = 11

|Aug precipitation days = 10

|Sep precipitation days = 9

|Oct precipitation days = 11

|Nov precipitation days = 11

|Dec precipitation days = 11

|year precipitation days= 126

|Jan snow days = 5

|Feb snow days = 4

|Mar snow days = 3

|Apr snow days = 1

|May snow days = 0

|Jun snow days = 0

|Jul snow days = 0

|Aug snow days = 0

|Sep snow days = 0

|Oct snow days = 0

|Nov snow days = 1

|Dec snow days = 3

|year snow days= 16

|Jan snow depth inch = 9

|Feb snow depth inch = 10

|Mar snow depth inch = 7

|Apr snow depth inch = 1

|May snow depth inch = 0

|Jun snow depth inch = 0

|Jul snow depth inch = 0

|Aug snow depth inch = 0

|Sep snow depth inch = 0

|Oct snow depth inch = 0

|Nov snow depth inch = 1

|Dec snow depth inch = 6

|year snow depth inch= 17

|source 1 = NOAA{{cite web |url = https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=box |title = NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data |publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date = May 24, 2022}}

}}

{{See also|List of Massachusetts locations by per capita income}}

{{Historical populations | type=USA

| 1790|682

| 1800|598

| 1810|541

| 1820|596

| 1830|607

| 1840|657

| 1850|832

| 1860|940

| 1870|1010

| 1880|1000

| 1890|924

| 1900|839

| 1910|1129

| 1920|1195

| 1930|1712

| 1940|2348

| 1950|2916

| 1960|3718

| 1970|4044

| 1980|4135

| 1990|4921

| 2000|7744

| 2010|8987

| 2020|9779

| 2022*|9837

| footnote=* = population estimate. {{Historical populations/Massachusetts municipalities references}}{{cite web | title=City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2022| publisher=United States Census Bureau | access-date=October 29, 2023 | url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html}}

}}

As of the census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}} of 2000, there were 7,744 people, 2,305 households, and 1,744 families residing in the town. The population density was {{convert|554.4|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 2,347 housing units at an average density of {{convert|168.0|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the town was 95.43% White, 1.65% African American, 0.05% Native American, 1.11% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.27% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.26% of the population.

There were 2,305 households, out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.7% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.3% were non-families. 20.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.22.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 36.9% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 138.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 147.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $145,525 in 2020.{{Cite web |title=U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Middleton town, Essex County, Massachusetts |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/middletontownessexcountymassachusetts |access-date=May 17, 2022 |website=www.census.gov |language=en}} The 2020 median income for a family was $146,856.{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0600000US2500941095 |access-date=May 17, 2022 |website=data.census.gov}} About 2.1% of families and 3.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.

• P. J. Axelsson, Boston Bruins forward
• Lyndon Byers, Boston Bruins right wing
• Coco Crisp, Boston Red Sox outfielder
• Charles L. Flint, lawyer, politician, and president of UMass Amherst
• Kelly Gibson, PGA Tour golfer
• Shane Hnidy, defenseman for six NHL teams, including the Bruins
• Corey Johnson, Speaker of the New York City Council
• Kyle McLaren, defenseman for the Bruins
• Brian Rolston, center who played for five NHL teams, including the Bruins
• Sergei Samsonov, forward who played for six NHL teams, including the Bruins; is presently a scout for Carolina Hurricanes
• Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins goaltender; once won Vezina Trophy
• John Tudor, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher
• Rasheed Wallace, NBA forward for six teams, including the Boston Celtics
• Jo Jo White, NBA player, chiefly for Celtics

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.middletonma.gov/ Town of Middleton]
• [http://middleton.essexcountyma.net Middleton, Massachusetts Genealogy Project]

{{Essex County, Massachusetts}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Towns in Essex County, Massachusetts

Category:Towns in Massachusetts