Boxford, Massachusetts


Boxford is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town's population was 8,203 in 2020.
The original town center of Boxford, along with East Boxford and other areas in the eastern part of the town, comprise the census-designated place of Boxford.

History

inhabited northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European colonization of the Americas. At the time of contact, the area that would become Boxford was controlled by Agawam sachem Masconomet, but the Agawam would experience severe population loss from virgin soil epidemics, especially in 1617–1619, killing an estimated 50–75% of the indigenous population in the region. Although Boxford was settled by Europeans in 1646, it was not until 1700 that the selectmen of Boxford would pay Masconomet's grandson Samuel English nine pounds for the rights to the town land.
Europeans first settled in Boxford in 1646 as a part of Rowley Village by Abraham Redington. When Boxford was officially incorporated in 1685, about forty families resided there. Farming was the primary occupation of the early settlers, although townspeople also counted craftsmen among their ranks. The original structure of Boxford's First Church was constructed in 1701 in East Boxford Village. As the population of West Boxford expanded, the legislature designated this section of town as precinct 2 in 1735. Town meetings then alternated between East and West parishes. The first West Boxford church building was erected in 1774. The town's largest industry—a match factory located on Lawrence Road—opened its doors just after the end of the American Civil War, and operated from 1866 to 1905.
As part of the American Bicentennial celebrations which took place during the mid-1970s, residents of Boxford, Massachusetts, visited two villages named Boxford in England in 1975. The aim of their trip was to search for the source of their town's name, ultimately deciding that the village of Boxford in the Babergh district of Suffolk, England, was likely the original source. Villagers from Boxford, Suffolk, were then invited to Boxford, Massachusetts, the following summer for two-week homestays with local host families. This second transatlantic exchange, which began in late July 1976, generated media attention from both Evening Standard and the BBC's Nationwide program Sally's Dumptruck.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, of which is land and, or 3.46%, is water.
Boxford is divided into Boxford Village and West Boxford Village, corresponding to the respective East and West Boxford centers. It is heavily forested and criss-crossed by various streams and brooks, many of which empty into the Ipswich River on Boxford's southern border. A number of ponds dot town as well, among them Stiles Pond, Cedar Pond, Spofford Pond, Lowe Pond, Four Mile Pond and Baldpate Pond. Throughout Boxford there are also a number of scenic hiking trails. The highest natural point in Boxford is Bald Hill, at an elevation of. It sits in a corner of the Boxford State Forest, near Interstate 95 and the town's border with Middleton.
Small farms are interspersed throughout Boxford. Stone walls, remnants of old farming land boundaries, meander through the area. One major farm located in Boxford is Small Oxx farm, a branch of the main farm, Smolak's, located in North Andover.
Boxford is located near the geographic center of Essex County, with Boxford Center about southeast of Lawrence and north of Boston. The town is bordered by Haverhill to the north, Groveland to the northeast, Georgetown and Rowley to the east, Ipswich and Topsfield to the southeast, Middleton to the southwest, and North Andover to the west.
The eastern end of Boxford is crossed by Interstate 95, with three exits lying within the town. Route 133 crosses through the northern part of town, from North Andover to Georgetown, and Route 97 crosses through the eastern part of town, from Topsfield to Georgetown. The town does not have any means of mass transportation. The Newburyport/Rockport Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail passes through neighboring Rowley and Ipswich to the east, and the Haverhill/Reading Line passes to the north. The nearest small airport is Lawrence Municipal Airport, located in North Andover, and the nearest domestic and international air service is Logan International Airport.

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. There were 2,610 housing units at an average density of 42.0 persons/km2. 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.
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% had a female householder with no husband present, 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

Government and infrastructure

Boxford employs the open town meeting form of government, and is led by a board of selectmen and a town executive secretary. Boxford has a police department, a fire department with two branches in the main villages, two post offices, a public works department and a library, which is isolated within the town hall. Boxford has no water department; all residents and businesses have wells and septic. A second library was located in West Boxford, but due to budget constraints it was closed in 2008. The nearest hospitals are Merrimack Valley Hospital in Haverhill to the north, Lawrence General to the west, and Beverly Hospital to the south.
On the state level, Boxford is under the jurisdiction of the Central District Court of Essex County, located in Haverhill. It is patrolled by the Newbury station of Troop A of the Massachusetts State Police. The town is represented by two representatives, from the Second and Eighteenth Essex districts, in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and as part of the First Essex and Middlesex district in the Massachusetts Senate. On the national level, the town is part of Massachusetts's 6th congressional district, and has been represented by Seth Moulton since 2014. The state's senior Senator, elected in the 2012, is Elizabeth Warren, and its junior Senator, elected in 2013, is Ed Markey.

Politics

One of the few communities in Massachusetts to have more registered Republicans than Democrats, Boxford is more conservative than the rest of the state. It was the only town not to vote to reelect Senator John Kerry in 2008. In 2012, Mitt Romney received 59% of the vote in Boxford compared to President Obama's 40%. Hillary Clinton, however, became the first Democratic presidential nominee to win the town in the 21st century in 2016. The former Secretary of State defeated Republican entrepreneur Donald Trump by 47.93–42.85 percent of the vote, with 5.80 percent going to Libertarian Gary Johnson. In 2020, Boxford's numbers were much more line with most other Massachusetts towns, as Joe Biden carried the town by a 15-point margin.
YearDemocraticRepublicanThird Parties
202055.84% 3,11740.69% 2,2713.47% 194
201647.12% 2,45442.13% 2,19410.75% 560
201239.79% 2,06658.42% 3,0341.79% 93
200845.90% 2,28651.92% 2,5862.18% 109
200442.91% 2,06455.37% 2,6641.72% 83
200040.57% 1,80451.99% 2,3127.44% 331
199639.33% 1,61950.06% 2,06110.61% 437
199229.34% 1,15344.23% 1,73826.43% 1,039
198832.00% 1,15865.81% 2,3812.19% 79
198425.10% 76974.51% 2,2830.39% 12
198020.10% 57061.13% 1,73318.77% 532
197628.30% 71467.62% 1,7064.08% 103
197228.27% 58870.04% 1,4571.69% 35
196826.62% 44670.69% 1,1842.69% 45
196018.41% 20080.94% 8790.65% 7
195610.52% 7688.65% 6400.83% 6
195211.82% 7184.86% 5103.32% 20
194813.88% 6485.25% 3930.87% 4
194420.82% 9279.18% 3500.00% 0
194019.90% 8580.10% 3420.00% 0
190012.60% 1785.18% 1152.22% 3
18964.31% 684.89% 11810.80% 15
189233.13% 5462.57% 1024.30% 7
188830.54% 5164.07% 1075.39% 9
188429.81% 4863.98% 1036.21% 10
188034.11% 5865.89% 1120.00% 0
187626.09% 4273.91% 1190.00% 0
187216.80% 2283.20% 1090.00% 0
186821.09% 3178.91% 1160.00% 0