Middleton, Massachusetts


Middleton is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 9,779 at the 2020 census.
WWW townofmiddleton.org

History

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. Will's Hill in modern-day Middleton was home to a winter village founded by an Algonquin Sachem.
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.
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. 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.
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.
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.
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 which serves grades 9–12, while its middle school serves grades 7 and 8.

Geography and transportation

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 14.5 square miles, of which 14.0 square miles is land and 0.5 square mile 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 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. Such links could serve to bring the town into the Border to Boston trail system, connecting New Hampshire to Boston via bike trails.

Demographics

As of the census of 2020, there were 9,775 people and 3,316 households residing in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 84.6% White, 6.7% from two or more races, 5.3% Asian, 2.3% African American, and 0.2% Native American. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.7% of the population. The proportion of residents holding a high school diploma was 91.3%, with 41.6% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or above.
The median income for a household in the town was $171,458 in 2023. 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. The median value of an owner-occupied housing unit in Middleton was $713,000 in 2023. In 2020, the population density was 727.2 people per square mile.

Notable people