Boxford, Massachusetts

Boxford
Town
Seal
Boxford Location in Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°39′45″N 71°01′37″W / 42.66250°N 71.02694°W / 42.66250; -71.02694
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Essex
Incorporated	1685
Government
• Government	Open town meeting Select Board (5 members)
Area
• Total	24.4 sq mi (63 km2)
• Land	24.1 sq mi (62 km2)
• Water	0.3 sq mi (0.8 km2)
Elevation	128 ft (39 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	8,203
• Density	340/sq mi (130/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	01921
Area code(s)	978 / 351
Website	www.town.boxford.ma.us

Boxford is a small town in Essex County, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, in the United States. In the year 2020, about 8,203 people lived there. The town is about 30 miles (48 km) north of Boston.

Boxford is mostly a quiet, rural town with forests, farms, and homes. There is very little business or shopping in the town. It has two small village centers, called East Boxford (also known as Boxford Village) and West Boxford. It is a wealthy town. The middle (median) income of a Boxford household was about $200,000 a year, which is much higher than most towns in the state.

History

Settlers first came to the Boxford area in the 1640s. At that time it was part of a larger settlement called Rowley Village. Boxford became its own town, or was "incorporated", in 1685. By then, about 48 families lived there.

The town most likely got its name from Boxford, a small village in the county of Suffolk in England.

Like many old New England towns, Boxford began as a farming community. Early settlers built farms, mills, and an iron forge (a workshop for shaping metal) that opened on Fish Brook in 1668. The town still keeps its farming roots today, with apple orchards, pumpkin patches, and Christmas tree farms.

Boxford also has a link to the Salem witch trials of 1692, when many people in the area were wrongly accused of being witches. A Boxford woman named Rebecca Eames was accused of witchcraft. She confessed under pressure and was later set free.

For a long time Boxford stayed small. It grew quickly after 1950, when new roads made it easier to reach Boston. The population went from fewer than 1,000 people to more than 8,000 by the year 2020.

Geography

Boxford covers about 24.4 square miles (63 km²). The town is heavily forested and has many small farms, stone walls, and historic homes. It has kept much of its land as protected open space, including the Boxford State Forest, the Bald Hill Reservation, and Wildcat Forest, along with several ponds and hiking trails. The town has won the "Tree City USA" award, which is given to towns that take good care of their trees.

Government

Boxford uses a system called an "open town meeting". This means that any registered voter in the town can come to a meeting, speak, and vote on local laws and the town budget. A group of five elected leaders, called the Select Board, runs the town from day to day.

Education

Boxford shares a public school system, called the Masconomet Regional School District, with two nearby towns, Topsfield and Middleton. Older students from all three towns go to the same regional middle school and high school. The district is often ranked as one of the best in Massachusetts.

Notable people

Some well-known people have lived in Boxford, including:

• Carl Yastrzemski, a baseball player in the Baseball Hall of Fame, who was born in Boxford in 1939
• Raymond Bourque, an ice hockey player in the Hockey Hall of Fame

References

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