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Wakefield is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the Greater Boston metropolitan area.[1] The population was 24,804 at the 2000 census.
[edit] History
Wakefield was first settled in 1638 as Lynn Village. It officially separated from Lynn and incorporated as Reading in 1644 when the first church and corn mill were established. This first corn mill was built on the Mill River on Water St and later small saw mills were built on the Mill River and the Saugus River. The old parish church became known as the Old or South Parish when in 1713 the North Parish was established. This North Parish later became the town of North Reading. In 1769 the West Parish was established. In 1812 the Old or South Parish of Reading separated from Reading and was officially incorporated as South Reading. At the time it was spelt South Redding, not South Reading. The Railroad was chartered and built in 1844 between Wilmington and Boston. This later became the main line of the Boston and Maine Railroad. The Boston and Maine Foundry was built in 1854 and was later reincorporated as the Smith and Anthony Stove Company. The Boston Ice Company cut and shipped ice from Lake Quannapowitt starting in 1851. The Rattan Works (which made wicker furniture) was established in 1856 by Cyrus Wakefield. This later grew into the Wakefield Rattan Company and at one time had a thousand employees. In 1868 Cyrus Wakefield donated land and money for a new Town Hall and in thanks the town voted to change its name from South Reading to Wakefield. In 1856 the South Reading public library was established, this later became the Beebe Town Library. The first weekly newspaper in town was established in 1858. Wakefield is made up of various parts including the Westside, Montrose and Greenwood. One of the oldest and largest manufacturers of flying model airplane toys in the world, Paul K. Guillow, Inc. is located in Wakefield. The company is particularly notable for its extensive line of balsa wood model airplane kits. Route 128 was built along the north edge of the town by 1958 and the American Mutual Insurance Company built its headquarters between Lake Quannapowitt and Route 128. American Mutual had over 1000 employees, most of them commuting to work via Route 128. By the late 1980s American Mutual was in liquidation due to the Woburn W.R.Grace litigation. The headquarters building was sold to the Beal Company and was home to Boston Technology Inc. which invented and manufactured corporate voice mail systems that operated on computer systems. Boston Technology merged in 1997 with Comverse, a digital telecommunications equipment manufacturer, who later bought the building. [edit] CrimesOn December 26, 2000, seven workers at Edgewater Technology in Wakefield, Massachusetts were shot and killed by an Edgewater Tech employee. The gunman, 42-year-old Michael McDermott, was an application supporter at Edgewater Technology. During his trial, he stated that he was born without a soul and that God had allowed him to earn a soul by traveling back in time to kill Nazis. However the prosecution asserted that the killings were motivated by his employer's garnishing of his wages to the IRS, as he failed to pay back taxes. He was found guilty of seven counts of first degree murder and sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. In 2008 this case was studied on the psychology programme Most Evil. The town has also gained considerable attention in August 2008 surrounding the trial of alleged double-murderer Sean Fitzpatrick. He was found guilty of killing Michael Zammitti Jr. and Chester Roberts in March 2009, about two years after the event occurred. [edit] GeographyWakefield is located at 42°30′4″N 71°4′16″W / 42.50111°N 71.07111°W (42.501345, -71.071324).[2] Reading, Massachusetts (Northwest), Melrose, Massachusetts (South), Stoneham, Massachusetts (Southwest), Lynnfield, Massachusetts (Northeast), and Saugus, Massachusetts (Southeast) border Wakefield. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 7.9 square miles (20.5 km²), of which, 7.5 square miles (19.3 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1.1 km²) of it (5.56%) is water. Wakefield has two lakes: Crystal Lake and Lake Quannapowitt. Crystal Lake is used as a reservoir for some of the town's drinking water. Lake Quannapowitt is used for a wide variety of recreational activities, including boating, windsurfing and fishing, and is the primary source of the Saugus river. In 1847, Lake Quannapowitt was named for the Indian, James Quannapowitt, one of the signers of the old Indian Deed of 1686. The earliest settlers referred to the lake simply as the "Greate Pond" or "Reading Pond." Lake Quannapowitt is also home to the oldest inland yacht club in the United States, Quannapowitt Yacht Club which was founded in 1886. Long regarded as "Wakefield's greatest natural resource," Lake Quannapowitt covers an area of 247 acres. Its outlet is the Saugus River to the Atlantic Ocean. Wakefield Common sits to the south of the lake, and is the site of many recreational activities and events throughout the year. In 1991, a group of local citizens formed "The Friends of Lake Quannapowitt" to advocate for the lake and to educate the public about this natural resource. The group has also raised money for projects that benefit the lake and the surrounding areas. [edit] DemographicsAs of the census[3] of 2000, there were 24,804 people, 9,747 households, and 6,608 families residing in the town. The population density was 3,321.6 people per square mile (1,282.0/km²). There were 9,937 housing units at an average density of 1,330.7/sq mi (513.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.94% White, 0.45% Black or African American, 0.08% Native American, 1.43% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.82% of the population. There were 9,747 households out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.1% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.09. In the town the population was spread out with 22.6% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $66,117, and the median income for a family was $77,834. Males had a median income of $51,591 versus $39,327 for females. The per capita income for the town was $30,369. About 1.7% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.7% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over. [edit] Government
Wakefield hosts yearly major town meetings to discuss the budget. As it is a town, not a city, Wakefield's main decisions are made by a Board of Selectmen. [edit] Education
Contains three High Schools: Wakefield High School, Northeast Vocational, and Our Lady of Nazareth Academy, now closed. In 2009, the Academy of Our Lady of Nazareth opened in Wakefield, an independent all-girls school founded in the Catholic tradition. Wakefield contains one middle school and four elementary schools. The Little Red School house was a one-room school house building that was last used kindergarten students on the Westside. [edit] NeighborhoodsWakefield is roughly composed of the following neighborhoods:[4]
[edit] TransportationAn MBTA Commuter Rail station on the Haverhill/Reading Line is located near the center of town as well as a second station in the Greenwood section. Several MBTA buses on Route 136 and Route 137 run to surrounding communities, including the nearby Oak Grove stop as well as Malden Center, both rapid transit stations on the Orange Line. Rt. 128/I-95 runs through Wakefield with exits at Albion Street, North Avenue, Water Street, Vernon Street, New Salem Street, and Salem Street. State highway Rt. 129 also passes through Wakefield. US Route 1 runs through nearby Saugus and Lynnfield, while I-93 runs through neighboring Stoneham. [edit] MediaThe town is covered by two daily newspapers, the locally owned Daily Item and an edition of the Daily Times Chronicle; and by one weekly newspaper, the Wakefield Observer. The Wakefield Memorial High School also has its own newspaper, written by the students, recently renamed "WHS exPRESS". The town also has its own television station WCAT. The Wakefield Memorial High School has its own television station, WHSTV15. [edit] Points of interest
[edit] Annual events
[edit] Notable residents
[edit] See also[edit] References
[edit] Further reading_map,_1852.jpg)
[edit] External links
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