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'''Groton''' is a town located in northwestern [[Middlesex County, Massachusetts|Middlesex County]], [[Massachusetts]]. The population was 10,646 at the 2010 census. It is home to two noted [[University-preparatory school|prep schools]]: [[Groton School]], founded in 1884, and [[Lawrence Academy at Groton]], founded in 1793. The historic town hosts the National Shepley Hill Horse Trials, an [[Equestrianism|equestrian]] competition.
'''Groton''' is a town located in northwestern [[Middlesex County, Massachusetts|Middlesex County]], [[Massachusetts]]. The population was 10,646 at the 2010 census. It is home to two noted [[University-preparatory school|prep schools]]: [[Groton School]], founded in 1884, and [[Lawrence Academy at Groton]], founded in 1793. The historic town hosts the National Shepley Hill Horse Trials, an [[Equestrianism|equestrian]] competition. Groton is known as a hockey town, with teams traveling from throughout the state to play.


==History==
==History==

Revision as of 06:53, 23 November 2011

Groton, Massachusetts
Town
Town Hall
Town Hall
Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts
Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts
CountryUnited States
StateMassachusetts
CountyMiddlesex
Settled1655
Incorporated1655
Government
 • TypeOpen town meeting
Area
 • Total
33.7 sq mi (87.3 km2)
 • Land32.8 sq mi (84.9 km2)
 • Water0.9 sq mi (2.4 km2)
Elevation
320 ft (98 m)
Population
 (2007)
 • Total
10,646
 • Density324.4/sq mi (125.3/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (Eastern)
ZIP code
01450
Area code351 / 978
FIPS code25-27480
GNIS feature ID0619399
Websitewww.townofgroton.org

Groton is a town located in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The population was 10,646 at the 2010 census. It is home to two noted prep schools: Groton School, founded in 1884, and Lawrence Academy at Groton, founded in 1793. The historic town hosts the National Shepley Hill Horse Trials, an equestrian competition. Groton is known as a hockey town, with teams traveling from throughout the state to play.

History

The area had for thousands of years been the territory of various cultures of indigenous peoples. They settled along the rivers for fishing and transportation. Historic tribes were Algonquian-speaking Nipmuc.[1]

The Anglo-American Groton started with the trading post of John Tinker, who conducted business there with the Nipmuc Indians at the confluence of Nod Brook and the Nashua River. The Nipmuc called the area Petapawag, meaning "swampy land." Other pioneers followed the Algonquian trails from Massachusetts Bay, as Tinker had. They found the region productive for fishing and farming.[1]

The town was officially settled and incorporated in 1655, named for Groton in Suffolk, England, the hometown of Dean Winthrop, an early selectman. Called The Plantation of Groton, it included all of present-day Groton and Ayer, almost all of Pepperell and Shirley, large parts of Dunstable and Littleton, plus smaller parts of Harvard and Westford, as well as Nashua, New Hampshire and Hollis, New Hampshire.[1]

During King Philip's War, on March 13, 1676 Indians burned all but four Groton garrisons. Survivors fled to Concord and other safe havens, but two years later returned to rebuild.[1]

Indians attacked the town again during Queen Anne's War. On June 20, 1707, several citizens, including the children Sarah, John and Zachariah Tarbell, were captured. The raiding party took them on a difficult overland journey of hundreds of miles to Kahnawake, a Jesuit mission village in Canada, across the St. Lawrence River from the village of Montreal. The two young boys were adopted into Mohawk families and became thoroughly assimilated. They married daughters of chiefs and became chiefs in their own turn; as successful fur traders, they were among the founders of the new community of Akwesasne upstream in the late 1750s.[2] Sarah was "sold" (or ransomed) to a French family. About a year later, after being baptized Catholic and renamed Marguerite, she entered the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame, a teaching order founded in Montreal in 1657.[2]

In 1775, the common in front of the First Parish Church was an assembly area for Minutemen, who fought in the Battle of Lexington and Concord.[1]

Of the Tarbell children's siblings who escaped during the raid, their older brother William had many descendants, including the future American Impressionist artist, Edmund C. Tarbell, born in West Groton 155 years later.[3]

Today, many members of the Akwesasne and Kahnawake reserves still carry the surname Tarbell. During the first decades of the 20th century, many families from the reserves lived in Brooklyn, New York - the men were ironworkers on the skyscrapers and bridges under construction. The women also worked and created community. Reaghan Tarbell, a descendant of one of the Mohawk Tarbell brothers, made a documentary about the Brooklyn families: To Brooklyn and Back: A Mohawk Journey, shown on PBS-TV in the fall of 2009.[4] It was produced by the National Film Board of Canada.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, Groton has a total area of 33.7 square miles (87.3 km²), of which 32.8 square miles (84.9 km²) is land and 0.9 square miles (2.4 km²) (2.79%) is water. Groton is the largest town in Middlesex County in terms of square mileage. The town is drained by the Nashua River and Squannacook River.

Groton is served by state routes 40, 111, 119 and 225. It borders the towns of Pepperell, Dunstable, Tyngsborough, Westford, Littleton, Ayer, Shirley and Townsend.

Demographics

See also: Groton (CDP), Massachusetts

Historical population
YearPop.±%
18502,515—    
18603,193+27.0%
18703,584+12.2%
18801,862−48.0%
18902,057+10.5%
19002,052−0.2%
19102,155+5.0%
19202,185+1.4%
19302,434+11.4%
19402,550+4.8%
19502,889+13.3%
19603,904+35.1%
19705,109+30.9%
19806,154+20.5%
19907,511+22.1%
20009,547+27.1%
2001*9,796+2.6%
2002*9,952+1.6%
2003*10,153+2.0%
2004*10,311+1.6%
2005*10,391+0.8%
2006*10,512+1.2%
2007*10,575+0.6%
2008*10,644+0.7%
2009*10,779+1.3%
201010,646−1.2%
* = population estimate.
Source: United States census records and Population Estimates Program data.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 9,547 people, 3,268 households, and 2,568 families residing in the town. The population density was 291.3 people per square mile (112.5/km²). There were 3,393 housing units at an average density of 103.5 per square mile (40.0/km²). Groton is one of the least racially diverse towns in New England. The racial makeup of the town was 97.22% White, 0.35% Black or African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.97% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.27% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.14% of the population.

There were 3,268 households out of which 46.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.0% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.4% were non-families. 17.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.90 and the average family size was 3.31.

The age distribution of the town's population was 32.6% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $118,041, and the median income for a family was $136,653. Males had a median income of $101,117 versus $60,402 for females. The per capita income for the town was $44,756. About 1.1% of families and 1.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.0% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.[15]

Education

Public Schools

District Schools

Main article: Groton-Dunstable Regional School District
  • Boutwell School
  • Florence Roche Elementary School
  • Groton-Dunstable Regional Middle School
  • Groton-Dunstable Regional High School
  • Prescott Elementary School (Closed after the 2007-2008 school year due to budget cuts)

Other Public Schools

Private Schools

Points of interest

First Parish Church
1831 map of Groton
Gibbet Hill

Buildings and Structures

Notable natives and residents

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Town of Groton, Massachusetts". Retrieved May 30, 2006.
  2. ^ a b Northeast Captivity Stories: "The Story of the Tarbell Captives That Became Mohawk Chiefs", from Dr. Samuel A. Green, "Selected Excerpts on Indians", An Historical Sketch of Groton, Massachusetts l655 - l890, Groton, l894, pp. 51 and 57, accessed 23 Oct 2010
  3. ^ Henry Fitz-Gilbert Waters, "Some Descendants of Thomas Tarbell", The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 61, New England Historic Genealogical Society 1907
  4. ^ "To Brooklyn and Back: A Mohawk Journey", PBS, accessed 23 Oct 2010
  5. ^ "Total Population (P1), 2010 Census Summary File 1". American FactFinder, All County Subdivisions within Massachusetts. United States Census Bureau. 2010.
  6. ^ "Massachusetts by Place and County Subdivision - GCT-T1. Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  7. ^ "1990 Census of Population, General Population Characteristics: Massachusetts" (PDF). US Census Bureau. December 1990. Table 76: General Characteristics of Persons, Households, and Families: 1990. 1990 CP-1-23. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  8. ^ "1980 Census of the Population, Number of Inhabitants: Massachusetts" (PDF). US Census Bureau. December 1981. Table 4. Populations of County Subdivisions: 1960 to 1980. PC80-1-A23. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  9. ^ "1950 Census of Population" (PDF). Bureau of the Census. 1952. Section 6, Pages 21-10 and 21-11, Massachusetts Table 6. Population of Counties by Minor Civil Divisions: 1930 to 1950. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  10. ^ "1920 Census of Population" (PDF). Bureau of the Census. Number of Inhabitants, by Counties and Minor Civil Divisions. Pages 21-5 through 21-7. Massachusetts Table 2. Population of Counties by Minor Civil Divisions: 1920, 1910, and 1920. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  11. ^ "1890 Census of the Population" (PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. Pages 179 through 182. Massachusetts Table 5. Population of States and Territories by Minor Civil Divisions: 1880 and 1890. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  12. ^ "1870 Census of the Population" (PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. 1872. Pages 217 through 220. Table IX. Population of Minor Civil Divisions, &c. Massachusetts. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  13. ^ "1860 Census" (PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. 1864. Pages 220 through 226. State of Massachusetts Table No. 3. Populations of Cities, Towns, &c. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  14. ^ "1850 Census" (PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. 1854. Pages 338 through 393. Populations of Cities, Towns, &c. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  15. ^ http://www.factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=06000US2501727480&-qr_name=ACS_2009_5YR_G00_DP5YR3&-ds_name=ACS_2009_5YR_G00_&-_lang=en&-_sse=on
  16. ^ "Country Day School of the Holy Union". Country Day. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  17. ^ "Groton Historical Society". Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  18. ^ "Groton Wood". Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  19. ^ "Old Groton Inn". Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  20. ^ "Groton Public Library". Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  21. ^ Nelson, Laura J. "Boston Globe Correspondent". Boston.com. NY Times Co. Retrieved 13 August 2011.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Groton, Massachusetts.
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