| Groton, Massachusetts | |
|---|---|
| — Town — | |
| Town Hall | |
| Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| County | Middlesex |
| Settled | 1655 |
| Incorporated | 1655 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Open town meeting |
| Area | |
| • Total | 33.7 sq mi (87.3 km2) |
| • Land | 32.8 sq mi (84.9 km2) |
| • Water | 0.9 sq mi (2.4 km2) |
| Elevation | 320 ft (98 m) |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Total | 10,646 |
| • Density | 324.4/sq mi (125.3/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 01450 |
| Area code(s) | 351 / 978 |
| FIPS code | 25-27480 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0619399 |
| Website | www.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.
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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.
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.
See also: Groton (CDP), Massachusetts
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1850 | 2,515 | — |
| 1860 | 3,193 | +27.0% |
| 1870 | 3,584 | +12.2% |
| 1880 | 1,862 | −48.0% |
| 1890 | 2,057 | +10.5% |
| 1900 | 2,052 | −0.2% |
| 1910 | 2,155 | +5.0% |
| 1920 | 2,185 | +1.4% |
| 1930 | 2,434 | +11.4% |
| 1940 | 2,550 | +4.8% |
| 1950 | 2,889 | +13.3% |
| 1960 | 3,904 | +35.1% |
| 1970 | 5,109 | +30.9% |
| 1980 | 6,154 | +20.5% |
| 1990 | 7,511 | +22.1% |
| 2000 | 9,547 | +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% |
| 2010 | 10,646 | −1.2% |
| * = population estimate. Source: United States Census records and Population Estimates Program data.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] |
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As of the census[15] 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.[16]
