Townsend is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Middlesex County,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, United States. The population was 9,127 at the 2020 census.

History

Townsend was first settled by Europeans in 1676 in an area known by indigenous people of the area as Wistequassuck, and was officially incorporated in 1732. The town was named after

Charles Townshend Charles Townshend (27 August 1725 – 4 September 1767) was a British politician who held various titles in the Parliament of Great Britain. His establishment of the controversial Townshend Acts is considered one of the key causes of the Amer ...

, English secretary of state and an opponent of the Tories. The town initially used the same spelling as its namesake, but the "h" was dropped in patriotic fervor in response to the

Townshend Acts The Townshend Acts () or Townshend Duties were a series of British acts of Parliament enacted in 1766 and 1767 introducing a series of taxes and regulations to enable administration of the British colonies in America. They are named after Char ...

of 1767. The current spelling of Townsend became official by 1780.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of 33.1 square miles (85.8 km), of which 32.9 square miles (85.1 km) is land and 0.2 square mile (0.6 km) (0.72%) is water. The headwaters of the Squannacook River rise in the town's western hills. Townsend has the largest land area of any town in Middlesex County. Townsend is bordered by Mason, New Hampshire, and

Brookline, New Hampshire Brookline is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,639 at the 2020 census, up from 4,991 at the 2010 census. Brookline is home to the Talbot-Taylor Wildlife Sanctuary, Potanipo Pond, and the Brookline ...

to the north, Pepperell to the east, Groton and Shirley to the southeast, Lunenburg to the south, and Ashby to the west. Route 119 runs east-west through Townsend, and Route 13 runs north-south.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 8,926 people, 3,240 households, and 2,483 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 3,516 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.7%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.6%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.4% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.8% of the population. There were 3,240 households, out of which 34% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.4% were non-families. 18.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.14. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.9% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 34.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $76,533, and the median income for a family was $87,227. Males had a median income of $52,714 versus $35,843 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $29,862. About 3.3% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 3.4% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65

Education

Townsend is part of the North Middlesex Regional School District, along with Ashby, and Pepperell. The town has one elementary school, the Spaulding Memorial Elementary School. The town has one middle school, Hawthorne Brook Middle School, which also serves as the middle school for neighboring Ashby. High School students then attend North Middlesex Regional High School. Students are also allowed to choose to attend Nashoba Valley Technical High School, located in Westford.

Gallery

Image:United Methodist Church - Townsend, Massachusetts.JPG, United Methodist Church (1770) Image:Reed Homestead (exterior) - Townsend, Massachusetts.JPG, Reed Homestead, with murals attributed to

Rufus Porter Rufus Porter may refer to: *Rufus Porter (painter) (1792–1884), American painter, inventor, and founder of ''Scientific American'' magazine *Rufus Porter (American football), American football linebacker in the National Football League {{Hndis, ...

, founder of ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Pri ...

Notable people

* Daniel Adams, physician, textbook author, and state legislator * Christiana Bennett, former Ballet West principal ballerina * John Kerin, professional baseball umpire * Daniel LaPlante, Murderer * Dave Miller, Professional darts player * Huntley N. Spaulding, Governor of New Hampshire * Rolland H. Spaulding, Governor of New Hampshire * Mary Walcott, witness at the

Salem witch trials The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Not everyone wh ...

References

External links

Town of Townsend official website
{{authority control Towns in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Towns in Massachusetts 1676 establishments in the Massachusetts Bay Colony