Wenham, Massachusetts
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Wenham () 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 Essex 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 ...
. The population was 4,979 at the time of the 2020 census. The town of Wenham was settled in 1635 and incorporated in 1643, and is closely tied to its neighboring town of
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
, sharing a school system, library, recreation department and commuter rail station. Noted for its historic character and rural scenery, Wenham has farm lands, lakes, woodlands, historic homes, and old stone walls that accompany its winding tree-lined roads. It features nearly of parks, playgrounds, and recreational lands.


History

Wenham was settled in 1635 and officially incorporated in 1643. English settlers came to Wenham in the 1630s, but the area had been home to the
Agawam people The Agawam were an Algonquian Native American people inhabiting the coast of New England encountered by English colonists who arrived in the early 17th century. Decimated by pestilence shortly before the English colonization and fearing attacks f ...
, an
Eastern Algonquian The Eastern Algonquian languages constitute a subgroup of the Algonquian languages. Prior to European contact, Eastern Algonquian consisted of at least 17 languages, whose speakers collectively occupied the Atlantic coast of North America and adj ...
tribe whose numbers were greatly reduced by a massive epidemic around 1617, possibly
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...
. Three grandchildren of Agawam
Chief Masconomet Masconomet, (died 1658) spelled many different ways in colonial deeds, was '' sagamore'' of the Agawam tribe among the Algonquian peoples during the time of the English colonization of the Americas. He is known for his quitclaim deed ceding all t ...
pressed a claim to the lands of Wenham, Beverly, and Manchester in 1700, and Wenham selectmen paid them three pounds and ten shillings for the quitclaim. Indian artifacts were found frequently throughout Wenham, and a representative collection is in the possession of the Wenham Museum. Wenham was originally a part of
Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada * Salem, Ontario, various places Germany * Salem, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the Bodensee district ** Salem Abbey (Reichskloster Salem), a monastery * Salem, Schleswig-Holstein Israel * Salem (B ...
. Salem's minister
Hugh Peters Hugh Peter (or Peters) (baptized 29 June 1598 – 16 October 1660) was an English preacher, political advisor and soldier who supported the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War and later the trial and execution of Charles I. Followi ...
preached to a group on a hill by the
Great Pond A great pond in the United States is a pond or lake that is held in trust by the state for public use. Generally, any natural body of water that is larger than in size is considered public water. In certain New England states, this legal definit ...
around 1638, probably to encourage settlement. The earliest land grants in the Wenham area roughly coincide with Peters' sermon. The hill was leveled in later years to make room for the
Wenham Lake Ice Company The Wenham Lake Ice Company, operating out of Wenham Lake in Wenham, Massachusetts, United States, harvested ice and exported it all around the world before the advent of factory-made ice. Wenham-lake ice was awarded a Royal Warrant of Appointme ...
at the Great Pond. In September 1643, the
General Court of Massachusetts The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. The name "General Court" is a holdover from the earliest days ...
granted that Wenham should be a town in its own right and send a representative to the General Court. It was the first town to be set off from Salem. Wenham provided volunteers in
King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...
in the 1670s, and the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...
in the mid 1700s. In 1774, the town voted to select 15 men as
minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Min ...
, and from that time on
Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...
were not welcome in Wenham. In 1909, steel magnate
Henry Clay Frick Henry Clay Frick (December 19, 1849 – December 2, 1919) was an American industrialist, financier, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company coke manufacturing company, was chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company and played a major ...
bought the Iron Rail property so that his daughter Helen could create a vacation home for the mill girls throughout
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
. Helen Frick transferred the Iron Rail Vacation Home to the Girls' Clubs of America in 1954, and the town of Wenham bought the property in the 1970s. In 1921, the Historical Committee of the Wenham Village Improvement Society bought the 17th-century Claflin-Richards house at the center of town. They eventually added the museum and "the Barn", which became Burnham Hall. The Wenham Historical Association and Museum became independent from the Village Improvement Society and underwent a major renovation and expansion in 1997.


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 , of which is land and , or 5.91%, is water. It is one of the inland communities within the Metropolitan Area Planning Council's North Shore Task Force, but it is not part of the North Shore in the strictest sense, as it is not on the shore of the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
(it lies north of
Massachusetts Bay Massachusetts Bay is a bay on the Gulf of Maine that forms part of the central coastline of Massachusetts. Description The bay extends from Cape Ann on the north to Plymouth Harbor on the south, a distance of about . Its northern and sout ...
).
Wenham Lake Wenham Lake is a 224-acre body of water located in Wenham and Beverly towns, Essex County, Massachusetts.The lake receives water from the water table, a system of streams, the Putnamville Reservoir (via pipeline), and the Ipswich River (via pu ...
lies within the town and in neighboring Beverly, and several other smaller ponds lie within town. A stretch of the Salem Beverly Waterway Canal passes through town as well, and the southernmost portion of the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary lies in the western part of town. Wenham is bordered on the south by Beverly, on the east by Manchester-by-the-Sea, on the north by
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
, on the northwest by Topsfield, and on the west by Danvers. Wenham lies north of
Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada * Salem, Ontario, various places Germany * Salem, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the Bodensee district ** Salem Abbey (Reichskloster Salem), a monastery * Salem, Schleswig-Holstein Israel * Salem (B ...
and north-northeast of
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
.


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 2000, there were 4,440 people, 1,285 households, and 957 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,320 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.84%
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 ...
, 0.43%
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 ...
, 0.02% Native American, 1.35% Asian, 0.07% from other races, and 0.29% 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 0.59% of the population. There were 1,285 households, out of which 37.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.5% 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, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.5% were non-families. Of all households 22.5% were made up of individuals, and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.19. In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.0% under the age of 18, 23.6% from 18 to 24, 19.8% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $90,524, and the median income for a family was $98,004. Males had a median income of $76,639 versus $43,750 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 $36,812. About 1.2% of families and 3.3% 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 1.9% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.


Arts and culture

Points of interest: * Wenham Museum (1922) * Claflin-Richards House (1690) *
Grand Wenham Canal The Salem Beverly Waterway Canal, sometimes called the Grand Wenham Canal, is an aqueduct canal in Topsfield and Wenham, Massachusetts. It was never used to transport anything but water and recreational canoeists. The canal was built in 1917 t ...
(1917) * Newman-Fiske-Dodge House (1658) *
Wenham Lake Wenham Lake is a 224-acre body of water located in Wenham and Beverly towns, Essex County, Massachusetts.The lake receives water from the water table, a system of streams, the Putnamville Reservoir (via pipeline), and the Ipswich River (via pu ...
* The Academy at Penguin Hall


Education

Wenham is home to Gordon College, a private four-year Christian college. The Academy at Penguin Hall is located in Wenham. It is an independent, all-girls college preparatory secondary school. Girls in grades 9–12 attend the school. Wenham is part of the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District. The town has one public elementary school, the Buker school. Middle school students attend Miles River Middle School, and high school students attend
Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School (HWRHS) is a public high school in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, United States. It is the only high school in the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District, which has its administrative offices in Wenham, Mass ...
.


Infrastructure

The eastern end of Wenham is crossed by
Massachusetts Route 128 Route 128, known as the Yankee Division Highway, is an expressway in the U.S. state of Massachusetts maintained by the Highway Division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). Spanning , it is the inner one of two b ...
, with one exit within town. Route 1A crosses through the center of town, with Route 22 crossing through the east and Route 97 crossing the southwest corner of town.
Route 35 The following highways are numbered 35: The Karakoram Highway (Urdu: شاہراہ قراقرم, ''Śāhirāh-i Qarāquram''), also known as the KKH, National Highway 35 (Urdu: قومی شاہراہ ۳۵), N-35, and the China–Pakistan Friendsh ...
ends at Route 97 just over the Topsfield town line. Wenham lies along the Newburyport section of the
Newburyport/Rockport Line The Newburyport/Rockport Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running northeast from downtown Boston, Massachusetts towards Cape Ann and the Merrimack Valley, serving the North Shore. The first leg, operating via the Eastern Rout ...
of the
MBTA Commuter Rail The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA's) transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track on 12 lines to 142 stations. It ...
. The Hamilton/Wenham station straddles the town line between Hamilton and Wenham with the parking lot roughly half on one side and half on the other and the loading platform about 56 feet north east of the town line, and the North Beverly station lies south of town in Beverly. The tip of the north runway of
Beverly Municipal Airport Beverly Regional Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located in Beverly, Massachusetts, Beverly, Danvers, Massachusetts, Danvers and Wenham, Massachusetts, in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County, three nautical miles (6  ...
lies just within town; the nearest national and international air service is located at Boston's
Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport — also known as Boston Logan International Airport — is an international airport located mostly in East Boston and partially in Winthrop, Massachusetts, United States. Covering , it has ...
.


Notable people

* Paul Harding, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of ''
Tinkers Tinkers may refer to: * An alternate (and often pejorative) name for the itinerant groups in Europe, including Irish Travellers, Scottish Travellers, and Romani people * The plural of tinker, an archaic term for an itinerant tinsmith who mends hous ...
'' * Bob Stanley, former
Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ch ...
relief pitcher


References


External links


Town of Wenham official website
{{Authority control 1643 establishments in the Massachusetts Bay Colony Populated places established in 1635