Tewksbury is a town in
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Middlesex County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,632,002, making it the most populous county in both Massachusetts and New England and the 22nd most populou ...
, United States. Its population was 31,342 as of the
2020 United States census.
History
Tewksbury was first settled in 1637 and was officially incorporated on December 17, 1734, from
Billerica. The act that made this was the act of ANNO Regni Regis GEORGII Secundi Octavo. It states residents were not close enough to middle of town so they broke apart. There is no evidence that the town was named after
Tewkesbury, England. The most probable reason for the adoption of the town's name was in honor of
George II of Great Britain
George II (George Augustus; ; 30 October / 9 November 1683 – 25 October 1760) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Electorate of Hanover, Hanover) and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Em ...
, who from 1706 to 1714, held the title of Baron of Tewkesbury. Still, Tewksbury,
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 ...
and Tewkesbury, England kept connected through a local committee called the Twinning Committee. Tewksbury also owned a section of
Lowell, but not much is known on the topic aside from it being the lands east where the
Merrimack River
The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into M ...
and
Concord River meet, referred to by Tewksbury citizens as
Belvidere.
One of the oldest sections of town is the area around the
Shawsheen River. This is where the Shawshin tribe settled, allowing them access to a food source through fishing in the river.
Tewksbury was also known for a historic visit by President
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...
, who stopped at local watering hole, Brown's Tavern.
On July 24, 1857, a powerful tornado swept through Tewksbury. The storm began at Round Pond as a small water spout, and traveled west and then southeast to the Shawsheen River. It dissipated at
North Wilmington. Several corn fields and orchards were severely damaged, with one residence having its roof blown off. The tornado was powerful enough to flatten barns and sheds, pull up large trees by their roots, and sweep away and kill a team of oxen. Due to the sparse population, and homes located above the valley floor, no one was killed, and only a few people were injured.
[Tewksbury Tornado of 1857](_blank)
at CelebrateBoston.com
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 1.61%, is water.
The
Merrimack River
The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into M ...
forms part of the northern boundary of Tewksbury, and the
Shawsheen River runs through the southern end of town as well.
Tewksbury is located within the
Greater Boston
Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston, the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England, and its surrounding areas, home to 4,941,632. The most s ...
metropolitan area. The town is located about north-northwest 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 ...
along
I-93 and
I-495 (Boston's outer beltway). Tewksbury is bordered by the city of
Lowell to the northwest,
Dracut to the north (unreachable across the
Merrimack),
Andover to the northeast,
Wilmington to the southeast, and
Billerica to the southwest.
Tewksbury also borders the
Concord River to the southwest, and the town of
Chelmsford
Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...
exists on the other side of this river.
Climate
In a typical year, Tewksbury, Massachusetts temperatures fall below for 195 days per year. Annual precipitation is typically 44.6 inches per year (high in the
US) and snow covers the ground 62 days per year, or 17% of the year (high in the US). It may be helpful to understand the yearly precipitation by imagining nine straight days of moderate rain per year. The humidity is below 60% for approximately 25.4 days, or 7% of the year.
Transportation
The
LRTA 12 bus connects Tewksbury to
Lowell and
Wilmington on 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 ...
Lowell Line. In July 2017,
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker
Charles Duane Baker Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American politician serving as the sixth president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 72nd governor of Massa ...
and other Baker administration transportation officials visited a construction project in the city to highlight $2.8 billion spent during Baker's administration on highway construction projects and improvements to bridges, intersections, and sidewalks.
The former
Tew-Mac Airport was located in the town before it was closed in 1997 and replaced with
condominium
A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...
s and a country club.
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 28,851 people, 9,964 households, and 7,692 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 10,158 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.44%
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 ...
, 0.67%
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 ...
, 0.12%
Native American, 1.59%
Asian, 0.01%
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 ...
, 0.41% from
other races, and 0.75% 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 people of any race were 1.22% of the population.
There were 9,964 households, out of which 35.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.1% 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, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.8% were non-families. Of all households 18.9% were made up of individuals, and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.24.
The town's population was spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.7 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $68,800, and the median income for a family was $76,443. Males had a median income of $50,296 versus $33,918 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 $27,031. About 1.9% of families and 3.8% 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 2.4% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Tewksbury, like most towns in Massachusetts, operates under a
New England town
The town is the basic unit of Local government in the United States, local government and local division of state authority in the six New England states. Most other U.S. states lack a direct counterpart to the New England town. New England town ...
form of government. Day-to-day management is led by a town manager, who reports to the town's five member board of selectmen. Every spring the town holds an
open town meeting where the budget is submitted for approval by the town's citizens.
Tewksbury is located in the
6th Congressional District and thus represented in the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
by
Seth Moulton of Salem. The town is represented in the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
by Senators
Ed Markey
Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of ...
of
Malden and
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Ann Warren (née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A mem ...
of
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
.
Tewksbury is one of the more Republican-leaning towns in the Commonwealth. With the exception of
2020
The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
, Tewksbury has supported the Republican candidate for president in every election since
2008
2008 was designated as:
*International Year of Languages
*International Year of Planet Earth
*International Year of the Potato
*International Year of Sanitation
The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
. In the 2010
special election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections.
A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
to replace the late
Ted Kennedy in the Senate, Tewksbury supported
Scott Brown over
Martha Coakley by a two-to-one margin.
Hospital
Tewksbury Hospital, a state-owned facility, is located here. Originally built as an almshouse in the mid-19th century, it includes over of open space. The hospital is home to the Department of Mental Health and the Department of Public Health, and has many programs for addictive behavior and other health concerns.
Anne Sullivan ("Annie",
Helen Keller's teacher) spent time at Tewksbury Hospital before Annie was sent to the Kellers, and suffered the loss of her younger brother, James, in his childhood before her departure.
Tewksbury Hospital and the Public Health Museum in the Old Administration building were featured in the Stephen King series ''Castle Rock'', as was the Tewksbury Cemetery directly across the street.
The building houses murals done by artists during the
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...
program.
Education
The Tewksbury public schools district serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade by a
high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
, two junior high schools, and three elementary schools, specifically:
*
Tewksbury Memorial High School (TMHS): grades 9–12
* John W. Wynn Middle School: grades 7–8
* John F. Ryan Elementary School: grades 5–6
* Center Elementary School: grades 2-4
* Loella F. Dewing Elementary School: grades Pre-K–1
* Heath Brook Elementary School: grades K–1
There were four elementary schools in Tewksbury serving grades K-4 that were later redistricted. The two schools on each side of town were grouped together and each was given specific grades for that school.
North Tewksbury:
* Loella F. Dewing Elementary School: grades Pre-K–2
* North Street Elementary School: grades 3-4
South Tewksbury:
* Heath Brook Elementary School: grades K–2
* Louise Davy Trahan Elementary School: grades 3-4
High school students have the option to attend
Shawsheen Valley Technical High School, which serves five area communities.
Tewksbury’s athletic teams are known as the Redmen.
The nearest community college,
Middlesex Community College, has two campuses in nearby
Lowell and
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district.
Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...
. The nearest state university is the
University of Massachusetts Lowell
The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell and UML) is a Public university, public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of M ...
, with several state colleges in
Salem and
Framingham. The nearest private college is
Merrimack College
Merrimack College is a Private university, private Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian university in North Andover, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1947 by the Order of St. Augustine with an initial goal to educate World War II veterans. It en ...
in
North Andover, with several others within an hour's drive in Boston.
Media
Tewksbury is served by the Boston television stations, and by newspapers such as the "
Boston Herald
The ''Boston Herald'' is an American conservative daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarde ...
" and the "Town Crier" (weekly).
Film and TV
Tewksbury Hospital was used in the opening scene of
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, List of awards and nominations received by Adam Sandler, his accolades include an Independent Sp ...
's ''
Hubie Halloween''. It was also the setting of the fictional Juniper Hills Psychiatric Hospital in the television series ''
Castle Rock''. The now closed Kmart located in the Stadium Plaza Shopping Center was used as the location for the Kmart scenes in ''
Grown Ups 2''.
Notable people
*
Adelbert Ames (1835–1933),
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
recipient; last surviving Civil War general
*
Mico Kaufman (1924–2016), sculptor, Presidential and Olympic medal designer, recipient of Saultus Award 1992
*
John James Nazarian (born 1952), celebrity private investigator
*
Scott Oberg (born 1990), professional baseball pitcher for the
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...
*
Anne Sullivan (1866–1936), tutor and companion of
Helen Keller
*
Paul Sullivan (1957–2007) former selectman, talk show host on WBZ radio, Boston
*
John Trull (1738–1797), captain of the Tewksbury Minutemen in the Revolutionary War
References
External links
Town of Tewksbury official websiteTewksbury Historical Society*
{{authority control
1637 establishments in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Populated places established in 1637
Massachusetts populated places on the Merrimack River
Towns in Massachusetts
Towns in Middlesex County, Massachusetts