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Medfield, Massachusetts

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Medfield, Massachusetts
Town
Location in Norfolk County in Massachusetts
Location in Norfolk County in Massachusetts
CountryUnited States
StateMassachusetts
CountyNorfolk
Settled1649
Incorporated1651
Government
 • TypeOpen town meeting
Area
 • Total14.6 sq mi (37.8 km2)
 • Land14.5 sq mi (37.6 km2)
 • Water0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2)
Elevation
178 ft (54 m)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total12,273
 • Density845.8/sq mi (326.6/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (Eastern)
ZIP code
02052
Area code508 / 774
FIPS code25-39765
GNIS feature ID0618323
Websitehttp://www.town.medfield.net/

Medfield is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,273 at the 2000 census.

For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Medfield, please see the article Medfield (CDP), Massachusetts. Medfield is one of the wealthiest towns in Massachusetts.

History

Medfield (New Dedham) was first settled in 1649 and was officially incorporated in 1651 as the 43rd town in Massachusetts. The settlers were thirteen families who relocated from Dedham. The Rev. Ralph Wheelock is credited with the founding of Medfield, was the first town school master and now has the 2nd-3rd grade school named after him. The town's boundaries originally extended into present-day Medway and Millis.

Half the town (32 houses, two mills, and many barns) was burned to the ground by Native Americans during King Philip's War in 1675.

One house, known as the Peak House, still stands today near downtown Medfield.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 37.8 km²(14.6 sq mi). 14.5 square miles (37.6 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (0.62%) is water. The Charles River passes through Medfield. Medfield is surrouded by the towns Dover, Norfolk, Walpole, Millis, and Sherborn.

Demographics

See: http://www.mass.gov/mgis/massgis.htm

(2000 census data)

Population/Housing

  • 12,273 people, 4,984 households, and 4,062 families
  • Population density = 326.6 people/km² (845.8 people/sq mi)
  • 4,048 housing units
  • Of the 4,002 households, 50.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.8% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.3% were non-families. 15.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older
  • average household size = 3.02
  • average family size = 3.41

Age Distribution

  • 33.6% under the age of 18
  • 3.5% from 18 to 24
  • 28.4% from 25 to 44
  • 25.2% from 45 to 64
  • 9.3% who were 65 or older
  • The median age was 38 years.
  • For every 100 females there were 96.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males.

Income Data

  • Median household income = $97,748
  • Median family income = $108,926
  • Median male income = $78,699
  • Median female income = $44,500
  • About 0.8% of families and 1.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.1% of those under age 18 and 1.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Medfield has prestigious Public School System that is always ranked as one of the top ten school systems in Massachusetts by the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS)[1].

Public Schools:

  • Memorial School, 59 Adams Street (grades K-1)[2]
  • Wheelock School, 17 Elm Street (grades 2-3)[3]
  • Dale Street School, 45 Adams Street (grades 4-5)[4]
  • Thomas A. Blake Middle School, 24 Pound Street (grades 6-8)[5]
  • Medfield High School (aka Amos Clark Kingsbury High School), 88R South Street (grades 9-12)[6]

Private Schools:

  • The Montrose School, a Catholic girls' prep. school [7]


Medfield State Hospital

  • The film Shutter Island is scheduled to start prepping February 2008 and start filming at Medfield State Hospital in March 2008.
  • The film The Box was filmed at the hospital in December 2007.

Points of interest

  • Rocky Woods is a 491 acre reservation in the northeast part of town. The property has 6.5 miles of nature trails for hiking or biking, a few ponds for fishing, and open space for picnics and barbeques.[8]
  • Zullo Gallery: An art gallery run by a Medfield resident. Displays several pieces of fine art that can be purchased.[9]
  • Noon Hill is the highest point in Medfield at 370 feet with a trail to its peak. There are a total of 4.5 miles of trails around the hill and offer views of the hills of Walpole and Norfolk.[10]
  • Peak House. Burnt during the Native-American attack on the town during the King Philip War in 1676, the Peak House was re-built in 1680. It was turned over to the Medfield Historical Society in 1924 and restored to its original Colonial look. It is open every Sunday from 2 PM- 5 PM from June to September and by appointment at other times. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and the steep roof has the highest pitch on record in Massachusetts for a 17th century house.[citation needed]

Art

Annual events

  • Medfield Day, a community event sponsored by Medfield Employers & Merchants Organization (MEMO), happens on a Saturday each September. The outdoor event features local businesses, merchants, and civic organizations, who rent spaces around Meetinghouse Pond and set up booths for public display. It is considered the social event of the year. [11]

Places of worship

Notable residents

  • Hannah Adams (1755-1831), Medfield native and Christian author; the first female professional writer in America.
  • George Inness (1825-1894), artist, some of whose paintings are of Medfield in the Nineteenth century. A street in town, near the vantage of one of his paintings, bears his last name.
  • Lowell Mason (1792-1872), a composer of hymns and pioneer of music education in American public schools. A street in town bears his name.
  • Charles Martin Loeffler (1861 – 1935), a German-born American composer. A street in town off South st. on the development of Southern Acres bears his last name.
  • Curt Schilling, of the Boston Red Sox. His family lives on Woodridge Road in a 26-acre estate formerly occupied by another athlete, Drew Bledsoe. Schilling bought the home in 2003 for $4,500,000.[17]
  • John Preston (1945 - 1994), author of gay erotica.
  • Peter McNeeley, a retired boxer. In 1995, McNeeley fought former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson after Tyson's release from prison. The fight lasted a mere 83 seconds. T.K.O.
  • Pete Carroll, coach of USC and former coach of the New England Patriots also lived in Medfield. He donated money to keep the high school weight room open all season long during the summer for the football players. Carroll also help start the Middle School football program by getting a $30,000 grant from the NFL. He also volunteered to be a referee when the hired one failed to appear.
  • Drew Bledsoe, quarterback on the Dallas Cowboys, formerly quarterback of the New England Patriots, resided in Medfield when he was the quarterback of the Patriots. He bought the entire Medfield football team cleats before he moved out of Medfield. His house was later purchased by Curt Schilling when he came to play for the Boston Red Sox.
  • John Hannah, former New England Patriots guard and Hall of Famer.
  • Randy Moss, current NFL wide receiver playing for the Patriots recently rented a house on Main Street and now bought a house in Sharon

Trivia

References

  1. ^ DeSorgher, Richard. "This Old Town." Medfield Hometown Weekly 05 Apr 2007: Page 2.

==External links==

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