Rowley, Massachusetts

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Rowley, Massachusetts
nickname =
motto =


imagesize =
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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location in Essex County in Massachusetts


mapsize1 =
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Massachusetts
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Essex
established_title = Settled
established_date = 1638
established_title2 = Incorporated
established_date2 = 1639
established_title3 =
established_date3 =
government_type = Open town meeting
leader_title =
leader_name =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 53.3
area_total_sq_mi = 20.6
area_land_km2 = 48.5
area_land_sq_mi = 18.7
area_water_km2 = 4.8
area_water_sq_mi = 1.9
population_as_of = 2000
settlement_type = Town
population_total = 5500
population_density_km2 = 113.4
population_density_sq_mi = 293.8
elevation_m = 15
elevation_ft = 50
timezone = Eastern
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = Eastern
utc_offset_DST = -4
latd = 42 |latm = 43 |lats = 00 |latNS = N
longd = 70 |longm = 52 |longs = 45 |longEW = W
website = http://www.town.rowley.ma.us/
postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 01969
area_code = 351 / 978
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 25-58405
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0618309
footnotes =

Rowley is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,500 at the 2000 census.

Part of the town comprises the census-designated place of Rowley.

History

Rowley was originally settled as a plantation by Reverend Ezekiel Rogers, who had arrived from England on the ship "John of London" with approximately twenty families.

The following spring, on September 4, 1639, the town was incorporated, and included portions of modern day Byfield, Georgetown, and Haverhill. The town was named after Rowley, East Riding of Yorkshire, where Rogers had served as pastor for twenty years before his suspension due to non-conformist puritanical beliefs. Rogers was installed as Rowley's pastor on December 3.

1643 and 1645 saw the construction of a fulling mill and grist mill, respectively. The town became known for its hemp and flax cloth, as well as cotton.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 20.6 square miles (53.3 km²), of which, 18.7 square miles (48.5 km²) of it is land and 1.9 square miles (4.8 km²) of it (9.08%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 5,500 people, 1,958 households, and 1,468 families residing in the town. The population density was 293.8 people per square mile (113.4/km²). There were 2,004 housing units at an average density of 107.1/sq mi (41.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.38% White, 0.24% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.27% from other races, and 0.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.85% of the population.

There were 1,958 households out of which 39.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.5% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.0% were non-families. 20.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the town the population was spread out with 28.0% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $62,130, and the median income for a family was $75,527. Males had a median income of $49,970 versus $32,500 for females. The per capita income for the town was $27,413. About 3.3% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.8% of those under age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over.

Literature

Rowley is the town that the protagonist flees to from Innsmouth in the H. P. Lovecraft short story "The Shadow Over Innsmouth". In the story, Innsmouth is located to the southeast of Rowley.

Points of interest

The Rowley River and marsh is a popular hunting spot for mallard and black duck.The Rowley House Of Pancakes has also been a long time family meeting place. Probably the most popular (and most famous) attraction to Rowley is the Agawam Diner located at the corner of Rt.133 and Rt.1

Transportation

MBTA Commuter Rail provides service from Boston's North Station with the Rowley station on its Newburyport branch of the Newburyport/Rockport Line.

Notable residents

*Bruce Kimball, retired NFL football player for the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants.

References

External links

* [http://www.rowley-ma.com/ www.rowley-ma.com]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=rowley.+ma&om=1 Street map from Google]
* [http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~kwc/boynton/rowley_hist.html Historical Information]
*Chaplin, Joseph, [http://www.salemdeeds.com/atlases_pages.asp?ImageName=ROWLEY.jpg&atlastype=Atlases&atlastown=ESSEX+COUNTY&atlas=ESSEX+COUNTY+1795&atlas_desc=ESSEX+COUNTY+1795&pageprefix= 1795 Map of Rowley] .
*Anderson, Philander. [http://www.salemdeeds.com/atlases_pages.asp?ImageName=ROWLEY.jpg&atlastype=Atlases&atlastown=ESSEX+COUNTY&atlas=ESSEX+COUNTY+1830&atlas_desc=ESSEX+COUNTY+1830&pageprefix= 1832 Map Of Rowley] . Which includes the area of Georgetown which was incorporated out of Rowley in 1838.
*Beers, D G. 1872 Atlas of Essex County. [http://www.salemdeeds.com/atlases_pages.asp?ImageName=PLATE_0063.jpg&atlastype=Atlases&atlastown=ESSEX+COUNTY&atlas=ESSEX+COUNTY+1872&atlas_desc=ESSEX+COUNTY+1872&pageprefix= 1872 Map of Rowley] . Published 1872 by D G Beers.
*Walker, George. 1884 Atlas of Essex County. [http://www.salemdeeds.com/atlases_pages.asp?ImageName=PAGE_0090.jpg&atlastype=Atlases&atlastown=ESSEX+COUNTY&atlas=ESSEX+COUNTY+1884&atlas_desc=ESSEX+COUNTY+1884&pageprefix= 1884 Map of Rowley] . Published 1884 by George Walker.
* [http://www.ma-vitalrecords.org/EssexCounty/Rowley/ Vital Records of Rowley to 1849.] Originally published by the Essex Institute. Transcribed and put online by John Slaughter and Jodi Salero 2007.