Middleton, Massachusetts

History

Before European colonial settlement, the area was home to a number of native settlements. The area fell along an ill-defined "border" region between the Massachusett and Pennacook. The tribes in this region generally spoke the Abenaki language, with major local tribes being the Naumkeag and Agawam. Will's Hill in modern-day Middleton was home to a winter village founded by an Algonquin Sachem.

Middleton was first settled by Europeans in 1659, and was officially incorporated in 1728. Prior to 1728 it was considered a part of Topsfield, and contained territory previously within the city of Salem.

The name Middleton is derived from its location midway between the important early settlements of Salem and Andover. It was first settled by Bray Wilkins, who came from Salem with a large family, having purchased 600 acres from Governor Bellingham. The town grew as a farming community, mostly due to its location on the Ipswich River, with homesteads of hundreds of acres. However, during the 18th century, Middleton also contained a vital ironworks industry, located in the area of what is now Mill and Liberty Streets. This enterprise originally involved Thomas Flint, Sr. and his son, Thomas Flint Jr, of Salem, John How of Boxford, and Thomas Cave Jr. of Topsfield and was carried on for approximately seventy years. The area is home to a number of intact homes from the colonial period, such as the Thomas Fuller House, which was constructed in 1684, and the Deacon Edward Putnam, Jr. House.

Although the town no longer has any functional rail systems, there have been rail lines previously running through the area. Notably, the Essex Railroad had termini in Salem and North Andover, running through Middleton from the mid-1840s through the mid-20th century, when passenger and freight demands dropped off.

In the late 18th and to the mid-19th centuries Middleton was a vacation town to those who lived in areas such as Lawrence and Lowell. It is home to one of the oldest trees in Massachusetts, being approximately 400 years old, and which is located at 39 Peabody Street. The oldest still standing house is the Wilkins house, which was built in 1693, and served as a tavern on the main road between Salem and Lawrence.

Charles L. Flint, the first Secretaries of the MA Board of Agriculture a former president of UMass Amherst as Mass. Agricultural College]] Middleton is one of the fastest-growing towns in the Commonwealth, and the fastest on the North Shore. When locally grouped it is grouped with Salem, Danvers, and Beverly, but also occasionally Topsfield and Boxford, as these three towns are a tri-town. These three towns share Masconomet Regional High School (named after Chief Masconomet, sagamore of the Agawam tribe, which lived in Essex County at the time of English colonization) which serves grades 9–12, while its middle school serves grades 7 and 8.

Geography and transportation

Middleton lies in the low hills of northeastern Massachusetts. The Ipswich River flows through town, flowing from the North Reading/Lynnfield line along the Peabody and Danvers borders before turning northward into town, exiting along the border between Boxford and Topsfield. Several brooks feed into the river throughout town, and the town is also home to two larger ponds, Middleton Pond and Andover Meadow Pond, as well as several smaller ones. Within the town, there are portions of the Harold Parker State Forest and Boxford State Forest, as well as the Peabody Reservation, Sanford Reservation and Middleton Conservation Land.

Middleton lies just west of Interstate 95, with two very short parts of the highway passing through corners of the town before and after passing through Topsfield. There are exits off the highway in Boxford and in Danvers, which both provide access to the town. Route 114, which follows the path of the old "Essex Turnpike", passes through the center of town, and is crossed there by Route 62, which merges with Route 114 for a 0.2 mile stretch there. There is no rail service within town; there are two lines (the Haverhill/Reading Line and the Newburyport/Rockport Line) of the MBTA Commuter Rail to the west and south of town, both of which provide access to Boston's North Station. The nearest small air service is located at Beverly Municipal Airport, with the nearest national and international air service being located at Logan International Airport. Despite the abandonment of the Essex Railroad line, the Middleton Rail Trail Alliance began a project in 2018 to convert the former train lines into walking and biking trails. The trail aims to link with rail trails in neighboring towns, such as the Danvers Rail Trail. Such links could serve to bring the town into the Border to Boston trail system, connecting New Hampshire to Boston via bike trails.

Climate

|Jan record high F = 69 |Feb record high F = 78 |Mar record high F = 86 |Apr record high F = 93 |May record high F = 97 |Jun record high F = 105 |Jul record high F = 101 |Aug record high F = 102 |Sep record high F = 96 |Oct record high F = 88 |Nov record high F = 80 |Dec record high F = 74 |Jan avg record high F = 55 |Feb avg record high F = 55 |Mar avg record high F = 65 |Apr avg record high F = 76 |May avg record high F = 85 |Jun avg record high F = 90 |Jul avg record high F = 92 |Aug avg record high F = 90 |Sep avg record high F = 86 |Oct avg record high F = 78 |Nov avg record high F = 69 |Dec avg record high F = 58 |year avg record high F= 93 |Jan avg record low F = -3 |Feb avg record low F = 0 |Mar avg record low F = 9 |Apr avg record low F = 25 |May avg record low F = 34 |Jun avg record low F = 43 |Jul avg record low F = 51 |Aug avg record low F = 48 |Sep avg record low F = 37 |Oct avg record low F = 27 |Nov avg record low F = 18 |Dec avg record low F = 4 |year avg record low F= -6 |Jan record low F = -22 |Feb record low F = -16 |Mar record low F = -6 |Apr record low F = 8 |May record low F = 27 |Jun record low F = 35 |Jul record low F = 42 |Aug record low F = 33 |Sep record low F = 27 |Oct record low F = 15 |Nov record low F = -3 |Dec record low F = -16 |Jan snow depth inch = 9 |Feb snow depth inch = 10 |Mar snow depth inch = 7 |Apr snow depth inch = 1 |May snow depth inch = 0 |Jun snow depth inch = 0 |Jul snow depth inch = 0 |Aug snow depth inch = 0 |Sep snow depth inch = 0 |Oct snow depth inch = 0 |Nov snow depth inch = 1 |Dec snow depth inch = 6 |year snow depth inch= 17

Demographics

| 1790|682 | 1800|598 | 1810|541 | 1820|596 | 1830|607 | 1840|657 | 1850|832 | 1860|940 | 1870|1010 | 1880|1000 | 1890|924 | 1900|839 | 1910|1129 | 1920|1195 | 1930|1712 | 1940|2348 | 1950|2916 | 1960|3718 | 1970|4044 | 1980|4135 | 1990|4921 | 2000|7744 | 2010|8987 | 2020|9779 | 2024*|9959 As of the census of 2020, there were 9,775 people and 3,316 households residing in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 84.6% White, 6.7% from two or more races, 5.3% Asian, 2.3% African American, and 0.2% Native American. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.7% of the population. The proportion of residents holding a high school diploma was 91.3%, with 41.6% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or above.

The median income for a household in the town was $171,458 in 2023. About 2.1% of families and 3.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over. The median value of an owner-occupied housing unit in Middleton was $713,000 in 2023. In 2020, the population density was 727.2 people per square mile.

Government

Notable people

• P. J. Axelsson, Boston Bruins forward
• Lyndon Byers, Boston Bruins right wing
• Coco Crisp, Boston Red Sox outfielder
• Charles L. Flint, lawyer, politician, and president of UMass Amherst
• Kelly Gibson, PGA Tour golfer
• Shane Hnidy, defenseman for six NHL teams, including the Bruins
• Corey Johnson, Speaker of the New York City Council
• Kyle McLaren, defenseman for the Bruins
• Brian Rolston, center who played for five NHL teams, including the Bruins
• Sergei Samsonov, forward who played for six NHL teams, including the Bruins; is presently a scout for Carolina Hurricanes
• Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins goaltender; once won Vezina Trophy
• John Tudor, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher
• Rasheed Wallace, NBA forward for six teams, including the Boston Celtics
• Jo Jo White, NBA player, chiefly for Celtics

Notes

References

1. "Census - Geography Profile: Middleton town, Essex County, Massachusetts". [[United States Census Bureau]].
2. (1991). "Historical Atlas of Massachusetts".
3. "Indian Territories by Perley".
4. (November 2025). "Native American Indian Landscape".
5. [http://www.rays-place.com/town/ma/middleton.htm Vital records of Middleton, Massachusetts, Topsfield Historical Society. 1904]{{dead link. (November 2025)
6. [https://web.archive.org/web/20041128114338/http://www.historicnewengland.org/resources/articles/pdf385.pdf The Ironworks in Middleton, Massachusetts, by Lura Woodside Watkins]
7. "Home - MACRIS".
8. (1996). "Lost railroads of New England". Branch Line Press.
9. "Middleton Rail Trail Alliance (MiRTA) {{!}} Middleton MA 01949".
10. "Border To Boston Trail - The Essex Heritage National Area".
11. "NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data". [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]].
12. "City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2022". [[United States Census Bureau]].
13. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
14. "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Middleton town, Essex County, Massachusetts".
15. "Elections: 1970 - 2025".