Boxford is a historic town in Massachusetts. It was settled by Massachusetts Bay colonists in the 17th century. The following is a timeline of the history of Boxford:
1645:
- Boxford is settled as part of Rowley Village by Abraham Redington.
1652:
- The Old Andover Road, the first road in Boxford, is established to connect Andover to Rowley and Newbury.
1661:
- Colonist Robert Smith purchases a 208-acre farm that is located partially in Boxford and partially in Topsfield. Smith is the great-great-great grandfather of Joseph Smith Jr, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
1668:
- An iron forge is established by the Leonard family on Fish Brook.
1683:
- The Abraham Redington House, a Colonial-style house, is built on Main Street.
1685:
- Boxford is incorporated as a town in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
- The population of Boxford consists of 48 families.
1687:
- William Watson – Joseph House Hale house, a Colonial-style clapboard house, is built on Ipswich Road.
1688:
- John Dorman – Moses Dorman House, a Colonial-style clapboard house, is built for Timothy Dorman on Topsfield Road and was later expanded in 1729.
1692:
- On August 19, Boxford resident Rebecca Eames is accused of witchcraft and arrested while she is attending the execution of several convicted witches during the Salem Witch Trials. She confesses and is released from prison months later.
- Also in August, Boxford resident Joseph Tyler accuses John Jackson Sr, John Jackson Jr, and John Howard of bewitching a group of girls in Andover.
1699:
- Brookview Farm is established on what is now Brookview Road.
1700:
- The Thomas Wood House, a Colonial-style clapboard house, is built for the Wood family on Georgetown Road.
1701:
- The first meetinghouse, a crude unplastered building about 34 feet by 30 feet in size, is built on Georgetown Road in the North East corner of the cemtery.
1702:
- The Timothy Stiles House is built on Brookview Road.
- A parsonage is constructed on Elm Street for Reverend Thomas Symmes.
- The Captain Isaac Adams House, a Colonial-style house, is built on Spofford Road.
1712:
- The John Kimball House, a Colonial-style house, is built on Valley Road.
1715:
- The Sawyer House, a Colonial-style house, is built on Endicott Road.
1716:
- Harmony Cemetery is established on Ipswich Road.
1720:
- The Tyler Moses House, a Georgian-style house, is built on Ipswich Road.
1721:
- The Jacob Gould House is built on Middleton Road.
1725:
- The Phineas Foster House, a Colonial-style house, is built on Old Topsfield Road.
1735:
- The Colonel Thomas Knowlton House is built for William Knowlton on Washington Street and later becomes the birthplace of Revolutionary War leader Colonel Thomas Knowlton who fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill and was killed in the Battle of White Plains.
1742:
- The second meetinghouse is built on Georgetown Road a few rods away from the old meetinghouse which had fallen into disrepair. The new meetinghouse was a wooden building about 38 feet by 48 feet in size.
1745:
- The G. B. Austin House, a Colonial-style house, is built on Main Street.
1749:
- The Spofford – Barnes House, a Colonial-style house, is built on Kelsey Road.
- The Joseph Hale House, a Colonial-style house, is built for Joseph Hale on Salem Road.
1750:
- The Thomas Redington House is built on Main Street on the former site of Abraham Redington’s first house. It later served as a hotel known as Hotel Redington in the 19th century.
- The Stephen Gould – John Sawyer House is built for Stephen Gould on Middleton Road.
1757:
- The Nathaniel Dorman House, a Colonial-style house, is built on Topsfield Road.
1760:
- The parsonage on Elm Street is demolished and the Holyoke – French House, a Georgian/Gothic Revival-style house, is built on the site for Samuel Holyoke.
- The Asa Perley House, a Colonial-style house, is built on Salem Road.
1763:
- The Bradstreet Tyler House is built on Main Street.
1770:
- The Dr. William Hale – Reverend William P. Alcott House, a Colonial-style house, is built for Dr. William Hale on Elm Street.
1773:
- The Amos Perley House, a Colonial-style house, is built on Kelsey Road.
1774:
- The John Willet – Alice Freeman Palmer House is built for local weaver John Willet on Main Street.
1775:
- The John Chadwick – John Horace Nason House, a Georgian-style house, is built for music composer John Chadwick on Washington Street.
1780:
- The Moses Kimball House, a Federal-style house, is built on Ipswich Road.
- The Deacon Timothy Foster – Amos Berry House, a Federal-style house, is built on Main Street.
1783:
- The Jacob Gould House, a Colonial-style house, is built on Middleton Road.
1788:
- The Thomas Chadwick – Gov. Jonathan Andrew House, a Georgian-style house, is built on Essex Street.
1790:
- The Major John Robinson House, a Greek Revival-style house, is built for Revolutionary War General John Robinson on Washington Street.
- The John Smith – Henry James House, a Federal-style house, is built on Bare Hill Road.
- The Towne Farm is established by John Towne on Topsfield Road.
1793:
- The Samuel Cole – Doherty House, a Federal-style house, is built on Washington Street.
1800:
- The S. P. Peabody House, a Federal-style house, is built on Main Street.
1838:
- The third meetinghouse, a Greek Revival-style building, is constructed on Georgetown Road to replace the second meetinghouse which had fallen into disrepair.
1843:
- The Boxford Second Congregational Church, a Greek Revival-style building, is constructed on Washington Street.
1845:
- The Palmer School, a one-room Greek Revival-style schoolhouse, is constructed on Main Street.
1850:
- The population of Boxford is 982.
1860:
- The population of Boxford is 1,020.
1870:
- The West Boxford Civil War Memorial, an obelisk with a granite base, is erected on Washington Street.
- The population of Boxford is 847.
1880:
- The population of Boxford is 824.
1890:
- Boxford Town Hall is constructed on Elm Street.
- The population of Boxford is 865.
1900:
- The population of Boxford is 704.
1904:
- West Boxford Spanish American War Memorial, a boulder with a bronze plaque attached, is erected on Washington Street.
1907:
- The water tower on the Towne farm on Towne road is constructed.
1910:
- The population of Boxford is 718.
1920:
- The population of Boxford is 588.
1930:
- The population of Boxford is 652.
1931:
- The Palmer School is auctioned to a local resident Edna Rich Morse and moved to a new location just west of the Boxford Village Center where it serves as a community center. It was later donated back to the town and served a variety of municipal purposes, such as town offices and a kindergarten facility.
1934:
- The West Boxford World War I Monument, a boulder with a bronze plaque attached, is erected on Washington Street.
1940:
- The population of Boxford is 778.
1950:
- The I-95 bridges over Fish Brook, Ipswich River, Pye Brook and River Road are constructed.
- The population of Boxford is 926.
1956:
- The John Boardman House, a Colonial-style house built in 1745, is moved from Saugus to Boxford.
1960:
- The population of Boxford is 2,010.
1970:
- The population of Boxford is 4,032.
1980:
- The population of Boxford is 5,374.
1990:
- The population of Boxford is 6,266.
2000:
- The population of Boxford is 7,921.
2010:
- The population of Boxford is 7,965.
2020:
- The population of Boxford is 8,203.
Sources:
Perley, Sidney. History of Boxford, Essex County, Massachusetts. Sidney Perley 1880.
“History.” Town of Boxford, town.boxford.ma.us/about-boxford/pages/history
O’Brien, Kathryn. “Boxford Cemetery has room to expand.” Wicked Local, 4 Feb. 2013, wickedlocal.com/story/chronicle-transcript/2013/02/04/boxford-cemetery-has-room-to/37732516007/