| Wakefield, Massachusetts | |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Mapsize: | 250px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Middlesex |
| Established Title: | Settled |
| Established Date: | 1638 |
| Established Title2: | Incorporated |
| Established Date2: | 1812 |
| Established Title3: | Renamed "Wakefield" |
| Established Date3: | 1868 |
| Government Type: | Open town meeting |
| Named For: | Cyrus Wakefield |
| Leader Title: | Administrator |
| Leader Name: | Stephen P. Maio [1] |
| Leader Title1: | Board of Selectmen/Town Council |
| Leader Name1: | See below… |
| Leader Title2: | Town Clerk |
| Leader Name2: | Betsy Sheeran[2] |
| Leader Title3: | Clerk to the Board of Selectmen |
| Leader Name3: | Sherri Dalton[3] [4] |
| Leader Title4: | Counsel |
| Leader Name4: | Thomas A. Mullen [5] [6] [7] [8] |
| Area Total Km2: | 20.5 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 7.9 |
| Area Land Km2: | 19.3 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 7.5 |
| Area Water Km2: | 1.1 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.4 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 27090 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | auto |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Demonym |
| Population Blank1: | Wakefieldian |
| Elevation M: | 30 |
| Elevation Ft: | 100 |
| Timezone: | Eastern |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | Eastern |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Coordinates: | 42.5064°N -71.0733°W |
| Website: | http://www.wakefield .ma.us/ |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 01880 |
| Area Code: | 339 / 781 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 25-72215 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 0619410 |
| Subdivision Type3: | Region |
| Subdivision Name3: | New England |
Wakefield is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston metropolitan area,[9] incorporated in 1812 and located about 12.5miles north-northwest of Downtown Boston. Wakefield's population was 27,090 at the 2020 census.[10] Wakefield offers an assortment of activities around the local lake, Lake Quannapowitt.
Wakefield was first settled in 1638 and was originally known as Lynn Village. It officially separated from Lynn and incorporated as Reading in 1644 when the first church (First Parish Congregational Church) and the first mill were established. This first corn mill was built on the Mill River on Water Street, and later small saw mills were built on the Mill River and the Saugus River.
Thomas Parker (1609–1683) was one of the founders of Reading, and his home was in what is now downtown Wakefield (on the east side of Crescent Street where it intersects Princess Street). He also was a founder of the 12th Congregational Church (now the First Parish Congregational Church), and served as deacon there.[11] [12] [13] [14] He was a selectman of Reading and was appointed a judicial commissioner.[15] There is evidence that Parker was "conspicuous in naming the town" and that he was related to the Parker family of Little Norton, England, who owned land by the name of Ryddinge.[16] [17] [18]
The old parish church became known as the Old or South Parish when in 1713 the North Parish was established. This North Parish later became the town of North Reading. In 1769 the West Parish was established. In 1812 the Old or South Parish of Reading separated from Reading and was officially incorporated as South Reading. At the time it was spelled South Redding, not South Reading.
The railroad was chartered and built in 1844 between Wilmington and Boston. This later became the main line of the Boston and Maine Railroad. The Boston and Maine Foundry was built in 1854 and was later reincorporated as the Smith and Anthony Stove Company. The Boston Ice Company cut and shipped ice from Lake Quannapowitt starting in 1851.
The Rattan Works (which made wicker furniture) was established in 1856 by Cyrus Wakefield. This later grew into the Wakefield Rattan Company and at one time had a thousand employees. In 1868 Cyrus Wakefield donated land and money for a new town hall, and in thanks the town voted to change its name from South Reading to Wakefield. The town hall, currently named for William J. Lee,[19] is located at 1 Lafayette Street.[20]
In 1856 the South Reading Public Library was established, which later became the Beebe Town Library. In 1923, the Lucius Beebe Memorial Library was built and established by Junius Beebe, the son of Lucius Beebe (1810–1884).[21]
The first weekly newspaper in Wakefield was established in 1858.
One of the oldest and largest manufacturers of flying model airplane toys in the world, Paul K. Guillow, Inc. is located in Wakefield. The company is particularly notable for its extensive line of balsa wood model airplane kits.
Route 128 was built along the north edge of the town by 1958, and the American Mutual Insurance Company built its headquarters between Lake Quannapowitt and Route 128. American Mutual had over 1000 employees, most of them commuting to work via Route 128. By the late 1980s American Mutual was in liquidation due to the Woburn W. R. Grace litigation. The headquarters building was sold to the Beal Company and was home to Boston Technology Inc. which invented and manufactured corporate voice mail systems that operated on computer systems. Boston Technology merged in 1997 with Comverse Technology, a digital telecommunications equipment manufacturer, which later bought the building; Wakefield became headquarters of its eventual spinoff, Comverse.
The northeastern part of Wakefield was home to an amusement park, Pleasure Island, billed as "The Disneyland of the Northeast," but the park closed in 1969 after only ten years of operation[22] due to unseasonably cold weather that brought diminishing returns among tourists. In April 1971, a fire burned down much of the amusement park. The area now consists of several office buildings and is called "Edgewater Park".
The bicentennial of the incorporation of Wakefield took place in 2012, whereas 2018 was the sesquicentennial of the 1868 town name change from "South Reading" to "Wakefield."
See also: Wakefield massacre. On December 26, 2000, seven workers at Edgewater Technology in Wakefield, Massachusetts were shot and killed by an Edgewater Tech employee. The 42-year-old gunman was an application supporter at Edgewater Technology.
During his trial, he stated that he was born without a soul and that God had allowed him to earn a soul by traveling back in time to kill Nazis. However, the prosecution asserted that the killings were motivated by his employer's garnishing of his wages to the IRS, as he failed to pay back taxes. He was found guilty of seven counts of first degree murder and sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
In 2008 this case was studied on the psychology program Most Evil.
See main article: article and Wakefield standoff.
On July 3, 2021, armed members of the group "Rise of the Moors" were approached by police resulting in a standoff, blocking traffic along a section of I-95 that runs through Wakefield. Eleven individuals were peacefully detained, ending the incident.
Wakefield is located at (42.501345, −71.071324).[23]
Reading (northwest), Melrose (south), Stoneham (southwest), Lynnfield (northeast) and Saugus (southeast) border Wakefield. Wakefield's borders with Lynnfield and Saugus are coterminous with the Middlesex County–Essex County line.
As the crow flies, Wakefield Lower Common is located approximately north of Government Center, Boston, while the Wakefield–Melrose line is located about north.
Route 129 runs through Wakefield as its Main Street. I-95/Route 128 skirt the northwestern border of Wakefield as one road known as the "Yankee Division Highway".
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 7.9sqmi, of which 7.5sqmi is land and 0.4sqmi, or 5.56%, is water.
Wakefield has two lakes, Crystal Lake and Lake Quannapowitt. Crystal Lake is used as a reservoir for some of the town's drinking water; as such, recreation is prohibited on Crystal Lake. Lake Quannapowitt, meanwhile, is used for a wide variety of recreational activities, including boating, windsurfing, kayaking, and fishing, and is the primary source of the Saugus River.
In 1847, Lake Quannapowitt was named for the Native American James Quannapowitt, one of the signers of the old Indian Deed of 1686. The earliest settlers referred to the lake simply as the "Greate Pond" or "Reading Pond."Lake Quannapowitt is also home to the oldest inland yacht club in the United States, Quannapowitt Yacht Club, which was founded in 1886.
Long regarded as "Wakefield's greatest natural resource," Lake Quannapowitt covers an area of 247acres. Its outlet is the Saugus River to the Atlantic Ocean. Wakefield Common sits to the south of the lake, and is the site of many recreational activities and events throughout the year. In 1991, a group of local citizens formed "The Friends of Lake Quannapowitt" to advocate for the lake and to educate the public about this natural resource. The group has also raised money for projects that benefit the lake and the surrounding areas.
Wakefield has been recognized as an Arbor Day Foundation Tree City USA annually since 2001.[24] [25]
Wakefield harbors a climate typical to the Northeastern United States, with cold, snowy winters, cool, rainy springs, cool, sunny autumns, and hot, humid summers. During the summers, many droughts occur, and lakes and other means of water supply often go down a couple of inches.[26]
In 2020, Wakefield suffered significant impacts from two major storms: firstly, on August 24, 2020, the town took the brunt of an exceptionally severe thunderstorm cell that included a microburst. Downed power lines, snapped trees, and a house fire caused by a lightning strike were reported,[29] with damage being especially heavy in the town's Greenwood section. Then, on October 30, Wakefield was hit by a "Snowtober"—an unseasonable October snowstorm. The storm pelted much of Greater Boston with record setting snowfall for the month of October, exceeding the previous October high snowfall, in October 2011, by approximately two inches.
See also: List of Massachusetts locations by per capita income.
As of the census of 2010, there were 24,932 people, 9,994 households, 10,500 housing units, and 6,547 families residing in the Town of Wakefield.[30]
The racial makeup of the Town in 2010 was:
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.3% (575) of the population.
In the town in 2010, there were 9,994 households, out of which:
The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the town in 2010, the population was spread out agewise with:
The median age was 41.9 years, 40.6 for males and 43.0 for females.
The population of Wakefield was 24,915 as of July 2007. The town's population was composed of 11,814 (47.4%) males and 13,101 (52.6%) females. The median resident age was 38.9 years, higher than the Massachusetts median age of 36.5.
In 2008, the median household income was $85,011, about $20,000 above Massachusetts as a whole. The estimated income per capita was $39,918. The estimated median property value in 2008 was $416,592, up from $240,300 in 2000, representing a $176,292 increase.
Racially, Wakefield broke down as:
Ancestries in Wakefield broke down thus
The cost of living index was listed as 121.4, 21.4 points above the U.S. average.
As of the census[31] of 2000, there were 24,804 people, 9,747 households, and 6,608 families residing in the town. The population density was 3321.6sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 9,937 housing units at an average density of 1330.7sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the town was 96.94% White, 0.45% Black or African American, 0.08% Native American, 1.43% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.82% of the population.
There were 9,747 households, out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.1% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.6% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $66,117, and the median income for a family was $77,834. Males had a median income of $51,591 versus $39,327 for females. The per capita income for the town was $30,369. About 1.7% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.7% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.
Wakefield holds yearly major town meetings to discuss the budget. As it is a town, not a city, Wakefield's main decisions are made, in the New England style, by a Board of Selectmen, which works in collaboration with a town administrator. Stephen Maio is the town administrator as of 2024. Administrator Maio hosts a "Town Administrator's Report" monthly on the public-access television cable TV station, WCAT-TV[32] (about which more below).
A number of other matters are handled by different committees in the town, such as the Finance Committee, or FinCom, the Zoning Board of Appeals, and the School Board. The Town Hall houses the office of the Town Administrator and the Finance Committee, as well as other town boards and offices. Board of Selectmen/Town Council meetings, formerly held at the Town Hall, have in recent years moved to the studios of WCAT-TV.
| Town Accountant | Kevin Gill |
| Animal Control Officer | Kenneth Stache |
| Assessor | Victor Santaniello |
| Beebe Library Director | Catherine McDonald |
| Health Director | Ruth Clay |
| Building Inspector | Benjamin DeChristoforo |
| Cemetery Division | Dennis Fazio |
| Forestry Division | |
| Parks Division | |
| Community and Economic Development Manager | Erin Kokinda |
| Council on Aging Executive Director | Judy Luciano |
| DPW Director | Joseph Conway |
| Emergency Management Director | Thomas P. Walsh Jr. |
| Human Resources Manager | Amy Forziati |
| Wakefield Fire Department (WFD) Chief | Michael Sullivan |
| Fleet Division | Andrew Chankhour |
| Information Technology Department Director | Todd Bowden |
| Wakefield Municipal Gas &<br />Light Department (WMGLD) Manager | Peter Dion |
| Parking Clerk | Kenneth Stache |
| Wakefield Police Department (WPD) Chief | Steven Skory |
| Wakefield Recreation Department Director | Dan McGrath |
| Wakefield Retirement Board Administrator | Cathy Cheek |
| Wakefield Public Schools Superintendent Assistant Superintendent | Douglas Lyons Kara Mauro[33] |
| Tax Collector | Kathleen Kelly |
| Town Administrator | Stephen P. Maio |
| Town Clerk | Betsy Sheeran |
| Town Counsel | Thomas Mullen |
| Town Planner | Paul Reavis |
| Town Treasurer | John J. McCarthy, Jr. |
| Veterans' Services | Dave Mangan |
| Wakefield Housing Authority | Sandra Gass |
| Water and Sewer Supervisor | Steven Fitzpatrick |
| As of January 2024 | |
| Sources:[34] [35] [36] | |
The Board of Selectmen was the name of Wakefield's primary governing body until it changed its name to the "Town Council"[37] in 2018 in an effort to maintain gender neutrality. Since that time, "Selectmen" have been called "Councilors." A single Councilor term lasts for three years; barring special elections, annual town elections take place each April.The Town Council consisted of, as of April 2024, Chair Jonathan Chines, Vice-Chair Michael J. McLane, Mehreen N. Butt, John F. Carney, Anne P. Danehy, Edward F. Dombroski, Jr., and Robert E. Vincent. with Sherri A. Dalton as clerk to the Town Council,[38] and Thomas Mullen as town counsel.
2012
Brian Falvey replaced Albert Turco, who did not seek re-election, in a Selectmen's seat in town elections of April 24, 2012,[39] [40] and Paul R. DiNocco renewed a term for three years.
2013
In 2013, Selectmen John B. Encarnacao and James E. Good announced that they would not seek reelection.[41] Vice Chair Tiziano Doto was reelected to a three-year term while former Board of Health member Ann Santos won a seat. Former Selectwoman Phyllis Hull returned to the Board with a term lasting through 2016.
2014
In 2014, Selectmen Patrick S. Glynn and Betsy Sheeran ran in a three-way election against one challenger, Roland A. Cote.[42] Both Glynn and Sheeran renewed their terms through 2017.
2016 (April)
Phyllis Hull and Ann Santos both ran for re-election on April 26, 2016, in a field of five.[43] Santos renewed her term; Hull lost out to new Board of Selectmen add-on Anthony J. Longo and Peter J. May.[44]
2016 Special Election (July)
A vacancy on the Board of Selectmen was filled by a Special Town Election held on July 19, 2016. The candidates to fill the vacancy were announced as Daniel L. Benjamin, Jr., Mehreen N. Butt, Christopher J. Callanan, Nathaniel David Gayman, Allyson Gael Houghton, and Phyllis J. Hull. Hull won the election by 31 votes, avenging her defeat of three months prior and filling a vacant seat on the Board of Selectmen. Hull's new term lasted through April 2017.[45]
2017
The 2017 town election was held Tuesday, April 25, 2017. The only incumbent Selectperson on the ballot in this election cycle was Phyllis J. Hull,[46] who was defeated by the two top vote getters, Edward Dombroski Jr. and Mehreen N. Butt.[47]
2018
In the 2018 town election, held on Tuesday, April 24, 2018, two seats were up for election. Paul R. DiNocco renewed his Selectman's seat while a newcomer to the Wakefieldian political scene, Julie Smith-Galvin, defeated incumbent Selectman Brian Falvey.[48]
2019
Three seats for Town Councilors were to be decided in 2019. Ann Santos and Peter J. May, both incumbents, renewed their terms through 2022. However, Anthony Longo was voted off of the Board of Selectmen/Town Council after receiving fewer votes than the only new member to be elected in 2019, Jonathan Chines.[49]
2020
In 2020, Councilors Mehreen N. Butt and Edward F. Dombroski, Jr., held the only open seats. Both cruised to re-election in a race in which each ran virtually unopposed, with no competition except for write-in candidates,[50] and renewed their terms through 2023.
2021
The 2021 race featured a three-way battle between one incumbent, one Finance Committee member, and one newcomer. Town Councillor Julie Smith-Galvin and Finance Committee member Anne P. Danehy received a plurality of votes, knocking hopeful Brandon Flanagan out of the race. The 2021 election also featured a heated ballot question over whether or not to keep the Wakefield Warriors logo and mascot; voters chose to maintain the status quo, 2,851–2,337.[51] [52]
2022
Newcomer Robert E. Vincent was voted onto the Town Council in 2022, and incumbents Jonathan Chines and Michael J. McLane were re-elected, renewing their terms through 2025. Aspirant Katie Dolan, the lone woman in the race, finished fourth.[53]
2023
In 2023, Wakefieldians voted in a three-way race that pitted incumbents Mehreen N. Butt and Edward F. Dombroski, Jr., in a re-election campaign against newcomer Christopher J. Carino. Butt and Dombroski easily defeated Carino—Butt by nearly 600 votes, Dombroski by over 1,100 votes—renewing their terms through 2026.[54]
2024
The 2024 Wakefield Town Elections were held on Tuesday, April 23, 2024.[55] Two Town Council seats were made available in a three-way race. Incumbent Douglas S. Butler received the most votes, renewing his Town Council set through 2027. The second open seat, being vacated by Julie Smith-Galvin,[56] was contested between John F. Carney and Allyson Gael Houghton. In receiving the second-most votes behind Butler, Carney was elected to Smith-Galvin's seat, defeating Houghton by just 24 votes.[57]
The Finance Committee, colloquially abbreviated FinCom, is responsible for matters of finance in the town and for setting a budget for the town and its various departments to follow. The fifteen-member committee is composed of, as of January 2024,[58] Chairman James Sullivan, Vice Chairman Douglas S. Butler, Joseph Bertrand, Tarae Howell, Edward Bean, Brian Cusack, Dennis Hogan,[58] William J. Boodry, Jr., Stefan Chase,[58] Lorri Wheeler, Donald Ravenelle,[58] Evan Kenney, Aimee Forsythe,[58] Daniel W. Sherman,[58] and Ellie Zuccaro.
The Wakefield Board of Appeals, alternately known as the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), holds hearings on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month[59] and as of January 2024 consisted of five members, James H. McBain, Joseph Pride, David Hatfield, Charles Tarbell, and Chairman Thomas Lucey, with Michael Feeley, Gregory McIntosh, and Kasumi Humphries as associate members.
Although a somewhat antiquated position, the town of Wakefield, in accordance with other towns in the state of Massachusetts, appoints townspeople to positions of fence viewers. Fence viewers serve advisory positions to property owners before a fence is built on or dividing properties. As of June 2023, John Sofia,[60] Paul Torraca, and Holly Lenhardt serve as fence viewers in Wakefield.
The Town of Wakefield tasked a fifteen-member committee[61] headed by Selectwoman Phyllis Hull to oversee the construction of a World War II Veterans' Memorial on the Upper Common. The memorial includes the names of 72 Wakefieldians who lost their lives during World War II,[62] as well as names of all other Wakefieldians who served in the war. The creation of the committee overseeing the project was authorized in 2007, and the memorial was completed in 2011 and unveiled on Veterans Day, November 11, 2011.
MelroseWakefield Hospital (formerly Melrose-Wakefield Hospital), a Level II trauma center, is located to the south of Wakefield in nearby Melrose (approximately south of the Town Center and south of Greenwood) and serves both the town of Wakefield and city of Melrose.
The Wakefield Board of Health (BOH) legislates health policy within the town. As of June 2023, the three-member board is composed of Chair Laurel Skinder Gourville, Vice-Chair Elaine M. Silva, and Secretary Candace Linehan.[63] The BOH works in concert with the Health Department and Health Director Ruth L. Clay.
Wakefield is home to two high schools: one public school (Wakefield High School), and one regional vocational school (Northeast Vocational). Wakefield contains one middle school, Galvin Middle School, and four elementary schools, Greenwood, Walton, Woodville, and Dolbeare. Doyle School serves as the town's public preschool.[69]
The Little Red School House, also known as the West Ward School, is a former one-room school house building that was last used by kindergarten students on the West Side until the 1990s. It has been preserved and now houses the Wakefield Historical Society.
The Wakefield School Committee oversees Wakefield Public Schools,[70] [71] which is currently headed by superintendent Doug Lyons as of June 2023.[72] Lyons' Assistant Superintendent is Kara Mauro. The School Committee, as of January 2024, is composed of the following elected members: Chairman Amy Leeman (2025), Vice-Chair Stephen Ingalls (2024), Kevin Piskadio (2024), Thomas Markham (2025), Peter Davis (2026), Eileen Colleran (2025), and Kevin Fontanella (2025). The School Committee controls the majority of municipal spending.
Wakefield is roughly composed of the following neighborhoods:[73]
See also: List of Registered Historic Places in Wakefield, Massachusetts.
Wakefield has a wide variety of places of worship serving numerous faiths and denominations. Many townspeople are regular attendees at one of the following:
The First Baptist Church of Wakefield (Downtown/Wakefield Square, constructed 1872) served Wakefield for nearly 150 years before being destroyed by a lightning strike and subsequent fire around 7:10 PM EDT, Tuesday, October 23, 2018. It took the rest of the night for firefighters and first responders to extinguish the blaze. As of October 25, the remains of the church were in a pile waiting cleanup. In the aftermath, First Baptist worship services have continued at the nearby First Parish Congregational Church as well as on the site of the Baptist Church building. Reconstruction of the church began in spring of 2023, with a projected opening in 2024.[74]
An MBTA Commuter Rail station on the Haverhill/Reading Line is located near the center of town as well as a second station in the Greenwood section. A former Boston and Maine Railroad station located east of this line is now on the National Register of Historic Places. Several MBTA buses on Route 137 run to surrounding communities, including the nearby Oak Grove stop as well as Malden Center, both rapid transit stations on the Orange Line. Rt. 128/I-95 runs through Wakefield with exits at Albion Street, North Avenue, Water Street, Vernon Street, New Salem Street, and Salem Street. State Route 129 also passes through Wakefield. US Route 1 runs through nearby Saugus and Lynnfield, while I-93 runs through neighboring Stoneham.
The town is served by two daily newspapers, the locally owned Daily Item, an edition of the Daily Times Chronicle; and a weekly, the Wakefield Observer. The Wakefield Memorial High School has a newspaper, written by the students, recently renamed "WHS exPRESS". The town operates a Public Access cable channel, WCAT Wakefield.
In addition, Wakefield Nation provides election coverage and supports local charitable causes.[75]
Wakefield has a strong local sports fan base and a robust youth sports culture. Wakefield High School has popular football, baseball, softball, hockey and basketball programs. Wakefield High's football team earned a Division II "Super Bowl" title in 1999,[76] and a Division III "Super Bowl" title in 2022, which followed an undefeated season.[77] Wakefield High's men's and women's basketball teams won Division II state championships in 1997. Baseball is a popular spring and summer sport in the town, with two men's semiprofessional teams: the Wakefield Merchants, a member of Boston's Intercity Baseball League (and champions of that league in 1978 and 1994),[78] [79] and a team representing the local American Legion post.
Wakefield has many active youth sports leagues. Young athletes in Wakefield can choose to play baseball, basketball, lacrosse, football, soccer, hockey, dance, cheerleading, and softball, among other team sports.
See the top of the page for additional photos.
