Weymouth is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2000 census, Weymouth had a total population of 53,988. Despite its city status, it is formally known as the Town of Weymouth.

History

A failed colony

The site of Weymouth first saw European inhabitants in 1622 as Wessagusset, a colony founded by Thomas Weston, who had been the main backer of the Plymouth settlement. The settlement was a disaster. When the ship landed at Plymouth, William Bradford took in the settlers Weston had sent over. The settlers Weston had sent were soon stealing from the supplies of the Plymouth colonists and Bradford and the other leaders of Plymouth ended up asking Weston's men to leave. The men made their way to present day Weymouth where they built a small settlement. By winter, poor planning and bad management lead to supplies running out. With the Plymouth colonists having few supplies to share, the Weymouth men began to steal from the local Massachusetts nation. The colonists ended up stealing from native graves and some even made themselves slaves to the Massachusetts in order to get food. By now, many in the colony were ill and all forms of law and order had broken down. The lowest point came when a healthy settler was caught stealing supplies from the Massachusetts, the Massachusetts leaders demanded the thief's execution; the Weymouth men complied, but executed a dying, sick settler instead. By spring of 1623, the colony had all but fallen, and the Massachusetts and other native groups began plotting to attack and destroy what was left of Weymouth. Massasoit heard about it and sent word to Plymouth. Bradford, fearing that Plymouth would be also be destroyed, sent Myles Standish to Weymouth with the Plymouth militia to end the threat. Under a banner of truce Standish got the Massachusetts leaders inside the Weymouth fort. There, after a brief struggle, the native leaders were killed. The survivors of the colony went north to Maine, where they got rides back to England with the fishermen who came every summer.

Later on Thomas Morton traded at Weymouth and Robert Gorges also tried to build a colony at the site, but the New England winter caused Gorges to leave with most of the settlers who had come with him. It became part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 with 503 inhabitants and was officially incorporated in 1635, then assuming its present name of Weymouth.

Post Colonization

Weymouth was heavily involved in the shoemaking industry from the first years of the 1700s right through to 1973, when the Stetson Shoe Company closed its doors. The building is currently being used for office space.

Five Weymouth citizens have been awarded the Medal of Honor making it the city with most Medal of Honor recipients in the United States: Thomas W. Hamilton, serving in the Civil War; William Seach, serving in the Boxer Rebellion in China; Eldon Johnson, serving in World War II; Ralph Talbot, a pilot in World War I; and Frederick C. Murphy, who also served in World War II.

The original town hall, which was destroyed by fire in 1914, was replaced in 1928 with a town hall that is a replica of the old Massachusetts State House in Boston. (Another replica of the building can be found at Curry College in Milton.)

Dwellers in Weymouth often designate which part of the town they live in through four distinct official 'districts'. South Weymouth, which is mostly south of Route 3 and East Weymouth (situated somewhat in the center of Weymouth, including Whitman's Pond, Jackson Square, and Town Hall). East Weymouth has several fine examples of Victorian homes, including Queen Anne, shingle, and colonial revival homes. The last two unofficial districts, the Landing and North Weymouth often overlap one another, though Weymouth Landing is usually considered to span a mile around Weston Park. North Weymouth is considered as everything above East Weymouth and the Landing, including Great Esker Park and Wessagussett Beach.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 21.6 square miles (56.0 km²), of which, 17.0 square miles (44.1 km²) of it is land and 4.6 square miles (11.9 km²) of it (21.29%) is water.

Weymouth contains the Weymouth Back River; its surroundings, formerly industrial, are now set aside as parks and natural areas.

Transportation

Weymouth is served by several MBTA Bus routes as well as three MBTA Commuter Rail stations: two on the Greenbush Line, at the Weymouth Landing and near Jackson Square, and one on the Old Colony Line at South Weymouth.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 53,988 people, 22,028 households, and 13,921 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,174.2 people per square mile (1,225.4/km²). There were 22,573 housing units at an average density of 1,327.1/sq mi (512.4/km²).

There were 22,028 households out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.0% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $51,665, and the median income for a family was $64,083. Males had a median income of $42,497 versus $35,963 for females. The per capita income for the town was $24,976. About 4.1% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.3% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government

In 1999 Weymouth residents voted to change to a city form of government. David M. Madden was elected as the city's first mayor. Weymouth is home to one of the youngest councils in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with four elected officials 35 years or younger. Kevin Whitaker, 35, Greg Shanahan, 30, Arthur Matthews, 30, and Patrick O'Connor, 21.

On July 10, 2007, Mayor David M. Madden announced he would not seek re-election.

Education

Weymouth High School is the one high school in Weymouth. Before a new wing was added to the high school in South Weymouth, there were two high schools: North and South. Recently, a new wing was added to the South school, named the "Gold Building." The North school became Maria Weston Chapman Middle School. More than 2,000 students attend the high school. A brand new athletic surface was completed in 2005, giving Weymouth High School an artificial turf field and a track surface.

There are two middle schools, both in East Weymouth.

• Abigail Adams Middle School
• Maria Weston Chapman Middle School

There are eight primary schools and one early childhood center, five of which are named after Weymouth's Congressional Medal of Honor recipients.

• Academy Avenue Primary
• Frederick C. Murphy Primary
• Thomas V. Nash Jr. Primary
• Lawrence W. Pingree Primary
• William Seach Primary
• Ralph Talbot Primary
• Union Street Primary (now renamed Thomas W. Hamilton School but still sometimes called by the former name)
• Wessagusset Primary
• Elden H. Johnson Early Childhood Center

In addition, there are five private schools in Weymouth.

• South Shore Christian Academy, an independent, Christian college preparatory day school for students in grades K-12. SSCA also operates a pre-school program.
• Saint Jerome Elementary School, a Catholic elementary school for grades Pre K-8.
• Sacred Heart Elementary School, a Catholic elementary school under the direction of the Archdiocese of Boston for grades Pre K-8.
• First Baptist Christian, an elementary school for grades Pre K-8, under the direction of the First Baptist Church of Weymouth.
• St. Francis Xavier, a Catholic elementary school under the direction of St. Francis Parish.

Points of interest

• Weymouth is home to the house where Abigail Adams, wife of President John Adams and mother to President John Quincy Adams, was born.
• A portion of the former Naval Air Station South Weymouth, which was closed in 1996 under the Base Realignment and Closure Act, was located in Weymouth.

Notable residents

• Abigail Smith Adams, wife of President John Adams
• Tobin Bell, actor, most known for his role as Jigsaw in the movie Saw
• Mark Bellhorn, professional baseball player, former Boston Red Sox second baseman
• Rob and Nate Corddry, correspondents for The Daily Show
• Hal Holbrook, award-winning actor
• George Jung, subject of the 2001 film Blow
• Joseph Kocot, professional cyclist
• Richard Robbins, Academy Award nominated film score composer
• Mark Shields, political pundit and liberal commentator
• Thomas A. Watson, assistant to Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone
• Albert Tirrell, first person acquitted of murder in the United States using the sleepwalking defense

Trivia

• Weymouth has 10 Dunkin Donuts. The most popular one, located at the intersection of Route 18 and Park Street in South Weymouth, is the busiest in the United States.
• Tang and Bell's Seasoning are manufactured in Weymouth.