Interior House Painter Methuen MA

Methuen, Massachusetts
City
Methuen City Hall
Seal
Location in Essex County and the state of Massachusetts.
Methuen, Massachusetts Location in the United States
Coordinates: 42°43′34″N 71°11′29″W / 42.72611°N 71.19139°W / 42.72611; -71.19139Coordinates: 42°43′34″N 71°11′29″W / 42.72611°N 71.19139°W / 42.72611; -71.19139
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Essex
Settled	1642
Incorporated	December 8, 1725
Incorporated a city	1917
Named for	Sir Paul Methuen
Government
• Type	Mayor-council
• Mayor	Neil Perry
Area
• Total	22.99 sq mi (59.55 km2)
• Land	22.21 sq mi (57.53 km)
• Water	0.78 sq mi (2.02 km2)
Elevation	115 ft (35 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	53,059
• Density	2,388.75/sq mi (922.29/km)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (Eastern)
ZIP code	01844
Area code	351 / 978
FIPS code	25-40710
GNIS feature ID	0612337
Website	www.cityofmethuen.net

Methuen is a 23 square mile (60 km2) city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 53,059 at the 2020 census. Methuen lies along the northwestern edge of Essex County, just east of Middlesex County and just south of Rockingham County, New Hampshire. The city is bordered by Haverhill to the northeast, North Andover to the southeast, Lawrence and Andover to the south, Dracut (Middlesex County) to the west, Pelham, New Hampshire (Hillsborough County) to the northwest, and Salem, New Hampshire (Rockingham County) to the north. Methuen is located 17 miles (27 km) southwest from Newburyport, 30 miles (48 km) north-northwest of Boston and 25 miles (40 km) south-southeast of Manchester, New Hampshire.

History

Methuen was first settled in 1642 and was officially incorporated in 1726. Methuen was originally part of Haverhill, Massachusetts. In 1724 Stephen Barker and others in the western part of that town petitioned the General Court to grant them permission to form a new town above Hawke’s Meadow Brook. Although opposed by their fellow townsmen, the petition was approved the following year (December 8, 1725), and the General Court gave them an act of incorporation under the name of Methuen. The town was named for Sir Paul Methuen, a member of the King’s Privy Council and friend of acting Provincial Governor William Dummer. The first town meeting was held March 9, 1726, in the home of a resident. Land was set aside for a meetinghouse, which was erected later in 1726 on what is now Meetinghouse Hill Cemetery.

The residents in the northern part of the new town of Methuen soon petitioned to have their own meetinghouse (a combination of town hall and puritan church), and in 1736 the north parish was set off. Land for a meetinghouse was donated by descendants of the original proprietors of Haverhill, and in 1738 the second Methuen meetinghouse was raised. The structure survives to this day, as the Salem N.H. Historical Society building. In 1741, with the fixing of the Northern boundary of Massachusetts, most of this new north parish was removed from Methuen and placed in New Hampshire. It was incorporated as Salem, New Hampshire in 1750.

Industrial growth in the 1800s influenced Methuen’s development. Construction of the Methuen Cotton Mills at the Spicket River falls in the 1820s and the increased manufacture of hats and shoes in small factories along the Spicket spurred the centralization of Methuen’s economic, residential and cultural activities within the area around Osgood, Broadway, Hampshire and Pleasant streets. Three wealthy and prominent families—the Nevins, the Tenneys and the Searles—played a significant role in Methuen’s history and development. These families were instrumental in the founding of many of Methuen’s landmarks, including the Nevins Memorial Library, the Searles building, Tenney Gatehouse, Nevins Home, Spicket Falls, and the Civil War monument between Pleasant and Charles streets.

Transportation

Methuen lies at the northern end of Interstate 93 in Massachusetts, with three exits providing access. A portion of Interstate 495 crosses through the eastern side of town from Lawrence to Haverhill. Massachusetts Route 213, the “Loop Connector”, provides highway access between the two, having three intermediate exits of its own, in addition to the exits for I-93 and I-495. The town is also crossed by Route 28, Route 110, and Route 113, the latter two meeting at I-93 Exit 43 (old exit 46). I-93 provides the town’s only bridge across the Merrimack; there are several crossings in Lawrence, and several in neighboring Haverhill, but none for 7 miles (11 km) upstream from I-93 all the way to the eastern end of Lowell.

Methuen is served by the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority’s bus service. Daily intercity bus service to Worcester and New York City is provided by OurBus from the Methuen Park and Ride. The nearest rail station is in South Lawrence, which is part of the Haverhill/Reading Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail, providing service into Boston’s North Station. Small plane service can be found at Lawrence Municipal Airport and the Merrimack Valley Seaplane Base, with the nearest national service being at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, and the nearest international service being at Logan International Airport.

Geography

Methuen is located at 42°43′48″N 71°10′46″W / 42.73000°N 71.17944°W / 42.73000; -71.17944 (42.730040, −71.179352). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.1 square miles (59.7 km²), of which 22.2 square miles (57.6 km) is land and 0.77 square miles (2.0 km²), or 3.42%, is water.

Methuen lies alongside the northern banks of the Merrimack River and is bisected by the Spicket (originally “Spigot”) River, as well as many brooks and streams. There are several ponds dotting the area as well, and the town is home to a town forest, a bird sanctuary, and a small state park (Tenney State Park). Pine Island, near the southern end of town in the Merrimack River, is also part of the town’s land.