Interior House Painter Rowley MA

Rowley, Massachusetts
Town
Rowley, Massachusetts celebrated its 375th anniversary in 2014
Seal
Location in Essex County and the state of Massachusetts.
Coordinates: 42°43′00″N 70°52′45″W / 42.71667°N 70.87917°W / 42.71667; -70.87917Coordinates: 42°43′00″N 70°52′45″W / 42.71667°N 70.87917°W / 42.71667; -70.87917
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Essex
Settled	1638
Incorporated	1639
Government
• Type	Open town meeting
Area
• Total	20.3 sq mi (52.7 km)
• Land	18.2 sq mi (47.2 km2)
• Water	2.2 sq mi (5.6 km)
Elevation	50 ft (15 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	6,161
• Density	300/sq mi (120/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (Eastern)
ZIP Code	01969
Area code	351/978
FIPS code	25-58405
GNIS feature ID	0618309
Website	www.townofrowley.net

Rowley is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,161 at the 2020 census.

Part of the town comprises the census-designated place of Rowley.

History

The area was inhabited by the Agawam people under sachem Masconomet. Although the area that would become Rowley was colonized by English settlers starting in 1639, it was not until 1700 that the town would pay Masoconomet’s heirs nine pounds for a quitclaim deed.

In spring of 1638 Rowley was originally colonized as a plantation by Reverend Ezekiel Rogers, who had arrived from England on the ship John of London with approximately twenty families. The John of London also brought over the first printing press in the colonies, which was later brought to Harvard University.

The following fall, on September 4, 1639, the town was incorporated, and included portions of modern-day Byfield, Groveland, Georgetown, and Haverhill. The town was named after Rowley, East Riding of Yorkshire, where Rogers had served as pastor for twenty years before his suspension due to non-conformist Puritan beliefs. Rogers was installed as Rowley’s pastor on December 3.

1643 and 1645 saw the construction of a fulling mill and grist mill, respectively. The town became known for its hemp and flax cloth, as well as cotton. In 1642, a keystone arch bridge and a dam were built on the Mill River for the fulling mill, the first such in the colonies. The bridge was the first stone arch bridge in North America, constructed entirely of hand-chiseled granite and contained no mortar. It was rebuilt in the mid-19th century. In 1669, a sawmill was established in town and is still in business today. A wagon factory was built in 1868 by Moses E. Daniels. Later, at the start of the 20th century, the town had a booming shoe industry, as well as successful boat building businesses.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 20.3 square miles (52.7 km), of which 18.2 square miles (47.1 km²) is land and 2.2 square miles (5.6 km), or 10.56%, is water. Rowley lies along the Atlantic Ocean north of Cape Ann, the mainland separated from the ocean by a small portion of Plum Island and Plum Island Sound. The island and a portion of the marshes south of Mud Creek (part of the town’s northern border) are protected as part of the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. The town has other portions which are protected, including parts of the Mill Creek Wildlife Management Area, the Georgetown-Rowley State Forest, the Willowdale State Forest, the Arthur Ewell Reservation, and the Bay Circuit Trail. Much of the eastern mainland part of town is marshy, feeding Mud Creek, Mill River and the Rowley River, which constitutes part of the town’s southern border.

Rowley is located 7 miles (11 km) south of Newburyport, 16 miles (26 km) north of Salem, 17 miles (27 km) east of Lawrence, and 28 miles (45 km) northeast of Boston. It is bordered to the north by Newbury, to the northwest by Georgetown, to the west by Boxford, and to the south by Ipswich.

Interstate 95 passes through the western end of town, with the nearest exits being in Georgetown and Boxford. U.S. Route 1, known as the Newburyport Turnpike in the area, passes near the geographic center of town, and Massachusetts Route 1A passes through the eastern part of town, through the town center. All three roads are connected by Massachusetts Route 133, which passes from west to east through the town, becoming coextensive with Route 1A just north of the Ipswich town line and heading south with it.

Rowley is one of the stations along the Newburyport/Rockport Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail, providing service between Newburyport to the North Shore and Boston’s North Station. The nearest national air service can be found at Boston’s Logan International Airport, though Plum Island Airport, a small general aviation airport, is located in neighboring Newburyport.