Marblehead, Massachusetts
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Marblehead, founded in 1629, is a town located in Essex County, Massachusetts. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 20,377.
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History
Marblehead was first settled in 1629 and was officially incorporated in 1649. The town originated as a fishing village that grew up from the water's edge. The bounty of the ocean filled the shoreline with smell of fish drying and waiting to be exported abroad and to the neighboring port of Salem. The town hit an early economic peak just prior to the American Revolution, as locally financed privateering vessels pirated the seas for the bounty of large European vessels. A very large percentage of the towns became involved very early on in the fight for American freedom, and the salty sailors of Marblehead, under General John Glover are recognized by many scholars as the beginnings of the American Navy. The first vessel commissioned for the navy, the Hannah, was equipped with all cannons, rope, provision (including the "Joe Frogger" molasses/sea water cookie) and men all from Marblehead. However, many men of Marblehead that set out to war did not return and so, by the revolution's end, the town had lost a substantial portion of their population and the economy with it. Since then the town had a short-term industrial boom as shoe-making factories and yachting brought new life to the town by the late 1800s. This began the most recent epoch for Marblehead, as the legacy of sailing and yacht-clubs have overcome the fisherman/lobsterman image of the town to remake the town into what it is today. Among its notable residents are General John Glover, who carried Washington across the Delaware, Elbridge Gerry, infamous for political gerrymandering and an early US vice-president, Joseph Story, and most recently the cyclist Tyler Hamilton.
Geography
Marblehead is located at 42°29'49" North, 70°51'47" West (42.497146, -70.863236)Template:GR.
The geographic location of the town is one of the things that makes it so unique. The town is comprised of a rocky penninsula that extends into the Atlantic Ocean with a neck of land that is connected to the main town by a sand bar. This ring of land forms the outline of Marblehead's famous sheltered deep harbor.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 50.8 km² (19.6 mi²). 11.7 km² (4.5 mi²) of it is land and 39.1 km² (15.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 76.92% water.
Demographics
The town is overwhelmingly white. This is reflected in the most recent US census.
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 20,377 people, 8,541 households, and 5,679 families residing in the town. The population density is 1,736.8/km² (4,498.9/mi²). There are 8,906 housing units at an average density of 759.1/km² (1,966.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 97.56% White, 0.44% Black or African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.98% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 0.73% from two or more races. Only 0.88% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 8,541 households out of which 31.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% are married couples living together, 8.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% are non-families. 28.7% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.37 and the average family size is 2.94.
In the town the population is spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 3.5% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 29.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 42 years. For every 100 females there are 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 84.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town is $73,968, and the median income for a family is $99,892. Males have a median income of $70,470 versus $44,988 for females. The per capita income for the town is $46,738. 4.3% of the population and 3.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 5.7% of those under the age of 18 and 4.6% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.