Lakeville is a town in
Plymouth CountyPlymouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of 2010, the population was 494,919. Its county seats are Plymouth and Brockton...
,
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 9,821 at the 2000 census.
For geographic and demographic information on the village of North Lakeville, please see the article
North Lakeville, MassachusettsNorth Lakeville is a census-designated place in the town of Lakeville in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 2,233 at the 2000 census.-Geography:North Lakeville is located at ....
.
History
Lakeville was settled in 1717 as a western parish of
MiddleboroughMiddleborough is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,117 as of 2008.For geographic and demographic information on the village of Middleborough Center, please see the article Middleborough Center, Massachusetts....
. It was incorporated as a separate town in 1853. The town's name comes from the system of "lakes" in the town, including
Assawompset PondAssawompset Pond is a reservoir/pond within the towns of Lakeville and Middleboro, in southeastern Massachusetts. It shares its waters with Long Pond and openly-connected with Pocksha Pond. These lakes provides a source of drinking water to the city of New Bedford, the largest city in southeastern...
,
Great Quittacas PondGreat Quittacas Pond is a lake, reservoir, or pond within the towns of Lakeville, Middleboro, and Rochester, in southeastern Massachusetts. It shares its waters with Pocksha Pond and possibly nearby Little Quittacas Pond. These lakes provide a source of drinking water to the city of New Bedford,...
,
Little Quittacas PondLittle Quittacas Pond is a lake/reservoir/pond within the towns of Lakeville and Rochester, in southeastern Massachusetts. It possibly shares its waters with nearby Great Quittacas Pond. These lakes provides a source of drinking water to the city of New Bedford, the largest city in southeastern...
,
Pocksha PondPocksha Pond is a lake/reservoir/pond within the towns of Lakeville and Middleboro, in southeastern Massachusetts. It shares its waters with Great Quittacas Pond and openly-connected with Assawompset Pond...
, and Long Pond. Long Pond is the source of the
Acushnet RiverThe Acushnet River is the largest river, long, flowing into Buzzards Bay in southeastern Massachusetts, in the United States. The name "Acushnet" comes from the Wampanoag or Algonquian word, "Cushnea", meaning "as far as the waters", a word that was used by the original owners of the land in...
, and Assawompsett Pond is the source of the
Nemasket RiverThe Nemasket or Namasket River is a small river in southeastern Massachusetts. It flows north from Assawompset Pond in Lakeville and through Middleborough where it empties into the Taunton River....
, which feeds the
Taunton RiverThe Taunton River , is a river in southeastern Massachusetts in the United States. It arises from the confluence of the Town River and Matfield River, in the town of Bridgewater...
.
Geography
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 36.1 square miles (93.5 km²), of which, 29.9 square miles (77.4 km²) of it is land and 6.2 square miles (16.1 km²) of it (17.27%) is water. Lakeville is irregularly shaped, and is bound by
MiddleboroughMiddleborough is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,117 as of 2008.For geographic and demographic information on the village of Middleborough Center, please see the article Middleborough Center, Massachusetts....
to the northeast and east,
RochesterRochester is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,232 at the 2010 census.-History:Rochester was settled in 1679 on the lands called "Sippican" by the local Wampanoags, along the coast of Buzzards Bay...
to the southeast,
FreetownFreetown is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,870 at the 2010 census.Freetown is one of the oldest communities in the United States, having been settled by the Pilgrims and their descendants in the latter half of the 17th century. The town once included...
to the south and southwest, and
BerkleyBerkley is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census, making it the least populated town in the county.-Geography:...
and
TauntonTaunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County and the hub of the Greater Taunton Area. The city is located south of Boston, east of Providence, north of Fall River and west of Plymouth. The City of Taunton is situated on the Taunton River...
to the west. Its borders with Taunton, Berkley and Freetown are also a central section of the western borders of Plymouth County. Lakeville is roughly at the center of what is considered Southeastern Massachusetts, and is approximately twenty miles west of Plymouth, twenty miles north of
New BedfordNew Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...
, thirty miles east of
Providence, Rhode IslandProvidence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
, and forty miles south of Boston.
The town's geography is dominated by its namesake "lakes," which are referred to as ponds in general usage. In addition to the main bodies of water and their feeder brooks and rivers, there are also several smaller ponds, as well as many brooks and swamps, including the Casual Swamp and the Cedar Swamp, which is protected as a part of the Assonet Cedar Swamp Wildlife Management Area, which is operated by the
Massachusetts Audubon SocietyThe Massachusetts Audubon Society, founded in 1896 by Harriet Hemenway and headquartered in Lincoln, Massachusetts, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to "Protecting the nature of Massachusetts." Mass Audubon is independent of the National Audubon Society, and in fact was founded...
. There are also several small conservation areas, four country clubs and two parks, including the Ted Williams Camp, which was once the site of a summer baseball camp run by
Ted WilliamsTheodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
. According to "Lakeville, Massachusetts Gravestone Inscriptions 1711-2003" by Jean Douillette, there are 31 known cemeteries in Lakeville, or almost 1 per square mile.
The body of John Sassamon, advisor to Governor John Winslow, was discovered beneath the ice of Assawompsett Pond. He was believed to have been murdered and three Native Americans were tried and - on the testimony of only one witness (contrary to English law, which required the testimony of at least two witnesses in a murder trial) - were sentenced to death by hanging. When the sentence was carried out - Tobias, senior counselor to the Pokanoket sachem King Philip and a second supposed accomplice died. When the attempt was made to carry out the sentence on the third "accomplice" - Tobias's son - the rope broke and he was imprisoned, having first confessed to the killings. His confession is widely believed to have been coerced.
The death of John Sassamon and the subsequent trial and execution of the Indians - while not the cause of King Philip's War and the bloodshed that followed - nonetheless probably contributed to the ardor of the participants.
Demographics
As of the
censusA census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 9,821 people, 3,292 households, and 2,659 families residing in the town. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 328.4 people per square mile (126.8/km²). There were 3,662 housing units at an average density of 122.5 per square mile (47.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.29% White, 0.31% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.06% of the population.
The most common ancestries in Lakeville are: Irish (23.2%), English (20.1%), French (12.9%), Italian (11.9%), Portuguese (11.4%) and French Canadian (10.1%). 3.8% of Lakeville's residents are foreign-born.
http://www.city-data.com/city/Lakeville-Massachusetts.html
There were 3,292 households out of which 40.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.7% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.2% were non-families. 14.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.24.
In the town the population was spread out with 27.4% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males. Of the population 25 years and older in Lakeville, 87.2% have a high school degree or higher. 32.7% of this demographic group has a bachelor's degree or higher. 11% of Lakeville residents 25 years or older have a graduate or professional degree. The average person's commute to work is 33.8 minutes and 2.6% of the town's population above the age of 25 is unemployed.
http://www.city-data.com/city/Lakeville-Massachusetts.html
The median income for a household in the town was $70,495, and the median income for a family was $75,838. Males had a median income of $51,321 versus $31,374 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $26,046. About 1.9% of families and 3.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.
Lakeville's median household income and the medium house value are above the Massachusetts state average.
http://www.city-data.com/city/Lakeville-Massachusetts.html
Government
Lakeville is governed with the
Open Town MeetingAn open town meeting is a form of town meeting in which all registered voters of a town may vote . This form of government is typical of smaller municipalities in the New England region of the United States....
form of government, led by an executive secretary and a
board of selectmenThe board of selectmen is commonly the executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms.-History:...
. The town has its own police department and a single fire station, located next to the town hall. The "new" library is located behind the old town hall, just across Route 18 from its former location at the junction of Routes 18 and 105. The town of Lakeville also has other services, such as a Council on Aging and a Historical commission.
On the state level, Lakeville is represented in the
Massachusetts House of RepresentativesThe Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...
as a part of two districts, the Ninth and Twelfth Bristol Districts. The town is represented by Senator Michael J. Rodrigues (D-Westport), as a part of the First Bristol and Plymouth District, which also includes Fall River, Freetown, Rochester, Somerset, Swansea and Westport..
On the national level, Lakeville is a part of
Massachusetts's 4th congressional districtMassachusetts's 4th congressional district is mostly in southern Massachusetts and includes the South Coast region. It is represented by Barney Frank, who has served the district since January 1981....
, and is currently represented by
Barney FrankBarney Frank is the U.S. Representative for . A member of the Democratic Party, he is the former chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and is considered the most prominent gay politician in the United States.Born and raised in New Jersey, Frank graduated from Harvard College and...
. The state's senior (Class II) member of the
United States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, re-elected in 2008, is
John KerryJohn Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
. The junior (Class I) senator, elected in 2010, is
Scott BrownScott Brown is a United States senator.Scott Brown may also refer to:-Sportsmen:*Scott Brown , American college football coach of Kentucky State...
.
Education
Since 1959, Lakeville has shared its school department with Freetown, creating the Freetown - Lakeville Regional School District. Lakeville operates several schools for its school aged population. Assawompsett Elementary School is operated by the town for grades K-4. The George R. Austin Intermediate School is operated jointly with
FreetownFreetown is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,870 at the 2010 census.Freetown is one of the oldest communities in the United States, having been settled by the Pilgrims and their descendants in the latter half of the 17th century. The town once included...
for grade 5.
Freetown-Lakeville Middle SchoolFreetown-Lakeville Middle School opened on September 15, 2002, then serving students in grades 5 to 8 from the towns of Freetown and Lakeville, Massachusetts. Since September 2004, it has served grades 6 to 8. Grade 5 students currently attend the George R...
is operated jointly with Freetown for grades 6-8, and
Apponequet Regional High SchoolApponequet Regional High School opened September 21, 1959, and serves secondary academic education students from the towns of Freetown, Assonet, and Lakeville, Massachusetts.- History :...
is jointly operated with Freetown for grades 9-12. Apponequet's colors are navy, white, and red, their nickname is the "Lakers," and their mascot was a Wampanoag brave, but after a sensitivity issue among one of the faculty at Apponequet, it was changed to an "A". The school, like several others in the region, used to use the spear logo made famous by
Florida State UniversityThe Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
and the
Washington RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
for its athletics marks, but this was deemed to promote violence, so it was replaced with the "A". Their teams compete in the South Coast Conference, and their chief rival is Old Rochester Regional High School in Mattapoisett.
Transportation
Route 140Route 140 is a long state highway which passes through parts of southeastern and central Massachusetts. The highway follows a southeast-northwest trajectory, running from U.S...
, a four lane divided highway, passes through the town on its trip between Route 24 in nearby Taunton and Interstate 195 in New Bedford. The town is also crossed by
Route 18Route 18 is a south–north state highway in southeastern Massachusetts.-Route description:Route 18 starts as a four-lane freeway, a continuation of John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway in downtown New Bedford, at U.S. Route 6. After the intersection with I-195, Route 18 runs via surface streets...
,
Route 79Route 79 is a highway in southeastern Massachusetts. The route begins as a highway in Fall River before becoming a rural route.-Route description:...
and Route 105, as well as a short, 0.4 mile stretch of
U.S. Route 44U.S. Route 44 is an east–west United States highway that runs for 237 miles through four states in the Northeastern region of the United States. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 209 and New York State Route 55 in Kerhonkson, a hamlet in the Hudson Valley region of New York...
in the far northern point of town. Route 79's eastern terminus is at its intersection with Route 105 on the town line. Additionally, three exits of
Interstate 495Interstate 495 is the designation of an Interstate Highway half-beltway in Massachusetts. It was the longest auxiliary Interstate Highway of its kind—measuring 120.74 miles —until 1996, when the PA Route 9 section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike was redesignated as Interstate 476, making it about ...
are located just over the town line in Middleborough, granting access to Routes 44, 18 and 105 (from north to south in order).
In addition to its highways, the terminus of the Middleborough-Lakeville Line of the
MBTA'sThe Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, often referred to as the MBTA or simply The T, is the public operator of most bus, subway, commuter rail and ferry systems in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. Officially a "body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the...
commuter rail is along the town's border (the rail itself passes along the town line; the parking lots are entirely within Lakeville). There is also a spur off that line, heading due west to Taunton, which is operated by
CSXCSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
. This spur links the two main lines of the railroad in Southeastern Massachusetts; the easternmost, which heads to Cape Cod via the line used by the MBTA, and the westernmost, which proceeds to split in Taunton, sending two lines towards Fall River and New Bedford, respectively. The New Bedford line also passes through the town on its west side. The town has no air facilities of its own. The nearest private airfield is in Taunton; the nearest regional airport is in New Bedford, and the nearest national and international airport is
T. F. Green AirportT. F. Green Airport , also known as Theodore Francis Green State Airport, is a public airport located in Warwick, six miles south of Providence, in Kent County, Rhode Island, USA. Dedicated in 1931, the airport was named for former Rhode Island governor and longtime senator Theodore F. Green...
in Warwick, RI.
External links