Pembroke, Massachusetts
Encyclopedia
Pembroke is a town in Plymouth County
Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Plymouth 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...

, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The 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 States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 16,927 at the 2000 census.

The southwestern section of Pembroke is also known as Bryantville. For geographic and demographic information on the village of North Pembroke, please see the article North Pembroke, Massachusetts
North Pembroke, Massachusetts
North Pembroke is a census-designated place in the town of Pembroke in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 2,913 at the 2000 census.-Geography:North Pembroke is located at ....

.

History

The earliest European settlers were Robert Barker and Dolor Davis
Dolor Davis
Dolor Davis was born sometime before 1600, in Kent, England. He married Margery Willard in 1624 in England. Margery's brother Simon would become a lifelong friend of Dolor Davis. Nothing is known of him until he sailed to America in 1634...

, who settled in the vicinity of Herring Brook in 1650. Up until that time, the Wampanoag and the Massachuset were the only residents, fishing and farming along the rivers; they called the area Mattakeesett, which means "place of much fish," because of the annual springtime run of herring
Herring
Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...

 in the local rivers. The land was part of the Major's Purchase, a large tract of lands bought from Josias Wampatuck of the Massachusetts by a group of English investors. The area was once a part of Duxbury, before incorporating as a separate town in 1712, and was ultimately named for the town of Pembroke, Wales
Pembroke, Pembrokeshire
Pembroke is an historic settlement and former county town of Pembrokeshire in west Wales. The town and the county derive their name from that of the cantref of Penfro: Pen = "head" or "end", and bro = "region", "country", "land", and so it means essentially "Land's End".-History:The main point of...

, the name of Brookfield being rejected because it was already in use by the town in Worcester county that still bears this name.

Residents of Pembroke served with honor in the French and Indian War, serving everywhere from Fort William Henry in New York to the shores of Nova Scotia. At least one family of "French Neutrals," the Pelrine family, was settled here after they and hundreds of others were expelled at gunpoint from Arcadia in Nova Scotia (those that settled in Louisiana became known as "Cajuns.")

Just before the Revolution, Reverend Gad Hitchcock of Pembroke (who had served with the provincial troops as a chaplain in upstate New York during the French and Indian war) gave a sermon in Boston blasting the British, and was rewarded for this with a set of fine new clothes from Samuel Adams. Residents of Pembroke again served with honor from the first "alarm" sent out by Paul Revere and others on April 19, 1774 till the end of the war.

The town took its current form in 1820, when the western half of town known as the "West Parish" was separated and incorporated as Hanson
Hanson, Massachusetts
Hanson is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 9,495 at the 2000 census.-History:Hanson was first settled in 1632 as the western parish of Pembroke. The town was officially incorporated in 1820, and was named for Maryland newspaper publisher and U.S. Senator...

. Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...

 was among the area's industries, with five yards along the North River. Famous among these were the Beaver, a vessel made famous for its role in the Boston Tea Party
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies...

, and the Maria, memorialized on the Pembroke town seal. It was along the same river, on the Norwell side, that the Columbia
Columbia Rediviva
Columbia Rediviva was a privately owned ship under the command of John Kendrick, along with Captain Robert Gray, best known for going to the Pacific Northwest for the maritime fur trade. The "Rediviva" was added to her name upon a rebuilding in 1787...

,
namesake of the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

 in Oregon, was launched. By the turn of the 20th century, mills had sprung up along the river, and the town's ponds and streams provided the water for cranberry
Cranberry
Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right...

 bogs. Because of rail service from Brockton, the town's ponds also provided recreation and vacation spots for city dwellers.

Most notable of the town’s resources are its water resources which include the North River and Indian Head River; its ponds, Oldham, Furnace, Great Sandy Bottom, Little Sandy Bottom, and Stetson Ponds; and Silver Lake. The Town’s ponds, streams and marshes are the home of herring that were prized so much that in 1741, the Town began regulating the taking and preservation of the fish. The herring are celebrated each year at the Town’s annual “Grande Old Fish Fry.” http://pembrokema.virtualtownhall.net/Public_Documents/PembrokeMA_WebDocs/about

The Pembroke Iron Works was established in 1720 and used iron dredged from the bottom of the ponds. Ice was cut from the ponds, stored in icehouses, and used in the summer months for food preservation. The ponds and streams also provided power for various mills, including grist, flour and sawmills. Later, shipbuilding and box manufacturing became important factors in the development of the town.http://pembrokema.virtualtownhall.net/Public_Documents/PembrokeMA_WebDocs/about

The Town also has vast tracts of woodlands that provided timber for homes and industry, and provided cover for abundant wildlife. Because of its proximity to timber and location on the river, the Town in its early years was known for its ship building industry. The North River was the location of five shipyards – Brick Kiln Yard, Seabury Point, Job’s Landing, Turner’s Yard and Macy’s. Between 1678 and 1871, 1,025 vessels were produced on the shores of the North River. The Brick Kiln Yard was where the Beaver was built; it was one of the ships involved in the Boston Tea party. Other famous North River Ships include the Columbia , the Bedford and the Maria. The Columbia was the first ship to sail around the Cape of Good Hope and the Columbia River is named after it, the Bedford was the first ship to sail into a foreign port flying the American Flag, and the Maria is depicted on the Town Seal. http://pembrokema.virtualtownhall.net/Public_Documents/PembrokeMA_WebDocs/about

A Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) reconnaissance survey report dated June 1981 indicated that in the early 20th century the popularity of the cranberry spurred the construction of numerous bogs. By 1924 there were 17 cranberry growers in the Pembroke directory, with 14 producers listed as having Bryantville addresses. In the same year there were 14 poultry farmers listed indicating that by that time poultry raising was well established in town. The E. H. Clapp rubber works, initiated on the Hanover side of the Indian Head River in 1871, expanded in 1873 to the Pembroke side of the river. http://pembrokema.virtualtownhall.net/Public_Documents/PembrokeMA_WebDocs/about

In the late 19th century and early 20th century, the ponds became an attraction for summer vacationers seeking relief from the heat in the cities. The Brockton and Plymouth Railway co. initiated trolley service from Brockton and facilitated the development of Mayflower Grove in Bryantville as a popular summer recreation venue. The attractiveness of the ponds for summer recreation led to the development of numerous, dense cottage colonies built along their shores. The ponds are currently used for recreation, municipal water supplies and irrigation for cranberry bogs.http://pembrokema.virtualtownhall.net/Public_Documents/PembrokeMA_WebDocs/about

The town remained relatively stable in population from the end of the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 up until the 1960s, when suburban migration from Boston and environs saw the town more than triple in population. Today, Pembroke is mostly a suburban community, with the majority of residents working in the Greater Boston area. In recent years Pembroke has developed into a fairly affluent and desirable community, with new home developments geared towards upmarket buyers.

As of 2009, Pembroke was a contender for CNN Money's "Best Places to Live" according to financial, education and quality of life statistics.http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2009/snapshots/CS2552630.html

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The 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 23.5 square miles (60.9 km²), of which, 21.8 square miles (56.5 km²) of it is land and 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²) of it (6.95%) is water. Statistically, Pembroke is slightly smaller than the state average in terms of land area. Pembroke is bordered by Norwell
Norwell, Massachusetts
Norwell is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population is currently 10,506 at the 2010 Census.Norwell was first settled in 1634 as a part of the settlement of Satuit , which encompasses present day Scituate and Norwell. It was officially created, in 1849 and soon became...

 to the north, Marshfield
Marshfield, Massachusetts
Marshfield is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on Massachusetts's South Shore. The population was 25,132 at the 2010 census.See also: Green Harbor, Marshfield , Rexhame, Marshfield Hills, and Ocean Bluff and Brant Rock....

 to the northeast, Duxbury to the east, Kingston
Kingston, Massachusetts
Kingston is a coastal town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. According to the 2010 Census, it had a population of 12,629.-History:Before European settlers arrived in Kingston it was within the tribal home to the Wampanoag people...

 to the southeast, Plympton
Plympton, Massachusetts
Plympton is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 2,820 at the 2010 census. The United States senator William Bradford was born here.- History :Plympton was first settled in 1662 as the western parish of Plymouth...

 to the south, Halifax
Halifax, Massachusetts
Halifax is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,500 at the 2000 census.- History :Halifax was first settled by Europeans, most notably the Bosworth family from Bosworth Fields in England, in 1669, growing with lumbering and agriculture...

 to the southwest, Hanson
Hanson, Massachusetts
Hanson is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 9,495 at the 2000 census.-History:Hanson was first settled in 1632 as the western parish of Pembroke. The town was officially incorporated in 1820, and was named for Maryland newspaper publisher and U.S. Senator...

 to the west, and Hanover
Hanover, Massachusetts
Hanover is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 13,164 at the 2000 census.-History:The area of Hanover was first settled by English settlers in 1649 when William Barstow, a farmer, built a bridge along the North River at what is now Washington Street...

 to the northwest. Pembroke is approximately twelve miles east of Brockton
Brockton, Massachusetts
Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population was 93,810 in the 2010 Census. Brockton, along with Plymouth, are the county seats of Plymouth County...

, thirteen miles northwest of Plymouth, and twenty-seven miles southeast of Boston.

Pembroke's geography can be divided in half. The northern half is dominated by the rivers and streams of the area, flowing through thick forests which once provided the lumber for the North River
North River (Massachusetts Bay)
The North River is a river, approximately long, in eastern Massachusetts, the United States. It is primarily a tidal river, formed by the confluence of the Indian Head River and Herring Brook. The North River forms the boundary between the towns of Norwell and Pembroke, Massachusetts, and...

's shipbuilding industry. The southern half is dominated by several ponds and Silver Lake
Silver Lake (Plymouth County, Massachusetts)
Silver Lake is a lake in Pembroke, Kingston, and Plympton, Massachusetts, south of Route 27 and east of Route 36. The Pembroke/Plympton town line is entirely within the lake, and a portion of the western shoreline of the lake is the town line with Halifax. The lake is the principal water supply...

, where the towns of Pembroke, Kingston, Plympton and Halifax come together. The town has its own forest, which is divided into sections around town.

One notable water resource in Pembroke is Great Sandy Bottom Pond
Great Sandy Bottom Pond
Great Sandy Bottom Pond is a reservoir in Pembroke, Massachusetts. The reservoir is located south of Oldham Pond and Furnace Pond, and north of Little Sandy Bottom Pond...

, the water of which is currently leased to the Abington-Rockland Water Commission. A website http://groups.google.com/group/gsbpond displays many pictures of the plants and animals of the area, for example, Eagles, Heron, Egret, Turtles, Raccoons & Fox.

Transportation

Route 3 passes through the town's northeast corner, skirting the irregular border with Marshfield. There is an exit off of Route 3 in the town, which also grants access to Marshfield along Route 139
Massachusetts Route 139
Route 139 is nominally a west–east state highway in southeastern Massachusetts.-Route description:Route 139 begins in Stoughton Square at the southern junction of the Route 27 and 138 concurrency. The highway heads northeast until the junction with Route 24, at which point the highway heads...

. The town's other state routes include Routes 14, 27, 36
Massachusetts Route 36
-Route description:From its terminus at Route 106 in Halifax, Route 36 abuts the eastern shore of East Monponsett Pond. The highway then crosses the MBTA Commuter Rail at Halifax Station...

, 53
Massachusetts Route 53
-History:Route 53 follows the former routing of the Kingston to Quincy section of Route 3 which was moved onto the Southeast Expressway and Pilgrim's Highway expressway when they were fully completed in 1963...

 and 139. Route 14 is in the town the longest, and passes through the town center. Route 36's northern terminus is at Route 14 just south of the town center.

There is no rail or air service in the town. The Kingston-Route 3 line of the MBTA's
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
The 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
MBTA Commuter Rail
The MBTA Commuter Rail serves as the regional rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, in the United States. It is operated under contract by the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company a joint partnership of Veolia Transportation, Bombardier Transportation and Alternate...

 passes just to the southeast of town, with the nearest stops being in Hanson
Hanson (MBTA station)
Hanson is a passenger rail station on MBTA Commuter Rail's Plymouth/Kingston Line. It is a former Bay Colony Station located at 1070 Main Street in Hanson, Massachusetts and is the last station before Halifax, where the line splits for either Plymouth or Kingston.-External links:* * *...

 and Halifax
Halifax (MBTA station)
Halifax is a passenger rail station on MBTA Commuter Rail's Plymouth/Kingston Line. It is the station where the line splits for either Plymouth or Kingston, and is the penultimate station of the entire line....

. Two small airfields are nearby: Cranland Airport
Cranland Airport
Cranland Airport, in Hanson, Massachusetts, is a public airport owned by Cranland Inc. It has one runway, averages 102 flights per week, and has approximately 22 aircraft based on its field...

 in Hanson and Marshfield Municipal Airport
Marshfield Municipal Airport (Massachusetts)
Marshfield Municipal Airport , also known as George Harlow Field, is a public airport located 2 mi east of the central business district of Marshfield, a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA. The airport is owned by the Town of Marshfield and run by Shoreline Aviation, the airport's fixed...

. The nearest national and international air service is at Logan International Airport
Logan International Airport
General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport is located in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts . It covers , has six runways, and employs an estimated 16,000 people. It is the 19th busiest airport in the United States.Boston serves as a focus city for JetBlue Airways...

 in Boston.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A 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 2007, there were 18,549 people, 5,750 households, and 4,553 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 774.9 people per square mile (299.2/km²). Statistically, the town's population and population density is slightly smaller than average, just below both averages. There were 5,897 housing units at an average density of 270.0 per square mile (104.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.89% White, 0.50% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race 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 0.74% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.53% of the population.

There were 5,750 households out of which 40.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.7% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage 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, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.8% were non-families. 16.7% 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 2.92 and the average family size was 3.31.

In the town the population was spread out with 28.6% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.2 years. For every 100 females there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.7 males. As of 2009, Pembroke has a Marriage % of 62.1 and a Divorce % of 8.2. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2009/snapshots/CS2552630.html

As of 2009, the median income for a household in the town was $74,985, and the median income for a family was $96,483. Males had a median income of $60,778 versus $46,581 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per 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 $27,066. About 3.7% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.2% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

On the national level, Pembroke is a part of Massachusetts's 10th congressional district
Massachusetts's 10th congressional district
Massachusetts's 10th congressional district is a political constituency that includes parts of the South Shore of Massachusetts, and all of Cape Cod and the islands. With a population of 635,901 and a land area of , it is the most populous of Massachusetts's ten congressional districts and the...

, and is currently represented by Bill Delahunt
Bill Delahunt
William D. Delahunt is a former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1997 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Delahunt did not seek re-election in 2010, and left Congress in January 2011. He was replaced by Norfolk County District Attorney Bill Keating...

. The state's senior (Class II) member of the United States Senate
United States Senate
The 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 Kerry
John Kerry
John 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 Brown
Scott Brown
Scott Brown is a United States senator.Scott Brown may also refer to:-Sportsmen:*Scott Brown , American college football coach of Kentucky State...

.

On the state level, Pembroke is represented by Representative Daniel K. Webster
Daniel K. Webster
Daniel K. Webster is an American attorney and politician who represents the 6th Plymouth District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.-References:...

 in the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The 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 the Sixth Plymouth district, which includes the towns of Duxbury, Hanson and portions of Halifax. The town is represented by Senate President Therese Murray
Therese Murray
Therese Murray is an American state legislator who has served as President of the Massachusetts Senate since March 2007. Murray, a Democrat, is the first woman to lead a house of the Massachusetts General Court...

 in the Massachusetts Senate
Massachusetts Senate
The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the state...

 as a part of the Plymouth and Barnstable District, which includes Bourne, Falmouth, Kingston, Plymouth, Plympton, Sandwich and a small portion of Barnstable. The town is patrolled by the First (Norwell) Barracks of Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police
Massachusetts State Police
The Massachusetts State Police is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security responsible for criminal law enforcement and traffic vehicle regulation across the state...

.

Pembroke is governed by the open town meeting
Open town meeting
An 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, and is led by an executive secretary and a board of selectmen
Board of selectmen
The 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:...

. Pembroke operates its own police and fire departments, with four stations located in the town center, Bryantville, North Pembroke and at Brimstone Corner. The town has its own emergency services; South Shore Hospital in Weymouth and Jordan Hospital in Plymouth are the nearest hospitals; the Pembroke hospital serves psychiatric patients in the area. There are post offices at the town center, Bryantville and North Pembroke. The Pembroke Public Library is located at the town center, and is a part of the SAILS library network. There are also two small private libraries, which are open to the public: the Lydia Drake Library near Brimstone Corner and the Cobb Library in Bryantville.

Education

In 1952, Pembroke was a founding community of the Silver Lake Regional School District
Silver Lake Regional High School
Silver Lake Regional High School is a public, regional high school in Massachusetts' South Shore region. It serves as the secondary school for the Silver Lake Regional School District, comprising the towns of Kingston, Plympton and Halifax, Massachusetts...

, along with Kingston
Kingston, Massachusetts
Kingston is a coastal town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. According to the 2010 Census, it had a population of 12,629.-History:Before European settlers arrived in Kingston it was within the tribal home to the Wampanoag people...

, Halifax
Halifax, Massachusetts
Halifax is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,500 at the 2000 census.- History :Halifax was first settled by Europeans, most notably the Bosworth family from Bosworth Fields in England, in 1669, growing with lumbering and agriculture...

 and Plympton
Plympton, Massachusetts
Plympton is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 2,820 at the 2010 census. The United States senator William Bradford was born here.- History :Plympton was first settled in 1662 as the western parish of Plymouth...

. Due to chronic overcrowding which had led to split sessions by 1970 and double sessions by 1974, the town built its own campus of Silver Lake Regional High School
Silver Lake Regional High School
Silver Lake Regional High School is a public, regional high school in Massachusetts' South Shore region. It serves as the secondary school for the Silver Lake Regional School District, comprising the towns of Kingston, Plympton and Halifax, Massachusetts...

 in 1976, across from Hobomock Elementary School on Learning Lane. Flooding due to burst pipes delayed its occupancy until November, 1976.

In 2002, with growing population again an issue, Pembroke separated from the other towns to reestablish its own school district; its students remained at Silver Lake RHS until 2004. The satellite campus, which had been in service as the Silver Lake district's middle school in recent years, was renovated to become Pembroke High School
Pembroke High School
Pembroke High School, is a public secondary school located on 80 Learning Lane in Pembroke, Massachusetts.The school serves students in grades 9-12 and has an approximate student population of 930 students...

, and serves students from ninth through twelfth grade. Pembroke's athletics teams are known as the Titans (complete with a logo reminiscent of the Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...

 logo), and their colors are blue and white. They compete in the Patriot League, where the teams have already garnered six championships since 2004. Pembroke has established a Thanksgiving Day football rivalry with previously mentioned Silver Lake Regional High School.

The town has three elementary schools (Bryantville, Hobomock and North Pembroke), which serve students from kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

 through sixth grades (North Pembroke also serves pre-kindergarten classes). The Pembroke Community Middle School, located in the former Silver Lake Regional Junior High School on Route 27, serves seventh and eighth grade students.

The town has no contract with any vocational schools, the nearest being South Shore Vocational Tech in Hanover
Hanover, Massachusetts
Hanover is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 13,164 at the 2000 census.-History:The area of Hanover was first settled by English settlers in 1649 when William Barstow, a farmer, built a bridge along the North River at what is now Washington Street...

. The nearest private high school is the Catholic-run Sacred Heart High School
Sacred Heart High School (Kingston, Massachusetts)
Sacred Heart High School is a private college preparatory high school of Roman Catholic denomination in Kingston, Massachusetts. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. The school is operated by the Sisters of Divine Providence and has been educating students in grades 7-12...

 in Kingston
Kingston, Massachusetts
Kingston is a coastal town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. According to the 2010 Census, it had a population of 12,629.-History:Before European settlers arrived in Kingston it was within the tribal home to the Wampanoag people...

. The nearest four-year college is Bridgewater State College
Bridgewater State College
Bridgewater State University is a public liberal-arts college in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is the largest college in the Massachusetts state university system outside of the University of Massachusetts system. The school's mascot is the bear.-History:BSU was founded by...

; the nearest community colleges are Quincy College
Quincy College
Quincy College is a public junior college located in Quincy, Massachusetts. It is an open admission commuter school that offers associate's degrees in professional fields of study.-History:...

's satellite campus in Plymouth and Massasoit Community College
Massasoit Community College
Massasoit Community College was founded in 1966, and named for Massasoit, the Great Sachem of the Wampanoag. Massasoit Community College offers associate degree programs in arts, sciences, and applied sciences, and one-year and short-term certificates for a range of occupations and interests...

 in Brockton
Brockton, Massachusetts
Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population was 93,810 in the 2010 Census. Brockton, along with Plymouth, are the county seats of Plymouth County...

.

Arts and media

Pembroke is served by the Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 metropolitan media. Regional daily newspapers which cover the town include the Quincy Patriot Ledger and the Brockton Enterprise. For many years, the town was covered by the weekly Silver Lake News, based in Pembroke; it is currently served by two weeklies, the Pembroke Express http://pembrokexpress.com and the Pembroke Mariner & Reporter http://www.wickedlocal.com/pembroke/news.

The town is supportive to many arts programs, including The Pembroke Imperials Drum & Bugle Corps, a corps active on and off since the 1960s.

Points of interest

Pembroke Country Club, recently purchased by NHL player, Jeremy Roenick, is an 18-hole course featuring 6,532 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 71. The course rating is 71.1 and it has a slope rating of 124. Pembroke Country Club was designed by Philip A. Wogan, ASGCA, and opened in 1973. http://www.golflink.com/golf-courses/course.aspx?course=471945

Pembroke Historical Society is a museum consisting of two former one-room school buildings. The former Bryantville School, built in 1847, was donated by Marcus L. Urann and moved to the site in 1952. The former "cedar Swamp Schools" was donated by Mrs. Oliver Amos and moved to the site in 1968. As part of the nation's 1976 Bicentennial celebration, a Tool Museum was established in the lower level of the Museum Building. http://www.townofpembrokemass.org/historicalsociety.html

The Pembroke Friends Meetinghouse
Pembroke Friends Meetinghouse
Pembroke Friends Meetinghouse is an historic Quaker church at Washington Street and Schoosett Street in Pembroke, Massachusetts.The meeting house was built in 1706 by Robert Barker with later 19th-century additions. It is the oldest Quaker meetinghouse in Massachusetts and the third oldest in the...

 (1706) : located at Routes 139 and 53. The interior is divided in half, with women sitting on one side and men on the other. In the 18th and 19th centuries, many leading citizens were Quakers. Among the oldest Quaker sites in America, the structure was deeded to the Historical Society in 1973.http://www.townofpembrokemass.org/historicalsociety.html

Grand Old Fish Fry, is usually held the first weekend in May at the Thomas Reading Herring Run Park on RT 14/Barker Street. For 30+ years the Historical Society has invited the public to the herring run for a day of great food, music, duck races and much more. When the event first began herring were caught with nets and cooked right on site by Chef Bobby Hackett. Unfortunately, the state no longer allows the harvesting of herring due to the low numbers. Fish Cakes have replaced the herring meal and no one seems to be complaining. This is the primary fundraiser and one of the most popular for the Society. Funds raised go to the care and maintenance of the 3 properties (Friends Meeting House, Adah Hall House and the museum building) owned by the Historical Society.http://www.townofpembrokemass.org/historicalsociety.html

Notable residents

  • Meg Lee Chin
    Meg Lee Chin
    Meg Lee Chin is best known for her work with the anarchic industrial supergroup Pigface, headed by Martin Atkins of Invisible Records. She built her own recording studio dubbed Egg, where she recorded her first album, and after appearing on Pigface's 1997 LP A New High in Low as well as its...

    , singer & songwriter
  • Thomas Humphrey Cushing
    Thomas Humphrey Cushing
    Thomas Humphrey Cushing was an officer in the United States Army.Cushing began his military career as a sergeant in the 6th Continental Regiment in January 1776. He was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in the 1st Massachusetts Regiment in January 1777 and was promoted to 1st Lieuteant in January 1778...

    , Revolutionary War officer and Adjutant General of the U.S. Army
  • Ben Edlund
    Ben Edlund
    Ben Edlund is a comic book artist and writer and television screenwriter. Prior to his involvement in TV, he was best known as the creator of the satirical superhero character The Tick. He is currently an executive producer and staff writer for The CW series Supernatural.-Background:Edlund was...

    , creator of The Tick
    The Tick
    The Tick is a fictional character created by cartoonist Ben Edlund in 1986 as a newsletter mascot for the New England Comics chain of Boston area comic stores. He is an absurdist spoof of comic book superheroes. After its creation, the character spun off into an independent comic book series in...

     and TV producer
  • Eric Flaim
    Eric Flaim
    Eric Joseph Flaim is a former US speed skater.-Biography:Eric Flaim began skating at the age of 5 on the tiny pond next to his home on Fairwood Drive, Pembroke...

    , Olympic silver medalist in Speed skating
    Speed skating
    Speed skating, or speedskating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating...

  • Duane Joyce
    Duane Joyce
    Duane A. Joyce is a former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played three games in the National Hockey League with the Dallas Stars in the 1993–94 season.-External links:...

    , professional hockey player
  • Joseph Leavitt
    Joseph Leavitt
    Private Joseph Leavitt was an early settler of Maine, who moved to what was then the frontier of Massachusetts after serving three months in the Continental Army at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, and then declaring that he was unable to bear arms in conflict...

    , Revolutionary War conscientious objector
  • Alexander Parris
    Alexander Parris
    Alexander Parris was a prominent American architect-engineer. Beginning as a housewright, he evolved into an architect whose work transitioned from Federal style architecture to the later Greek Revival. Parris taught Ammi B. Young, and was among the group of architects influential in founding what...

    , architect
  • Dwight E. Sargent
    Dwight E. Sargent
    Dwight Emerson Sargent was an American journalist.Born in Pembroke, Massachusetts, he graduated in 1939 from Colby College and served in Europe during World War II....

    , journalist
  • Pat Seltsam
    Pat Seltsam
    Patrick Seltsam, , is a retired speedskater who skated with the United States national speedskating team in the late 1980s through the mid 1990s and was a World Cup silver medalist in 1989....

    , Olympic speedskater
    Speed skating
    Speed skating, or speedskating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating...

    , 1990 national champion and World Cup medalist in 1989
  • Dave Shea
    Dave Shea (broadcaster)
    David W. Shea is an Irish-American sportscaster, who is best known as the former ice hockey announcer for Hockey East and the Boston Bruins. He was inducted into the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame on November 19, 2008. - Career :...

    , former Boston Bruins
    Boston Bruins
    The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...

     play-by-play announcer
  • Josiah Smith
    Josiah Smith
    Josiah Smith was a United States Representative from Massachusetts. Born in Pembroke, to Reverend Thomas Smith and Judith Miller Smith...

    , United States Congressman
  • Kevin Stevens
    Kevin Stevens
    Kevin "Artie" Stevens is a retired ice hockey player and current NHL scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins. He played left wing on a line with Mario Lemieux during the Penguins' Stanley Cup championships in 1991 and 1992...

    , National Hockey League All-Star left winger
  • Buddy Teevens
    Buddy Teevens
    Eugene Francis "Buddy" Teevens III is the head football coach at Dartmouth College. He has previously served in the same position at the University of Maine, Tulane University, and Stanford University.-Early life:...

    , football coach for Dartmouth College
    Dartmouth College
    Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...

  • Harry Irving Thayer
    Harry Irving Thayer
    Harry Irving Thayer was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts. He was born in Pembroke on September 10, 1869. He attended the public schools of Hanover and engaged in the leather business...

    , United States Congressman
  • Luke Vercollone
    Luke Vercollone
    Luke Vercollone is an American soccer player who currently plays for Richmond Kickers in the USL Professional Division.-Youth and College:...

    , professional soccer player
  • Harry M. Woods
    Harry M. Woods
    Henry MacGregor Woods was a Tin Pan Alley songwriter and pianist. Woods is sometimes credited as Harry Woods.-Early life:...

    , lyricist and composer of "When the Red Red Robin Comes Bobbin' Along"

External links

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