Salisbury is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,827 at the 2000 census. The community is a popular summer beach resort town situated on the Atlantic Ocean north of Boston on the New Hampshire border.
Parts of the town comprise the census-designated places of Salisbury Beach and Rings Island.
History
Salisbury was first settled in 1638 and was officially incorporated in 1639.
Joseph Merrill gives an account of the settlement of the town, in History of Amesbury, including the First 17 Years of Salisbury, to the Separation in 1654. The original roads at the center of the town formed a compact semicircle, which allowed the residents to get quickly to the garrison house in case of attack. Those roads still exist, though the shape today is triangular, being bounded by Elm St., School St., and Bridge Road. One of the two greatest fears at the time was the Naumkeag tribe of Indians, thus the men of the town took turns standing watch against a surprise attack, especially in the night time. The Naumkeags, however, had been decimated by plague, and the threat was not what it once might have been. The second threat came from wolves, which were plentiful, and which killed the livestock and dug in the graveyard.
The original residents were given one small house lot near the center of town, and one larger planting lot just outside the center for farming. Families also owned large sections of "sweepage lots" near the beach, where apparently they harvested the salt marsh hay. At the time, the area was almost entirely unbroken virgin forest, which had to be cleared for the construction of houses and the planting of fields.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 17.9 square miles (46.2 km²), of which, 15.4 square miles (40.0 km²) of it is land and 2.4 square miles (6.2 km²) of it (13.50%) is water.
Salisbury is the northernmost town in Massachusetts.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,827 people, 3,082 households, and 1,990 families residing in the town. The population density was 507.1 people per square mile (195.9/km²). There were 4,156 housing units at an average density of 104.0 persons/km² (269.3 persons/sq mi). The racial makeup of the town was 97.55% White, 0.41% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 1.05% from two or more races. 1.18% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 3,082 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were married couples living together, 10.9% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 35.4% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the town the population was spread out with 23.6% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 32.1% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $49,310, and the median income for a family was $56,327. Males had a median income of $41,705 versus $31,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,608. 6.8% of the population and 4.5% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 9.6% are under the age of 18 and 5.6% are 65 or older.
Points of interest
Photos
On a windy September beach
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View of the center looking towards beach
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Notable residents
- Bob Corkum (b. 1967), retired American professional ice hockey center for Pro Clubs: Buffalo Sabres, Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey Devils, Atlanta Thrashers
See also
References
External links
