Lakeville, Massachusetts | |
|---|---|
 Assawompset Pond, Lakeville | |
 Seal | |
 Location in Plymouth County in Massachusetts | |
| Coordinates:41°50′45″N70°57′00″W / 41.84583°N 70.95000°W /41.84583; -70.95000 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| County | Plymouth |
| Settled | 1717 |
| Incorporated | May 13, 1853 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Open town meeting |
| Area | |
• Total | 93.6 km2 (36.1 sq mi) |
| • Land | 76.6 km2 (29.6 sq mi) |
| • Water | 17.0 km2 (6.6 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 27 m (89 ft) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 11,523 |
| • Density | 150/km2 (390/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (Eastern) |
| ZIP code | 02347 |
| Area code | 508 /774 |
| FIPS code | 25-33920 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0618344 |
| Website | www.lakevillema.org |
Lakeville is a town inPlymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,523 at the 2020 census.[1] It contains the village ofNorth Lakeville.
Native Americans inhabited southern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior toEuropean colonization of the Americas, and Lakeville is a site with significant indigenous history.
Soewampset is listed as a noted habitation in a 1634 list of settlements in New England,[2] suggesting thatAssawompset Pond may take its name from a formerWampanoag settlement on its banks. TheWampanoag Royal Cemetery is located in modern-day Lakeville on a peninsula between Little and Great Quittacas Pond.
In 1675, the body ofJohn Sassamon, advisor to GovernorJosiah Winslow, was discovered beneath the ice ofAssawompset Pond. He was believed to have been murdered, and three Native Americans were arrested. On the testimony of only one witness (contrary to English law, which required the testimony of at least two witnesses in a murder trial), the three were sentenced to death byhanging. When the sentence was carried out, Tobias, senior counselor to thePokanoket sachemKing 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 Wampanoag men convicted of his murder is broadly acknowledged as the trigger forKing Philip's War, though tensions between English colonists and indigenous groups had been building for decades. During part of the war, Metacomet and his forces sheltered in Lakeville at Assawompset Pond, prior to Metacomet's capture inBristol, Rhode Island.
The Wampanoag settlement at Assawompset Pond persisted until at least the early 1800s, as attested by burials in theWampanoag Royal Cemetery, and the biography of Benjamin Simonds.
The first recorded non-native settlement of Lakeville was in 1705 by a man named Peirce, "whose descendants are very numerous." Lakeville was settled on a larger scale in 1717 as a western parish ofMiddleborough. It was incorporated as a separate town in 1853. One notable resident from Lakeville who fought in theAmerican Revolution was aWampanoag man named Benjamin Simonds, who was anaide-de-camp toGeorge Washington atValley Forge, who died in either 1831 or 1836. He was likely a part of one of the two militias from Lakeville, the Pond Militia Company or the Beech Woods Company of Minutemen. They were combined into Middleborough's Fourth Company of Foot, in which he served. He ended up becoming a local celebrity, both because of his service and because he was the last fully Wampanoag person to live onAssawompset Pond.[3]
Ninety-one men from Lakeville served in theAmerican Civil War, eighty-five in the army and six in the navy. Three churches have been built in the town, the first in 1725, the second in 1751 and the third one in 1835.[4]Ocean Spray is headquartered in Lakeville.
The town's name comes from the system of lakes in the town, includingAssawompset Pond,Great Quittacas Pond,Little Quittacas Pond,Pocksha Pond, andLong Pond. Long Pond is the source of theAcushnet River, and Assawompset Pond is the source of theNemasket River, which feeds theTaunton River. The indigenous name for Lakeville wasSoewampset.[2]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 36.1 square miles (93.6 km2), of which 29.6 square miles (76.6 km2) is land and 6.6 square miles (17.0 km2), or 18.17%, is water.[5] Lakeville is irregularly shaped, bordered byMiddleborough to the northeast and east,Rochester to the southeast,Freetown to the south and southwest, andBerkley andTaunton 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 20 miles (32 km) west ofPlymouth, 5 miles (8.0 km) north ofNew Bedford, 30 miles (48 km) east ofProvidence, Rhode Island, and 40 miles (64 km) south ofBoston.
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 theMassachusetts Audubon Society. 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 byBoston Red Sox legend andBaseball Hall of Fame memberTed Williams. According toLakeville, Massachusetts Gravestone Inscriptions 1711–2003 by Jean Douillette, there are 31 known cemeteries in Lakeville, or almost one per square mile.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 1,160 | — |
| 1870 | 1,159 | −0.1% |
| 1880 | 1,008 | −13.0% |
| 1890 | 935 | −7.2% |
| 1900 | 958 | +2.5% |
| 1910 | 1,141 | +19.1% |
| 1920 | 1,419 | +24.4% |
| 1930 | 1,574 | +10.9% |
| 1940 | 1,780 | +13.1% |
| 1950 | 2,066 | +16.1% |
| 1960 | 3,209 | +55.3% |
| 1970 | 4,376 | +36.4% |
| 1980 | 5,931 | +35.5% |
| 1990 | 7,785 | +31.3% |
| 2000 | 9,821 | +26.2% |
| 2010 | 10,602 | +8.0% |
| 2020 | 11,523 | +8.7% |
| 2024* | 12,262 | +6.4% |
| * = population estimate. Source:United States Census records andPopulation Estimates Program data.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] | ||
As of the data of 2022, there were 11,895 people and 4,162 households residing in the town. The population density was 329.14 inhabitants per square mile (127.08/km2). In 2000,[16] there were 3,662 housing units at an average density of 122.5 per square mile (47.3/km2). More recent estimates are not available. As of 2022,[17] the racial makeup of the town was 69.4%White, 2.4%African American, 0.3%Native American, 1.8%Asian, 0.005%Pacific Islander, and 4.3% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 21.8% of the population. Common ethnicities include: Portuguese, Italian, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Mexican, English. Other communities include in smaller population include: Cuban, French Canadian, Cape Verdean
3.8% of Lakeville's residents are foreign-born.[18]
There were 3,292 households, out of which 40.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.7% weremarried couples 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.[19]
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. Theper capita income for the town was $26,046. About 1.9% of families and 3.0% of the population were below thepoverty 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 median house value are above the Massachusetts state average.[18]
Lakeville is governed with theOpen Town Meeting form of government, and is led by a town administrator and aboard of selectmen. The town has its own police department and a singlefire 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. Lakeville is one of the few towns in Massachusetts to have more registered Republicans than registered Democrats.[20]
On the state level, Lakeville is represented byNorman Orrall in theMassachusetts House of Representatives as a part of the Twelfth Bristol District. The town is represented in the State Senate by SenatorMichael 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.[21][22]
On the national level, Lakeville is a part ofMassachusetts's 4th congressional district, and is currently represented byJake Auchincloss. The state's senior (Class I) member of theUnited States Senate, elected in 2012, isElizabeth Warren. The junior (Class II) senator, elected in 2013, isEd Markey.
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.Assawompset Elementary School is operated jointly withFreetown for grades K–3. TheGeorge R. Austin Intermediate School is operated jointly withFreetown for grade 4 and 5.Freetown-Lakeville Middle School is operated jointly with Freetown for grades 6–8, andApponequet Regional High School 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 aWampanoag brave, but after a sensitivity issue among 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 byFlorida State University and theWashington Redskins 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.
Massachusetts Route 140, a four-lane divided highway, passes through the town on its trip betweenRoute 24 in nearbyTaunton andInterstate 195 inNew Bedford. The town is also crossed byRoute 18,Route 79 andRoute 105, as well as a short, 0.4-mile (0.64 km) stretch ofU.S. Route 44 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 ofInterstate 495 are located just over the town line inMiddleborough, granting access to Routes 44, 18 and 105 (from north to south in order).
Lakeville station, served by the seasonalCapeFlyer service, is on the Middleborough/Lakeville border. The nearestMBTA Commuter Rail station isMiddleborough. The nearest private airfield is in Taunton; the nearest regional airport is in New Bedford, and the nearest national and international airport isT. F. Green Airport inWarwick, Rhode Island.
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