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Dracut, Massachusetts

Dracut is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 28,562. Dracut is primarily a suburban community, belonging to Greater Lowell and bordering southern New Hampshire. Additionally, it is in the northern portion of the Greater Boston metro area, and geographically part of the Merrimack Valley.

History

Dracut was the site of important Pennacook Indian settlements, due to the fishing grounds at Pawtucket Falls on the Merrimack River. The legendary sachem Passaconaway spent much of his life in land that became Dracut (although given to Lowell in the latter half of the 19th century).

Dracut was first settled by Europeans in 1653, from Chelmsford, across the Merrimack. Parts of the community were part of the Wamiset Praying Town, one of the preserves set aside by the colonists for Christianized Indians. Dracut was officially incorporated as a town on February 26, 1701.

The town has several large ponds, bogs and swamps, and numerous brooks (most notably Beaver Brook). Dracut's early economy relied on fishing, lumbering and milling, which led in turn to the 19th century industries of paper making and cotton textile manufacturing. These mills attracted Irish and French-Canadian immigrants.

There has been intense modern development in Dracut with suburban residential pressures from Lowell. Twice in the nineteenth century, Lowell annexed large sections of Dracut into its borders. However, some rural landscapes remain intact, as do some handsome historic houses. One of the better known is the 290 year old Colburn/Cutter House, with its massive beams, huge center chimney and fireplaces. The building, dating back from about 1717, has served as the site of the annual Dracut Craft Fair. As well, Dracut holds an annual Old Home Day every September since 2001

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 21.4 square miles (55.3 km²), of which, 20.9 square miles (54.1 km²) of it is land and 0.5 square miles (1.2 km²) of it (2.15%) is water.

Dracut is located in the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts, and is approximately 25-30 miles northwest of the state capital, Boston.

The southeastern end of Dracut is on the Merrimack River, and the town is bisected by Beaver Brook.

Dracut is sometimes referred to by its sections. They are:

Collinsville
East Dracut
Dracut Center
Kenwood
Navy Yard

Adjacent towns

Dracut is bordered by Tyngsboro to the west, the City of Lowell to the south, Methuen to the east, and Pelham, NH to the north. Tewksbury and Andover border the town to the southeast, but are unreachable across the Merrimack.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 28,562 people, 10,451 households, and 7,733 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,366.7 people per square mile (527.6/km²). There were 10,643 housing units at an average density of 509.3/sq mi (196.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.13% White, 0.78% African American, 0.09% Native American, 2.58% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.55% of the population.

There were 10,451 households out of which 35.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.3% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% were non-families. 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $57,676, and the median income for a family was $65,633. Males had a median income of $41,873 versus $31,396 for females. The per capita income for the town was $23,750. About 2.7% of families and 3.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.2% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Education

Public schools

The Dracut School Department consists of 7 public schools: one high school, one junior high (grades 7+8), one intermediate school (grades 5+6), and 4 elementary schools (grades K-4) They are¹:

Dracut High School (1,300 students)
Lakeview Junior High School (800 students)
Englesby Intermediate School (750 students)
Brookside Elementary School (617 students)
Campbell Elementary School (583 students)
Greenmont Elementary School (267 students)
Parker Elementary School (163 students)

Transportation

Dracut is in proximity to many major area highways. I-93, I-495, and US Route 3 are among the largest. Route 128 (which is concurrent with part of I-95) is not far from Dracut either (roughly 15-20 miles to the south), and the Massachusetts Turnpike is only about 30-35 miles to the south in Boston. Massachusetts state highways Route 38, Route 110, and Route 113 actually run directly through the town. The Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline termites in Dracut connecting on to the to the North American natural gas pipeline grid. The Portland Natural Gas Transmission System (PNGTS)) ,Tennessee Gas and the TransQuebec interconnect here .

Religion

In 1884, Michael Collins (where Collinsville gets its name), the owner of the mill on Lakeview Avenue (though himself an Episcopalian), decided to build a chapel for the Irish Catholic workers who were walking all the way to Lowell to St. Patrick's for Mass. This chapel, built on Lakeview Ave. was architecturally a replica of Mr. Collins' mothers church back in Ireland. St. Patrick's in Lowell was affiliated in administering the new church and it was named St. Mary of the Assumption, with services beginning there on August 17, 1884 with Rev. William O'Brien. Father Thomas Walsh was the first permanent pastor, beginning his tenure in 1901. He doubled the size of the church. The church added a hall (known by many as Harmony hall, but originally called St. Mary's Hall), built with donations by the mill workers themselves, at the corner of Lakeview and Mammoth Rd. This hall was used for recreational church functions for some time but later abandoned because of financial restraints. The hall was finally uprooted from its location and moved down Lakeview Ave to its current location near the Dracut Historical Society and the former Dracut Police station, on August 30, 1994. The event drew large crowds that lined Lakeview Ave, while the trucks rumbled the hall down the road, with Fr. Lucien Loiselle (Pastor of St. Mary's) looking on from St. Mary's rectory.

The church was later merged (September 1, 2001) with St. Therese's (further down the road on Lakeview Ave, heading into Lowell) to form St. Margareuite D'Youville Parish, under the parish reconfiguration plan of the Archdiocese of Boston. St. Louis was later added to the St. Margeurite D'Youville merger, which financially strained the parish. The Rev. Paul Clifford, the pastor of St. Margeurite D'Youville, formed a committee to review the parish structure and it was decided, and approved by Rev. Clifford, to close St. Mary's of the Assumption, given its limited number of active parishioners.

The final mass was on September 19th, 2004, celebrated by Fr. Lucien Loiselle, who served as pastor of St. Mary's for the past 20 years.