Groveland Moving
Groveland /Town /Essex /Open town meeting /7,198 /1850
Groveland, Massachusetts (ZIP code 01834) Groveland is a small residential town located in northern Essex County, bordering Boxford, Georgetown, Haverhill, and West Newbury. The town is divided into two precincts, Groveland and South Groveland.
Groveland was originally the East Parish of Bradford, which was originally part of the town of Rowley. Before Bradford was separated from Rowley and named Bradford in 1672, it was called Rowley on the Merrimack, or just Merrimack. Bradford in turn was annexed by Haverhill, in 1897. Groveland officially incorporated as a separate Massachusetts town in on September 9, 1850. Groveland residents celebrate the anniversary of this date as Groveland Day.
In December 1638 after seventeen years of service, the Reverend Ezekiel Rogers was discharged from his post as rector of the parish of Rowley in Yorkshire, England. He had refused to read "that accursed book allowing sports on the Lord's Day." Believing the future of Puritanism was at stake, he and the members of twenty families sailed for the New World. Within these families were people of means and learning, including farmers, weavers, carpenters, and smiths. They landed at Salem, Massachusetts, but did not attempt to make a settlement until the following spring. The first printing press brought to America was onboard that same ship, the John.
Since there were no plantations left along the coastline, Reverend Rogers settled a tract of land between Ipswich and Newbury, where a land boom had developed. These two towns had already established grants on this tract, so the newcomers were required to purchase them for £800. Reverend Rogers's settlement was established in modern-day Rowley. Named Roger's Plantation and later Rowley after the English town, the initial settlement comprised sixty families. In September 1639, the town incorporated, and included the territory now occupied by Rowley, Georgetown, Groveland, Boxford, and Bradford.
The Congregational Church in Groveland has a bell crafted by Paul Revere. Of the 900 bells made by Revere's company, this is the only remaining bell in active service. In town hall, the oldest hand-pump fire-engine in the country is on display. Built in 1798 and originally named "TORRENT" of Roxbury, Massachusetts, the hand pumper was moved to Bradford, Massachusetts in 1828 and renamed "Engine 2." In 1850, the same year East Bradford became Groveland, the pumper was renamed "VETO."
