What is it like to live in Boxford?
Though Boxford sits just off Interstate 95, the town’s meandering wooded roads and utter lack of commercialization give it the feel of a throwback.
There’s pretty much one place where the locals hang out in the quiet community of Boxford, a former farm town that has become a bastion of semi-secluded affluence. It’s Boxford Community Store, a diner and snack shop under the same Elm Street roof as a Post Office. General manager Dave Merrill is a third-generation proprietor: Folks still call the place Wayne’s, after his dad, and some old-timers still know it as Jack’s, after his late great-uncle.
When Jack Johnson and his wife, Jane, first bought the business in 1946, it was an old-fashioned general store. “You could get a hammer and nails or a box of cereal,’’ said Merrill, 36. “The place sold just about everything.’’
Though Boxford sits just off Interstate 95, bordering several towns, including Topsfield, Haverhill, North Andover, and Middleton, the town’s meandering wooded roads and utter lack of commercialization give it the feel of a throwback. “It really is like a little Mayberry,’’ Merrill said.
With just under 8,000 residents as of the 2010 Census, Boxford is a small town in terms of population. But it’s rich in land: more than 24 square miles.
Though their homes may be well spaced, the residents are close-knit. When Merrill’s father was diagnosed with lung cancer recently, the townspeople pitched in to fund a family trip for eight to Disney World.
“It was very touching,’’ Merrill said. “We realized how embedded in the community we are.’’
BY THE NUMBERS
$11,000
The reported sale price in 1929 of the Tyler Homestead, or Witch Hollow Farm, on 120 acres, to a descendant. The property is rumored to be haunted by a woman who lived there and was condemned as a witch. It is listed in “Haunted Places: The National Directory’’ by Dennis William Hauck.
532
The total acreage of Bald Hill Conservation Area, a protected parcel of forest and wetlands in Boxford, Middleton, and North Andover.
8
The number of triathlons held in honor of Boxford resident and State Police Captain Rick Cashin, who died in an auto accident in 2009 while on duty. He was 52. The ninth annual race will be held Sept. 10. It will begin at Stiles Pond in Keith Koster Park, which is named for a Boxford resident killed while trying to stop his car from being stolen in Danvers.
79
Reported number of match-making companies at the height of that industry in America in the mid-1800s. Those numbers were dwindling by the time Diamond Match Co. acquired Boxford factory Carlton, Byers & Co., one of the town’s few manufacturing facilities, sometime in the 1880s. The factory closed in 1905.
PROS & CONS
Pro
The land
Boxford practically defines “picturesque,’’ with its classic American farmhouses, thick forests, and gently rolling hills. The landscape is also blessed with several ponds and an extensive network of hiking trails.
Con
Really no place to gather and eat
Though there’s plenty of commerce nearby, some residents would love to see at least one pub-style establishment within the town limits, Merrill said. Boxford Community Store has begun hosting occasional BYOB nights, serving nicer dishes such as duck or homemade lobster ravioli, and the events have been enthusiastically received. “There’s not a lot of places to hang out,’’ Merrill said. “People would like more to do where they can come together and see more of each other.’’
James Sullivan can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @sullivanjames. Subscribe to our free real estate newsletter — our weekly digest on buying, selling, and design — at pages.email.bostonglobe.com/AddressSignUp.
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