Everett, Massachusetts

Everett, Massachusetts
Everett is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, directly north of Boston, bordering the neighborhood of Charlestown. The population was 49,075 at the time of the 2020 United States Census.
Everett was the last city in the United States to have a bicameral legislature, which was composed of a seven-member Board of Aldermen and an eighteen-member Common Council. On November 8, 2011, the voters approved a new City Charter that changed the City Council to a unicameral body with eleven members – six ward councilors and five councilors-at-large. The new City Council was elected during the 2013 City Election.
History
Everett was originally part of Charlestown, and later Malden. It separated from Malden in 1870. The community was named after Edward Everett, who served as U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, the 15th Governor of Massachusetts, Minister to Great Britain, and United States Secretary of State. He also served as President of Harvard University.
In 1892, Everett was upgraded from a town to a city. On December 13, 1892, Alonzo H. Evans defeated George E. Smith to become Everett's first mayor. Landfill has expanded the Everett shoreline over the centuries. At some point between 1905 and 1912, it connected the mainland to what was formerly White Island in the Mystic River. The bridge of the Grand Junction Railroad was originally built using this island for part of the crossing.
In 1971, Distrigas of Massachusetts began importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) at its Everett Marine Terminal in the Island End section of Everett. This terminal was the first of its kind in the country.
On September 16, 2014, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted to approve Wynn Resorts' proposal for a $1.6 billion casino to be located on a 33-acre site on the Mystic River in Everett. The casino, named Encore Boston Harbor, opened on June 23, 2019. After a remediation process to clean the site, Wynn Resorts constructed Encore Boston as an integrated resort with a hotel, a harborwalk, restaurants, a casino, spa, retail outlets, and meeting and convention space. Public amenities along the year-round harborwalk include a picnic park, paths for bikers and pedestrians, viewing decks, waterfront dining and retail, a performance lawn, floral displays, and boat docks. Wynn Resorts described the $2.6 billion development as "the largest private single-phase construction project in the history of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."
Everett has an increasing population as people are seeking new households near downtown Boston while not wanting to pay the higher prices of living now associated with surrounding municipalities, such as those in neighborhoods of Boston, Cambridge, or Somerville.
Geography
Everett is bordered by Malden on the north, Revere on the east, Chelsea on the southeast, Somerville and Medford on the west, and Boston and the Mystic River on the south at Charlestown. Island End River flows through the city, though it was contained in a culvert and invisible to residents until being partly unearthed in 2021. Everett is a major part of the Port of Boston.
Some of Everett's neighborhoods are Glendale, Woodlawn, the Village, and the Line. Glendale Park is the city's largest park.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (7.63%) is water.
Climate
In a typical year, Everett, Massachusetts temperatures fall below for 195 days per year. Annual precipitation is typically 44.2 inches per year (high in the US) and snow covers the ground 52 days per year or 14.2% of the year (high in the US). It may be helpful to understand the yearly precipitation by imagining 9 straight days of moderate rain per year. The humidity is below 60% for approximately 25.4 days or 7% of the year.
Demographics
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 41,667 people, 15,435 households, and 9,554 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 15,908 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 53.6% Non-Hispanic Whites, 14.3% African American, 4.8% Asian, 0.4% Pacific Islander, 2% from other races, and 3.8% were multiracial. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21.1% of the population (9.3% Salvadoran, 3.0% Puerto Rican, 1.1% Colombian, 1.1% Dominican, 1.0% Guatemalan, 0.8% Mexican). The city also has a large number of people of Brazilian and Italian descent. In 2010, 33% of the residents of Everett were born outside the United States. This percentage was around 11% in 1990.
There were 15,435 households, out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.8% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.1% were non-families. 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.11.
The population was spread out, with 21.6% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 34.8% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 91 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $49,737. The median income for a family is $49,876. Males had a median income of $36,047 versus $30,764 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,876. About 9.2% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.9% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Local
Everett has a mayor-council form of government, where the mayor serves a four-year term. The Everett city council was the last existing bicameral legislature in any American city, consisting of a Board of Aldermen and a Common Council. As of November 8, 2011, it became a unicameral City Council.
Board of Aldermen
The Board of Aldermen consisted of seven members one from each of the City's six wards and one Alderman-at-Large. All Aldermen were elected citywide for a term of two years.
In addition to the duties they shared with the Common Council, the Board of Aldermen was the licensing authority in the City and approved licenses for motor dealers, second-hand dealers, awnings, lodging houses, junk dealers, pool tables, open-air parking lots, coin-operated devices, Lord's Day licenses, antique and precious metal dealers.
Common Council
The Common Council consisted of three members elected per ward for a total of eighteen members. The Common Council shared equal responsibility for most legislative actions with the exception of licensing and confirmation of most Mayoral appointees.
State
Everett is represented in the state legislature by officials elected from the following districts:
Massachusetts Senate's Middlesex and Suffolk district
Massachusetts House of Representatives' 28th Middlesex district
Voter party enrollment
Education
Everett has eight public schools, which include six elementary schools, five K–8 schools, and one high school, Everett High School. The city also has one Private K–8 school and had a private Catholic high school, Pope John XXIII High School, which was forced, due to financial difficulties, to close on May 31, 2019. Everett High School moved to its new location, at 100 Elm Street, beginning in the 2007–2008 school year.
Landmarks
Part of the historic Revere Beach Parkway listed on the National Register of Historic Places, lies in Everett.
Economy
The Mystic Generating Station has been producing electricity since the early twentieth century. It was built by Boston Edison and is now operated by Exelon. It has the largest capacity of any electrical plant in the state.
The Leavitt Corporation has been manufacturing its trademark Teddie Peanut Butter in the city since 1924.
Besides Everett Square, Gateway Center just off Route 16 in Everett is a major retail shopping district with big box stores.
Transportation
Everett's business district is focused on Broadway (part of Route 99), with many businesses and restaurants along the route. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates public buses through the city, which includes several routes that converge at a hub at Everett Square. A bus lane exists on Broadway, from Glendale Square (Ferry Street), to Sweetser Circle. MBTA also operates a subway system that includes Wellington, which lies just west of the Everett city limits in nearby Medford, and a commuter rail system with a stop in Chelsea to the southeast. Route 16 traverses the southern area of the city, providing access to U.S. Route 1 and Interstate 93. Both highways run just outside of the city limits and provide connections to Boston.
Notable people
See also :Category:People from Everett, Massachusetts
Belden Bly, member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Pat Bradley, Arkansas basketball player and sports commentator
Matthew W. Bullock, Everett High School sports star, Dartmouth and Harvard Law School graduate, pioneering football coach, state government appointed service and national leader in the Urban League and the Bahá'í Faith
Vannevar Bush, engineer and head of the United States Office of Scientific Research and Development
George Russell Callender, military official and author
Walter Tenney Carleton, founding director of the NEC Corporation
Walter Carrington, US Ambassador to Nigeria & Senegal
Benjamin Castleman, pathologist and namesake of Castleman's disease
Lewis Cine, football player for the Minnesota Vikings
Patricia Courtney, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
Arthur Dearborn, Olympic track and field athlete
Johnny Dell Isola, former National Football League player
Louis DeLuca, member of the Connecticut Senate
Omar Easy, NFL football player
Maddy English, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
Diamond Ferri, CFL & NFL player
Hub Hart, MLB catcher
Pat Hughes, NFL player
Brian Kelly, LSU head football coach
John P. Kennedy, Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
George Keverian, Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Torbert Macdonald, member of the United States House of Representatives
Hermon Atkins MacNeil, sculptor
Mary Eliza Mahoney, first African American to study and work as a professionally trained nurse in the United States (not from Everett but is buried there)
A. David Mazzone, judge and attorney
George J. Mead, aircraft engineer
Gertrude Nason, artist
Nerlens Noel, Oklahoma City Thunder center
Andrew "Swede" Oberlander, College Football Hall of Famer
Al Pierotti, football, baseball, pro wrestling
Ellen Pompeo, actress
Dan Ross, NFL player
Danny Silva, MLB player, Boston Celtics assistant coach, WWI and WWII veteran, longtime Everett teacher and coach
Paul L. Smith, actor
Jim Tozzi, member of the PFFR art collective responsible for Adult Swim shows like Wonder Showzen, Xavier: Renegade Angel, and The Shivering Truth
Joseph Frank Wehner, fighter pilot during World War I
In popular culture
Everett was home to the set of the 2012 ABC series Boston's Finest.
The 2007 Ben Affleck film Gone Baby Gone was partially filmed and set in Everett.
The old Everett High School was used for the filming of scenes for the Adam Sandler movie That's My Boy, the Kevin James movie Here Comes the Boom, and most recently Ghostbusters (2016 film) starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones.
References
Further reading
1871 Atlas of Massachusetts. by Wall & Gray. Map of Massachusetts. Map of Middlesex County.
Dutton, E.P. Chart of Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay with Map of Adjacent Country. Published 1867. A good map of roads and rail lines around Everett/South Malden.
Old USGS maps of Everett.
History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Volume 1 (A-H), Volume 2 (L-W) compiled by Samuel Adams Drake, published 1879–1880. 572 and 505 pages. Everett article by Dudley P. Bailey in volume 1 pages 428–435.
The History of Malden, Massachusetts, 1633–1785. By Deloraine Pendre Corey, published 1898, 870 pages. Note, Everett was originally South Malden.
Births, marriages onin Everett Mass 4 Everett deaths and Deaths in the Town of en49DelorPendre Corey, published 1903.
External links
Official website
Everett Public Libraries
Everett Independent newspaper
Profile at City Data
Everett Leader Herald
Cities in Massachusetts
Cities in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Populated places established in 1630
1630 establishments in the Massachusetts Bay Colony