Weymouth is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is one of 13 municipalities in the state to have city forms of government while retaining “town of” in their official names. It is named after Weymouth, Dorset, a coastal town in England, and is the second-oldest settlement in Massachusetts, second only to Plymouth. It is one of the South Shore’s more affordable towns and offers a short commute into Boston, MBTA bus and rail service, and a town beach.

At the 2020 census, Weymouth had a total population of 57,437. It also had a crime rate of 12.42 per 1,000 residents.

History

A failed colony

Weymouth was settled in 1622 as Wessagusset Colony founded by Thomas Weston, who had been the main financial backer of Plymouth Colony. The settlement was a failure, as the 60 men from London were ill-prepared for the hardships required for survival. They also may have lacked the motivation of the Pilgrims, as this colony was purely economic in motivation and the men had not brought their families.

By winter, poor planning and bad management led to supplies running out, and the Plymouth colonists had little to share. The situation grew desperate and Weymouth men began to sell their clothes, hire themselves out as laborers, and even steal from the local Massachusett Indians. The Indians were soon taunting the Weymouth men and robbing them of what little food they gathered clamming and foraging in the woods. By now, many in the colony were starving or ill, and law and order had broken down. The lowest point came when a settler was accused of stealing supplies from the Massachusetts, and the Massachusett leaders demanded the thief’s execution; the Weymouth men complied, but legend has it that they may have executed a dying, sick settler instead.

By April 1623, word came of conflict between American Indians and the Virginia colonists, and tension increased between the Wessagusset colonists and the Indians. Massachusetts and other tribes began plotting to attack and destroy what was left of the floundering colony and the more successful Plymouth Colony. Wampanoag Chief Massasoit heard about the plot but soon fell ill and nearly died. A party from the Plymouth Colony came to his village and nursed him back to health, and he warned them of the plot. Governor William Bradford decided to preempt the planned attack, and sent Myles Standish to Weymouth with the Plymouth militia and their Indian guide Hobbamock to end the threat. Using the promise of a meal of pork, Standish lured five of the more bellicose Massachusett Indians inside the stockade, including Wituwamat, a large man who had belittled Standish because he was short and had bragged about murdering a number of French shipwreck survivors. Once inside, there was a brief struggle and the Indian leaders were killed.

Ten of the original 60 colonists starved to death and two others were killed in conflicts with the Indians. Forty-five colonists joined Plymouth or went north to Maine, and from there most returned to England. Three men who had left the colony to live among the Indians as laborers could not be warned in time and were subsequently killed by them after Standish had released the women and children.

Robert Gorges attempted to form a colony at the site later that year as the center of a more royalist and Anglican system of government for New England. He brought William Morrell as religious leader and expected Governor Bradford to acknowledge his supremacy and act as his agent. Within weeks, the New England winter caused Gorges to leave with most of the settlers. Those who remained formed the nucleus of the permanent settlement. and the oldest in what would become Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1630, it was officially incorporated into the Massachusetts Bay Colony; the name was changed to Weymouth in 1635 with the addition of 100 families under the leadership of Joseph Hull. These groups experienced some difficulty integrating together, especially due to conflicting pressures from the Puritans of Boston and the Pilgrims of Plymouth, but Weymouth was a stable and prominent town with its current boundaries by 1635. It was included as part of Suffolk County when it was formed on May 10, 1643. The oldest surviving house in Weymouth is the Bickman House (c. 1650) located at 84 Sea Street.

Post-colonization

Weymouth was heavily involved in the shoemaking industry from the first years of the 18th century right through to 1973, when the Stetson Shoe Company closed its doors. The building is currently being used for medical offices.

The original town hall was destroyed by fire in 1914 and was replaced in 1928 with a town hall that is a replica of the old Massachusetts State House in Boston. In May 2018, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker designated a tract of land near Lakeview Manor and the eastern and northern borders of Whitman’s Pond as an “opportunity zone” under the Congressional Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

Education

Weymouth High School is the only high school in Weymouth. Prior to 2005, grades eight and nine were housed in Weymouth Junior High while grades ten, eleven, and twelve comprised the High School. This changed with the construction of a new wing on the Junior High building in South Weymouth, which subsequently became the new Weymouth High School housing grades nine through twelve. The old Weymouth High School in East Weymouth was converted into the Maria Weston Chapman Middle School. More than 2,000 students attend the high school. A brand new athletic surface was completed in 2005, giving Weymouth High School an artificial turf field and a track surface.

In 2008 Boston Magazine ranked Weymouth High School eighth among Boston-area high schools in academic performance and eighteenth in cost efficiency. Weymouth High has a high graduation rate of 93.6%, as of 2022. In June 2021, Weymouth High School was placed into a state program for schools or districts that disproportionately suspend nonwhite students or students with disabilities.

There is one Middle School in East Weymouth. It is the rebuild of the Maria Weston Chapman Middle School. It opened in time for the 2022-23 school year.

The two old Middle Schools: Abigail Adams, and the old Chapman are now closed down, with Chapman demolished and Adams with no future plans but has not been torn down.

There are eight primary schools and one early childhood center, five of which are named after Weymouth’s Congressional Medal of Honor recipients.

There is one Public Charter School which Weymouth is associated to

In addition, there are four private schools in Weymouth.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there were 53,743 people, 22,435 households, and 13,595 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,174.2 inhabitants per square mile (1,225.6/km). There were 22,573 housing units at an average density of 1,327.1 per square mile (512.4/km²). 64% housing units were owner-occupied and 35% of housing units were renter-occupied. The racial makeup of the city was 82.7% White, 5.2% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 5.7% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.6% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.1% of the population.

There were 22,028 households, out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8% were non-families, 37% of which were non-family households with residents over 65 years of age. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.0% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $68,665, and the median income for a family was $52,083. Males had a median income of $42,497 versus $35,963 for females. The per capita income for was $24,976. About 9.1% of families and 9.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

Weymouth has the 10th highest Irish population in the United States, at 33%. As “white flight” occurred in inner-city Boston exacerbated by the start of the cross-district busing program, in the 1960s and 70s thousands of white (predominantly of Irish descent) Bostonians moved to middle/working class suburbs such as Weymouth and Quincy. The blue collar city culture (example: The Boston accent) of places like South Boston and Dorchester is prevalent in the neighborhoods of Weymouth. Weymouth has colloquially been referred to as “Suburban Southie” and “Southie on the South Shore” due to the high influx of South Boston residents and Irish Catholic culture in the town. This trend continues in a different way again today as some longtime South Boston residents are now being priced out due to gentrification. Many are moving out to the more affordable towns on the South Shore.

Demographic breakdown by ZIP code

Income

Data is from the 2009–2013 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.