| My name is Michelle Cook and I am the Town Coordinator for Reading. I hope that you will find the information here useful in your genealogical research. If you have any questions or would like to have me add information please email me. Thanks!
History of Reading
Reading's original settlers came from England in the 1630's to
the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Many arrived through the ports of Lynn and
Salem. In 1639 some citizens of Lynn petitioned the government of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony for "place for an inland plantation." The
General Court granted them six square miles, then an additional four. The
first settlement called Lynn Village was on the south shore of the Great Pond,
what is now known as Lake Quannapowitt. On June 10th, 1644 the
settlement was incorporated by the House of Deputies as the Town of Reading,
taking its name from Reading, England. The first church was organized soon
after the settlement, and the first parish, later known as South Reading,
became Wakefield in 1868. A special grant in 1651 added land north of the
Ipswich River to the Town of Reading. This area in 1853 became the separate
Town of North Reading. During its early years, the area which is currently the
Town of Reading, was known as Wood End, or Third Parish. From Town of Reading
home page history section - see web site for more information. |
