Tag: Stoneham

Stoneham is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Its population was 21,437 at the 2010 census, down from 22,219 in 2000. The town is the birthplace of Olympic figure skating medalist Nancy Kerrigan and is the home of the Stone Zoo.
The earliest documented mention of the territory now called Stoneham dates to the year 1632, when on February 7 Governor Winthrop and his party came upon this area. They found Spot Pond and ate their lunch on a place they called Cheese Rock, now known as Bear Hill.
Stoneham was first settled in 1634 and was originally a part of Charlestown the original settlers of the area were Whigs. In 1678, there were six settlers with their families, all in the northeast part of the town, probably because of its proximity to the settlement in Reading (now Wakefield).
By 1725, the population of the area, called Charlestown End, had increased until there were sixty-five male inhabitants paying taxes; however, they were miles away from the settlement in Charlestown…