Travel
For one thing, it's not as far away as you think.
If you haven't been to the Georgetown-Rowley State Forest, you haven't been to Georgetown. Peter Chianca/Boston.com
As a longtime resident of Georgetown, Massachusetts, I was as surprised as anyone to discover that the reported new owner of the Boston Celtics, William Chisholm, grew up in my little town. (Population 8,454.) Apparently Chisholm, the managing director and co-founder of Symphony Technology Group, hightailed it out of there before I moved in back in 1999, or I’m sure I would have run into him in Crosby’s Market by now.
Regardless, now that he’s apparently shelling out $6.1 billion to purchase Boston’s world champion basketball team, curiosity about his Massachusetts hometown is sure to spike. With that in mind, here are five things you probably didn’t know about Georgetown.
It’s not as far away as you think.
If you are lucky enough to have actually heard of Georgetown, there’s a good chance you imagine it being far, far from civilization, like that place the plane crashed in “Yellowjackets,” or Pittsfield. But it’s actually not that out of the way! It’s only 31 miles from Boston, with easy access to both I-95 and I-495. And as for getting into TD Garden for a Celtics game, if you drive to Oak Grove and hop on the Orange Line, you can be there in an hour if everything goes perfectly. (Talking to you, Phil Eng.)
It’s the home of ‘Old Nancy.’
Yes, Rowley claims to be the original owner of “Old Nancy,” but the residents of Pumpkin Town (Rowley’s actual nickname) are big fat liars. Why Georgetown can claim true ownership of the Revolutionary-era cannon is too long a story for me to get into here, but it involves its original purchase by Major Ebenezer Boynton from his brother, Eleazer, multiple thefts, at least one arrest, and a swindle involving a faux Nancy made out of wood. You can read all about it (and it will be the best 10 minutes of your day, guaranteed), but all that matters is that since 1980, it’s been on permanent public display at Georgetown Town Hall. So take that, Rowley!
Its state forest has more than 1,000 acres of trails.
Georgetown may not have a lot of what you’d call “major attractions” — there’s no Dave & Buster’s, for instance. But it does have the Georgetown-Rowley State Forest, with more than 1,000 acres of trails, including one that spans a pedestrian bridge over I-95 that has some of the most creative graffiti you’ll see north of Peabody. If you have a dog (and if you live in Georgetown, you probably do), there’s no better place to give your pooch a good run. And it’s worth noting that despite all the hubbub over the cannon, Georgetown and Rowley have managed to share a state forest peaceably, so far.
Route 133 through Essex, Ipswich, and Rowley (part of the Essex Coastal Scenic Byway) is often referred to as “Antique Alley,” and if you keep going a few more minutes down that storied road you’ll find plenty of vintage shopping opportunities in downtown Georgetown as well. Sadly, the iconic Sedler’s Antique Village has gone the way of the condo, but with Vintage Vault, Bent Emporium, and A F Scala Antiques, among others, all peddling their wares, there’s no shortage of old stuff to load into your trunk on your way through town.
Its basketball team just won the state championship.
This is what’s known in a small town as a Big Deal: The sixth-ranked Georgetown High School boys basketball team nabbed its first-ever Division IV state championship last weekend, beating fifth-ranked Monument Mountain Regional High School 61-54 at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell. (Monument Mountain is in Great Barrington, speaking of towns that are far, far away.) It can’t be a coincidence that so soon after the town cemented its own basketball bonafides, a native son of Georgetown swooped in to take command of the area’s other hoop champions, the Boston Celtics.
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A few other notes: The town is home to the nation’s oldest privately owned volunteer fire company; the Goodrich Massacre happened there; and it was the filming location for the 2008 Meg Ryan/Jada Pinkett Smith/Bette Midler movie “The Women.” Oh, and Georgetown is also currently facing the prospect of a $3 million tax override to make up for a major budget shortfall, and could use a few bucks. No pressure, Mr. Chisholm.
The Celtics have reportedly been sold to William Chisholm for $6.1 billion. Share your reactions with us.
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Peter Chianca
General Assignment Editor
Peter Chianca, Boston.com’s general assignment editor since 2019, is a longtime news editor, columnist, and music writer in the Greater Boston area.
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