STONEHAM
The Town of Stoneham is a residential suburban community situated less than 10 miles to the Northwest of the city of Boston. Approximately one-third of the community is contained within the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) Middlesex Fells Reservation, including Spot Pond. Known as Charlestown End by the early American explorers, Stoneham’s early settlers were farmers. The growth that followed the first settlement of 1645 was slow. In 1725 when the taxable male population reached 65 in number, the General Court was petitioned to allow Stoneham to become a separate town (breaking away from Charlestown).On December 17, 1725 the petition was granted, and one week later Stoneham’s first Town Meeting was held.
The construction of a major roadway linking Medford to Andover in 1806 resulted in a shift of the town center from the Summer and Pleasant Street area to what is now the modern Main Street.