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Wareham
Wareham, Massachusetts, is a small town of about 20,000 year-round residents. The town possesses its own unique character with a combination of stunning ocean views, several beaches, scenic harbors dotted with fishing and pleasure boats, commercial shopping areas, and a “Main Street” that has the quintessential “All-American” small town look-and-feel to it.
Wareham Township was established in 1739. The town includes a waterfront section known as Onset, a small enclave featuring vacation homes, inns, bed and breakfasts, shops, and restaurants. During the warm months, Onset Harbor is filled with boats of all kinds and its beautiful beaches are full of happy sunbathers and swimmers. In the summer months, outdoor concerts and events, including the dazzling, annual Fourth of July fireworks display, make Onset a desirable destination for local residents and vacationers.
Onset, originally known as Pine Point, reminds many vacationers of Martha’s Vineyard. It is a popular summer retreat that offers much of the same enjoyment as busy Cape Cod, but without the traffic and congestion. Tennis, golf, parks, and restaurants with great seafood also add to Onset’s charm.
Onset Beach
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Wareham Town Hall
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Onset Bay
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Wareham has department stores, plazas, car dealerships, restaurants and many recreational activities. The Wareham Gatemen, the local Cape Cod Baseball League team, play their home games at Spillane Field. Playing golf or tennis at the Bay Pointe Country Club, or fishing on Blackmore Pond, are also popular. Family fun is a given on the several beaches and playgrounds throughout the town.
Wareham is a mixture of oceanside tourism, commercial areas, and rural agriculture. The town has many acres of cranberry bogs, with about one-third of the town's 39 square miles being used for agriculture. Cranberries are the top agricultural crop in Massachusetts, and visitors are sure to see many bogs in the area. Manufacturing is also a part of the local economy; Tremont Nail Company (started in 1822) is the town’s best-known manufacturer.
Main Street
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Gateway to Cape Cod
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Wareham Harbor
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Wareham's rural area fans out from the town's center on Main Street. Older clapboard cottages and summer homes stand on shady streets, while newer, spacious homes have been built in wooded sections off long stretches of winding roads. The picturesque Blackmore Pond area has also seen more building development in recent years.
Many new subdivisions have been built in recent years within town limits. Wareham is currently one of the most affordable SouthCoast Massachusetts communities in home prices, second only to New Bedford. In 2003, the median single-family sales price in Wareham was $210,000. Availability of homes is low, however, with just a 4.5 percent vacancy rate in 2000 and ownership vacancy rate of 1.4 percent.
Wareham Post Office
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Peaceful Water Views
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Onset Gazebo
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- Total valuation (2003): $2,192,983,477
- Residential, 82.4%; commercial, 9.4%; industrial, 2.1%; personal property, 2%
- FY2003 Tax rate: $9.74 (For Wareham Fire District add $1.98); (for Onset Fire District add $1.60)
- 2000 population: winter-20,335; summer-40,670
- Area: 36.7 square miles
- Miles of public road: 108.79
- Local School Committee
- Robert L. Brousseau, chairman
- Michael Houdlette
- William Doherty
- Ramona O'Hearne
- Cliff Sylvia
- Administration: 508-291-3500
- Superintendent, Dr. Wayne LaGue
- Assistant Supt., Dr. James Collins
- Transportation Director, Joseph Netto, 508-291-3574
- West Wareham School
- Address: 1073 Main St.
- Telephone: 508-291-3534
- Grades: Kindergarten
- Principal: Ana Miranda
- East Wareham School
- Address:27 Depot St.
- Telephone: 508-291-3586
- Grades: Preschool - Kindergarten
- Principal: Joan Seamans
- Minot Forest School
- Address: 85 Minot Avenue
- Telephone: 508-291-3555
- Grades: 1 - 5
- Principal: Kathleen Podesky
- John William Decas School
- Address: 753 Main St.
- Telephone: 508-291-3530
- Grades: Kindergarten - 5
- Principal: Ana Miranda
- Ethel E. Hammond School
- Address: 13 Highland Avenue, Onset
- Telephone: 508-291-3565
- Grades: Kindergarten - 1
- Principal: Joan Seamans
- Wareham Middle School
- Address: 4 Viking Drive
- Telephone: 508-291-3550
- Grades: 6 - 8
- Principal: Barry Rabinovitch
- Wareham High School
- Address: 7 Viking Drive
- Telephone: 508-291-3510
- Grades: 9 - 12
- Principal: John Amaral
- Trash: Town sponsored curbside trash pickup. (Private haulers)
- Sewer: Approximately 40 percent of Wareham households are linked into the town's sewer system. Several areas are in design or construction phase.
- Water: About 48 percent of households receive water through the Onset or Wareham Fire Districts;
Onset District, 508-295-0603; Wareham District - 508-295-0450
- Library: 59 Marion Road, Wareham, 508-295-2343
- Oakdale Playground
- Lopes Playground, Onset Avenue
- West Wareham Playground, Carver Road
- Swifts Beach, Swifts Beach Road
- Weweantic Playground, Hathaway Street
- Beaches
- Onset Beach, Onset Avenue
- Little Harbor, Little Harbor Road (Residents only)
- Swifts Beach, Swifts Beach Road
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