Georgetown was originally settled in 1639 as a part of the town of Rowley by the Reverend Ezekiel Rogers.

The town at the time stretched from the Atlantic coast to the Merrimack River, south of Newbury and north of Ipswich.

Several farmers, finding suitable meadowlands in the western half of the settlement, began settling along the Penn Brook by the middle of the seventeenth century, creating Rowley's West Parish.

Though not directly involved in King Philip's War, the village nonetheless did become a victim of Indian raids.

The village, which became known as New Rowley, grew for many years, with small mills and eventually a shoe company opening up in the town.

Small industry continued, and today the town is mostly residential in nature, a distant suburb of Boston's North Shore.

It is bordered by Groveland to the northwest, Newbury to the northeast, Rowley to the southeast, and Boxford to the southwest.

The current board of selectmen consist of Amy Smith (Chair), Douglas Dawes, Daryle J. LaMonica, Rachel Bancroft, and Robert Hoover (Clerk).

On the state level, Georgetown is under the jurisdiction of the Central District Court of Essex County, located in Haverhill.

On the national level, Georgetown is in Massachusetts's 6th congressional district, and has been represented since 2015 by Seth Moulton (D).