Franklin County

Colrain was once described as the place for a “lover of natural scenery in its varied forms” because it “possesses uncommon attractions.” The North River, a tributary to the Deerfield River, has 2 branches that pass through Colrain. There are some roads that elevate from the bed of the river, giving passengers incredible views.

Besides the North River’s natural beauty, it also benefited the townspeople in that they were able to create waterpower for Colrain’s factories. These factories produced cotton and iron castings. Those industries, combined with sheep raising, were the causes of the sudden increase in town population in the early 1800s, since there were ample job opportunities.

Colrain is bordered to the north by Vermont and to the east by the Green River. The main road through town is MA Route 112.

Visit Colrain's Town Website.

The land area that is now Conway was part of a grant in 1712 from the General Court enlarging the area of Deerfield. In 1762, after the close of the French and Indian Wars, the area was surveyed and divided into 141 lots averaging 150 acres. Lots were sold and settled rapidly, and in 1767 the land was separated from Deerfield and incorporated as the Town of Conway.

In the following years, farms developed thickly and evenly throughout the hills, with forested land cleared for crops and pasture. By 1817, the extent of cleared land was as great as it ever would be. Much of this wood fueled the startup of sawmills. Gristmills and sawmills, built along the streams to harness waterpower, were the first mills of the settlers. Pumpkin Hollow, located at the geographical heart of Conway, became the center of town with a church, school, store, inn, harness shop, and wagon shop. As the population rose steadily, other parts of town, known as districts or neighborhoods, built their own schools. In all, sixteen districts formed each with its own schoolhouse.

By the mid-1800s, the citizens of Conway were working hard toward rapid development of the manufacturing industry. Most factories were located along the South River, the main source of waterpower in town. Everything from textiles, hats, furniture, and cutlery to washing “machines” were made here. Gradually, Pumpkin Hollow was replaced as the “center” of town as banks and public buildings sprang up near the river.

In the midst of the industrial boom of the nineteenth century, many farms were abandoned leaving pastures and fields to be reclaimed once again by forest. Early in the 20th century, the manufacturing industry went into decline, with many factories going out of business largely because of transportation costs to and from Conway. Stone foundations and cellar holes are the visible remains of many farms and factories of long ago. The remaining open land, cleared of trees and stones with much hard labor, is a treasured legacy from the past.

Visit Conway's Town Website.

Erving, the last town in Franklin County to be incorporated, is comprised of three villages: Erving Center, Farley, and Ervingside. It is situated along MA Route 2/The Mohawk Trail. The Millers River, a tributary to the Connecticut River, flows through town.

The French King Bridge connects Erving to the town of Gill, across the Connecticut River. Built in 1932, the bridge was named “The Most Beautiful Steel Bridge” by the American Institute of Steel Construction. The bridge is a popular tourist spot because besides its own beauty, it offers scenic views of the river and the foliage in autumn.

In the Industrial Era, Erving’s large supply of timber and waterpower led to the production of many wood and wood-based products. Today, the Erving Paper Mill still exists, and employs over 100 people.

Visit Erving's Town Website.

The town of Gill in northwestern Massachusetts offers education, recreation and quiet, peaceful living opportunities within its 15 square miles. Gill is 7 miles east of Greenfield, 36 miles north of Springfield and 95 miles west of Boston. The 1,500 residents live mostly in single-family homes, although there is one development of condominiums.

Gill, incorporated September 28, 1793, was originally part of Deerfield and was included in the portion set off from Deerfield June 9, 1753, as the district of Greenfield, which became a township that same year. The first settlers on the land that became Gill, who arrived before 1753 and lived later that 1793, were therefore inhabitants of the towns of Deerfield, Greenfield and Gill, successively, even though they never moved.

The town is named in honor of Moses Gill, a member of Massachusetts' Executive Council who became lieutenant governor in 1794 and acting governor in 1799 when Governor Increase Sumner died. Gill died in 1800, leaving the state without a governor and acting governor for the first and only time in its history.

Visit Gill's Town Website.

Hawley is a beautiful, remote town in the western part of Franklin County. The town has very little industry and most residents commute, work from home, or work for municipalities. The town is mostly run by volunteers.

Hawley is composed of 40% state forest- the Kenneth Dubuque Memorial State Forest and parts of the Mohawk Trail and Savoy State Forests. Between the three state forests, there is plenty of opportunity to get outside and hike, swim, fish, and enjoy the natural scenery.

Hawley is located in the southwest corner of Franklin County and is bordered by Charlemont to the north, Buckland to the east, and Plainfield to the south.

Visit Hawley's town website.

Originally part of Charlemont, Heath was incorporated in 1785. The Heath Historical Society, located in the center of town, has displays representing Heath’s past, including palm-leaf hats. From the 1830s to the Civil War, women and children in Heath braided these palm-leaf hats and sold them for extra income in the winter months. The town had some farming and other small industry in the nineteenth century, but much of it is gone now, leaving the town as a rural area.

Heath is located in the northwestern part of Franklin County, south of the Vermont border. The major through road is MA Route 8A, which connects to VT Route 8A at the state border and intersects MA Route 2 in Charlemont.

Visit Heath's Town Website.

Leverett was once part of Sunderland and was granted separation in 1774. Four villages comprise the town: Leverett Center, East Leverett, North Leverett and Moores Corner. The major road through town is Route 63, which connects Leverett to Amherst to the south and Montague to the north.

Local community members completed the New England Peace Pagoda, the first of its kind in America, in 1985. It stands as a symbol of aspiration and hope for peace. The caretakers live on the property, however the public is welcome to visit the grounds and view the beautiful Pagoda, the new temple, and the gardens and lily pond.​

Visit Leverett's town website.

Leyden lies in central northern Franklin County, right below the Vermont line. Originally part of “Fall Town” which was also composed of Bernardston and eastern Colrain, Leyden is named after Leiden, Holland, a sanctuary for Pilgrims before coming to America. Leyden used to have several small industries including blacksmith shops, a cheese shop, gun shop, box shop, grist mills, sawmills, and wood product mills, but its largest industry today is maple sugar production.

Visit Leyden's town website.

The smallest town in Franklin County, Monroe, lies in the farthest northwestern corner of the county. It is sometimes called Monroe Bridge because once the Hoosac Tunnel and Wilmington Railroad were completed, crewmen were told to leave the town’s mailbags at the Monroe bridge. In 1888, the post office was established and was known as the Monroe Bridge Post Office.

The town's eastern border with Rowe is along the Deerfield River. It is bordered by Vermont to the north and the town of Florida to the south and west.

Montague is another cultural hub of Franklin County. North of Leverett, it is composed of five villages: Montague Center, Montague City, Turners Falls, Millers Falls, and Lake Pleasant. To the west of Montague is the Connecticut River, where a dam and canal were built to provide cheap power for mills in the 1800s. Today, the dam in Turners Falls has a fish ladder, which allows fish to swim upstream to spawn. A viewing facility allows visitors to watch the fish climb a series of ladders to overcome the dam.

Montague is bordered by Greenfield to the northwest, Deerfield to the west, Leverett to the south, and Wendell to the east. MA Route 2 runs just north of Montague and MA Routes 47 and 63 run north to south through the town.

Visit Montague's town website.

The town of New Salem was affected greatly by the construction of the Quabbin Reservoir, one of the largest man-made water supplies in the country, which supplies the drinking water for nearly half of Massachusetts. Much of the town is off-limits wilderness controlled by the Department of Conservation and Recreation. On the bright side, the people of New Salem are next door to 39 square miles of reservoir on 81,000 acres of reservation land for fishing, hiking, birdwatching, hunting, biking, and other outdoor activities.

New Salem lies at the southeastern corner of Franklin County and is the largest town in the county. It is bordered by Orange to the north, Petersham to the east, Ware to the south, Pelham, Shutesbury and Wendell to the west. The town is south of MA Route 2 and the major through road is U.S. Route 202.

Visit New Salem's town website.

The Town of Northfield is located in Western Massachusetts in Franklin County. Northfield is a rural community with easy access to Amherst, Northhampton, Greenfield, Brattleboro and Keene. It is a town of farmland, forested hills, streams, wetlands and wildlife. Northfield is the only town in Massachusetts situated on both sides of the Connecticut River.

The Town of Northfield was an early attraction for colonial settlers due to its rich and fertile plains along the Connecticut River, and Europeans had begun farming there in 1673. However, its history was bumpy and the town was twice abandoned before a permanent settlement was achieved in 1714.
Northfield's early fame was based on land, but its later international reputation was built on missionaries. The town was known for producing large numbers of Protestant missionaries. In 1879, Northfield Seminary was established. The girls' school later grew into the Northfield School for Girls, now Northfield Mount Hermon School in the neighboring community of Gill, and became co-educational.

First Light/GDF Suez sited their pumped-storage hydroelectric facility in Northfield and also use the location for a wildlife exhibit and visitor center. The utility company provides boat tours on the Connecticut River and has year-round recreational and education programs, including cross-country skiing. Northfield is one of the cultural centers of Franklin County.

Visit Northfield's town website.

Orange is the easternmost town in Franklin County. It lies along State Route 2, which runs east towards Worcester County and west towards Berkshire County. Orange has its own municipal airport, open to the public.

The Millers River runs through the town and was dammed in 1790, bringing in lots of industry. Orange became the site of the New Home Sewing Machine Company in the late 19^th century and Grout in 1900, the first automobile factory built in the United States.

Visit Orange's town website.

Rowe is a small hilltown in northwestern Massachusetts, with a population of 390. The town is one of scenic beauty, with wooded mountains, clear brooks, and the Deerfield River on its border. Rowe is close to ski areas and enjoys great hiking, fishing, hunting, kayaking, rafting and canoeing.

Rowe has its own elementary school and tuitions grades 7-12 to the Mohawk Trail Regional School District and Franklin County Technical School. The Rowe Historical Society maintains an excellent small historical museum, containing antiques, artifacts and numerous photographs documenting the history of the town, including Fort Pelham (built in 1744 to guard against attacks by the French and Indians), and the construction of the Hoosac Tunnel.

The close-knit community enjoys a solid tax base provided mainly by the Bear Swamp pumped storage hydro-electric plant. Several smaller hydro dams and stations owned by TransCanada and the decommissioned Yankee Atomic Nuclear Power Station also provide substantial taxes to the town.

Visit Rowe's town website.

When you head west on the Mohawk Trail out of Greenfield, you immediately notice a change as you enter Shelburne. The trail winds as you pass Hager’s Farm Market, a small farm store with local products, on your right and Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters on your left. You won’t find corporate stores here, only small locally-owned businesses, some of which have been in the family for generations. Many of these long-time family-owned businesses are agricultural: sugar bushes, pick-your-own orchards, and dairy farms.

Shelburne is located west of Greenfield and is bordered by Colrain to the north, Conway to the south, and Buckland to the west. The major through road is MA Route 2/The Mohawk Trail. The Village of Shelburne Falls, a small business and residential area, and deemed a Cultural District, includes parts of the towns of Buckland and Shelburne.

Visit Shelburne's town website.

Shutesbury is located in southeastern Franklin County and is bordered to the west by Leverett and the south by Pelham. The Swift River flows through town, feeding into the Quabbin Reservoir, which borders Shutesbury’s southeast edge.

Early industry included lumbering and cottages/inns for travelers. The many mineral springs also brought in several bottling businesses. Today the town of Shutesbury is very rural with lots of natural scenery and a population under 2,000 people.

Visit Shutesbury's town website.

Sunderland lies on the southern edge of Franklin County, north of Hampshire County. The town has a total area of 14.7 square miles and is bordered by Montague to the north, Leverett to the east, Amherst and Hadley to the south, and Whately and Deerfield to the west. It has a population of approximately 3600.

Mount Toby, a prominent conglomerate mountain with a fire tower lookout, stands at the east border of the town and is traversed by the 47-mile (76 km) Robert Frost Trail. The mountain, surrounded by Mount Toby State Forest, is known for its waterfalls, scenic vista, and biologically diverse ecosystem.

Sunderland, which has long been a thriving agricultural community that benefits from the rich Connecticut River Valley soil, was incorporated on November 12, 1718. The name of the town was chosen to honor Charles Spencer, Earl of Sunderland and Prime Minister of England. The first town meeting was recorded as being held on March 16, 1719.

Visit Sunderland's town website.

Warwick lies in the northeastern corner of Franklin County, along the border of Worcester County, Massachusetts and Cheshire County, New Hampshire. Warwick is a fairly isolated and rural town. The only state highway that runs through is Route 78 and about one third of the land is protected as part of Warwick State Forest.

Visit Warwick's town website.

Wendell was incorporated in 1781. During that time, residents were very dependent on farming for their livelihoods. They grew grain and flax and raised cattle, sheep, and swine. In the winter, they made shingles, broom handles, and staves. Logging was also a large industry and is still today due to the extensive forest in Wendell.

Wendell is one of the hilltowns of eastern Franklin County. It is located south of Erving and east of Montague and State Route 2 runs along its northern border. The town has two post offices and therefore two zip codes.

Visit Wendell's town website.

Whately, incorporated in 1771, was originally part of Hatfield, a town in Hampshire County, but separated because the people who lived in what is now Whately were too farm from the town center. It is the site of the first gin distillery in Massachusetts, as well as other mills including grist, cider, woolen, chair and coffin factories. Above all, Whately has been and continues to be an agricultural area with commercial crops including apples, cider, hay, maple products, tobacco, and vegetables.

Whately lies on the southern border of Franklin County, north of Hampshire County. Whately is bisected by Interstate 91 and is 26 miles north of Springfield and 11 miles south of Greenfield.

Visit Whately's town website.