Northfield, Massachusetts
Encyclopedia
Northfield is a town
New England town
The New England town is the basic unit of local government in each of the six New England states. Without a direct counterpart in most other U.S. states, New England towns are conceptually similar to civil townships in other states, but are incorporated, possessing powers like cities in other...

 in Franklin County
Franklin County, Massachusetts
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 71,535 people, 29,466 households, and 18,416 families residing in the county. The population density was 102 people per square mile . There were 31,939 housing units at an average density of 46 per square mile...

, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 2,951 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...

 Metropolitan Statistical Area
Springfield, Massachusetts metropolitan area
The Springfield Metropolitan Area is a region that is socio-economically and culturally tied to the City of Springfield, Massachusetts. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget defines the Springfield metropolitan statistical area as consisting of three counties in Western Massachusetts. As of...

. The Connecticut River
Connecticut River
The Connecticut River is the largest and longest river in New England, and also an American Heritage River. It flows roughly south, starting from the Fourth Connecticut Lake in New Hampshire. After flowing through the remaining Connecticut Lakes and Lake Francis, it defines the border between the...

 runs through the town, dividing West Northfield from East Northfield, where the town hall and village of Northfield are located.

Part of the town is included in the census-designated place
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...

 of Northfield
Northfield (CDP), Massachusetts
Northfield is a census-designated place in the town of Northfield in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,141 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area...

.

History

Originally settled and inhabited by the Pocomtuc
Pocomtuc
The Pocumtuck, also Pocomtuc or Deerfield Indians, were a Native American tribe formerly inhabiting western Massachusetts, especially around the confluence of the Deerfield and Connecticut Rivers in Franklin County. Their territory also included parts of Hampden and Hampshire County, as well as...

 tribe, the area was site of the village of Squawkeag. Northfield was first colonized in 1673 by the English and was officially incorporated in 1723.

The territory was successfully defended a number of times by Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

. As a result, the English colonists were occasionally taken north to Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, held as hostages by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, causing the town to revert to American Indian control a few times.

Eventually, conflicts with the Native American population ceased after most of the native population was displaced and/or sold into slavery as a result of King Philip's War
King Philip's War
King Philip's War, sometimes called Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, or Metacom's Rebellion, was an armed conflict between Native American inhabitants of present-day southern New England and English colonists and their Native American allies in 1675–76. The war is named after the main leader of the...

 and after a series of massacres of local Indian villages.

During Dummer's War
Dummer's War
Dummer's War , also known as Lovewell's War, Father Rale's War, Greylock's War, the Three Years War, the 4th Indian War or the Wabanaki-New England War of 1722–1725, was a series of battles between British settlers of the three northernmost British colonies of North America of the time and the...

, on August 13, 1723 Gray Lock raided Northfield, Massachusetts, and four warriors killed two citizens near Northfield. The next day they attacked Joseph Stevens and his four sons in Rutland
Rutland, Massachusetts
Rutland is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,973 at the 2010 census. Worcester County's only buffalo herd is located in Rutland, at Alta Vista Farm...

. Stevens escaped, two boys were killed, and the other two sons were captured.

Much of Northfield's development in the late nineteenth century was spurred by the work of evangelist Dwight Lyman Moody, a native of Northfield who established the Northfield Seminary for Girls in 1879 on a sweeping hillside in East Northfield. The school was the site of Moody's religious conferences, which attracted thousands of visitors to Northfield each summer. The influx of visitors led to the development of the town as a summer resort, especially after the opening of the Northfield Hotel in 1887. Francis Schell, a New York capitalist attracted by his interest in Moody's work at the Northfield Seminary, commissioned architect Bruce Price
Bruce Price
Bruce Price was the American architect of many of the Canadian Pacific Railway's Château-type stations and hotels...

 to design a summer home, which became known as the Northfield Chateau
Northfield Chateau
The Northfield Chateau, also variously known as Chalet Schell and Birnam House, was a large mansion on Birnham Road in Northfield, Massachusetts...

. Patterned after a French château but fanciful in style with prominent turrets and 99 rooms, the house fell into a state of disrepair following Schell's death, and it was demolished in 1967.

The Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad had established rail service to Northfield by 1850, along a line running from Millers Falls, Massachusetts
Millers Falls, Massachusetts
Millers Falls is a census-designated place in the town of Montague in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,072 at the 2000 census...

 to Brattleboro, Vermont
Brattleboro, Vermont
Brattleboro, originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States, located in the southeast corner of the state, along the state line with New Hampshire. The population was 12,046 at the 2010 census...

. Even though the railway crossed the Connecticut River in Northfield, East Northfield Station was actually located in West Northfield, necessitating that travelers had to travel back across the Connecticut River on the lower deck of the rail bridge. To provide for safer and more convenient access across the river, Francis Schell gave $60,000 for the construction of a new steel bridge. The Schell Bridge
Schell Bridge
The Schell Bridge is a steel Pennsylvania truss bridge across the Connecticut River in the town of Northfield, Massachusetts. The bridge was closed in 1987, and steel plates were welded across each portal to prevent access...

 is a Pennsylvania truss structure of impressive design, which crosses the river in one span of 515 ft (157 m).

In 1971 the Northfield Mount Hermon School was formed by the merger of the Northfield Seminary and the Mount Hermon School for boys, which Moody had founded in 1881 in nearby Gill
Gill, Massachusetts
Gill is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, USA. The population was 1,363 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area...

. The school continued to operate as one school with two campuses some 5 miles apart on opposite banks of the Connecticut River until 2005 when the school consolidated its operations on the Mount Hermon campus in Gill. The school's former campus in Northfield was purchased by Hobby Lobby, an Oklahoma-based chain of arts and crafts stores, as of December 2009 to be used as the campus for the new C.S. Lewis College, run by the California-based C.S. Lewis Foundation. Renovation began on the dis-used buildings in Summer 2010, and the College expects to open for instruction in Fall 2012, pending accreditation. It will be a Christian Great Books college with a School of Visual and Performing Arts, with its Christian character based on C.S. Lewis's "mere Christianity" and not affiliated with a denomination. Moody's birthplace and grave site, located on the Northfield campus, remain as a historic site. The Auditorium, used for Moody's religious conventions, and the school's original Romanesque Revival buildings will remain extant on the Northfield campus as part of C.S. Lewis College.

Geography and transportation

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the town has a total area of 35.4 square miles (91.6 km²), of which, 34.4 square miles (89.1 km²) of it is land and 0.9 square miles (2.5 km²) of it (2.69%) is water. Northfield is the only town in Franklin County to be divided by the Connecticut River, though only partially; the river forms the southwest border of town. Several brooks flow directly into the Connecticut River within town, with the others (on the east side of the hills) leading into the Millers River, itself a tributary of the Connecticut. The western banks lie near Pond Mountain, whose peak is in neighboring Bernardston. To the east of the river, several mountains in the Upper Bald Hills, including Northfield Mountain
Northfield Mountain
Northfield Mountain, , is a mountain ridge located in Erving and Northfield, Massachusetts. long by long, the mountain is composed of several distinct peaks and ledges, most notabily Rattlesnake Mountain , Rose Ledges , and Hermit Mountain...

, Brush Mountain (the highest point in town), Beers Mountain, South Mountain, Notch Mountain and Hogback Mountain (along the New Hampshire border). The southeast corner of the town is protected as part of the Northfield State Forest, with part of the northwest corner protected as part of Satan's Kingdom Wildlife Management Area. Most of the inhabited areas in town lie along the Connecticut River, and the town's main villages include East Northfield, Mount Hermon Station, gill Station, Northfield Farms, and Sky Farm (between Brush Mountain and Northfield State Forest). The town is also home to a cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...

 area at Northfield Mountain, which is also home to Metacomet-Monadnock Trail
Metacomet-Monadnock Trail
The Metacomet-Monadnock Trail is a hiking trail that traverses the Metacomet Ridge of the Pioneer Valley region of Massachusetts and the central uplands of Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire...

.

Northfield is located at the junction of the Massachusetts, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

 and Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

 state borders along the river. The town center is located twelve miles northeast of Greenfield
Greenfield, Massachusetts
Greenfield is a city in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,456 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Franklin County. Greenfield is home to Greenfield Community College, the Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra, and the Franklin County Fair...

, 44 miles north of Springfield
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...

, 52 miles northwest of Worcester
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....

 and 84 miles west-northwest of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

. The town is bordered by Vernon
Vernon, Vermont
Vernon is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,141 at the 2000 census. Vernon is the home of Vermont Yankee, Vermont's only nuclear power plant.-Geography:...

, Windham County, Vermont
Windham County, Vermont
Windham County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of 2010, the population was 44,513. Its shire town is Newfane.-Geography:According to the U.S...

 and Hinsdale
Hinsdale, New Hampshire
Hinsdale is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,046 at the 2010 census. Hinsdale is home to part of Pisgah State Park in the northeast, and part of Wantastiquet Mountain State Forest in the northwest....

 and Winchester
Winchester, New Hampshire
Winchester is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,341 at the 2010 census. The primary settlement in the town, where 1,733 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Winchester census-designated place...

, Cheshire County, New Hampshire
Cheshire County, New Hampshire
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 73,825 people, 28,299 households, and 18,790 families residing in the county. The population density was 104 people per square mile . There were 31,876 housing units at an average density of 45 per square mile...

 to the north, Warwick
Warwick, Massachusetts
Warwick is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 750 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...

 to the east, Erving
Erving, Massachusetts
Erving is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,467 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts metropolitan statistical area.-History:...

 to the south, Gill
Gill, Massachusetts
Gill is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, USA. The population was 1,363 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 to the southwest and Bernardston
Bernardston, Massachusetts
Bernardston is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 2,155 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...

 to the northwest.

The town has no interstate highways, the closest being Interstate 91
Interstate 91
Interstate 91 is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It provides the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of New England...

 in neighboring Bernardston, the nearest exit being along Route 10, which enters through the northernmost portion of Gill before it crosses the Connecticut River over the Bennett's Meadow Bridge
Route 10 bridge, Northfield, Massachusetts
The Route 10 bridge, also known as Bennett's Meadow Bridge is a steel stringer bridge crossing the Connecticut River in the town of Northfield, Massachusetts. The bridge carries state highway Route 10 and was built in 1969.- History :...

. The Route 10 bridge is the only active car bridge within town; the smaller Schell Bridge
Schell Bridge
The Schell Bridge is a steel Pennsylvania truss bridge across the Connecticut River in the town of Northfield, Massachusetts. The bridge was closed in 1987, and steel plates were welded across each portal to prevent access...

 lies inactive (since 1987) near the Vermont state line, and the old Vermont & Massachusetts Rail Bridge
Rail Bridge, Northfield, Massachusetts
The rail crossing of the Connecticut River at this location originates from the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad. The V&MRR was chartered in 1844 and completed an extension between Millers Falls, Massachusetts and Brattleboro, Vermont by 1850. Alvah Crocker, a paper and railroad magnate and U.S....

 lies between them. For 2½ miles, Route 10 shares a concurrency with Route 63, which passes from neighboring Erving to the south into Hinsdale to the north. Route 10 also passes into New Hampshire and the town of Winchester, as it heads north towards nearby Keene
Keene, New Hampshire
Keene is a city in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,409 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Cheshire County.Keene is home to Keene State College and Antioch University New England, and hosts the annual Pumpkin Fest...

. Additionally, most of Route 142
Massachusetts Route 142
-Route description:From its terminus at Route 10 in Bernardston, Route 142 runs north through Bernardston and Gill in the first . Then it proceeds through the portion of Northfield west of the Connecticut River before crossing the state line, where the highway continues as Vermont Route...

 passes through the town towards Vernon, Vermont, and nearby Brattleboro
Brattleboro, Vermont
Brattleboro, originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States, located in the southeast corner of the state, along the state line with New Hampshire. The population was 12,046 at the 2010 census...

.

The Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

 Vermonter
Vermonter
Amtrak's Vermonter is a 611-mile passenger train service between St. Albans , New York City and Washington, D.C. One trip runs in each direction per day....

 Line passes through the town daily, offering train service between many of the cities along the Eastern Seaboard. However, it no longer stops at Northfield (only Amherst MA and Brattleboro VT) and there is no other public transportation within town. The nearest private airport is Turners Falls Airport
Turners Falls Airport
Turners Falls Airport is a public airport located three miles north of the central business district of Montague, a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, USA. The airport is owned by the Town of Montague...

 in nearby Montague
Montague, Massachusetts
Montague is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,489 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts metropolitan statistical area....

, with the nearest national air service being 65 miles south at Bradley International Airport
Bradley International Airport
Bradley International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located in Windsor Locks on the border with East Granby and Suffield, in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is owned by the State of Connecticut....

. The town also has a boat ramp near Schell Bridge.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 2,951 people, 1,158 households, and 815 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 85.8 people per square mile (33.1/km²). There were 1,262 housing units at an average density of 36.7 per square mile (14.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.51% White, 0.10% Black or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.20% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.03% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 0.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.58% of the population.

There were 1,158 households out of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.4% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the town the population's age was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $49,141, and the median income for a family was $56,816. Males had a median income of $40,396 versus $28,615 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the town was $21,517. About 3.6% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.6% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The town is part of the Second Berkshire District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, represented by Paul Mark, and the Franklin and Hampshire Senate district, represented by Stan Rosenberg.

Points of interest

  • Northfield Chateau
    Northfield Chateau
    The Northfield Chateau, also variously known as Chalet Schell and Birnam House, was a large mansion on Birnham Road in Northfield, Massachusetts...

     (no longer existent)
  • Northfield Mountain
    Northfield Mountain
    Northfield Mountain, , is a mountain ridge located in Erving and Northfield, Massachusetts. long by long, the mountain is composed of several distinct peaks and ledges, most notabily Rattlesnake Mountain , Rose Ledges , and Hermit Mountain...

  • Schell Bridge
    Schell Bridge
    The Schell Bridge is a steel Pennsylvania truss bridge across the Connecticut River in the town of Northfield, Massachusetts. The bridge was closed in 1987, and steel plates were welded across each portal to prevent access...

  • Northfield Drive-In Movie Theater
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