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69-640: The Whitaker-Clary House is a historic house in New Salem, Massachusetts , United States. It currently houses the museum of the Swift River Historical Society . Built about 1816, it is a fine local example of Federal period architecture, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. The Whitaker-Clary House is located in the village of North New Salem, on the east side of Elm Street north of United States Route 202 . It

138-470: A brief period of independence, decided to align with the coastal Massachusetts Bay Colony , shaping the region's political boundaries. The Massachusetts Bay Colony settled at the Connecticut River Valley's most fertile land―stretching from Windsor, Connecticut , (once part of Springfield,) to Northampton, Massachusetts ―from 1636 to 1654. For the next several decades, Native people experienced

207-402: A complex relationship with European settlers. The fur trade stood at the heart of their economic interactions, a lucrative business that guided many other policy decisions. White settlers traded wampum, cloth and metal in exchange for furs, as well as horticultural produce. Because of the seasonal nature of goods provided by Native people compared with the constant availability of colonial goods,

276-523: A credit system developed. Land, the natural resource whose availability did not fluctuate, served as collateral for mortgages in which Native people bought goods from the colonists in exchange for the future promise of beavers. However, trade with the colonists made pelts so lucrative that the beaver was rapidly overhunted. The volume of the trade fell, from a 1654 high of 3723 pelts to a mere 191 ten years later. With every mortgage, Native people lost more land, although their population recovered and expanded from

345-528: A microcosm of the rest of the United States. The third largest city in Massachusetts, Springfield is situated in the region, and it has struggled financially coming close to bankruptcy at the beginning of the 21st century. The unemployment rate in the area lags behind that of eastern Massachusetts by double though officials have pushed for ways to lure more longer-term business growth into the region to tap

414-546: A permanent colony. Originally, this settlement was called Agawam Plantation , and administered by the Connecticut Colony . (Springfield lies only 4 miles north of Connecticut; however, Agawam included lands as far south as Windsor Locks , as far north as Holyoke , and as far west as Westfield . ) In 1640, Springfield voted to separate from the Connecticut Colony following a series of contentious incidents and, after

483-614: A plague, probably smallpox , reduced the Native American population of the Connecticut River Valley to a tiny percentage of its previous size. Governor Bradford of Massachusetts writes that in Windsor , notably the site of a trading post, where European diseases often spread to Native populations, "of 1,000 of [the Native Americans] 150 of them died." With so many dead, English colonists were emboldened to attempt significant settlement of

552-785: A push for adding high-speed rail from western Massachusetts for eastern Massachusetts. The residents of western Massachusetts have vibrant culture in and support the local mix of arts, tourism, and culture. The decline of manufacturing as the region's economic engine since World War II—and in particular, since the controversial closing of the Springfield Armory —was counterbalanced in western Massachusetts by growth in post-secondary education and healthcare. This created new jobs, land development, and had gentrifying effects in many college towns . State and community-funded schools (e.g., University of Massachusetts Amherst and Westfield State University ) were conspicuous in their growth, as were

621-693: A term interchangeable with the Hill Towns west of the Pioneer Valley. The mountain range in Berkshire County at the western end of Massachusetts is conventionally known as the "Berkshires". Geologically, however, the Berkshires are a westward continuation of uplands west of the Connecticut River and a southern extension of Vermont's Green Mountains . The Hilltown-Berkshire upland ends at the valley of

690-580: A war against colonial expansion in New England which spread across the region. As the conflict grew in its initial months, colonists throughout western Massachusetts became deeply concerned with maintaining the loyalty of "their Indians." The Agawams cooperated, even providing valuable intelligence to the colonists. In August 1675, a group of colonists in Hadley demanded the disarming of a “fort” of Nonotuck Indians. Unwilling to relinquish their weapons, they left on

759-533: Is a 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 -story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof, two interior chimneys, and clapboarded exterior. Its main facade is five bays wide, with sash windows arranged symmetrically around the center entrance. The entrance has a fine Federal period surround, with flanking pilasters and a half-round transom topped by a corniced entablature. The interior follows a central hall plan, and retains many fine finishes, including woodwork finished to resemble marble. A two-story ell extends to one side. The house

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828-483: Is a place of outdoor recreation. Archeological efforts in the Connecticut River Valley have revealed traces of human life dating back at least 9,000 years. Pocumtuck tradition describes the creation of Lake Hitchcock in Deerfield by a giant beaver, possibly representing the action of a glacier that retracted at least 12,000 years ago. Western Massachusetts was originally settled by Native American societies, including

897-550: Is an ancient downfaulted graben or rift valley that formed during the Mesozoic Era when rifting developed in the Pangaea supercontinent to separate North America from Europe and South America from Africa. Secondary rifts branched off the main crustal fracture, and this one was eventually occupied by the Connecticut River. The Metacomet Ridge is a series of narrow traprock ridges where lava penetrated this rift zone, beginning at

966-611: Is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area . New Salem was first settled in 1737 and was officially incorporated in 1753, named for the settlers from Salem that founded the town. The geography of New Salem benefited greatly from the construction of the Quabbin Reservoir . Prior to its building, New Salem, which has always been the southeastern corner of Franklin County, did not extend much further south than

1035-584: Is sometimes regarded as defining western Massachusetts; for example, the Western Massachusetts Office of the Governor serves residents of these counties. Towns at the western edge of Worcester County , especially those near the Quabbin Reservoir , may be considered to be in western Massachusetts for some purposes; for example, two Worcester County towns have telephone numbers in western Massachusetts's area code 413 . Hampden County, with over half of

1104-592: Is the twenty-first largest of 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth. New Salem's modern southern town lines are dictated by the former West and Middle Branches of the Swift River, which are now submerged as part of the Quabbin Reservoir . The land of the two forks of the reservoir is now known as the Prescott Peninsula, containing the highest points in town, at Mount Pleasant and Prescott Hill (the latter of which

1173-542: The Boston metropolitan area . Innovations originating in the valley include the sports of basketball ( James Naismith , 1895) and volleyball ( William Morgan , 1895); the first American automobile ( Duryea , 1893); the first motorcycle company ( Indian , 1901); the first use of interchangeable parts in manufacturing ( Thomas Blanchard , 1825); and the first commercial radio station, ( WBZ , 1920, from Springfield's Kimball Hotel ). Significant Massachusetts towns and cities in

1242-721: The Connecticut border. Numerous other towns stretching east towards Worcester are sometimes included in the Quaboag Valley region. Geology is similar to the Hilltown-Berkshire uplands with resistant metamorphic rocks overlain by thin and rocky soil. With less relief, the river valleys are less pronounced, but still moderately high gradient. The Quaboag Hills and Valley, the Quabbin Regions, and populated places stretching east towards Worcester are all locally known as "Hill Towns";

1311-696: The Holyoke Range and the Mount Tom Range , this relatively small area contains a number of college towns, urban environments, and rural hamlets. The portion of this valley in Massachusetts is also commonly referred to as the Pioneer Valley . At its southern tip, the Springfield-Hartford region is home to 29 colleges and universities and over 160,000 university students—the United States' second highest concentration of higher learning institutions after

1380-711: The Housatonic River which flows south to Long Island Sound, and in the extreme north west of Massachusetts at the Hoosic River , a tributary of the Hudson . From these valleys, uplands to the east appear as a rounded mountain range, rising some 1,600 feet (490 meters) although they are actually a plateau . West of the Housatonic-Hoosic valley system rises the narrower Taconic Range along the New York border. Upper tributaries of

1449-611: The Industrial Revolution . There was hardly a land rush into such marginal land, but the uplands were slowly settled by farmers throughout most of the 18th century and organized into townships . Then in the early 1800s better land opened up in Western New York and the Northwest Territory . The hilltown agricultural population went into a long decline and fields began reverting to forest. The Connecticut River Valley

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1518-648: The New Hampshire border. The South Quabbin region (formerly the Swift River Valley) includes the towns of Barre , Belchertown , Pelham , Ware , Hardwick , Leverett , and Shutesbury . This area once included the four "Lost Towns" of Enfield, Dana, Greenwich, and Prescott, which were destroyed to make way for the Quabbin Reservoir . Farther south, the area called the Quaboag Hills includes Hampden , Monson , Wales , Warren , Holland , and Wilbraham on

1587-613: The Pocomtuc , Nonotuck Mohawk , Nipmuck , and Mahican . Various sites indicate millennia of fishing, horticulture, beaver-hunting, and burials. The passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in 1990 ordered museums across western Massachusetts and the country to repatriate these remains to Native peoples, an ongoing process. The region was inhabited by several Algonkian-speaking Native American communities, culturally connected but distinguished by

1656-579: The Springfield Armory , and Jacob's Pillow . The western part of western Massachusetts includes the Berkshire Mountains , where there are several vacation resorts. The eastern part of the region includes the Connecticut River Valley , which has a number of university towns , the major city Springfield , and numerous agricultural hamlets. In the eastern part of the area, the Quabbin region

1725-712: The American Revolution, a rebellion led by Daniel Shays culminated in a battle at the National Armory in Springfield. The Berkshires have long been patronized by artists (e.g. Herman Melville , who wrote Moby-Dick while living in Pittsfield ; Edith Wharton , who wrote The House of Mirth and Ethan Frome while living in Lenox ; and Norman Rockwell , many of whose painting were based on scenes that he observed in

1794-560: The Chapter 70 structure which the state presently uses to allocate education funding to cities and towns. Western Massachusetts used to be the Republican stronghold in an otherwise heavily Democratic state, but it is now consistently viewed by political analysts as one of the most politically liberal regions in the United States. In 2006 and 2010, the region voted heavily in favor of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick . In Crash!ng

1863-559: The Connecticut River Valley produced streams and rivers with gradients around 40 feet/mile (8 meters/km) flowing through steep-sided valleys, notably the Westfield and Deerfield rivers and their larger tributaries. Mills were built to exploit the kinetic energy of falling water, and mill towns grew up around them, or company towns integrating production, residential and commercial activities. The development of steam engines to free industrialization from reliance on water power brought about

1932-606: The Hoosic separate Massachusetts' highest peak, Mount Greylock 3,491 ft (1,064 meters) from both ranges, however Greylock's geology connects it with the Taconics. Most of this region is a rolling upland of schist , gneiss and other resistant metamorphics with intrusions of pegmatite and granite . Scraping by continental glaciers during the Pleistocene left thin, rocky soil that supported hardscrabble subsistence farming before

2001-550: The Middle Branch of the Swift River, which is now in Petersham ), and parts of Greenwich and Enfield . (All of the northern half of Prescott had once belonged to New Salem; the southern half was originally part of Pelham , but was annexed to Prescott in the latter nineteenth century.) All the lands gained by the annexation were once part of Hampshire County . Today most of the lands it gained are off-limits, protected as part of

2070-587: The Party , Ralph Nader includes western Massachusetts as one of the few places in the country where he believes small-town spirit is still strong. In a 2010 editorial, the Boston Globe berated communities in northern western-Massachusetts for resisting efforts to force consolidation of local school districts. In response, the Franklin County School Committee Caucus released a map that overlaid

2139-720: The Quabbin Reservation, which is administered by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) . The Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory , until 2011, lay along what was once the Prescott-Greenwich town line, and researchers from the Five Colleges were allowed access to it. Additionally, members of the Swift River Historical Society take a yearly tour of the area in

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2208-560: The US) and snow covers the ground 62 days per year or 17% of the year (high in the US). It may be helpful to understand the yearly precipitation by imagining nine straight days of moderate rain per year. The humidity is below 60% for approximately 25.4 days, or 7% of the year. The town has no interstates or limited-access highways, lying just south of Massachusetts Route 2 , the major east–west route through northern Massachusetts. Its easiest access lies along U.S. Route 202 , which runs from Pelham in

2277-481: The abundance of students being turned out by colleges and universities in the area. To combat the higher cost of telecommunications which were roughly double that of eastern Massachusetts, the government of the Commonwealth invested $ 45.4 Million in building out a broadband network using Federal grant under the 'Massachusetts Technology Park - MassBroadband 123' initiative, funds which were matched by $ 45 million in federal investment. The 1,200 mile 'middle mile' project

2346-420: The age of 18 living with them, 59.6% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.3% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.88. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.2% under

2415-463: The age of 18, 3.4% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 32.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $ 48,688, and the median income for a family was $ 54,500. Males had a median income of $ 38,000 versus $ 27,188 for females. The per capita income for

2484-629: The colonists. Though some Indians became integrated into colonial society, with many being employed in white households, numerous pieces of legislation were passed which prevented Indians from marrying settlers and staying in colonial settlements after dark, while colonists were prevented from living among the Indians. In 1662, the leader of the eastern Massachusetts Wampanoag Indian tribe, Wamsutta , died shortly after being questioned at gunpoint by Plymouth colonists. Wamsutta's brother, Chief Metacomet (known to inhabitants of Springfield as "Philip,") began

2553-489: The county north-to-south over Metro Boston. The overlay reached from Rhode Island in the south to New Hampshire in the north and Framingham in the west. In 2008 the Office of the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts opened a local office in western Massachusetts. The western portion of Massachusetts consists approximately of the four counties of Franklin , Hampshire , Hampden and Berkshire . This set of four counties

2622-822: The development of tourism throughout that valley. This far-western zone is linked to New York City and Albany, New York , more than with the rest of Massachusetts, however both populated zones are ultimately part of the Northeast megalopolis . The rest of western Massachusetts is lightly populated, particularly the Hilltowns where densities below 50 persons per square mile (20 per km ) are the rule. In descending order of size, its largest communities are: Springfield, Chicopee, Pittsfield, Westfield, Holyoke, Northampton, Agawam, West Springfield, Amherst Center (CDP), Easthampton, Longmeadow (CDP), East Longmeadow, North Adams , and Greenfield (CDP). Western Massachusetts has been compared as

2691-515: The era of Lake Hitchcock accounts for this region's exceptionally rich agricultural soil, which attracted settlers as early as 1635. Although the Connecticut River Valley's soil is the richest in New England, many of its fields have been covered by urban and suburban development. Regardless, the valley remains New England 's most productive farmland. Tobacco, tomatoes, sweet corn, and other vegetables are still produced there in commercial quantities. Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties, in

2760-588: The escarpment zone. On top, elevations rise gradually to the west. Williamsburg in Hampshire County and Becket in Berkshire County are prominent hilltowns. Generally, the hilltowns west of the Connecticut River Valley were less attractive for agricultural uses, which resulted in later migration there than, for example, the fertile Connecticut River Valley. Subsistence farming predominated in this area. The 1,000-foot elevation difference between uplands and

2829-416: The late 1990s (including Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden, Berkshire and Worcester), most county functions were assigned to the state government. The municipalities of Franklin and Hampshire counties then organized two voluntary county-oriented "regional councils of government". Some residents of western Massachusetts are critical towards Boston , the state's capital and largest city. This group believes that

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2898-530: The night of August 25. A hundred colonists pursued them, catching up to them at the foot of Sugarloaf Hill, which was a sacred space for the Nonotucks called the Great Beaver. The colonists attacked, but the Nonotucks forced them to withdraw and were able to keep moving. The shedding of Native blood on sacred land was an attack on their entire kinship network, and caused Native peoples in western Massachusetts to join

2967-576: The north, and the nearest national air service can be reached at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut , some 50 miles (80 km) south of town. New Salem is home to the Swift River Elementary School which serves K–6, which also serves students from Wendall. High School students then attend Ralph C. Mahar Regional High School in Orange . As of the census of 2000, there were 929 people, 379 households, and 264 families residing in

3036-730: The northern end of the graben near Greenfield and extending south across Massachusetts and Connecticut to Long Island Sound . Fossil dinosaur footprints in Holyoke attest to the life present in this region during the Mesozoic. As continental glaciers receded near the end of the last glacial period , a moraine at Rocky Hill, Connecticut , dammed the river to create Lake Hitchcock , extending northward some 200 miles (320 km) inundating places such as Springfield, Agawam, and West Springfield, while certain highlands remained above water, (i.e. sections of Holyoke). Accumulation of fine sediments during

3105-502: The old plague. In a process that historian Lisa Brooks calls "the deed game", colonists acquired an increasing amount of land from Indian tribes through debt, fraudulent purchases and a variety of other methods. Native people began to construct and gather in palisaded “forts”―structures that were not necessary beforehand. These sites were excavated in the 19th and 20th centuries by anthropologists who took cultural objects and human remains and displayed them for years in area museums. With

3174-516: The ongoing conflict. Following the war, the greater part of the Native American population left western Massachusetts behind. Many refugees of the war joined the Wabanaki in the north, where their descendants remain today. Native American influence remains evident in the land and culture of western Massachusetts, from the practice of tobacco farming to the names of cities and rivers In 1777, George Washington and Henry Knox selected Springfield for

3243-499: The passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in 1990, a long process of repatriation began. Tensions between the colonists and surrounding Indian tribes, which had already been poor for some time, continued to deteriorate in the years preceding the outbreak of King Philip's War . Colonial encroachment on Indian lands combined with the decimation of the native population with European diseases led to increasing Native resentment and hostility towards

3312-640: The peninsula by bus. No other access is permitted. According to the United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 58.6 square miles (151.9 km ), of which 44.8 square miles (116.0 km ) is land and 13.9 square miles (36.0 km ), or 23.69%, is water. Because of the lands of the Prescott Peninsula, New Salem is the largest town by area in Franklin County and the largest community by area in western Massachusetts ( Hampden , Hampshire , Franklin , and Berkshire counties). It

3381-469: The place names they assigned to their respective communities: Agawam (low land), Woronco (in a circular way), Nonotuck (in the midst of the river), Pocumtuck (narrow, swift river), and Sokoki (separated from their neighbors). The modern-day Springfield metropolitan area was inhabited by the Agawam people . The Agawam, as well as other groups, belong to the larger cultural category of Alongkian Indians . In 1634,

3450-716: The plot unfolds in New Salem, Massachusetts. Western Massachusetts Western Massachusetts , known colloquially as "western Mass," is a region in Massachusetts , one of the six U.S. states that make up the New England region of the United States . Western Massachusetts has diverse topography; 22 colleges and universities including UMass in Amherst, MA , with approximately 100,000 students; and such institutions as Tanglewood ,

3519-482: The population of western Massachusetts, includes the City of Springfield ; to the north, Hampshire County contains the college towns of Northampton , Amherst and South Hadley ; further north, rural Franklin County borders Vermont and New Hampshire; to the west is Berkshire County, bordering New York, Vermont and Connecticut and the other three counties. After a number of county governments were eliminated in Massachusetts in

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3588-446: The region's highly regarded liberal arts colleges , including Williams founded 1793, Amherst founded 1821, Mount Holyoke founded 1837, Smith founded 1871, and American International founded 1885. Despite the gains in higher ed, the region has sought to obtain equitable share of the state's education budget to place into local primary education as well. Several communities in western Massachusetts have fought to have changes made

3657-478: The region. The first European explorers to reach western Massachusetts were English Puritans , who in 1635, at the request of William Pynchon, settled the land that they considered most advantageous for both agriculture and trading in modern-day Agawam , adjacent to modern Metro Center , Springfield . In 1636, a group of English colonists—lured by the promise of a "great river" and the northeast's most fertile farmland—ventured to Springfield, where they established

3726-476: The site of the fledgling United States' National Armory . Built atop a high bluff overlooking the Connecticut River, Washington and Knox agreed that Springfield provided an ideal location—beside a great river and at the confluence of major rivers and highways. For the following 200 years, the Springfield Armory would bring concentrated prosperity and innovation to Springfield and its surrounding towns. After

3795-542: The so-called Second Industrial Revolution when railroads were built along the rivers to take advantage of relatively gentle grades over the Appalachians. And so as hilltop farming towns declined in importance, industrial towns in the river valleys rose to local prominence. In northern Massachusetts, the higher altitude area to the east of the Connecticut River Valley is known as the North Quabbin region. These northern municipalities include Warwick , Orange , Petersham , Phillipston , Wendell , New Salem , and Athol near

3864-439: The southeastern corner of Franklin Valley, with its lands extending southward between Hampshire County and Worcester County . The town is bordered by Orange to the north, Athol to the northeast, Petersham to the east, Ware to the south, Belchertown to the southeast, and Pelham , Shutesbury and Wendell to the west. Because of the reservoir, there is no land link between New Salem and Pelham, Belchertown or Ware. From

3933-400: The state as a whole. Western Massachusetts' population is concentrated in the cities and suburbs along the Connecticut River in an urban axis surrounding Springfield that is contiguous with greater Hartford, Connecticut (i.e. the Knowledge Corridor .) A secondary population concentration exists in the Housatonic-Hoosic valley due to the industrial heritage of Pittsfield and North Adams, and

4002-420: The town common, New Salem lies 19 miles (31 km) east-southeast of the county seat of Greenfield , 35 miles (56 km) north-northeast of Springfield , 40 miles (64 km) northwest of Worcester and 75 miles (121 km) west of Boston . In a typical year, New Salem, Massachusetts temperatures fall below 50 °F for 195 days per year. Annual precipitation is typically 44.6 inches per year (high in

4071-400: The town of Stockbridge ). Cultural institutions include Lenox's Tanglewood , Becket's Jacob's Pillow , and Stockbridge's Norman Rockwell Museum , as well the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown . The city of Pittsfield is the largest community located in the Berkshires. New England's largest river, the Connecticut , flows through the center of its agricultural valley. Nearly bisected by

4140-400: The town was $ 23,234. About 3.8% of families and 6.3% of the population were below the poverty line , including 8.8% of those under age 18 and 3.0% of those age 65 or over. In the trilogy The Secret Circle by L. J. Smith events take place in the town of New Salem, which is located in Massachusetts. In the New York Times best seller The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow ,

4209-473: The town. The population density was 20.7 people per square mile (8.0/km ). There were 422 housing units at an average density of 9.4 per square mile (3.6/km ). The racial makeup of the town was 95.48% White , 0.75% African American , 0.54% Native American , 0.75% Asian , 0.32% from other races , and 2.15% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.86% of the population. There were 379 households, out of which 30.3% had children under

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4278-499: The valley's so-called "Knowledge Corridor" include Northampton , Amherst , Easthampton , Holyoke , Chicopee , West Springfield , East Longmeadow , Longmeadow , Ludlow , Agawam , and Westfield . The Hilltowns include the areas of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties west of and above the escarpment bordering the ancient rift valley through which the Connecticut River flows. Elevations increase from about 200 feet (60 m) to at least 1,000 feet (300 m) in

4347-417: The village of Cooleyville, now along U.S. Route 202 . However, with the formation of the reservoir, the town received all lands above the water line between the two forks of the reservoir, as it was the only land connection to the peninsula. With its southern borders now following former branches of the Swift River, New Salem now includes most of the former town of Prescott (except for a small corner east of

4416-414: The west and through the town's center before heading north into Orange and towards Route 2. For approximately the last half-mile the route is in New Salem, it runs concurrently with Massachusetts Route 122 , which enters New Salem through Petersham, heading northwest towards Route 202 before both enter Orange and split shortly thereafter. The nearest general aviation airport is Orange Municipal Airport to

4485-445: The year 2020 collectively had 828,188 residents, a population greater than that of any one of the six smallest U.S. states. The population amounted to approximately 12.84% of the 2000 population of the entire state of Massachusetts, which was 6,349,097. Its average population density is 293.07 inhabitants per square mile (113.16/km ), compared to 422.34/km (1,093.87/sq mi) for the rest of Massachusetts, and 312.68/km (809.83/sq mi) for

4554-427: Was built in about 1816 by William Whitaker, was a lawyer, shopkeeper, and member of the local militia during the War of 1812 . This house served as his home and law office. It was purchased form the Whitakers by Mr and Mrs Edward Clary, and it remained in the Clary family until it was taken by the Massachusetts Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) because it was in the watershed of the nearby Quabbin Reservoir . It

4623-761: Was completed in early 2014, connecting public institutions throughout central and western Massachusetts, but also providing a fiber-optic backbone to allow for further expansion in these regions. Building off of that project, the Commonwealth launched a 'Last Mile' initiative targeting 54 communities that were unserved or under-served by broadband. That program has invested in municipal fiber-to-the-home networks, which are also supported by municipal bonds; private provider projects; and advanced wireless projects to connect homes and businesses in these communities. Small, rural towns such as Mount Washington, Mass., now have access to internet speeds that reach 500 megabit per second (Mbps) symmetrical service. In recent years there has been

4692-417: Was part of Pelham). The town owns several islands in the reservoir as well, including those around Russ Mountain and Mount L. Much of the original town land was high ground, sloping down eastward towards the marshes near Lake Rohunta, along the Athol town line. A small section of state forest is located near this lake, with other small sections scattered in the western part of the former town. New Salem lies at

4761-413: Was slated for demolition, but the MDC later changed its mind, and instead gave the house to the historical society for $ 1 in 1961. The house now contains artifacts and memorabilia of the towns which were inundated by the creation of the reservoir. New Salem, Massachusetts New Salem is a town in Franklin County , Massachusetts , United States. The population was 983 at the 2020 census . It

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