Deerfield, Massachusetts
Encyclopedia
Deerfield is a town
in Franklin County
, Massachusetts
, United States
. The population was 4,750 as of the 2000 census. Deerfield is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts
Metropolitan Statistical Area
in Western Massachusetts
, lying only 30 miles (48.3 km) north of the city of Springfield.
Deerfield includes the villages of South Deerfield
and Historic Deerfield
; the latter is an historic district that preserves colonial and Federal houses, features house museums, and a museum about Massachusetts' colonial period. The district has been designated a National Historic Landmark
and is a center of heritage tourism
in the Pioneer Valley
near the Connecticut River
.
Deerfield has numerous schools, including Deerfield Academy
, a private secondary school preparatory school
; Frontier Regional High School
, Deerfield Elementary and two separate private junior boarding schools, a co-ed school, Bement School and Eaglebrook School
, which is all boys.
At the time of the English colonists' arrival, the Deerfield area was inhabited by the Algonquian
-speaking Pocumtuck
nation, with a major village by the same name. First settled by English colonists in 1673, Deerfield was incorporated in 1677. Settlement was the result of a court case in which the government in Boston agreed to return some of the land of the town of Dedham
to Native American control, and allowed some of Dedham's residents to acquire land in the new township of Pocumtuck. To obtain this land, their agent John Plympton signed a treaty with some Pocumtuck men, including one named Chaulk. He had no authority to deed the land to the colonists, and appeared to have only a rough idea of what he was signing. Native Americans and English had quite differing ideas about property and land use, which contributed to their conflicts, along with competition for resources.
The settlers expelled the Pocumtuck tribe by force, who in turn sought French
protection from colonists in Canada. At the Battle of Bloody Brook
on September, 18, 1675, the dispossessed Indians
destroyed a small force under the command of Captain Thomas Lathrop before being driven off by reinforcements. Colonial casualties numbered about sixty. In retaliation, at dawn on May 19, 1676, Captain William Turner led an army of settlers in a surprise attack on Peskeompskut, in present-day Montague
, then a traditional native gathering place. They killed 200 natives, mostly women and children. When the men of the tribe returned, they routed Turner, who died of a mortal wound at Green River.
On February 29, 1704, during Queen Anne's War
, joint French
and Indian forces attacked the town in what has become known as the 1704 Raid on Deerfield. Under the command of Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville were 47 Canadiens and 200 Abenaki, Kanienkehaka
and Wyandot, as well as a few Pocumtuck. They struck at dawn, razing Deerfield and killing 56 colonists, including 22 men, 9 women, and 25 children. They took as captives 109 survivors, including women and children, and "carried" them away on a months-long trek to Quebec
. Many died along the way or were killed when they could not keep up.
Deerfield and other communities collected funds to ransom the captives, and negotiations were conducted between colonial governments. When New England released the French pirate, Canada arranged redemption of numerous Deerfield people, among them the minister John Williams
. He wrote a captivity narrative
about his experience, which was published in 1707 and became well known. Because of losses to war and disease, the Mohawk and other tribes often adopted younger captives into their tribes. Such was the case with Williams' daughter Eunice, eight years old when captured. She became thoroughly assimilated, at age 16 marrying a Mohawk man. Most of the Deerfield captives eventually returned to New England
. During this period, other captives remained by choice in French and Native communities such as Kahnawake for the rest of their lives.
As the frontier moved north, Deerfield became another colonial town with an unquiet early history. In 1753 Greenfield
was set off and incorporated. During the early nineteenth century, Deerfield's role in agricultural production of the Northeast declined. It was overtaken by the rapid development of the Midwestern United States
into the nation's breadbasket
, with transportation to eastern markets and New York City enhanced by construction of the Erie Canal
.
During the Colonial Revival movement
of the late nineteenth century, Deerfield citizens rediscovered the town's past. Residents founded the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association in 1870, and erected monuments to commemorate various events, including the Bloody Brook and 1704 attacks. In 1890, Charlotte Alice Baker returned to Deerfield to restore her family home, the Frary House. Assisted by the Boston architectural firm of Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge
, her project was one of the first in historic preservation
in western Massachusetts. Today, tourism is the town's principal industry. Historic Deerfield, a National Historic Landmark
district with eleven house museums and a regional museum and visitors' center, and the Yankee Candle Company
are major attractions.
An account of the town's early history was written by local historian George Sheldon and published in the late nineteenth century. By this time, South Deerfield and other New England villages were already absorbing a new wave of Eastern Europe
an immigration, particularly from Poland
. The new people influenced Deerfield's demographics and culture. They were mostly Catholic
peasants, who built their own churches and first worked as laborers, forming a community later known as Old Polonia. Later twentieth-century immigrants from Poland tended to be more educated, but settled in the larger cities. Immigrants in smaller communities followed different paths, and their descendants often moved to cities for more opportunities.
, the town has a total area of 33.4 square miles (86.5 km²), of which, 32.3 square miles (83.7 km²) of it is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²) of it (3.18%) is water. Deerfield is located in the northern Pioneer Valley
, and is bordered by Greenfield
to the north, Montague
to the northeast, Sunderland
to the southeast, Whately
to the south, Conway
to the west, and Shelburne
to the northwest. The town center is located eight miles south of Greenfield, 29 miles north of Springfield
, and 93 miles west of Boston.
Deerfield's northern point is located at the confluence of the Deerfield River
and the Connecticut River
, with the former flowing through the northwest corner of town and the latter forming the eastern border of town. Several brooks and the Mill River also flow through town. In the southeast corner of town, North Sugarloaf Mountain
rises above the Connecticut, giving a good view of the valley and the center of town. North of the mountain, the Pocumtuck Range
rises along the eastern side of town.
Interstate 91
passes from south to north through the central part of town, crossing the Deerfield River near the river's southern bend to the west. The road is mirrored by U.S. Route 5
and Route 10
, which are combined throughout the town. Additionally, Route 116
passes through town, combining with Routes 5 and 10 for a one-mile stretch, passing into Whately
briefly before separating and crossing through the southern part of town and over the Connecticut River at the Sunderland Bridge. All three routes historically crossed through the center of the village prior to the building of I-91, but were rerouted to a more direct route closer to the highway.
A portion of the Springfield Terminal freight rail line passes through town, before branching off eastward and westward around Greenfield. The nearest Amtrak
passenger service is in Springfield. Deerfield has bus service through Peter Pan, with the nearest small air service in nearby Gill
and Northampton
. The nearest national air service can be reached at Bradley International Airport
in Windsor Locks
, Connecticut
.
of 2000, there were 4,750 people, 1,965 households, and 1,310 families residing in the town. By population, Deerfield ranked fourth of the 26 towns in Franklin County, and 247th of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts. The population density
was 147.1 people per square mile (56.8/km²), which ranked fifth in the county and 269th in the Commonwealth. There were 2,060 housing units at an average density of 63.8 per square mile (24.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.24% White, 0.48% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.86% Asian, 0.48% from other races
, and 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.56% of the population.
There were 1,965 households out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples
living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the town the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 29.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $49,764, and the median income for a family was $64,909. Males had a median income of $40,413 versus $31,069 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $24,555. About 2.2% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.3% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.
form of government, and is led by a board of selectmen
. The town has its own police, fire and public works departments. Like the fire department, the post office has two branches, in South Deerfield (where most of the town offices are) and in Old Deerfield Village, near the Memorial Hall and the Old Town Hall. The town's Tilton Library is connected to the regional library network, and is located in South Deerfield. The nearest hospital, Franklin Medical Center, is located in Greenfield, as are many of the regional state offices.
On the state level, Deerfield is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives
by the First Franklin district, which includes the southeastern third of Franklin County and towns in north central Hampshire County. In the Massachusetts Senate
, the town is represented by the Hampshire and Franklin district, which includes much of eastern Franklin and Hampshire Counties. The town is patrolled by the Second (Shelburne Falls) Barracks of Troop "B" of the Massachusetts State Police
.
On the national level, Deerfield is represented in the United States House of Representatives
as part of Massachusetts's 1st congressional district
, and has been represented by John Olver
of Amherst
since June 1991. Massachusetts is currently represented in the United States Senate
by two Senators, John Kerry
, as well as Scott Brown as a result of the death of Ted Kennedy
on August 25, 2009.
and Union 38 School District
s, which also includes Conway, Whately and Sunderland. Each town operates its own elementary school, with Deerfield Elementary School serving the town's students from kindergarten through sixth grades. All four towns send seventh through twelfth grade students to Frontier Regional School
in the town. Frontier's athletics teams are nicknamed the Red Hawks, and the team colors are red and blue. There are many art programs available during and after school at Frontier. Several private schools in the town include The Bement School (a coeducational boarding school, grades K-9), the Eaglebrook School
(a private boys' boarding school for grades 6-9), and the Deerfield Academy
, a private prep school. There are other private schools in the Greenfield area.
The nearest community college, Greenfield Community College
, is located in Greenfield. The nearest state colleges are Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
, in North Adams; and Westfield State College
; and the nearest state university is the University of Massachusetts Amherst
. The nearest private colleges, including members of the Five Colleges
and Seven Sisters
, are located southeast in the Northampton area.
Historic Deerfield
includes a museum with a focus on decorative arts, early American material culture and history. Its house museums offer interpretation of society, history and culture from the colonial era through the late nineteenth century.
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 4,750 as of the 2000 census. Deerfield 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...
in Western Massachusetts
Western Massachusetts
Western Massachusetts is a loosely defined geographical region of the U.S. state of Massachusetts which contains the Berkshires, the Pioneer Valley, and some or all of the Swift River Valley. The region is always considered to include Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties, and the...
, lying only 30 miles (48.3 km) north of the city of Springfield.
Deerfield includes the villages of South Deerfield
South Deerfield, Massachusetts
South Deerfield is a census-designated place in Deerfield, Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. It is home to the well-known Yankee Candle Company.South Deerfield is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area....
and Historic Deerfield
Historic Deerfield
Historic Deerfield is an open-air living history museum dedicated to the heritage and preservation of Deerfield, Massachusetts and the Connecticut River Valley. Its historic houses, museums and programs provide visitors with an understanding of New England's historic villages and countryside...
; the latter is an historic district that preserves colonial and Federal houses, features house museums, and a museum about Massachusetts' colonial period. The district has been designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
and is a center of heritage tourism
Heritage tourism
Cultural heritage tourism is a branch of tourism oriented towards the cultural heritage of the location where tourism is occurring...
in the Pioneer Valley
Pioneer Valley
The Pioneer Valley is the colloquial name for the U.S. Commonwealth of Massachusetts's portion of the Connecticut River Valley. The Pioneer Valley consists of three counties in Massachusetts which collectively feature much of New England's most fertile farmland...
near 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...
.
Deerfield has numerous schools, including Deerfield Academy
Deerfield Academy
Deerfield Academy is an independent, coeducational boarding school in Deerfield, Massachusetts, United States. It is a four-year college-preparatory school with approximately 600 students and about 100 faculty, all of whom live on or near campus....
, a private secondary school preparatory school
University-preparatory school
A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...
; Frontier Regional High School
Frontier Regional School
-Academics:Frontier Regional runs on a semester system. Students can take 4-5 courses per semester; either 4 semester courses that meet everyday, or 3 semester courses that meet everyday and 2 quarter courses that meet every-other day...
, Deerfield Elementary and two separate private junior boarding schools, a co-ed school, Bement School and Eaglebrook School
Eaglebrook School
Eaglebrook School is an independent junior boarding school for boys in Deerfield, Massachusetts. It is located on the Pocumtuck Range near Deerfield Academy and sited on a campus which is also preserved by the Deerfield Wildlife Trust....
, which is all boys.
History
Deerfield was the northwesternmost outpost of New England settlement for several decades during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. It occupies a fertile portion of the Connecticut River Valley and was vulnerable to attack because of its position near the Berkshire Mountains. For these reasons it became the site of several Anglo-French and Indian skirmishes during its early history, as well as intertribal warfare.At the time of the English colonists' arrival, the Deerfield area was inhabited by the Algonquian
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
-speaking Pocumtuck
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...
nation, with a major village by the same name. First settled by English colonists in 1673, Deerfield was incorporated in 1677. Settlement was the result of a court case in which the government in Boston agreed to return some of the land of the town of Dedham
Dedham, Massachusetts
Dedham is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,729 at the 2010 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest by Westwood and on the southeast by...
to Native American control, and allowed some of Dedham's residents to acquire land in the new township of Pocumtuck. To obtain this land, their agent John Plympton signed a treaty with some Pocumtuck men, including one named Chaulk. He had no authority to deed the land to the colonists, and appeared to have only a rough idea of what he was signing. Native Americans and English had quite differing ideas about property and land use, which contributed to their conflicts, along with competition for resources.
The settlers expelled the Pocumtuck tribe by force, who in turn sought 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...
protection from colonists in Canada. At the Battle of Bloody Brook
Battle of Bloody Brook
The Battle of Bloody Brook was fought on September 12, 1675 between English colonial militia from the Massachusetts Bay Colony and a band of Indians led by the Nipmuc sachem Muttawmp...
on September, 18, 1675, the dispossessed Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
destroyed a small force under the command of Captain Thomas Lathrop before being driven off by reinforcements. Colonial casualties numbered about sixty. In retaliation, at dawn on May 19, 1676, Captain William Turner led an army of settlers in a surprise attack on Peskeompskut, in present-day 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....
, then a traditional native gathering place. They killed 200 natives, mostly women and children. When the men of the tribe returned, they routed Turner, who died of a mortal wound at Green River.
On February 29, 1704, during Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War , as the North American theater of the War of the Spanish Succession was known in the British colonies, was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought between France and England, later Great Britain, in North America for control of the continent. The War of the...
, joint 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...
and Indian forces attacked the town in what has become known as the 1704 Raid on Deerfield. Under the command of Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville were 47 Canadiens and 200 Abenaki, Kanienkehaka
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
and Wyandot, as well as a few Pocumtuck. They struck at dawn, razing Deerfield and killing 56 colonists, including 22 men, 9 women, and 25 children. They took as captives 109 survivors, including women and children, and "carried" them away on a months-long trek 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....
. Many died along the way or were killed when they could not keep up.
Deerfield and other communities collected funds to ransom the captives, and negotiations were conducted between colonial governments. When New England released the French pirate, Canada arranged redemption of numerous Deerfield people, among them the minister John Williams
John Williams (Reverend)
John Williams was a New England Puritan minister who became famous for The Redeemed Captive, his account of his captivity by the Mohawk after the Deerfield Massacre during Queen Anne's War. He was an uncle of the notable pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards. His first wife Eunice Mather was a...
. He wrote a captivity narrative
Captivity narrative
Captivity narratives are stories of people captured by "uncivilized" enemies. The narratives often include a theme of redemption by faith in the face of the threats and temptations of an alien way of life. Barbary captivity narratives, stories of Englishmen captured by Barbary pirates, were popular...
about his experience, which was published in 1707 and became well known. Because of losses to war and disease, the Mohawk and other tribes often adopted younger captives into their tribes. Such was the case with Williams' daughter Eunice, eight years old when captured. She became thoroughly assimilated, at age 16 marrying a Mohawk man. Most of the Deerfield captives eventually returned to New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. During this period, other captives remained by choice in French and Native communities such as Kahnawake for the rest of their lives.
As the frontier moved north, Deerfield became another colonial town with an unquiet early history. In 1753 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...
was set off and incorporated. During the early nineteenth century, Deerfield's role in agricultural production of the Northeast declined. It was overtaken by the rapid development of the Midwestern United States
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
into the nation's breadbasket
Breadbasket
The breadbasket or the granary of a country is a region which, because of richness of soil and/or advantageous climate, produces an agricultural surplus which is often considered vital for the country as a whole. Rice bowl is a similar term used in Southeast Asia...
, with transportation to eastern markets and New York City enhanced by construction of the Erie Canal
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
.
During the Colonial Revival movement
Colonial Revival Movement
The Colonial Revival movement was a national expression of early North American culture, primarily the built and artistic environments of the east coast colonies. The Colonial Revival is generally associated with the eighteenth-century provincial fashion for the Georgian and Neoclassical styles...
of the late nineteenth century, Deerfield citizens rediscovered the town's past. Residents founded the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association in 1870, and erected monuments to commemorate various events, including the Bloody Brook and 1704 attacks. In 1890, Charlotte Alice Baker returned to Deerfield to restore her family home, the Frary House. Assisted by the Boston architectural firm of Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge
Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge
Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge was a successful architecture firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, operating between 1886 and 1915, with extensive commissions in monumental civic and collegiate architecture in the spirit and style of Henry Hobson Richardson....
, her project was one of the first in historic preservation
Historic preservation
Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
in western Massachusetts. Today, tourism is the town's principal industry. Historic Deerfield, a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
district with eleven house museums and a regional museum and visitors' center, and the Yankee Candle Company
Yankee Candle Company
The Yankee Candle Company is the largest U.S. manufacturer of scented candles. The company is located in South Deerfield, Massachusetts.-History:...
are major attractions.
An account of the town's early history was written by local historian George Sheldon and published in the late nineteenth century. By this time, South Deerfield and other New England villages were already absorbing a new wave of Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an immigration, particularly from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. The new people influenced Deerfield's demographics and culture. They were mostly Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
peasants, who built their own churches and first worked as laborers, forming a community later known as Old Polonia. Later twentieth-century immigrants from Poland tended to be more educated, but settled in the larger cities. Immigrants in smaller communities followed different paths, and their descendants often moved to cities for more opportunities.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited 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 33.4 square miles (86.5 km²), of which, 32.3 square miles (83.7 km²) of it is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²) of it (3.18%) is water. Deerfield is located in the northern Pioneer Valley
Pioneer Valley
The Pioneer Valley is the colloquial name for the U.S. Commonwealth of Massachusetts's portion of the Connecticut River Valley. The Pioneer Valley consists of three counties in Massachusetts which collectively feature much of New England's most fertile farmland...
, and is bordered by 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...
to the north, 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....
to the northeast, Sunderland
Sunderland, Massachusetts
Sunderland is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, part of the Pioneer Valley. The population was 3,777 as of the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area....
to the southeast, Whately
Whately, Massachusetts
Whately is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,573 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
to the south, Conway
Conway, Massachusetts
Conway is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,809 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
to the west, and Shelburne
Shelburne, Massachusetts
Shelburne is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 2,058 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.The village of Shelburne Falls is located in the town.- History :...
to the northwest. The town center is located eight miles south of Greenfield, 29 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...
, and 93 miles west of Boston.
Deerfield's northern point is located at the confluence of the Deerfield River
Deerfield River
Deerfield River is a river that runs for from southern Vermont through northwestern Massachusetts to the Connecticut River. The Deerfield was historically influential in the settlement of western Franklin County, Massachusetts, and its namesake town...
and 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...
, with the former flowing through the northwest corner of town and the latter forming the eastern border of town. Several brooks and the Mill River also flow through town. In the southeast corner of town, North Sugarloaf Mountain
Sugarloaf Mountain (Franklin County, Massachusetts)
Sugarloaf Mountain or Mount Sugarloaf, is a butte-like mountain located in Deerfield, Massachusetts, United States, with two summits, North Sugarloaf Mountain and its more popular knee, South Sugarloaf Mountain . Its cliffs, made of arkose sandstone, are a very prominent landscape feature visible...
rises above the Connecticut, giving a good view of the valley and the center of town. North of the mountain, the Pocumtuck Range
Pocumtuck Range
The Pocumtuck Range, also referred to as the Pocumtuck Ridge, is the northern-most subrange of the Metacomet Ridge mountain range of southern New England...
rises along the eastern side of town.
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...
passes from south to north through the central part of town, crossing the Deerfield River near the river's southern bend to the west. The road is mirrored by U.S. Route 5
U.S. Route 5
U.S. Route 5 is a north–south United States highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Significant cities along the route include New Haven, Connecticut; Hartford, Connecticut; and Springfield, Massachusetts. From Hartford northward to St...
and Route 10
Massachusetts Route 10
Massachusetts Route 10 is a north–south state highway that runs from the state line at Southwick to the state line at Northfield.-Route description:Route 10 crosses the border from Granby, Connecticut into Southwick, Massachusetts, overlapped with US 202...
, which are combined throughout the town. Additionally, Route 116
Massachusetts Route 116
Route 116 is a south–north state highway in Massachusetts. The route runs from Springfield through mill towns, college towns and rural towns, crossing the Connecticut River three times before finally ending in Adams.-Route description:...
passes through town, combining with Routes 5 and 10 for a one-mile stretch, passing into Whately
Whately, Massachusetts
Whately is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,573 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
briefly before separating and crossing through the southern part of town and over the Connecticut River at the Sunderland Bridge. All three routes historically crossed through the center of the village prior to the building of I-91, but were rerouted to a more direct route closer to the highway.
A portion of the Springfield Terminal freight rail line passes through town, before branching off eastward and westward around Greenfield. The nearest 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...
passenger service is in Springfield. Deerfield has bus service through Peter Pan, with the nearest small air service 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...
and Northampton
Northampton, Massachusetts
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Northampton's central neighborhoods, was 28,549...
. The nearest national air service can be reached 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....
in Windsor Locks
Windsor Locks, Connecticut
Windsor Locks is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2000 census, its population was 12,043. It is the site of Bradley International Airport, which serves the Greater Hartford-Springfield region. It is also the site of the New England Air Museum...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
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 4,750 people, 1,965 households, and 1,310 families residing in the town. By population, Deerfield ranked fourth of the 26 towns in Franklin County, and 247th of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts. 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 147.1 people per square mile (56.8/km²), which ranked fifth in the county and 269th in the Commonwealth. There were 2,060 housing units at an average density of 63.8 per square mile (24.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.24% White, 0.48% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.86% Asian, 0.48% 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 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.56% of the population.
There were 1,965 households out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% 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, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the town the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 29.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $49,764, and the median income for a family was $64,909. Males had a median income of $40,413 versus $31,069 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 $24,555. About 2.2% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.3% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Deerfield employs the open town meetingOpen town meeting
An open town meeting is a form of town meeting in which all registered voters of a town may vote . This form of government is typical of smaller municipalities in the New England region of the United States....
form of government, and is led by a board of selectmen
Board of selectmen
The board of selectmen is commonly the executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms.-History:...
. The town has its own police, fire and public works departments. Like the fire department, the post office has two branches, in South Deerfield (where most of the town offices are) and in Old Deerfield Village, near the Memorial Hall and the Old Town Hall. The town's Tilton Library is connected to the regional library network, and is located in South Deerfield. The nearest hospital, Franklin Medical Center, is located in Greenfield, as are many of the regional state offices.
On the state level, Deerfield is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...
by the First Franklin district, which includes the southeastern third of Franklin County and towns in north central Hampshire County. In the Massachusetts Senate
Massachusetts Senate
The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the state...
, the town is represented by the Hampshire and Franklin district, which includes much of eastern Franklin and Hampshire Counties. The town is patrolled by the Second (Shelburne Falls) Barracks of Troop "B" of the Massachusetts State Police
Massachusetts State Police
The Massachusetts State Police is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security responsible for criminal law enforcement and traffic vehicle regulation across the state...
.
On the national level, Deerfield is represented in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
as part of Massachusetts's 1st congressional district
Massachusetts's 1st congressional district
Massachusetts's 1st congressional district is in western and central Massachusetts. The largest Massachusetts district in area, it covers about one-third of the state and is more rural than the rest. It has the state's highest point, Mount Greylock...
, and has been represented by John Olver
John Olver
John Walter Olver is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1991. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Early in his career, he was a chemistry professor and served in both chambers of the Massachusetts General Court....
of Amherst
Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 37,819, making it the largest community in Hampshire County . The town is home to Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts...
since June 1991. Massachusetts is currently represented in the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
by two Senators, John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
, as well as Scott Brown as a result of the death of Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
on August 25, 2009.
Education
Deerfield is the central member of Frontier RegionalFrontier Regional School
-Academics:Frontier Regional runs on a semester system. Students can take 4-5 courses per semester; either 4 semester courses that meet everyday, or 3 semester courses that meet everyday and 2 quarter courses that meet every-other day...
and Union 38 School District
Union 38 School District
Union 38 is a school district that serves Franklin County, Massachusetts. It operates 5 schools, 4 of which are elementary schools, and one regional high school.- About :...
s, which also includes Conway, Whately and Sunderland. Each town operates its own elementary school, with Deerfield Elementary School serving the town's students from kindergarten through sixth grades. All four towns send seventh through twelfth grade students to Frontier Regional School
Frontier Regional School
-Academics:Frontier Regional runs on a semester system. Students can take 4-5 courses per semester; either 4 semester courses that meet everyday, or 3 semester courses that meet everyday and 2 quarter courses that meet every-other day...
in the town. Frontier's athletics teams are nicknamed the Red Hawks, and the team colors are red and blue. There are many art programs available during and after school at Frontier. Several private schools in the town include The Bement School (a coeducational boarding school, grades K-9), the Eaglebrook School
Eaglebrook School
Eaglebrook School is an independent junior boarding school for boys in Deerfield, Massachusetts. It is located on the Pocumtuck Range near Deerfield Academy and sited on a campus which is also preserved by the Deerfield Wildlife Trust....
(a private boys' boarding school for grades 6-9), and the Deerfield Academy
Deerfield Academy
Deerfield Academy is an independent, coeducational boarding school in Deerfield, Massachusetts, United States. It is a four-year college-preparatory school with approximately 600 students and about 100 faculty, all of whom live on or near campus....
, a private prep school. There are other private schools in the Greenfield area.
The nearest community college, Greenfield Community College
Greenfield Community College
Greenfield Community College is a two-year Community College in Greenfield, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1962, currently has an annual enrollment of 3,000, is regionally known for its art program, its small-town atmosphere, and its setting amid picturesque old farmland at the foot of...
, is located in Greenfield. The nearest state colleges are Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is a public, residential, liberal arts college that offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. Located in North Adams, Massachusetts, it is part of the state university system of Massachusetts. It is a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts...
, in North Adams; and Westfield State College
Westfield State College
Westfield State University is a comprehensive, coeducational, four-year public university in Westfield, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1838 by noted educator and social reformer Horace Mann as the first public co-educational college in America without barrier to race, gender and economic class...
; and the nearest state university is the University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system...
. The nearest private colleges, including members of the Five Colleges
Five Colleges (Massachusetts)
The Five Colleges comprises four liberal arts colleges and one university in the Connecticut River Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, totaling approximately 28,000 students. The schools belong to a consortium called Five Colleges, Incorporated, established in 1965...
and Seven Sisters
Seven Sisters (colleges)
The Seven Sisters are seven liberal arts colleges in the Northeastern United States that are historically women's colleges. They are Barnard College, Bryn Mawr College, Mount Holyoke College, Radcliffe College, Smith College, Vassar College, and Wellesley College. All were founded between 1837 and...
, are located southeast in the Northampton area.
Historic Deerfield
Historic Deerfield
Historic Deerfield is an open-air living history museum dedicated to the heritage and preservation of Deerfield, Massachusetts and the Connecticut River Valley. Its historic houses, museums and programs provide visitors with an understanding of New England's historic villages and countryside...
includes a museum with a focus on decorative arts, early American material culture and history. Its house museums offer interpretation of society, history and culture from the colonial era through the late nineteenth century.