Shelburne Falls Historic District (Boundary Increase 2010)

About this property

Shelburne Falls is a historic village in the towns of Shelburne and Buckland in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The village is a census-designated place (CDP); as of the 2020 census, Shelburne Falls had a population of 1,719. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. Silas Lamson was a 19th-century American inventor and manufacturer of scythe handles, agricultural implements, knives and cutlery. In 1834, Lamson patented a method for manufacturing curved snath handles for scythes used to harvest hay and wheat. The downward curve of the handle was an ergonomic improvement over straight-handled scythes. Three years later he partnered with two of his sons and with Abel Goodnow to found Lamson & Goodnow, a knife manufacturing company, in Shelburne Falls. By the time of the Civil War, the company employed more than 500 workers, making it one of the largest cutlery companies in the United States. The company exists in the 21st century as Lamson, with an outlet store in Shelburne Falls. The Deerfield River bisects Shelburne Falls, and Massaemett Mountain rises east of the village. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 6.8 km2 (2.6 mi2), of which 6.6 km2 (2.5 mi2) is land and 0.3 km2 (0.1 mi2) (3.79%) is water. Shelburne Falls is served by Massachusetts Route 2, also known as the Mohawk Trail, as well as Routes 2A and 112, the former being the main route through the village. As of the 2020 census, Shelburne Falls had a population of 1,719. The median age was 53.1 years. 13.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 30.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 80.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 78.3 males. 0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas. There were 911 households in Shelburne Falls, of which 19.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 33.9% were married-couple households, 18.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 38.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 43.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 23.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 985 housing units, of which 7.5% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 1.4%. As of the 2000 census, there were 1,951 people, 815 households, and 466 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 296.6/km2 (768.3/mi2). There were 878 housing units at an average density of 133.5/km2 (345.8/mi2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.92% White, 0.26% African American, 0.67% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.82% of the population.

Location

Categories

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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