Cummington is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Hampshire County, Massachusetts Hampshire County is a historical and judicial county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 162,308. Its most populous municipality is Amherst (due to seasonal student population; the largest y ...

, United States. The population was 829 at the 2020 census, a decline from the figure of 872 tabulated in 2010. It is part of the

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Cummington was first settled in 1762 and was officially incorporated in 1779. It was named after Colonel John Cumings, the original landholder. The first

Congregational Church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

minister was Rev. James Briggs of

Norton, Massachusetts Norton is a New England town, town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, and contains the villages of Norton Center, Massachusetts, Norton Center and Chartley, Massachusetts, Chartley. The population was 19,202 at the 2020 United Stat ...

, and a graduate of

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

around 1775. Briggs was the son of Deacon James and Damaris (White) Briggs, and the husband of Anna Wiswall. Although a small town, several Revolutionary War patriots are buried there, including Nathaniel Holbrook, Seth Wilder Sr., and Seth Wilder Jr. Noted poet and newspaper editor

William Cullen Bryant William Cullen Bryant (November 3, 1794 – June 12, 1878) was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the '' New York Evening Post''. Born in Massachusetts, he started his career as a lawyer but showed an interest in poe ...

was born in Cummington, and returned for many years to summer in the town. His house is now preserved and open to the public as the William Cullen Bryant Homestead. The town hosts the Cummington Fair every August on the town's fairgrounds. The fair features many events, including adult and

4-H 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times ...

exhibition halls, a craft barn,

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

stage, antique car parade, oxen pull, and an assortment of fair rides, games, and food stands. The town was the subject of a 1945 documentary film, ''The Cummington Story'', about the welcome given to a group of European refugees.

Geography

Cummington is in northwestern Hampshire County. It is bordered to the west by the towns of

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and Windsor in

Berkshire County Berkshire County (pronounced ) is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,026. Its largest city and traditional county seat is Pittsfield. The county was founded in 17 ...

, to the north by Plainfield in Hampshire County, and to the northeast by Ashfield in Franklin County. To the east is the town of Goshen, to the southeast is Chesterfield, and to the south is Worthington, all in Hampshire County. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which are land and , or 0.56%, are water. The

Westfield River The Westfield River is a major tributary of the Connecticut River located in the Berkshires and Pioneer Valley regions of western Massachusetts. With four major tributary branches that converge west of the city of Westfield, it flows (measure ...

(sometimes referred to as the East Branch) flows through Cummington. Massachusetts Route 9 runs through the town, following the Westfield River for most of its way. Route 9 leads southeast to

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

and west to Pittsfield. Massachusetts Route 112 leads west, then south, to Huntington. The mineral

cummingtonite Cummingtonite ( ) is a metamorphic amphibole with the chemical composition , magnesium iron silicate hydroxide. Monoclinic cummingtonite is compositionally similar and polymorphic with orthorhombic anthophyllite, which is a much more common ...

was first found in this town and was named after it.http://www.mindat.org/min-1170.html Mindat data

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 978 people, 382 households, and 239 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 452 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.42%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.61%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.41% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.51% from other races, and 1.74% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 3.27% of the population. There were 382 households, out of which 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.77. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.9% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $42,250, and the median income for a family was $48,750. Males had a median income of $31,765 versus $27,279 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $21,553. About 4.2% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 5.7% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Education

Cummington is part of the Central Berkshire Regional School District, along with Becket, Dalton, Hinsdale,

, Washington, and Windsor. Elementary school students attend Craneville School, middle school students attend Nessacus Regional Middle School, and high school students attend Wahconah Regional High School.

Government

The town is part of the First Hampshire District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and the Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin, and Hampshire Senate district.

Points of interest

* William Cullen Bryant Homestead * Greenwood Music Camp

Notable people

, poet * Katherine Frazier, musician and arts administrator * Sergei Isupov, artist *

Rachel Maddow Rachel Anne Maddow ( ; born April 1, 1973) is an American television news program host and liberal political commentator. She hosts '' The Rachel Maddow Show'', a weekly television show on MSNBC, and serves as the cable network's special event ...

, MSNBC host *

Zalmon Richards Zalmon Richards (August 11, 1811 – November 1, 1899) was an American educator from Washington, D.C. He is best known as one of the founders and the first president of the National Teachers Association, now known as the National Education A ...

, educator * William Jay Smith, poet *

Worcester Reed Warner Worcester Reed Warner (May 16, 1846 – June 25, 1929) was an American mechanical engineer, entrepreneur, manager, astronomer, and philanthropist. With Ambrose Swasey he cofounded the Warner & Swasey Company. Biography Life and career War ...

, engineer * Alan Weisman, author * Richard Wilbur, poet * Michael Bono, guitarist

References

External links

Official Site

''MHC Survey Reconnaissance Town Report: Cummington''
Massachusetts Historical Commission, 1982. {{authority control Towns in Hampshire County, Massachusetts Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts Populated places established in 1762 Towns in Massachusetts