Leverett 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 ...

in Franklin County,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, United States. The population was 1,865 as of the 2020

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 ...

. 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

Leverett is one of the southernmost towns of Franklin County, located west of Shutesbury and Wendell, east of Sunderland, south of Montague, and north of Amherst. Leverett was originally part of Sunderland (named Swampfield at that time). The first non-indigenous settlement was established in 1750, and the settlers officially petitioned

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

to become their own town in 1774. The town was named for John Leverett, the twentieth Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1985, a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

monastic order called Nipponzan Myohoji erected a large monument in Leverett. This structure, known as the New England Peace Pagoda, is considered the first of its kind in North America. Two historic Evangelical churches are also located in Leverett, North Leverett Baptist and Moore's Corner Church, the latter of which was founded by a protégé of evangelist

Dwight L. Moody Dwight Lyman Moody (February 5, 1837 – December 22, 1899), also known as D. L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher connected with Keswickianism, who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Mas ...

. ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' ran a story in 2005 describing Leverett and its neighboring town, Shutesbury, as one of "America's Broadband Black Holes". In 2017 Massachusetts Governor

Charlie Baker Charles Duane Baker Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American politician serving as the sixth president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 72nd governor of Massa ...

announced grant funding for high speed broadband in several towns, including Leverett.

Geography

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 (0.61%) is water. Leverett is located on the edge of the

Pioneer Valley The Pioneer Valley is the colloquial and promotional name for the portion of the Connecticut River Valley that is in Massachusetts in the United States. It is generally taken to comprise the three counties of Hampden County, Massachusetts, Ha ...

and the hills of northwestern Massachusetts, just east of the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

. The southwestern corner of town is relatively flat plains, while the rest is dominated by hills, the tallest of which is Brushy Mountain, with an elevation of . Several brooks drain through the town, all heading toward the Connecticut River. Leverett Pond is the town's largest body of water, lying near the center of town. A small part of Mount Toby State Forest crosses into the town from the west. The town's most famous geological feature, however, is Rattlesnake Gutter, a boulder-filled chasm near the geographic center of town. Leverett is located along the southern border of Franklin County, north of Hampshire County. The town is bordered by Montague to the north, Wendell to the northeast, Shutesbury to the east, Amherst to the south, and

to the west. There are four small villages in the town, Leverett Center, East Leverett, North Leverett and Moores Corner. North Leverett begins at the intersection of Montague Road and Cave Hill Road, extending north to the Montague and Wendell borders. A fifth, Hillsboro, was a former village with an independent

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

there until it was disestablished in 1934. From Leverett Center, Leverett is south-southeast of the county seat of Greenfield, north of Springfield, and west of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Demographics

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,663 people, in 632 households, and 448 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 648 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 95.31%

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 ...

; 0.24%

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 ...

; 0.54% Native American; 1.38% Asian; 1.62% from other races; and 0.90% 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 1.44% of the population. Of the 632 households, 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them; 58.5% 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; 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present; and 29.0% were non-families. Of all households 19.9% were made up of individuals, and 5.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 2.92. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.3% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24; 22.1% from 25 to 44, 35.7% from 45 to 64; and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.4 males. The median income for a household was $63,203, and the median income for a family was $73,333. Males had a median income of $45,078 versus $36,607 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 $31,891. About 1.6% of families and 5.4% 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 2.1% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

There are no interstates or limited-access highways in the town; the nearest,

Interstate 91 Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It is the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. Its southern terminus is in New Haven, Connecticut, at I-95, whi ...

, lies west of town, across the

. The only state route to pass through town, Route 63, runs through Leverett's western side, heading from Amherst into Montague. The route runs roughly parallel to the New England Central Railroad freight line. The nearest general aviation airport is Turners Falls Airport in Montague, and the nearest national air service is at

Bradley International Airport Bradley International Airport – historically known as Bradley Field – is a public international airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, Windsor Locks, Connecticut, United States. Owned and operated by the Connecticut Airport Authority, Con ...

in Connecticut.

Education

The town is part of the Erving School Union #28 for grades PK–6 along with the towns of Shutesbury, New Salem, Wendell, and Erving, and the Amherst Regional School District along with Amherst, Pelham, and Shutesbury. Leverett has one elementary school, which serves grades PK–6. Students in Leverett then attend Amherst Regional Middle School for grades 7–8, and high school students attend Amherst Regional High School.

Notable people

Erastus Salisbury Field Erastus Salisbury Field (May 19, 1805 in Leverett, Massachusetts – June 28, 1900 in Sunderland, Massachusetts) was an American folk art painter of portraits, landscapes, and history pictures. Erastus Field and his twin sister, Salome, were born ...

, nineteenth century painter, whose works are held in Historic Deerfield, the D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts in Springield, and the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

in Washington DC * Paula Green, founder of the Karuna Center for Peacebuilding * Michael Kittredge, founder of the Yankee Candle Company

References

External links

Town of Leverett official website
{{Authority control 1774 establishments in the Province of Massachusetts Bay Populated places established in 1774 Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts Towns in Franklin County, Massachusetts Towns in Massachusetts