Gill 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 ...

Franklin County, Massachusetts Franklin County is a nongovernmental county in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 census, the population was 71,029, which made it the least populous county on the Massachusetts mainland, and the third leas ...

, United States. The population was 1,551 at the 2020 census. 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. The campus of

Northfield Mount Hermon School Northfield Mount Hermon School (abbreviated as NMH), is a co-educational college-preparatory school in Gill, Massachusetts. It educates boarding and day students in grades 9–12, as well as post-graduate students. It is a member of the Eight ...

is located in the Mount Hermon section of the town. By sheer coincidence, "Gill" is the only full municipality of the 351 towns and cities currently administered in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts whose name has characters entirely in alphabetical order.

History

Prior to the arrival of English colonists, the Massachusetts portion 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 ...

valley was occupied by the

Nipmuc The Nipmuc or Nipmuck people are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who historically spoke an Eastern Algonquian languages, Eastern Algonquian language, probably the Loup language. Their historic territory Nippenet, meaning 'the f ...

, an Algonquin-speaking tribe. A site on the river near the great falls shows evidence of human habitation dating back 10,000 years or more. In the 1670s the Nipmuc had a village called Peskeompscut in that area. During

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...

in 1676, Captain William Turner led 150 colonists in an attack on this settlement, in which 100-200 Indians (mostly women, children, and elderly) were slain. The falls came to be known as Turners Falls after Turner, who was slain in the battle. (The falls thereafter gave that name to the village of Turners Falls in neighboring Montague.) Gill was first settled in 1776 and was officially incorporated in 1793. The town is named in honor of

Moses Gill Moses Gill (January 18, 1733 – May 20, 1800) was an American merchant and politician who served as the acting governor of Massachusetts from 1799 to 1800, when he died in office, the only acting governor to do so. A successful businessman, he ...

, a member of Massachusetts' Executive Council who became

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

in 1794 and

acting governor An acting governor is a person who acts in the role of governor. In Commonwealth jurisdictions where the governor is a vice-regal position, the role of "acting governor" may be filled by a lieutenant governor (as in most Australian states) or a ...

in 1799 when Governor

Increase Sumner Increase Sumner (November 27, 1746 – June 7, 1799) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from Massachusetts. He was the fifth governor of Massachusetts, serving from 1797 to 1799. Trained as a lawyer, he served in the Massachusetts P ...

died. The first town meeting was held December 18, 1793, with Moses Bascom as moderator. Elected officers were Moses Bascom Jr. as town clerk and treasurer, Moses Bascom, William Smalley and Noah Munn as selectmen and assessors, and David Squires as constable.

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 is land and , or 6.96%, is water. Gill is located on the west bank of the

, which flows along the town's eastern and southern edges. The river forms most of the town's boundary with Northfield, to the east, and separates the town from

Erving Erving may refer to: People * Cameron Erving (born 1992), American football player * George W. Erving (1769–1850), American diplomat * Joona Erving (born 1994), Finnish hockey player * Julius Erving (born 1950), American basketball player, also k ...

to the southeast, and Montague to the south. The Fall River, a small tributary, forms the boundary with Greenfield to the southwest. Continuing clockwise, the town shares land boundaries with Bernardston in the northwest, and a portion of Northfield to the north.

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 1,363 people, 537 households, and 373 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 560 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.43%

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 ...

, 0.29%

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 ...

, 0.07% Native American, 0.81% Asian, 0.37% from other races, and 1.03% 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 0.73% of the population. There were 537 households, out of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.1% 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, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.03. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.7% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 30.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $50,750, and the median income for a family was $61,339. Males had a median income of $35,402 versus $26,613 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 $23,381. About 3.9% of families and 4.4% 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 2.5% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Gill is home to one elementary school, the Gill Elementary School. Middle/High School students attend Great Falls Middle School, and Turner Falls High School in Montague.

Points of interest

French King Bridge The French King Bridge is the three-span "cantilever arch" bridge that crosses the Connecticut River on the border between the towns of Erving and Gill, Massachusetts, United States. The bridge, part of Massachusetts Route 2, carries automobil ...

* Gill–Montague Bridge *

Renaissance Community The Brotherhood of the Spirit (renamed Renaissance Community in 1974) was one of the largest and most enduring communes in the northeast United States and as such was a distinct link between the commune phenomenon of the 1960s and the New Age mov ...

, a commune (1968–1988) * Turners Falls Dam

Notable people

Bryan Callen Bryan Callen (born January 26, 1967) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer and podcaster. He studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. Callen initiated his career as one of the original cast members on the sketch comedy series ' ...

, American stand-up comedian, actor, writer and podcaster *

E. Stevens Henry Edward Stevens Henry (February 10, 1836 – October 10, 1921) was an American businessman and politician from Connecticut who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, United S ...

, U.S. Representative * Sereno Merrill, Wisconsin State Assemblyman *

Matt Striebel Matt Striebel (born January 12, 1979) is a former professional lacrosse midfielder who played professional field lacrosse in the Major League Lacrosse (MLL) for the New York Lizards and formerly played professional box lacrosse in the National L ...

, Professional lacrosse midfielder

Gallery

Image:IMG_3998_Turner_Monument.jpg, Monument on the Gill side of the

Turners Falls–Gill Bridge The Turners Falls–Gill Bridge (sometimes called the Gill–Montague Bridge), is a steel deck truss bridge crossing the Connecticut River in Massachusetts. It connects the Town of Gill A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ tha ...

, with the text "Captain William Turner with 145 men surprised and destroyed over 300 Indians encamped at this place May 19, 1676" Image:Gill Town Hall, MA.jpg, Gill Town Hall

References

{{authority control Towns in Franklin County, Massachusetts Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts Massachusetts populated places on the Connecticut River Towns in Massachusetts 1776 establishments in the Province of Massachusetts Bay