Shutesbury 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
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 1,717 at the
2020 census.
It is part of the
Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts
The Springfield metropolitan area, also known as Greater Springfield, 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, MA Metro ...
.
History
For at least 2,000 years, Nipmuc towns along the Towanucksett and Quinneticut Rivers called the area covering what are now South Shutesbury, NE Amherst and parts of Pelham "Sanakkamak", meaning "difficult land", according to the Indian Land Archives of Springfield (1660–1835), now housed at Cornell University. According to the same archives (pages 31–33), the land was named Sanakkamak "on accord of its many ponds, swamps, and streams" leading to steep slopes of Kunckquatchu (Mt. Toby) and Quaquatchu (Brushy Mountain). The northern parts of Shutesbury, as well as parts of Belchertown and Pelham along the former Swift River (now Quabbin Reservoir), were called "Kingyiwngwalak", meaning "Upturned land" due to the heavily titled bedrock of the area and many steep ravines draining to the east and south (Indian Land Archives of Springfield, Cornell Univ.).
Indian Land Deed Archives record that the land was used for hunting, fishing and collecting wild staples, such as chestnuts, hopniss (Indian potato, ''Apios americana''), blackberries, blueberries, service berries, sunflower root, and for cutting timber. Sachems holding rights to the land in Shutesbury specifically inserted a clause in the deeds that "they, their descendants and assigns retain the right to hunt, fish and take wood from the lands they have thus deeded, and the English shall not prohibit them from taking wood and fish, and shall be friendly and neighborly toward them" (edited for modern spelling).
Shutesbury was colonized in 1735, when it was called Road Town, because the original request by colonists to Boston was to build a road in a roadless area. Road Town was officially incorporated as Shutesbury in 1761. The town was renamed in honor of
Samuel Shute
Samuel Shute (January 12, 1662 – April 15, 1742) was an English military officer and royal governor of the provinces of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. After serving in the Nine Years' War and the War of the Spanish Succession, he was appo ...
, former governor. Town building requirements initially required each colonist family to clear four acres of forest and plant grazing grasses. After the Revolution, the entire area and most of Massachusetts were clear-cut and sheep grazing predominated during the brief textiles boom, which was overshadowed by wool production in the West, Australia, and New Zealand (Massachusetts Historical Preservation Commission publication online). Only after the Civil War period was the area largely reforested. Croplands have shrunk steadily in the period since then, being the most at-risk land category in the Town Master Plan. Post-1960, croplands in Shutesbury saw sharp reduction, while residential has remained the fastest-growing land use type since. Forest cover is the second largest sector of land use loss since 1960 and remains so, after croplands. Population has risen since 1960, with several short periods of population loss.
Shutesbury's zoning laws reflect area concerns about rural status and conservation of resources.
The
December 2008 New England ice storm
The December 2008 Northeastern United States ice storm was a damaging ice storm that took out electric power, power for millions of people in the Northeastern United States. The storm was deemed the worst ice storm in a decade for New England ...
(December 11–12, 2008) coated trees throughout Massachusetts with a -inch to 1-inch thick layer of ice. Tree limbs came crashing down on power lines, houses, and cars. The state of Massachusetts declared a state of emergency. Power was out in Shutesbury for up to ten days. The estimated cost of cleaning up ranged from $50,000 to $100,000. The
National Guard
National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
...
was called in to help with cleanup. The parts of town along Wendell Road and Pelham Hill Road suffered the most fallen trees.
Shutesbury is home to a planned community based on historic Baker's Farm. Many residents choose Shutesbury for its rural character, and work hard to preserve that character, partly resulting in an extensive Town Master Plan. Shutesbury is one of a very few towns that enjoys actual night darkness, having forgone street lighting. Most of the eastern third of the town is part of the Quabbin Reservation, with significantly large parcels also composing Shutesbury State Forest. As well, there is currently a proposal to place an additional 2,00 acres of private forestry land into conservation management.
''
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 Shutesbury and its neighboring town,
Leverett, 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 Shutesbury. Shutesbury Town Library not only lends members books, films and videos, but also lends kayaks, life vests, and paddles for use at Lake Wyola.
A 2012 attempt to pass a ballot measure funding erection of a new library for the town resulted in an electoral tie, defeated on appeal. A total of $233,232.93 in personal pledges and grants were raised to kickstart the effort. The current library, Shutesbury's first and only, was erected in 1902 and is very small—768 square feet total—and cannot provide modern amenities such as running water.
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 (2.06%) is water. Shutesbury lies at the northern end of the western branch of the
Quabbin Reservoir
The Quabbin Reservoir is the largest inland body of water in Massachusetts, United States, and was built between 1930 and 1939. Along with the Wachusett Reservoir, it is the primary water supply for Boston, to the east, and 40 other cities and ...
. The West Branch of the Swift River still flows through town to the reservoir, and the eastern half of town is defined by the hills leading to the river. The brooks in the eastern part of town lead to this river, while the brooks in the western part of town flow towards the
Towanucksett/Fort River. In the northwestern corner of town lies Lake Wyola (formerly Locks Pond), bordered on its east end by wetlands. The center of town is dominated by a 1200-foot ridge, and the southwestern part of town grades toward 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 ...
. A portion of the hills in the eastern part of town are protected as part of the Shutesbury State Forest.
Shutesbury lies along the southern border of Franklin County, along the border of
Hampshire County. Shutesbury is bordered by
Wendell to the north,
New Salem to the east,
Pelham to the south,
Amherst to the southwest, and
Leverett to the west. The town center lies 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 ...
.
Transportation
The town has no Interstate or limited-access highways, lying east of
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 ...
and south of
Massachusetts Route 2
Route 2 is a major east–west state highway in Massachusetts, United States. Along with Route 9 and U.S. Route 20 to the south, these highways are the main alternatives to the Massachusetts Turnpike/I-90 toll highway. Route ...
.
U.S. Route 202
U.S. Route 202 (US 202) is a spur route of U.S. Route 2, US 2. It follows a northeasterly and southwesterly direction stretching from Delaware in the south to Maine in the north and traveling through the states of Pennsylvania, N ...
, officially dedicated as
Daniel Shays
Daniel Shays (August 1747 – September 29, 1825) was an American soldier, revolutionary and farmer famous for allegedly leading Shays' Rebellion, a populist uprising against controversial debt collection and tax policies that took place in Mass ...
Highway, travels along the eastern edge of town. There are no means of mass transit within the town, with the nearest freight railroad passing through Leverett and Amherst and the nearest passenger railway along the
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
''
Vermonter'' line in Northampton.
The nearest general aviation airports are north of the town, in
Montague and
Orange, with the nearest national air service being 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
Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
.
Education
The town is part of the
Amherst Regional School District along with
Amherst,
Leverett, and
Pelham. Shutesbury has one elementary school, the Shutesbury Elementary School, which serves K–6. Students in Shutesbury then attend Amherst Regional Middle School for grades 7 and 8. High school students then attend
Amherst Regional High School.
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 1,810 people, 662 households, and 479 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 807 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 93.70%
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 ...
, 1.05%
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 ...
, 0.55%
Native American, 1.27%
Asian, 0.44% from
other races, and 2.98% 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 2.15% of the population.
There were 662 households, out of which 44.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.3% 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, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.5% were non-families. Of all households 17.5% were made up of individuals, and 3.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.6% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 30.8% from 45 to 64, and 5.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $60,438, and the median income for a family was $65,521. Males had a median income of $44,000 versus $32,069 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 $26,260. About 1.0% of families and 3.8% 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 0.8% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.
Points of interest
*
Lake Wyola State Park
* Morse Hill Outdoor Education Center
* Pine Brook Camp and Conference Center
* Temenos Retreat Center
* Shutesbury Athletic Club, which, despite its name, is a bar - the only one in Shutesbury.
* Sirius Community, an intentional community founded in 1978
References
External links
Town of Shutesbury official website
{{authority control
Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts
Towns in Franklin County, Massachusetts
Towns in Massachusetts