Turners Falls is an unincorporated village and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in the town of Montague 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 4,512 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. Its name is often used as a

metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. For example, the word "wikt:suit, suit" may refer to a person from groups commonly wearing business attire, such ...

for the entire town of Montague, for which it is the business district and comprises more than half the population.

Geography

Turners Falls is located at (42.598943, -72.556809). 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 village has a total area of , of which is land and (17.02%) is water.

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 2020, there were 4,512 people, 2,015 households, and 1,153 families residing in the CDP. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 2,145 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 94.93%

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 ...

, 0.74%

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 ...

, 0.34% Native American, 0.97% Asian, 0.11%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.79% from other races, and 2.12% 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 3.49% of the population. There were 1,995 households, out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.2% 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, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 35.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.87. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 23.9% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $24,243, and the median income for a family was $38,041. Males had a median income of $30,997 versus $25,444 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 CDP was $16,446. About 13.4% of families and 18.9% 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 28.6% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.

History and culture

The village of Turners Falls was founded in 1868 as a planned industrial community according to the plan of Alvah Crocker, a prominent man from Fitchburg who envisioned in the immense power of the waterfalls the means of establishing a great city. Crocker was influenced by other, earlier and successful experiments in Lowell and elsewhere. Crocker's vision was to attract industry to the town by offering cheap

hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...

that was made by the harnessing 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 ...

, through the construction of a dam and canal. His development concept was to sell mill sites along the power canal to those companies and to sell individual building lots to mill workers who would come to work in the mills. The rest of the village was laid out in a horizontal grid pattern with cross streets numerically. Avenue A, the main commercial district, was designed as a grand tree lined avenue.

Turners Falls Massacre

The largest of the five villages comprising the town of Montague, Turners Falls was named after Captain William Turner, who played a key role in the region's Indian Wars. In 1676, 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 ...

, Captain Turner led a group of about 160 mounted soldiers from Hadley and made a surprise attack on an Indian encampment located near the falls. The attack on a sleeping village of Native Americans on the Gill side of the Great Falls lasted several hours and resulted in the death of many people including many women and children. The area by the falls was traditionally shared by the Pocumtuk Confederacy, the Nipmucs, and the Wabanaki tribes because of the abundance of salmon and shad available there. Of the 160 attackers, at least 40 were killed in the withdrawal. Some, including the Chaplain, Reverend Hope Atherton got separated from the main body and had to find their way alone; a few were successful while others never returned. Captain Turner's body was found about a month later and was buried on a bluff west of where he fell. A tablet marks the spot today. The Turners Falls massacre was called the

Battle of Turner's Falls The Battle of Turner's Falls or Battle of Grand Falls; also known as the Peskeompscut-Wissantinnewag Massacre, was a battle and massacre occurring on May 19, 1676, in the context of King Philip's War in what is present-day Gill and Greenfield, ...

at the time and is often viewed as a turning point in the King Philip's War. As the historian Russell Bourne points out, “After the Peskeompskut massacre, allied sachems openly discussed the strategy of King Phillip, the name given to the Native American leader Metacom, and sending his head to the English as a prelude to peace negotiations”. Within one month of the massacre, the English offensive in the Connecticut Valley ended suddenly. The end of King Philip's War came not long afterward. In recognition of the tragic nature of the Turners Falls massacre, the Board of Selectmen and Town of Montague, as part of its 250th anniversary, joined with representatives of various Native American tribes on May 19, 2004, in a Reconciliation Day ceremony.

Historic district

The central portion of the village is a historic district on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Known as the Turners Falls Historic District, it is roughly bounded by the

, Power Canal, 9th Street and L Street. The

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 ...

owned several properties and businesses in downtown Turners Falls from 1972 to 1980.

Points of interest

* Turners Falls Canal * Great Falls Discovery Center * Gill–Montague Bridge * The Shea Theater * Canalside Rail Trail

Notable people

* Robert E. Bourdeau, astrophysicist and Explorer 8 Project Manager * Rico Brogna, former Major League baseball first baseman * Philip H. Hoff (1924–2018), 73rd Governor of

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

* Walter Kostanski (1923–2015), Massachusetts state representative and funeral director

References

External links

Turners Falls Water Department

Turners Falls Fire Department

Great Falls Discovery Center

Town of Montague

Shea Theater
{{authority control Montague, Massachusetts Census-designated places in Franklin County, Massachusetts Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Massachusetts populated places on the Connecticut River Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts Census-designated places in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Franklin County, Massachusetts 1868 establishments in Massachusetts