Editing Colrain, Massachusetts

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Colrain, Massachusetts
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    =
|image_skyline            = Colrain-Green River.JPG
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = The Green River, flowing along the Colrain border
|image_seal               = Seal of Colrain, Massachusetts.png
|image_flag               = 
|image_map                = Franklin County Massachusetts incorporated and unincorporated areas Colrain highlighted.svg
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location in Franklin County in Massachusetts
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             = 
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Massachusetts]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Massachusetts|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Franklin County, Massachusetts|Franklin]]
|established_title        = Settled
|established_date         = 1735
|established_title2       = Incorporated
|established_date2        = 1761
|established_title3       = 
|established_date3        = 
|government_type          = [[Open town meeting]]
|leader_title             = 
|leader_name              = 
|leader_title1            = <!--Board of <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Selectmen-->
|leader_name1             = 
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 112.4
|area_total_sq_mi         = 
|area_land_km2            = 111.7
|area_land_sq_mi          = 
|area_water_km2           = 0.7
|area_water_sq_mi         = 
|population_as_of         = 2020
|settlement_type          = [[New England town|Town]]
|population_total         = 1606
|population_density_km2   = auto
|population_density_sq_mi = 
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
|elevation_ft             = 902
|timezone                 = [[Eastern Standard Time Zone|Eastern]]
|utc_offset               = -5
|timezone_DST             = [[Eastern Standard Time Zone|Eastern]]
|utc_offset_DST           = -4
|coordinates              = {{Coord|42|40|23|N|72|41|50|W|region:US-MA_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|website                  = {{URL|www.colrain-ma.gov}}
|postal_code_type         = ZIP Code
|postal_code              = 01340
|area_code                = [[Area code 413|413]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 25-14885
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 0618160<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|618160}}</ref>
|footnotes                = 
}}

'''Colrain''' is a [[New England town|town]] in [[Franklin County, Massachusetts]], United States. The population was 1,606 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref name="Census 2020">{{Cite web |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0600000US2501114885|title=Census - Geography Profile: Colrain town, Franklin County, Massachusetts |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=November 14, 2021}}</ref> It is part of the [[Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts]].

== History ==
Colrain was first settled in 1735 as "Boston Township No. 2", organized into an independently governing town body in 1745, and was officially incorporated on June 30, 1761.

Although originally named Colrain in 1745, and officially incorporated under that name in 1761, the town spelled its name (and appeared on maps) as "Colraine" for over 112 years until in 1873 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts insisted that the town begin to spell its name as it was officially incorporated.

Colrain has nine historic village areas: Elm Grove, Lyonsville, Foundry Village, Shattuckville, Griswoldville, [[Colrain City]], [[Catamount, Massachusetts|Catamount Hill]], Stewartville, and Gimletville.  Much of the town's land area lies outside of these villages.

Colrain City (which constitutes the town center), was originally named as a joke during the mid 19th-century, since the small village was clearly anything but a city.  Located in the valley at the base of Chandler Hill, a contemporary satirical poem suggested that the inexplicable grouping of houses was populated by people who had failed to climb the road leading over the hill.  The center has remained almost completely unchanged over the last 150 years, and was [[Colrain Center Historic District|declared a historic district]] in 2006.

In May 1812, Colrain was the first town in the United States to fly the U.S. flag over a public schoolhouse. The schoolhouse was located in the hill-top village of Catamount.<ref name="ReferenceA">Patrie, Lois McClellan; A History of Colrain, Massachusetts; Troy, NY, 1974</ref>

Many of the original settlers were immigrants from [[Ireland]] and [[Scotland]], and it is said that the town was named in honor of [[Lord Coleraine]], an Irish peer. According to local tradition, Lord Coleraine was so well pleased by this that he sent a fine bell to the townspeople for their new meeting house. Unfortunately, the bell never arrived. Apparently, so the story goes, it was sold by the unscrupulous agent to whom it was entrusted, and was installed in a church in [[Boston]].  An alternative claim is that when in transit, the crew of the ship encountered a problem and the ship went down with the bell and was never to be found again.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

During the period of [[King George's War]], Colrain was an active military front.  Colrain was home to four forts at this time:  Fort Morrison (also called "North Fort"), Fort Morris (also called "South Fort"), Fort Lucas (built near the town meeting house on Chandler Hill), and Rev. McDowell's Fort (a private fort built by Rev. Alexander McDowell which included his home).  All of these were [[palisade]]d garrison houses, and were used as protection against frequent Indian attacks.  Forts Lucas and Morrison were garrisoned during the war by the Massachusetts colonial militia, and there is also some evidence that British royal troops used Fort Morrison briefly.  After King George's War, colonial troops were withdrawn and the forts were used for local defense until the outbreak of the [[Seven Years' War]] in 1754, when the forts were renovated and garrisons of colonial militia were once again installed at Forts Lucas and Morrison, where they would remain for the duration of the nine-year war.  This was a source of considerable irritation for the townspeople, who were obligated to house the garrison troops in their homes.  At the close of the Seven Years' War in 1763, colonial militia troops were permanently withdrawn, and the era of Colrain's military significance drew to a close.  With the end of the [[French and Indian Wars]] the danger of Indian attacks was greatly lessened, and the forts were abandoned by the end of the 1760s.

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|112.4|km2|disp=flip}}, of which {{convert|111.7|km2|disp=flip}} is land and {{convert|0.7|km2|disp=flip}}, or 0.59%, is water.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Colrain town, Franklin County, Massachusetts |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |accessdate=August 22, 2012 }}</ref> The town ranks second in area of the county's 26 towns, and twenty-fifth of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts.  Until the expansion of [[New Salem, Massachusetts|New Salem]] after the building of the [[Quabbin Reservoir]] in the 1930s, Colrain was the largest town in the county.  It is located on the northern border of the county and state, with [[Windham County, Vermont|Windham County]], [[Vermont]].  The town is bordered by [[Halifax, Vermont|Halifax]] and [[Guilford, Vermont]], to the north, [[Leyden, Massachusetts|Leyden]] to the east, [[Greenfield, Massachusetts|Greenfield]] to the southeast, [[Shelburne, Massachusetts|Shelburne]] to the south, [[Charlemont, Massachusetts|Charlemont]] to the southwest, and [[Heath, Massachusetts|Heath]] to the west. Colrain's town center is located {{convert|9|mi|0}} northwest of [[Greenfield, Massachusetts|Greenfield]], {{convert|45|mi}} north of [[Springfield, Massachusetts|Springfield]], and approximately {{convert|100|mi}} west-northwest of [[Boston]].

Colrain is located in the northeastern part of [[the Berkshires]], with the many hills divided by the rivers which run through town.  With the exception of a {{convert|0.65|mi|adj=on}} stretch, near the [[Vermont]] border, the entirety of the eastern border lies along the [[Green River (Deerfield River)|Green River]], which flows through neighboring Greenfield into the [[Deerfield River]].  The east and west branches of the [[North River (Deerfield River)|North River]] also meet in the town and flow into the Deerfield River, just south of the town along the Shelburne-Buckland town line.  The town is also home to two state forests, [[Catamount State Forest]] to the southwest, and half of the H.O. Cook State Forest to the northwest.

The main road through Colrain is [[Massachusetts Route 112]], whose northern terminus is in town at the Vermont state line. It is a common route for ski traffic headed to [[Mount Snow]], Vermont. The road closely follows the East Branch of the North River south to its junction with the West Branch, before following the main branch southward towards [[Massachusetts Route 2]] in Shelburne.  The nearest interstate, [[Interstate 91]], is accessible in Greenfield.  There is no rail, bus or air service in town, with the nearest bus and Amtrak service in Greenfield, and the nearest air service in [[Montague, Massachusetts|Turners Falls]]. The nearest national air service can be found at [[Bradley International Airport]] in [[Windsor Locks, Connecticut|Windsor Locks]], [[Connecticut]].

==Climate==

In a typical year, Colrain, Massachusetts temperatures fall below {{convert|50|F}} for 205 days per year. Annual precipitation is typically 49 inches per year and snow covers the ground 80 days per year or 21.9% of the year. It may be helpful to understand the yearly precipitation by imagining 10 straight days of moderate rain per year. The humidity is below 60% for approximately 18.4 days or 5% of the year.<ref name="Climate in Colrain, Massachusetts">{{cite web | title=Climate in Colrain, Massachusetts| url=https://dwellics.com/massachusetts/climate-in-pinehurst | access-date=July 29, 2022 }}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{Historical populations | type=USA
 | 1840|1726
 | 1850|1785
 | 1860|1798
 | 1870|1742
 | 1880|1777
 | 1890|1671
 | 1900|1749
 | 1910|1741
 | 1920|1607
 | 1930|1391
 | 1940|1497
 | 1950|1546
 | 1960|1426
 | 1970|1420
 | 1980|1552
 | 1990|1757
 | 2000|1813
 | 2010|1671
 | 2020|1606
 | 2023|1629
 | footnote= {{Historical populations/Massachusetts municipalities references}}<ref>{{cite web | title=City and Town Population Totals: 2020−2023| publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] | access-date=June 4, 2024 | url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html}}</ref>
}}

As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |accessdate=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> of 2000, there were 1,813 people, 686 households, and 478 families residing in the town.  By population, Colrain ranks tenth in Franklin County, and 293rd in Massachusetts.  The population density was {{convert|41.8|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}, which ranks nineteenth in the county and 318th in the Commonwealth.  There were 776 housing units at an average density of {{convert|17.9|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  The racial makeup of the town was 98.65% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.33% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.00% [[Black (U.S. Census)|Black]] 0.11% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.88% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.99% of the population.

There were 686 households, out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.2% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.3% were non-families. Of all households, 23.8% were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.7% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.3 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $40,076, and the median income for a family was $46,518. Males had a median income of $32,800 versus $24,125 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $18,948.  About 4.6% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 8.4% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.

==Government==
Colrain employs the [[open town meeting]] form of government, and is led by a [[board of selectmen]].  The town has its own police and fire departments, as well as emergency services.  The town's library, Griswold Memorial Library, is connected to the regional library network.  The town also has its own post office as well.  The nearest hospital, Franklin Medical Center, is in Greenfield.

On the state level, Colrain is represented in the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]] as part of the Second Berkshire district, represented by Paul Mark, which covers central Berkshire County, as well as portions of Hampshire and Franklin Counties. In the [[Massachusetts Senate]], the town is part of the Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester district, represented by Jo Comerford, which includes most of eastern Franklin County and much of eastern Hampshire County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mass.gov/legis/city_town.htm|title=The 190th General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts|website=www.mass.gov}}</ref>  The town is patrolled by the Second (Shelburne Falls) Station of Troop "B" of the [[Massachusetts State Police]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eopsterminal&L=5&L0=Home&L1=Law+Enforcement+&+Criminal+Justice&L2=Law+Enforcement&L3=State+Police+Troops&L4=Troop+B&sid=Eeops&b=terminalcontent&f=msp_divisions_field_services_troops_troop_b_msp_field_troop_b_station_b2&csid=Eeops|title=Mass.gov|website=Mass.gov}}</ref>

On the national level, Colrain is represented in the [[United States House of Representatives]] as part of [[Massachusetts's 1st congressional district]], and has been represented by [[Richard Neal]] of Springfield since January 2013. Massachusetts is represented in the [[United States Senate]] by [[Elizabeth Warren]] and [[Edward Markey]].

==Education==
Colrain is a member of the Mohawk Trail Regional School District, which covers six towns on the elementary level and most of western Franklin County on the upper levels of education.  Colrain Central School serves students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grades, and students from grades 7–12 attend [[Mohawk Trail Regional High School]] in [[Buckland, Massachusetts|Buckland]].  There is a private school, the [[Academy at Charlemont]], in neighboring Charlemont, and several other private and religious schools are located in the region.

The nearest community college, [[Greenfield Community College (Massachusetts)|Greenfield Community College]], is located in Greenfield.  The nearest state college is [[Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts]] in North Adams, and the nearest state university is the [[University of Massachusetts Amherst]].  The nearest private college was [[Marlboro College]] in Marlboro, VT until 2020, with several others located southeast in the Northampton area.

==Notable people==

* [[William Apess]], [[Pequot]] writer, preacher, and activist<ref name="Marquis 1607-1896">{{cite book | title = Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896 | publisher = Marquis Who's Who | year = 1963}}</ref>
* [[Danford Balch]], first man legally hanged in Oregon
* [[Joseph Denison (pastor)|Joseph Denison]], first President of [[Kansas State University]], abolitionist minister
* [[Almira Edson]], watercolorist<ref name="Wertkin2004">{{cite book|author=Gerard C. Wertkin|title=Encyclopedia of American Folk Art|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780415929868|url-access=registration|date=August 2, 2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-95614-1}}</ref> 
* [[Lorenzo Lyons]], missionary to the Kingdom of Hawaii
* [[Samuel R. McClellan]], Wisconsin state senator
* [[Elizabeth Perkins]], actress<ref>{{cite web|title=Elizabeth Perkins|url=http://www.mtv.com/artists/elizabeth-perkins/biography/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221202738/http://www.mtv.com/artists/elizabeth-perkins/biography/|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 21, 2014|publisher=2012 Viacom International Inc.|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref>
* [[Samuel Taggart]], Congregational minister and US congressman<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=T000012|title= TAGGART, Samuel, (1754 - 1825)|publisher= Biographical Directory of the United States Congress |accessdate= January 14, 2014}}</ref>

==References==

{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* [https://archive.org/details/historyofconnect02ever ''History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts'', Volume II], by Louis H. Everts, 1879. [https://archive.org/details/historyofconnect02ever/page/n297/mode/2up pp. 746–754].

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.colrain-ma.gov Town of Colrain official website]
* [http://www.mainstreetmaps.com/MA/Colrain/ GIS Property Maps]
* [http://www.franklincountyhistory.com/colrain/ Colrain history]

{{Franklin County, Massachusetts}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:1761 establishments in the Province of Massachusetts Bay]]
[[Category:Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Towns in Franklin County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Towns in Massachusetts]]