Editing Leverett, Massachusetts

{{short description|Town in Massachusetts, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Leverett, Massachusetts
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    = 
|image_skyline            = New England Peace Pagoda - Jul 2002.jpg
|imagesize                = 250px
|image_caption            = The [[New England Peace Pagoda]] in Leverett
|image_seal               = Seal of Leverett, Massachusetts.png
|image_flag               = Flag of Leverett, Massachusetts.jpg
|image_map                = Franklin County Massachusetts incorporated and unincorporated areas Leverett highlighted.svg
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location in Franklin County in Massachusetts
|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         = 1713
|established_title2       = Incorporated
|established_date2        = 1774
|government_type          = [[Open town meeting]]
|area_total_km2           = 59.5
|area_total_sq_mi         = 23.0
|area_land_km2            = 59.2
|area_land_sq_mi          = 22.9
|area_water_km2           = 0.4
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.1
|population_as_of         = 2020
|settlement_type          = [[New England town|Town]]
|population_total         = 1865
|population_density_km2   = auto 
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
|elevation_ft             = 883
|timezone                 = [[Eastern Standard Time Zone|Eastern]]
|utc_offset               = −5
|timezone_DST             = [[Eastern Standard Time Zone|Eastern]]
|utc_offset_DST           = −4
|coordinates              = {{Coord|42|27|07|N|72|30|07|W|region:US-MA_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|website                  = {{URL|www.leverett.ma.us}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP Code]]
|postal_code              = 01054
|area_code                = [[Area code 413|413]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 25-35180
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 0618168<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|618168}}</ref>
|footnotes                = 
}}

'''Leverett''' is a [[New England town|town]] in [[Franklin County, Massachusetts|Franklin County]], [[Massachusetts]], United States. The population was 1,865 as of the 2020 [[2020 United States census|census]].<ref name="Census 2020">{{cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0600000US2501135180|title=Census - Geography Profile: Leverett town, Franklin County, Massachusetts|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=November 14, 2021}}</ref> It is part of the [[Springfield, Massachusetts]] [[Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts|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, Massachusetts|Sunderland]] to become their own town in 1774. The town was named for [[John Leverett]], the twentieth Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gannett|first=Henry|title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ|year=1905|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n134 185]}}</ref>

In 1985, a [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] 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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://smalltownclaimtofame.com/ma-leverett-ludlow/|title=MA Leverett - Ludlow - Small Town Claim To Fame|work=Small Town Claim To Fame|access-date=January 2, 2018}}</ref> 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 [[Evangelism|evangelist]] [[Dwight L. Moody]].

''[[The Boston Globe]]'' ran a story in 2005 describing Leverett and its neighboring town, Shutesbury, as one of "America's Broadband Black Holes".<ref>{{cite news|last=Russell|first=Jenna|title=Internet yearning in Western Mass. hills|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/08/24/internet_yearning_in_western_mass_hills/|access-date=May 13, 2012|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=August 24, 2005}}</ref> In 2017 Massachusetts Governor [[Charlie Baker]] announced grant funding for high speed broadband in several towns, including Leverett.<ref>{{cite web|date=May 25, 2017|title=Rural towns get broadband funding|url=https://www.recorder.com/Rural-towns-get-broadband-funding-10312309|access-date=September 13, 2022|website=Greenfield Recorder|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220913163524/https://www.recorder.com/Rural-towns-get-broadband-funding-10312309|archive-date=September 13, 2022|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Rattlesnake Falls.JPG|thumb|upright|left|Saw Mill River Falls near Rattlesnake Gutter]]

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|23.0|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|22.9|sqmi|km2}} are land and {{convert|0.1|sqmi|km2|adj=on}} (0.61%) is water. Leverett is located on the edge of the [[Pioneer Valley]] and the hills of northwestern Massachusetts, just east of the [[Connecticut River]]. 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 {{convert|1260|ft|m}}.

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, Massachusetts|Hampshire County]]. The town is bordered by [[Montague, Massachusetts|Montague]] to the north, [[Wendell, Massachusetts|Wendell]] to the northeast, [[Shutesbury, Massachusetts|Shutesbury]] to the east, [[Amherst, Massachusetts|Amherst]] to the south, and [[Sunderland, Massachusetts|Sunderland]] 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]] there until it was disestablished in 1934.<ref>Heilprin, Angelo, and Louis Heilprin. ''Lippincott's New Gazetteer: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World, Containing the Most Recent and Authentic Information Respecting the Countries, Cities, Towns, Resorts, Islands, Rivers, Mountains, Seas, Lakes, Etc., in Every Portion of the Globe, Part 1'' New York: J.B. Lippincott, 1916; p. 829.</ref><ref>[http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=132:3:1330621673492803::NO:3:P3_FID,P3_TITLE:1975132%2CHillsboro%20Post%20Office%20(historical) Merolla, Lawrence M. and Frank M. Crowther. ''The Post Offices of Massachusetts''. North Abington, Massachusetts: The Massachusetts Postal Research Society, 1981; p. 36] as cited by USGS [[Geographic Names Information System]].</ref>

From Leverett Center, Leverett is {{convert|14|mi|km}} south-southeast of the county seat of [[Greenfield, Massachusetts|Greenfield]], {{convert|27|mi|km}} north of [[Springfield, Massachusetts|Springfield]], and {{convert|86|mi|km}} west of [[Boston]].

==Demographics==
{{Historical populations|type=USA|state=collapsed
|1850|948
|1860|964
|1870|877
|1880|742
|1890|702
|1900|744
|1910|728
|1920|695
|1930|677
|1940|688
|1950|791
|1960|914
|1970|1005
|1980|1471
|1990|1785
|2000|1663
|2010|1851
|2020|1865
|2022|1860
|2025|1876<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.leverett.ma.us/p/7/About-Us |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=Town of Leverett, MA |language=en}}</ref>
|footnote= {{Historical populations/Massachusetts municipalities references}}<ref>{{cite web|title=City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2022|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=November 10, 2023|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]]|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> of 2000, there were 1,663 people, in 632 households, and 448 families residing in the town.  The population density was {{convert|72.8|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 648 housing units at an average density of {{convert|28.4|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the town was 95.31% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]]; 0.24% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]]; 0.54% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]; 1.38% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]; 1.62% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]]; and 0.90% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|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 [[Marriage|married couples]] 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]] for the town was $31,891.  About 1.6% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], 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]], lies west of town, across the [[Connecticut River]]. The only state route to pass through town, [[Massachusetts Route 63|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]] 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, Massachusetts|Amherst]], [[Pelham, Massachusetts|Pelham]], and [[Shutesbury, Massachusetts|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 (Massachusetts)|Amherst Regional High School]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.union28.org/home|title=Home|website=www.union28.org}}</ref>

==Notable people==
*[[Erastus Salisbury Field]], nineteenth century painter, whose works are held in [[Historic Deerfield]], the [[Michele and Donald D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts|D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts]] in Springield, and the [[National Gallery of Art|National Gallery]] in Washington DC
* Paula Green, founder of the Karuna Center for Peacebuilding
*[[Yankee Candle|Michael Kittredge]], founder of the Yankee Candle Company

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.leverett.ma.us Town of Leverett official website]

{{Franklin County, Massachusetts}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Leverett, Massachusetts| ]]
[[Category:1774 establishments in the Province of Massachusetts Bay]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1774]]
[[Category:Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Towns in Franklin County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Towns in Massachusetts]]