Editing Whately, Massachusetts

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Whately, Massachusetts
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    = 
|image_skyline            = Whately Milk Bottle.JPG
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = The "Whately Milk Bottle" in front of the old Whately Central School (built 1910)
|image_seal               = Seal of Whately, Massachusetts.png
|image_flag               = Flag of Whately, Massachusetts.gif
|image_map                = Franklin County Massachusetts incorporated and unincorporated areas Whately 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         = 1672
|established_title2       = Incorporated
|established_date2        = 1771
|established_title3       = 
|established_date3        = 
|government_type          = [[Open town meeting]]
|leader_title             = <!--[[Town Administrator|Town<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Administrator]]-->
|leader_name              = 
|leader_title1            = <!--Board of <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Selectmen-->
|leader_name1             = 
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 53.5
|area_total_sq_mi         = 20.7
|area_land_km2            = 52.3
|area_land_sq_mi          = 20.2
|area_water_km2           = 1.2
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.5
|population_as_of         = 2020
|settlement_type          = [[New England town|Town]]
|population_total         = 1607
|population_density_km2   = auto
|population_density_sq_mi = 
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
|elevation_ft             = 381
|timezone                 = [[Eastern Standard Time Zone|Eastern]]
|utc_offset               = −5
|timezone_DST             = [[Eastern Standard Time Zone|Eastern]]
|utc_offset_DST           = −4
|coordinates              = {{coord|42|26|N|72|38|W|region:US-MA|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP Code]]s
|postal_code              = 01093 (Whately)<br/>01039 ([[Haydenville, Massachusetts|Haydenville]])<br/>01373 ([[South Deerfield, Massachusetts|South Deerfield]])
|area_code                = [[Area code 413|413]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 25-79110
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 1729674<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|1729674}}</ref>
|website                  = {{URL|www.whately.org}}
|footnotes                = 
}}

'''Whately'''  ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|hw|eɪ|t|l|i}}; {{respell|WAIT|lee}}) is a [[New England town|town]] in [[Franklin County, Massachusetts|Franklin County]], [[Massachusetts]], United States. The population was 1,607 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref name="Census 2020">{{Cite web| url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0600000US2501179110| title=Census - Geography Profile: Whately 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 ==
Whately was first settled in 1672 as a northern section of [[Hatfield, Massachusetts|Hatfield]]. The town peaceably petitioned for separation from the town because of its relatively long distance from the rest of Hatfield, and was officially incorporated in 1771, named by [[Thomas Hutchinson (governor)|Governor Thomas Hutchinson]] for [[Thomas Whately]], a [[Member of Parliament]] whose letter to Hutchinson would later be involved in the controversy which brought on Hutchinson's dismissal.  Julian Whately, a descendant of Thomas, visited the town during the Bicentennial celebration in 1971.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Newlin|first1=Paul|title=Town of Whately 2010 Annual Report|url=https://www.whately.org/sites/whatelyma/files/uploads/2010townreportcompleteforweb.pdf|website=Town of Whately|access-date=September 21, 2017|page=ii}}</ref>  Whately was the site of the state's first [[gin]] distillery, as well as other small mills, including wool and furniture mills.  The town also used the water in town for agricultural pursuits, including dairying and one of the few Sumatran [[tobacco]] fields outside of [[Indonesia]].<ref>[http://www.franklincc.org/whately.html Town of Whately - Franklin County Chamber of Commerce]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.whately.org/about.html|title=About Whately - Town of Whately official website}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[Image:Whately Road Sign.JPG|thumb|left|Entering Whately – Franklin County]]
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|20.7|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|20.2|sqmi|km2}} is land and {{convert|0.5|sqmi|km2}}, or 2.32%, is water.  Whately lies along the southern border of the county, north of [[Hampshire County, Massachusetts|Hampshire County]], and is bordered by [[Conway, Massachusetts|Conway]] to the northwest, [[Deerfield, Massachusetts|Deerfield]] to the northeast, [[Sunderland, Massachusetts|Sunderland]] to the east, [[Hatfield, Massachusetts|Hatfield]] to the south, and [[Williamsburg, Massachusetts|Williamsburg]] to the west.  Whately is located {{convert|11|mi}} south of [[Greenfield, Massachusetts|Greenfield]], {{convert|26|mi}} north of [[Springfield, Massachusetts|Springfield]], and {{convert|95|mi}} west of [[Boston]].

Whately lies along the western banks of the [[Connecticut River]] in the [[Pioneer Valley]].  The western part of town is hilly, with the highest point being the {{convert|980|ft|adj=on}} Mount Esther.  East of the hills, the [[Mill River (Hatfield, Massachusetts)|Mill River]] flows through town, with some swampland to the east between it and the Great Swamp Brook, a tributary which meets in the town.  There is more marshy land in the southeast of town, closer to the Connecticut, and some small ponds between the two.  Much of the land around the two rivers is cleared for farmland.

Whately is crossed by [[Interstate 91]], which passes from north to south in the town, and is accessed at Exit 23 by [[U.S. Route 5 in Massachusetts|U.S. Route 5]] and the concurrently-running [[Massachusetts Route 10]].  The combined routes run roughly parallel to the interstate, crossing it twice in the town.  In the north of town, a short, 200-yard stretch of [[Massachusetts Route 116|Route 116]] follows the same road as Routes 5 & 10 before another 400-yard stretch heads east back into the town of Deerfield, a result of the realignment of the route due to the building of the interstate.  Whately shared the Pilgrim Airport, a small, general aviation airport, with neighboring Hatfield, but the field was closed and is currently used as farmland.  The nearest general aviation airport is [[Northampton Airport]], with the nearest national air service being at [[Bradley International Airport]] in [[Windsor Locks, Connecticut]].

==Demographics==
{{Historical populations | type=USA
 | 1850|1101
 | 1860|1057
 | 1870|1068
 | 1880|1074
 | 1890|779
 | 1900|769
 | 1910|846
 | 1920|1234
 | 1930|1136
 | 1940|979
 | 1950|939
 | 1960|1037
 | 1970|1145
 | 1980|1341
 | 1990|1375
 | 2000|1573
 | 2010|1496
 | 2020|1607
 | 2022|1625
 | 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>
 | align=right}}
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 1,573 people, 629 households, and 425 families residing in the town.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|title=U.S. Census website|publisher=United States Census Bureau|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 1, 2020}}</ref>  By population, Whately ranked fifteenth of the twenty six towns in Franklin County, and 305th of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts.  The population density was {{convert|78.0|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}, which ranked twelfth in the county and 297th in the Commonwealth.  There were 652 housing units at an average density of {{convert|32.3|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  The racial makeup of the town was 97.97% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.51% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.13% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.51% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.32% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.57% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 1.14% of the population.

There were 629 households, out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. Of all households 23.5% were made up of individuals, and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.8% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 29.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.9 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $58,929, and the median income for a family was $66,488. Males had a median income of $45,208 versus $28,177 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $27,826.  About 1.8% of families and 3.0% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 1.8% of those under age 18 and 2.4% of those age 65 or over.

==Government==
[[Image:Whately Town Hall.JPG|thumb|left|Whately Town Hall]]
Whately employs the [[open town meeting]] form of government, and is led by a [[board of selectmen]] and an administrative assistant.  The town has its own police, fire and public works departments, as well as its own post office. While most state offices and the regional waste management area are based in Greenfield, the town is actually closer to Northampton, the former seat of Hampshire County.  The nearest hospital is also in Northampton.

On the state level, Whately is represented in the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]] by the First Franklin district, which includes the southeastern third of Franklin County and towns in north central Hampshire County. In the [[Massachusetts Senate]], the town is represented by the Hampshire and Franklin district, which includes much of eastern Franklin and Hampshire Counties.<ref>[http://www.mass.gov/legis/city_town.htm List of Massachusetts Legislators by City and Town]</ref>  The town is patrolled by the Whately Police Department, with backup from the Headquarters (Northampton) Barracks of Troop "B" of the Massachusetts State Police.

On the national level, Whately is represented in the [[United States House of Representatives]] as part of [[Massachusetts's 2nd congressional district]], and is represented by [[Jim McGovern (American politician)|Jim McGovern]] of [[Worcester, Massachusetts|Worcester]]. Massachusetts is represented in the [[United States Senate]] by senior Senator [[Elizabeth Warren]] and junior Senator [[Ed Markey]].

==Education==

Whately is a member of [[Frontier Regional School|Frontier Regional]] and Union 38 School Districts, which also includes Conway, Deerfield and Sunderland.  Each town operates its own elementary school, with [[Whately Elementary School]] serving the town's students from Pre-K through sixth grades.  All four towns send seventh through twelfth grade students to [[Frontier Regional School|Frontier Regional High School]] in Deerfield.  There are several private schools in neighboring Deerfield, with more in the Greenfield and Northampton areas.

The nearest community college, [[Greenfield Community College (Massachusetts)|Greenfield Community College]], is located in Greenfield.  The nearest state college is [[Westfield State University]], and the nearest state university is the [[University of Massachusetts Amherst]].  The nearest private colleges, including members of the [[Five Colleges (Massachusetts)|Five Colleges]] and [[Seven Sisters (colleges)|Seven Sisters]], are located southeast in the Northampton area.

==References==

{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Temple, Josiah Howard, [https://archive.org/details/historyoftownofw00temp/page/n7 ''History of the Town of Whately, Mass.: Including a Narrative of Leading Events from the First Planting of Hatfield: 1660–1871: With Family Genealogies''], printed for the town by T. R. Marvin & Son, Boston, 1872. {{oclc|7800272662}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.whately.org Town of Whately official website]

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

[[Category:Towns in Franklin County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Massachusetts populated places on the Connecticut River]]
[[Category:Towns in Massachusetts]]