Franklin County, Massachusetts: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 21:36, 13 April 2025

Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox U.S. county

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,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which made it the least populous county on the Massachusetts mainland, and the third least populous county in the state. Its traditional county seat and most populous city is Greenfield. Its largest town by area is New Salem.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> Franklin County comprises the Greenfield Town, MA Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Springfield-Greenfield Town, MA Combined Statistical Area.

History

Franklin County was created on June 24, 1811, from the northern third of Hampshire County. It was named for Benjamin Franklin.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Franklin County's government was abolished by the state government in 1997, at the county's request.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Law and government

Like several other Massachusetts counties, Franklin County exists today only as a geographic region and has no county government. The Franklin County Commission voted itself out of existence, and all former state-mandated county functions were assumed by state agencies in 1997. The sheriff and some other regional officials with specific duties are still elected locally to perform duties within the county region. Counties in Massachusetts and New England generally are historically weak governmental structures.<ref name = "weak counties">Template:Cite book</ref> The primary subdivision of the Commonwealth is the municipal town. Communities are permitted to form regional compacts for sharing services. The municipalities of Franklin County have formed the Franklin Regional Council of Governments.<ref>Massachusetts Government: County Government Template:Webarchive Massachusetts League of Women Voters. Retrieved October 10, 2007.</ref> The regional council provides various services on a regional basis, and a majority of the county's towns are members of the Franklin County Solid Waste Management District, which provides municipal waste disposal and recycling services to its members. Public transportation throughout the county and in the North Quabbin area of northwestern Worcester County is provided by the Franklin Regional Transit Authority. Template:See also

Politics

Voter registration

Voter registration and party enrollment as of February 2024<ref name="Voters">Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Party color cell	Unenrolled	37,116	Template:Percentage
Template:Party color cell	Democratic	14,576	Template:Percentage
Template:Party color cell	Republican	3,871	Template:Percentage
Template:Party color cell	Libertarian	192	Template:Percentage
Template:Party color cell	Other parties	473	Template:Percentage
Total		56,228	Template:Percentage

Geography and climate

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land, Template:Convert and (3.5%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> Central and southern Franklin County is dominated by the northern end of the Pioneer Valley, with steep hills rising on either side of the Connecticut River.

The high point of Franklin County is Crum Hill, Template:Convert, located in the town of Monroe.

Climate

The climate in Franklin County is typically cool temperate. The area is also somewhat maritime, with relatively high year-round precipitation. Summers are warm and humid with frequent evening storms, and winters are cool to cold with frequent snow and subfreezing (below 31 °F) temperatures.

Protected areas

Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge (part)
Paul C. Jones Working Forest (privately owned with conservation easement) around Brushy Mountain, Shutesbury<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Various Department of Conservation & Recreation properties.

Demographics

Template:US Census population

2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 71,535 people, 29,466 households, and 18,416 families in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 31,939 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 95.40% White, 0.89% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 1.04% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.75% from other races, and 1.61% from two or more races. 1.99%.<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 16.2% were of English, 12.2% Irish, 12.0% Polish, 10.2% French, 7.0% French Canadian, 6.7% German, 6.1% Italian and 6.0% American ancestry according to Census 2000. Most of those claiming to be of "American" ancestry are actually of English descent, but have family that has been in the country for so long, in many cases since the early seventeenth century that they choose to identify simply as "American".<ref>Sharing the Dream: White Males in a Multicultural America By Dominic J. Pulera.</ref><ref>Reynolds Farley, 'The New Census Question about Ancestry: What Did It Tell Us?', Demography, Vol. 28, No. 3 (August 1991), pp. 414, 421.</ref><ref>Stanley Lieberson and Lawrence Santi, 'The Use of Nativity Data to Estimate Ethnic Characteristics and Patterns', Social Science Research, Vol. 14, No. 1 (1985), pp. 44-6.</ref><ref>Stanley Lieberson and Mary C. Waters, 'Ethnic Groups in Flux: The Changing Ethnic Responses of American Whites', Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 487, No. 79 (September 1986), pp. 82-86.</ref><ref>Mary C. Waters, Ethnic Options: Choosing Identities in America (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990), p. 36.</ref> 94.5% spoke English and 1.8% Spanish as their first language.

Of the 29,466 households 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.5% were non-families. 29.0% of households were one person and 10.9% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.95.

The age distribution was 23.5% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 25.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% 65 or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.

The median household income was $40,768 and the median family income was $50,915. Males had a median income of $36,350 versus $27,228 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,672. About 6.5% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.5% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

At the 2010 census, there were 71,372 people, 30,462 households, and 18,317 families in the county.<ref name="census-dp1">Template:Cite web</ref> The population density was Template:Convert. There were 33,758 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert.<ref name="census-density">Template:Cite web</ref> The racial makeup of the county was 94.2% white, 1.3% Asian, 1.1% black, 0.3% American Indian, 1.0% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.2% of the population.<ref name="census-dp1"/> The largest ancestry groups were:<ref name="census-dp2">Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Div col

20.0% English
19.8% Irish
15.9% French
12.6% Polish
12.0% German
9.1% Italian
7.2% French Canadian
4.5% Scottish
3.9% American
2.1% Swedish
2.0% Scotch-Irish
1.8% Puerto Rican
1.5% Russian
1.3% Dutch
1.3% Portuguese
1.3% Lithuanian
1.0% Welsh

Template:Div col end

Of the 30,462 households, 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.8% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 39.9% were non-families, and 30.5% of households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.85. The median age was 44.2 years.<ref name="census-dp1"/>

The median household income was $52,002 and the median family income was $65,760. Males had a median income of $45,480 versus $37,309 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,544. About 7.7% of families and 11.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.8% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.<ref name="census-dp3">Template:Cite web</ref>

Demographic breakdown by town

Income

Template:See also The ranking of unincorporated communities that are included on the list are reflective if the census designated locations and villages were included as cities or towns. Data is from the 2007-2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Rank	Town		Per capita income	Median household income	Median family income	Population	Number of households
	Deerfield	CDP	$39,291	$90,625	$91,786	252	83
1	Hawley	Town	$37,094	$63,750	$79,167	378	154
2	Leverett	Town	$36,750	$74,500	$87,188	1,756	702
3	Shutesbury	Town	$36,472	$67,708	$85,972	1,834	745
	Massachusetts	State	$35,051	$65,981	$83,371	6,512,227	2,522,409
4	Whately	Town	$34,183	$78,750	$89,500	1,529	629
	Northfield	CDP	$33,956	$67,900	$88,068	1,004	440
5	New Salem	Town	$33,776	$64,833	$72,083	953	402
6	Ashfield	Town	$33,569	$66,429	$69,375	1,771	742
7	Conway	Town	$33,385	$80,313	$85,000	1,793	705
8	Deerfield	Town	$33,111	$69,744	$85,231	5,096	2,145
9	Leyden	Town	$32,348	$72,500	$78,167	633	272
	South Deerfield	CDP	$31,773	$51,107	$80,147	1,926	931
10	Gill	Town	$31,288	$59,800	$70,833	1,428	566
11	Sunderland	Town	$31,090	$54,208	$73,403	3,696	1,525
12	Northfield	Town	$31,001	$61,667	$73,697	3,034	1,276
13	Shelburne	Town	$30,751	$59,145	$77,063	1,957	811
14	Heath	Town	$30,557	$63,333	$72,981	483	214
15	Warwick	Town	$29,135	$59,531	$67,500	601	269
16	Colrain	Town	$29,035	$53,813	$64,375	1,729	703
17	Charlemont	Town	$28,555	$53,281	$64,000	1,160	505
18	Wendell	Town	$28,480	$56,750	$62,143	1,076	452
19	Rowe	Town	$28,354	$50,938	$56,667	386	183
	Franklin County	County	$28,313	$52,246	$65,713	71,495	30,362
20	Bernardston	Town	$28,117	$50,556	$66,000	2,193	948
	United States	Country	$27,915	$52,762	$64,293	306,603,772	114,761,359
21	Buckland	Town	$27,308	$61,750	$73,125	2,297	869
	Shelburne Falls	CDP	$27,155	$49,635	$62,500	1,886	815
22	Greenfield	City	$26,229	$46,018	$56,063	17,565	7,717
23	Montague	Town	$24,823	$41,980	$57,234	8,455	3,733
24	Erving	Town	$23,775	$53,661	$57,692	1,755	689
	Orange	CDP	$22,652	$50,407	$51,979	3,926	1,534
25	Monroe	Town	$22,647	$30,714	$56,875	122	72
	Turners Falls	CDP	$22,590	$36,623	$48,796	4,620	2,039
26	Orange	Town	$22,434	$44,282	$50,536	7,815	3,334
	Millers Falls	CDP	$21,386	$50,550	$58,516	1,129	443

Transportation

Franklin County is served by buses run by the Franklin Regional Transit Authority. Southeastern Franklin County is also served by the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority, with transportation to destinations in neighboring Hampshire County.

Major highways

Notable person

David Dunnels White, Medal of Honor nominee for capturing Major General Custis Lee, son of Robert E. Lee, at the Battle of Sailors Creek, Virginia, April 6, 1865. He was born in Cheshire, Massachusetts, in 1844, and was buried in the Bozrah Cemetery in East Hawley, Massachusetts, in 1924.