Place Information
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The Town of Greenfield, is a city in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,168 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Franklin County 6. Greenfield is home to Greenfield Community College, the Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra, and the Franklin County Fair. Historic Sites & Museums
History
Settled in 1686, Greenfield was set off from Deerfield and incorporated in 1753. Named for the Green River, the town was the eastern terminus of the Mohawk Trail, a principal route for settlers traveling west into Upstate New York. Greenfield was attacked repeatedly by Native Americans until 1735. The town is located at the confluence of the Deerfield and Green rivers, not far from where they both merge into the Connecticut River. In the 1800s, Greenfield was the site of the first cutlery factory in the country. The community has several houses designed by noted native-born architect, Asher Benjamin. His Leavitt-Hovey House, built in 1797, is now the Greenfield Public Library. "Poet's Seat Tower," located atop Rocky Mountain and named in honor of local 19th century bard, Frederick Goddard Tuckerman, provides a dramatic view of the city. The area is home to an optical illusion known as a gravity hill. It is located on Shelburne Road, while facing Greenfield, immediately after the Route 2 bridge. From under the overpass, the road appears to rise slightly to a crest a few hundred feet away. The illusion is slight, but convincing. A car in neutral at the "bottom" of the rise will appear to crawl uphill. Greenfield's city status was established by election of its first mayor, Christine Forgey, in 2003. When a town, it had been governed by a selectboard. It is the Commonwealth's newest city. Research Tips
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