Gill, incorporated September 28, 1793, was originally part of
Deerfield and was included in the portion set off from Deerfield June 9, 1753,
as the district of Greenfield, which became a township that same year. The
first settlers on the land that became Gill, who arrived before 1753 and
lived later that 1793, were therefore inhabitants of the towns of
Deerfield, Greenfield and Gill, successively, even though they never
moved. Some residents of Northfield also became inhabitants of Gill when
the "Grass Hill" section of Northfield was annexed on February
28, 1795.
The land within its boundaries was settled too late to figure largely
in the hazards of Indian attacks, although one important incident occurred
within its area. On May 19, 1676, Captain William Turner, after whom
neighboring Turners Falls was named, and his troops attacked Indians camped
near the Connecticut River falls and their victory helped establish the
premanence of Deerfield and other settlements in the valley.
Geographically, the town lies in a wide, irregular bend of the
Connecticut River as it makes an abrupt turn northwestward in its southern
course at the mouth of the Millers River. Across the river to the east are the
towns of Erving and Northfield, and to the south is Montague. Fall River
separates it from Greenfield, and Bernardston forms most of the northern
border.
The first town meeting was held December 18, 1793, with Moses Bascom
as moderator. Elected officers were Moses Bascom Jr. as town clerk and
treasurer, Moses Bascom, William Smalley and Noah Munn as selectmen and
assessors and David Squires as constable.
The town is named in honor of Moses Gill, a member of Massachusetts'
Executive Council who became lieutenant govenor in 1794 and acting
governor in 1799 when Governor Increase Sumner died. Gill died in 1800,
leaving the state without a governor and acting governor for the first and only
time in its history.
Gill for many years benefited from river traffic. The "Grass Hill"
section eventually became home to noted evangelist Dwight L. Moody's Mount
Hermon School in 1881, which merged with Northfield School for girls to
become Northfield Mount Hermon
School more than 20 years ago. |
