Whately was incorporated on April 24, 1771, not long after the 55
people living there petitioned for separation from Hatfield because of the
long distance they lived from the center of town. Hatfield had agreed to set
off the district at their town meeting in May, 1770, and the boundary
lines were already carefully drawn and agreed upon.
The original draft of the Act of Incorporation passed through its many
readings in the House of Representatives and received consent from the
Council with no name. The original papers show the name of the town was
inserted by Governor Thomas Hutchinson in honor of his British friend in
Parliament, Thomas Whately, from whom he had received much political help.
The town got right down to business after being incorporated, holding
its first town meeting May 6, 1771 at the house of Daniel Morton,
innkeeper.
The First Congregational Church was formed on August 21, 1771, with 19
men, 25 women and listed separately, one slave. The first pastor was
Reverend Rufus Wells from Deerfield.
Many of Whately's first citizens were descended from the people who
settled Hadley and Hatfield. Among them were Lucius Allis, Samuel Baldwin,
Robert Bardwell, Samuel Dickenson, John Field, David Graves, Richard Morton,
Moses Sanderson, David Scott and John White.
Whately is the site of the first gin distillery in the state. Water
power gave rise to many mills - saw, grist, cider and woolen - as well as
chair and coffin factories. Ore deposits were used in an iron works and pottery
was made from clay. Many other shops and mills flourished.
However, Whately has always primarily been an agricultural area with
commercial crops that include apples, cider, hay, maple products, tobacco
and vegetables. |
