Towns > Ashfield

2006 Population.......................1,765
2006 Registered voters................1,242
2004 Per capita income..............$19,577
2006 Average tax bill................$2,636
1999 Median family income...........$52,875
2003 Budget......................$3,000,000

Town Hall........(413)628-4441,628-4439 fax
Municipal Clerk..........Maryellen Cranston
Treasurer................Maryellen Cranston
Police Chief...................John Svoboda
Fire Chief....................Douglas Field
Interim School Supt......Michael Buoniconti
Selectboard.........(chair) William Perlman
Tom Ulrich
Lynn Dole

Ashfield Historical Society, on Main Street. Ten rooms of Ashfield memorabilia in 1830 building. The main exhibition hall is a re-creation of a general store, circa 1850.

Exhibits include more than 23,000 glass plate negatives taken between 1882 and 1907 by the well-known Howes brothers of Ashfield. There are also exhibits of early Ashfield industries, 19th century period rooms, a children's room, military display and memorabilia of early Ashfield residents.

A barn houses many relics of early rural life. Open June through August, Saturday and Sunday 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., plus Columbus Day weekend, during special events and by appointment. Call 413-628-4541 (museum) or 413-628-3900 (curator) .

Daughters of the American Revolution State Forest, a 1,000-acre forest located in Ashfield and Goshen. Entrance off Cape Street in Ashfield about one mile from the Route 112 and Spruce Corner intersection. Includes upper Highland Lake, picnic area, camping area, swimming area, bath houses, boat ramp, fishing, hunting, nature study, hiking, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling.

Chapel Brook Reservation, may be reached by going through D.A.R. State Forest to Ludwig Road. Stunning grayish-white cliffs can be seen from this route. This Trustees for Reservations property features cool, tranquil pools that fall in a series of steps called Chapel Falls, plus an 80-foot rock cliff called Chapel Ledges which is a favorite of rock climbers. Ravens nest near overhanging rock called the roof. Hikers can reach the top of the ledges by using a foot trail. The view from the top includes surrounding hills and the fire tower in the D.A.R. forest.

Ashfield Lake, in the center of town, has been a popular place for swimming, boating, and fishing for more than 100 years.

Ashfield Fall Festival, is held annually Columbus Day weekend in the center of town. It is a celebration of country life, offering art shows, a craft fair, demonstrations, food, games and entertainment. Call 413-628-4641 for further information.

Ashfield Community Golf Club, on Norton Hill Road is a nine-hole course. Call 413-628-4413 for further information.

Edge Hill Golf Course, is a new nine-hole golf course on Barnes Road, just off Baptist Corner Road. Call 413-625-6018 for futher information.

More than 20 years before its incorporation on June 21, 1765, this hilly area known as Hunttown - named for a man who probably never saw the place. Captain Ephraim Hunt of Weymouth, like many others, was a company commander during King William's War and he was paid for his services by a grant of land. His heirs, some 46 years after the war, offered five pounds each to the first 10 settlers who would build a house and cultivate six acres.

Richard Ellis, a native of Dublin, Ireland, became the first settler, coming from Easton with his wife. Cutting trees himself, he built the first house about 1741 in the northeastern part of Ashfield. Soon after, his sister and her husband, Thomas Phillips, joined them, building a log house about a half-mile north. Then came Chileab Smith of South Hadley.

Other settlers came from time to time, several from southern Connecticut. By 1754, up to 15 families and 100 people were Ashfield residents.

It is not certain why the town is named Ashfield. One theory is that the town had many ash trees. Another is that Gov. Francis Bernard, for whom Bernardston is named, had a friend in Ashfield, England, Lord Thurslow. Gov. Bernard named 28 towns during his tenure, a period when Massachusetts had only 39 incorporated communities.

A thriving peppermint and essence business started by Samuel Ranney and marketed by Joseph and Jasper Bemet created a population boom during the early 1800's but it subsided when the business moved to New York. Agricultural endeavors such as dairy farms, saw-mills, apple orchards and maple sugar houses have long been staples of the economy. Ashfield Lake has been a popular recreational attraction for more that 100 years.

Cecil B. DeMille, the famous movie director, was born in Ashfield in 1881. Alvan Clark, called the world's most famous telescope maker, was born in the Chapel Falls section of the town in 1804.