Once known as Plantation No. Seven, Hawley was sold April 20, 1771 to
a group of proprietors headed by Samuel Hitchock of Springfield. The land
was originally sold at auction by the Great and General Court of
Massachusetts Bay Colony in June of 1762 to a group headed by Moses Parsons of
Middletown, Conn., but he backed out of his agreemnt to organize
settlement of the township.
The southern quarter of the land that became Hawley was called the
Hatfield Equivalent and was owned by people who originally lived in
Hatfield. Both groups of proprietors recruited settlers to buy lots and build
on them.
The first settlers came from coastal Massachusetts, central
Massachusetts and Connecticut. Their leaders were from the Springfield area.
The town experienced early controversy because the inhabitants of
Hatfield Equivalent wanted to be transferred to the District of Plainfield.
The disputed delayed incorporation until 1792. However, the problem was
resolved in 1803 when the General Court transferred a 4.8 square-mile strip of
land, along with the inhabitants, to Plainfield.
Hawley was incorporated on February 1, 1792. It was named in honor of
Joseph Hawley of Northampton, a leader in western Massachusetts during the
Revoluntionary War.
Small-scale industry eventually evolved into the areas of forestry and
recreation. About 40 percent of the town consists of state forest. Hawley
also has the highest elevation at town hall than any other town in
Franklin County, rising 1,752 feet above sea level. |
