Northfield, Massachusetts
Location in Franklin County in Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°41′45″N 72°27′12″W / 42.69583, -72.45333
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Franklin
Settled	1673
Incorporated	1723
Government
- Type	Open town meeting
Area
- Total	35.4 sq mi (91.6 km²)
- Land	34.4 sq mi (89.1 km²)
- Water	1.0 sq mi (2.5 km²)
Elevation	300 ft (91 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	2,951
- Density	85.8/sq mi (33.1/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	01360
Area code(s)	413
FIPS code	25-47835
GNIS feature ID	0619381
Website: http://www.northfield.ma.us/

Northfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 2,951 at the 2000 census.

Part of the town is included in the census-designated place of Northfield.

History

Originally inhabited by the Pocomtuc tribe, the area was site of the village of Squawkeag. Northfield was first settled in 1673 and was officially incorporated in 1723.

Attacked a number of times by Native Americans, the population was occasionally taken north to Quebec, held as hostages by the French, causing the town to be abandoned a few times.^[1]

From 1879 through 2004, Northfield was the home of the world-famous "Northfield Schools", which were founded by the evangelist Dwight Lyman Moody (who was a native of the town.) In 2004, however, the Northfield Mount Hermon School consolidated its operations on the former Mount Hermon School for Boys campus in neighboring Gill. The School still owns some properties in Northfield.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 35.4 square miles (91.6 km²), of which, 34.4 square miles (89.1 km²) of it is land and 0.9 square miles (2.5 km²) of it (2.69%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 2,951 people, 1,158 households, and 815 families residing in the town. The population density was 85.8 people per square mile (33.1/km²). There were 1,262 housing units at an average density of 36.7/sq mi (14.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.51% White, 0.10% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.03% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.58% of the population.

There were 1,158 households out of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.4% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the town the population's age was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $49,141, and the median income for a family was $56,816. Males had a median income of $40,396 versus $28,615 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,517. About 3.6% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.6% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

• Northfield Chateau (no longer extant)
• Northfield Mountain
• Schell Bridge

References

1. ^ * Hard, Walter (1998). The Connecticut. Lincoln, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Audubon Society, pp. 97. ISBN 0-932691-27-7. 
2. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

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