Community Scan

Bushnell-Sage Library Long Range Plan 2018 – 2022

Community Scan

Overview1

Sheffield is a picturesque New England town located in the Housatonic River Valley of Berkshire County in southwestern Massachusetts. Comprised of two villages, Sheffield and Ashley Falls, the town’s development pattern has been greatly influenced by its physical features: the Housatonic River and its wide floodplain; the Schenob Brook wetland complex and the steep slopes of the Berkshire Hills on the east and the Taconic Range on the west. To the north lies the town of Great Barrington; New Marlborough to the east; Canaan (CT) to the south; and the town of Mount Washington, to the west. Farther west, beyond Mount Washington is New York State.

Sheffield is the oldest town in Berkshire County. The township was purchased from Chief Konkapot and other Stockbridge Indians in 1724. The first English settler to cross the “hideous howling wilderness” was Matthew Noble of Westfield who arrived in 1725. Proprietor’s records and a survey were taken by Captain John Ashley, Ebenezer Pomeroy, and Thomas Ingersoll. This committee was to advance the settlement of the town by selecting persons who would become permanent residents. Home lots were drawn in three divisions, and the town was incorporated in June 1733. Early in its history, Mum Bett, an African-American slave, angered at her mistreatment by her owner, Mrs. Hannah Ashley, sued for her freedom under the newly created Massachusetts Constitution (1780). She won her case in 1781, the first African-American woman freed under the new Constitution. In 1783, a Supreme Judicial Court decision abolished slavery in Massachusetts. In 1787, the last battle of Shay’s Rebellion took place in Sheffield.

Local Government2

The executive powers of the Town of Sheffield are vested in the elected three-member Board of Selectmen, which serves as the chief policy-making board for the town. The Selectmen appoint the Town Administrator.

Sheffield has 2,349 registered voters as of the end of 2017. An Open Town Meeting takes place annually in May.

Statistics3

Sheffield is 48.54 square miles in area. There are 5,205 acres of open space. Of these, 2,084 are held by a private land conservancy; 284 acres are town owned. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Sheffield is 3,227. The population density is 68.7 persons per square mile.

1 Town of Sheffield, (MA), https://www.sheffieldma.gov/about-sheffield (August 2018) 2 Town of Sheffield, (MA), 2017 Annual Report. 3 City-Data.com. http://www.city-data.com/city/Sheffield-Massachusetts.html (August 2018)

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