Buckland — Civil Government Extracted from "History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, Volume II," by Louis H. Everts, 1879.       The entire records of the town from its organization, in 1779, to July 22, 1876,—a period of almost one hundred years,—were destroyed by fire at the last-mentioned date and the possibility of giving a civil list and much other matter of interest pertaining to roads, schools, etc., is, therefore, precluded. It is said that Samuel Taylor held the office of town clerk from 1779-1820, and that the subsequent clerks were John Porter, Ames Shepard, Ezra Howes, William Sherwin, Ebenezer Maynard, Josiah W. Griswold, Samuel L. Bardwell, Samuel Tobey, and, since 1868, R. L. Packard.       The selectmen since 1876 have been J. W. Griswold, A. W. Ward, E. D. Bement, and, in 1878, S. W. McKnight, William B. Caswell, and Zophar Woodward.       Lemuel Tryon and Samuel Taylor were among the early justices, and the latter was also one of the first representatives to the General Court.       The basement of the Congregational Church at the centre is used for a town-hall; and there is a poor-farm of 70 acres, half a mile west of this place, which is the property of the town, and on which from ten to fifteen persons are supported annually. The entire amount expended for this purpose in 1878 was $1830.47, which gave full support to 13 persons, partial to 22, and relieved 189 vagrants.       The town has a debt of $15,000, and in 1878 appropriated $5000 to defray its expenses, $1600 for schools, and $1000 for highways. Most of the roads are in good condition, and the streams are well bridged. The town owns half of the bridge at Scott's, which was first built in 1880, and also of the one at Shelburne Falls, first built in 1822, both spanning the Deerfield River. At the latter place is a fine iron structure, erected after the freshet in 1869, and improved three years later.       The Troy and Greenfield Railroad traverses the town along the Deerfield River, and has a well-appointed station at Shelburne Falls, where the company has an engine-house with two stalls and a small repair-shop. Here is one of the best shipping-points in the county. | Previous Page | Contents | Next Page | | Buckland Page | History of the CT Valley in Mass. | | Franklin County | Western Mass History & Genealogy | These pages are © Laurel O'Donnell, 2005, all rights reserved and cannot be reproduced in any format without permission This page was last updated on 01 Ju1 2005