Gill — Organization Extracted from "History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, Volume II," by Louis H. Everts, 1879.       In May, 1793, the town of Greenfield voted to set off as the northeast district that part of the town lying east of Fall River. In September of that year this territory was incorporated with the name of Gill, in honor of the then Lieutenant-Governor, Moses Gill, who, in return for that honor, presented the town, for its first meeting-house, nails, glass, a Bible, and a communion-service. The Bible is still preserved and in the possession of Mr. Josiah D. Canning, whose father was one of the early pastors of the first church in Gill.       Feb. 28, 1795, that part of Northfield west of the Connecticut River, known as Grass Hill, was annexed to Gill, and in response to a petition the Legislature (March 14, 1805) granted Great Island, which divides Turner's Falls from the Connecticut, to be a part of the territory of Gill, and as such it has remained to this day.       In March, 1858, there was before the town a proposition} by those who deemed Gill too prosaic a title to petition the Legislature for a change of name to Glencoe, "or something else," but the proposition was voted down. | Previous Page | Contents | Next Page | | Gill 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 10 Jul 2005