New Salem — Geographical

Extracted from "History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, Volume II," by Louis H. Everts, 1879.


      NEW SALEM occupies a mountainous region, covering an area of 15,000 acres, and forming the extreme southeast corner of Franklin County. It has Orange on the north, Hampshire County on the south, Worcester County on the east, and the towns of Shutesbury and Wendell on the west. Part of its eastern boundary-line describes a sharp angle, and across this angle passes the Athol and Springfield Railroad. The original tract of the town was increased some years ago by the addition of a portion of Shutesbury, but in 1820 was decreased by the elimination of a tract at the south end (which became a part of Prescott), and in 1837 suffered a further contraction by the setting off to Orange and Athol of a tract from the north end. The present territory equals about twenty-three square miles.













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