New Salem — Villages Extracted from "History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, Volume II," by Louis H. Everts, 1879.       There are four villages in the town; each is a post-office, and they are called New Salem Centre, North New Salem, Cooleyville, and Millington. The Centre       The Centre is the oldest of the four settlements, and is a brisk little village on the mountain-top, containing two churches, the town-house, one store, the New Salem Academy, and the Academy boarding-house,—a handsome structure. A fire in 1856 destroyed the post-office and store, and in 1876 another fire destroyed the post-office, two stores, and a hotel. Cooleyville       Cooleyville in the southwest, near the Shutesbury line, has latterly become a lively trading-point, and boasts three stores, which derive their main support from neighboring towns.       North New Salem, near the Orange line, has a church and store, and Millington, in the southeast, has a store and grist-mill. It is also the nearest point in the town to the New Salem station of the Athol and Springfield Railroad, being two miles distant therefrom. | Previous Page | Contents | Next Page | | New Salem 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 02 Jul 2005