In this 1871 map, Whately, Massachusetts, shows its rural and agricultural nature, with dispersed farms spread evenly along the major north-south transportation routes. Due to the rich soil of the Connecticut River Valley, the farms along its eastern edge are regularly spaced, while the village of West Whately has most of the town’s industrial works -several textile mills, turning shops, and in the hills, a sawmill. The names of the town’s proprietors still reflect its Anglo-Saxon roots, something that would change with the arrival in the 1880s and 1890s, of a large influx of Eastern European immigrants. Their influence changed the character of Whately, enriching not only its culture, but enlivening many moribund farms.