In this article ideas for the reasons for population increases and decreases in various Franklin County, Massachusetts towns are examined. Growth was seen in manufacturing towns such as Greenfield, Montague, and Orange. Towns which were mostly agricultural with some industry, and the hill towns saw population decreases. The author concludes that “When their loss in population is considered in comparison with the gain in the state at large of 25 per cent, there is a call for the earnest study of existing conditions, in the hope that something can be done to draw population back. Such an investigation of economic, social, and religious conditions as that begun by a group of clergymen that recently met at Northfield, as described in last week’s Gazette and Courier, cannot fail to be of great value in the study of this problem.”
The Gazette & Courier was the newspaper in Greenfield, Massachusetts, from July 20, 1841, until June 24, 1932. Before 1841, the newspaper’s name changed quite frequently, with “Gazette” a frequent part of the title.
