Chesterfield, Massachusetts

Chesterfield, Massachusetts
Town
Official seal of Chesterfield, Massachusetts Seal
Location in Hampshire County in Massachusetts
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Hampshire
Settled	1760
Incorporated	1762
Government
• Type	Open town meeting
Area
• Total	31.3 sq mi (81.0 km2)
• Land	31.1 sq mi (80.5 km2)
• Water	0.2 sq mi (0.5 km2)
Elevation	1,427 ft (435 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	1,201
• Density	38.6/sq mi (14.9/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (Eastern)
ZIP code	01012
Area code	413
FIPS code	25-13590
GNIS feature ID	0618197

Chesterfield is a rural recreational hill town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, 28 miles southeast of Pittsfield and 108 miles west of Boston. The population was 1,201 at the 2000 census.

History

Chesterfield was first settled in 1760 and was officially incorporated in 1762. The town center, established after the Revolution, has well-preserved Federal Period houses along Main Road. In its early days, the town supported a largely agricultural economy, with wool from Merino sheep as a major product. However, there were sawmills and tanneries in operation as well as cloth dressing mills, and in the early 19th century these superseded farming and brought in a small immigrant population that was mostly Irish. Progress wiped out most of the industry in Chesterfield and by the turn of the century a re-emerging agricultural economy developed alongside the growing trade from summer residents.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 31.3 square miles (81.0 km²), of which, 31.1 square miles (80.5 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²) of it (0.61%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 1,201 people, 447 households, and 324 families residing in the town. The population density was 38.6 people per square mile (14.9/km²). There were 524 housing units at an average density of 16.8/sq mi (6.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.67% White, 0.25% Asian, 0.25% Pacific Islander, 0.08% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.08% of the population.

There were 447 households out of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.6% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 18.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 28.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 99.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $49,063, and the median income for a family was $57,361. Males had a median income of $35,417 versus $27,788 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,220. About 3.4% of families and 5.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.7% of those under age 18 and 3.4% of those age 65 or over.