7 Day Heath MA Weather Forecast
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Heath MA is located in Franklin County, Massachusetts with a population just under 1 thousand people
Photo below shows the Dell Dam. (Click on image for larger version in new window)
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Heath MA Information and History
Heath MA has a town website. Some quick links include Town Offices, Boards and Committees, Public Works & Safety, Community, and Announcements.
From Wikipedia:
Heath was first settled in 1765 as a part of Charlemont. The town, as well as neighboring Rowe, separated, and Heath was officially incorporated in 1785, just a few days after its new neighbor. The town is named after William Heath, Major General of Massachusetts and Brigadier General in the national army during the American Revolution.
General Heath had been the commanding officer and friend of Col. Hugh Maxwell, a local citizen who suggested the town be named in his honor. In 1784 Maxwell, who was severely wounded at the Battle of Bunker Hill by a bullet through his shoulder, was chosen to represent Heath at the General Court in Boston and obtain a division of the town from Charlemont. Accordingly, the new town was incorporated on February 14, 1785.
The town had some farming and other small industry in the nineteenth century, but much of it is gone now, leaving the town as a rural area. One of its more distinctive industries was a straw hat business, where palm fronds were imported from the Carolinas to be woven by women and children during their free time. Each year, the Heath Agricultural Society hosts the Heath Fair, a small agriculturally-focused fair held two weekends before Labor Day.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 24.9 square miles (64 km2), of which 24.9 square miles (64 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2), or 0.08%, is water. Heath lies along the Vermont border between Franklin and Windham counties. Heath is bordered by Whitingham and Halifax, Vermont, to the north, Colrain to the east, Charlemont to the south and southwest, and Rowe to the west. Heath is located 17 miles (27 km) northwest of Greenfield, 49 miles (79 km) north-northwest of Springfield, and 106 miles (171 km) west-northwest of Boston.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 24.9 square miles (64 km2), of which 24.9 square miles (64 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2), or 0.08%, is water. Heath lies along the Vermont border between Franklin and Windham counties. Heath is bordered by Whitingham and Halifax, Vermont, to the north, Colrain to the east, Charlemont to the south and southwest, and Rowe to the west. Heath is located 17 miles (27 km) northwest of Greenfield, 49 miles (79 km) north-northwest of Springfield, and 106 miles (171 km) west-northwest of Boston.
Heath is located in the northeastern portion of the Berkshires, with the highest point being Burnt Hill to the southeast. Heath is fed by the West Branch of the North River, which originates near the state line and heads south-eastward towards Colrain. Several brooks also feed into this and the nearby Deerfield River, and there is a large settlement around Papoose Lake, which drains into the Taylor Brook and eventually the North River.
Massachusetts Route 8A runs from Charlemont towards its terminus at the Vermont border, where it becomes Vermont Route 8A (this route, however, never rejoins Vermont Route 8, but rather joins Vermont Route 112). Route 8A is the main link between Heath and Charlemont, where it meets Massachusetts Route 2 (the Mohawk Trail) and provides access to the region. The nearest expressway, Interstate 91, is accessible in Greenfield. The town has no rail, bus or air service. The nearest bus and small air service is in Greenfield and Turners Falls, respectively, and the nearest Amtrak service is in Greenfield. The nearest national air service can be reached at Albany International Airport in New York.
Heath employs the open town meeting form of government, and is led by a board of selectmen and an administrative assistant. The town has its own police and fire departments, as well as a post office. The town has a library, Heath Free Public Library, which is connected to the regional library network. The nearest hospital is the Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield.
Heath is a member of the Mohawk Trail Regional School District, which covers six towns on the elementary level and most of western Franklin County on the upper levels of education. Heath Elementary School serves students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grades, and students from grades 7-12 attend Mohawk Trail Regional High School in Buckland. There is a private school, the Academy at Charlemont, in neighboring Charlemont, and several other private and religious schools are located in the region.
The nearest community college, Greenfield Community College, is located in Greenfield. The nearest state college is Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, and the nearest state university is the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The nearest private college is Williams College in Williamstown, with several others located southeast in the Northampton area.
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Heath MA Photos
