7 Day Leyden MA Weather Forecast

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Leyden MA is located in Franklin County, Massachusetts with a population just under 1 thousand people

Photo below shows the Leyden MA town common (Click on photo for larger view in new window)

Leyden MA Information and History

Leyden MA has a town website. Quick Links include Committees, Government, Departments, Commissions, News, and Calendar.

From wikipedia:

Leyden was first settled in 1737 as part of “Fall Town”, which also included Bernardston and Colrain. The town was set off from Bernardston in 1784, but it was not incorporated until February 22, 1809. The town was named for the city of LeidenNetherlands, refuge of the Pilgrims before colonizing the Americas.] Leyden had several small industries in the eighteenth century, including grist mills, wood product mills, and dairying, but today the largest industry is maple sugar production. The town also has a reservoir which supplies the town of Greenfield.[3] The Brotherhood of the Spirit commune was founded in Leyden in 1968.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 18.0 square miles (46.7 km2), of which 17.9 square miles (46.4 km2) is land and 0.12 square miles (0.3 km2), or 0.66%, is water.] Leyden lies on the northern Massachusetts border, south of Windham CountyVermont. The town is bordered by Guilford, Vermont, to the north, Bernardston to the east, Greenfield to the south, and Colrain to the west. The town center lies 9 miles (14 km) north of Greenfield, 47 miles (76 km) north of Springfield, and 96 miles (154 km) west-northwest of Boston.

Leyden lies along the eastern edge of the Berkshires, with the town mostly lying along the valleys of the Green River (which also forms the western border) and the branches of Glen Brook. The majority of the town away from the brooks is forested, and the town has a small state forest and a wildlife management area within its borders. The confluence of the main and east branches of Glen Brook is dammed to form the Greenfield Reservoir, before the brook flows southward into Greenfield and meets the Green River.

Leyden is one of only a handful of towns in Massachusetts which does not have any state routes (nearly half of such towns are on the islands of NantucketMartha’s Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands). There are state routes, U.S. routes and interstates in the neighboring towns, with Interstate 91 passing to the south and east of town. The nearest bus and passenger train service is in Greenfield, and the nearest small air service in Turners Falls. The nearest national air service is at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

Leyden employs the open town meeting form of government, and is led by a board of selectmen and an administrative assistant. Leyden has its own police and fire departments, as well as a library connected to the regional library network. The nearest hospital, Franklin Medical Center, is in neighboring Greenfield, as are most of the nearest state services.

Leyden is a member of the Pioneer Valley Regional School District, which includes several northern border towns to the east. The district is essentially operated in two portions; the towns each have their own semi-independent elementary schools, with students attending Pioneer Valley Regional School in Northfield from seventh through twelfth grades. As of 2019, Pearl Rhodes Elementary School has been closed. Students now attend Bernardston Elementary School for K-6. There are private, parochial and charter schools in Greenfield and other nearby communities, with the most prominent private school being Deerfield Academy in nearby Deerfield.

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 colleges, including members of the Five Colleges and Seven Sisters, are located southeast in the Northampton area.

Leyden Photos

Leyden MA - town hall
Leyden MA - Trail view
Leyden MA - Welcome to Leyden sign - "A Right to Farm" community
Leyden MA - Waterfall at Mount Toby
Leyden MA - view of a rural field