Ashfield

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 40.4 square miles (104.7 square kilometers), of which, 40.3 square miles (104.4 square kilometers) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 square kilometers) of it (0.30%) is water. Ashfield is located in the southwest corner of Franklin County, along the Hampshire County line. Ashfield is bordered by Buckland to the north, Conway to the east, Goshen to the south, Cummington to the southwest, Plainfield to the west, and Hawley to the northwest. Ashfield is fifteen miles west-southwest of Greenfield, thirty-five miles north-northwest of Springfield, and 105 miles west-northwest of Boston.

For more info, please visit the Ashfield town website.

Directions to Ashfield

Ashfield Historical Society

The Ashfield Historical Society was formed in 1961 to collect, preserve, and present material related to the history of Ashfield, The society operates as a public charity, run mostly by volunteers.

Our museum collection includes more than 5,000 objects, a reference library, and the Howes Brothers' photographic collection of over 23,000 glass negatives. The building itself was used as a store during most of the years since 1830. The store was a base for equipping peddlers with essences from the oils of spearmint, peppermint, spruce, tansy, wintergreen, and other native plants. The room in the front of the building has been restored to recreate an 1850's general store. Other rooms exhibit a kitchen, parlor, bedroom, and children's room. The barn behind the museum contains a 1904 fire hose cart, a horse drawn sleigh, a snow roller, and various tools and implements.

Our museum is open to the public at certain times and appointments may be made for research purposes. The Society sponsors the annual Ashfield Fall Festival as well as a variety of fund-raising projects such as bake sales, raffles, pancake breakfasts, and concerts.