Chesterfield, Massachusetts

Chesterfield is a rural hill town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, east of Pittsfield and west of Boston. The population was 1,222 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.HistoryChesterfield was first settled in 1760 and was officially incorporated in 1762. It was named after the Earl of Chesterfield. 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there were sawmills and tanneries in operation as well as cloth dressing mills, and in the early 19th century these superseded farming and brought in a small immigrant population that was mostly Irish.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 start of the 20th century a re-emerging agricultural economy developed alongside the growing trade from summer residents.GeographyAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 80.9km2, of which {convert|79.9|km2|order=flip are land and 1.0km2, or 1.27%, are water. Chesterfield's location is nearly equidistant from the northern, southern and western state lines of Massachusetts.