Shelburne, Massachusetts

Shelburne is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,893 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.The village of Shelburne Falls is located partly in Shelburne and neighboring Buckland.HistoryShelburne was first settled in 1756 as part of Deerfield, Massachusetts, known then as "Deerfield Northwest". It was initially organized as the district of Shelburne in 1768, named in honor of William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, an Irish-born British politician, who later served as Prime Minister during the American Revolutionary War. Shelburne was officially incorporated as a town in 1775. Its character has always been two-sided; the main body of town has farmland among the low hills, while the area around Shelburne Falls has mostly been a milling community.GeographyAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 60.6km2, of which 60.0km2 is land and 0.6km2, or 0.96%, is water. Shelburne is located in central Franklin County, and is bordered by Colrain to the north, Greenfield to the east, Deerfield to the southeast, Conway to the south, Buckland to the west, and a short, 0.4mi stretch of Charlemont to the northwest. The town's center is located 5mi west of Greenfield, 39mi north of Springfield, and 95mi west-northwest of Boston.