Warwick, Massachusetts

Warwick is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 780 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.HistoryWarwick was first settled in 1739 and was officially incorporated in 1763.The land that became Warwick was one of four tracts of land established by Massachusetts in 1735 to compensate the descendants of the officers and soldiers who served during the "expedition to Canada" and the Battle of Quebec in 1690. The area was initially called Gardner's Canada and original proprietors were named in 1736. A 1737 owners list names the initial land owners, few of whom appear to have remained to settle the town once it was incorporated in 1763.It took another 25 years to attract sufficient numbers of settlers to support a town and its minister. In 1760, such numbers were reached and the town hired a young Reverend Lemuel Hedge. The town was formed officially, as Warwick, on February 17, 1763. Its first officers were James Ball (town clerk), Moses Evans, Jeduthan Morse, James Ball (selectman and assessors), Amzi Doolittle (treasurer), Samuel Ball (constable), and James Ball (collector).As the Revolutionary War approached, the town voted unanimously in favor of independence, although the town minister preached against it. Rev. Lemuel Hedge was barred from leaving the town in July 1775. He died October 15, 1777, the day British General Burgoyne surrendered his troops to the colonists in Saratoga. In 1776, Lieutenant Thomas Rich was selected to represent the town at the General Assembly of Massachusetts.