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44-483: Leavitt was born in Heath, Massachusetts , the son of wealthy landowner Roger Leavitt and his wife Chloe (Maxwell) Leavitt. Leavitt's father served in the state's legislature, was an active businessman, and later an ardent abolitionist. The elder Roger's brother was Judge and State Senator Jonathan Leavitt of nearby Greenfield . Roger's son Roger Hooker Leavitt, a graduate of Hopkins Academy in nearby Hadley , and briefly

88-468: A household in the town was $ 50,536, and the median income for a family was $ 55,938. Males had a median income of $ 32,188 versus $ 25,000 for females. The per capita income for the town was $ 24,777. About 6.5% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line , including 10.3% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over. During the 1970s and 1980s, many families from New York, Connecticut, and Maine moved to Heath. Heath employs

132-467: A member of the NAEI community. After the community dissolved in 1846, she bought a house on Park Street where she lived until 1857. In Florence, Truth gave her first public lecture and developed her craft as a public speaker. She met Olive Gilbert within the NAEI community who would transcribe Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave . NAEI introduced Truth to William Lloyd Garrison who connected her to

176-629: A new name. The name "Florence" was suggested by Dr. Charles Munde, and this name was approved by residents. Factory villages along the Mill River were producing cotton goods, silk, wool, thread, buttons, wood items for domestic use, furniture, and leather by 1840. Samuel Whitmarsh moved to Northampton in 1829 and was convinced that silk production would be a promising business venture. He planted 25 acres (10 ha) of mulberry trees in Florence in order to raise silkworms . Whitmarsh's company,

220-512: A student at Dartmouth College also served in the Massachusetts Senate . Col. Leavitt apparently came naturally to the abolitionist cause. His father had worked against slavery and his brother Joshua had, after graduating from Yale Law School and Yale Divinity School , become a social reformer, leading campaigns for temperance and against slavery. Joshua later became the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Emancipator ,

264-523: Is a town in Franklin County , Massachusetts , United States. The population was 723 at the 2020 census . It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area . Heath was first settled in 1765 as a part of Charlemont . The town, as well as neighboring Rowe , separated, and Heath was officially incorporated in 1785, just a few days after its new neighbor. The town

308-751: Is a member of the Mohawk Trail Regional School District, which covers six towns on the elementary level and most of western Franklin County on the upper levels of education. Heath Elementary School serves students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grades, and students from grades 7–12 attend Mohawk Trail Regional High School in Buckland . There is a private school, the Academy at Charlemont , in neighboring Charlemont, and several other private and religious schools are located in

352-431: Is a village in the northwestern portion of the city of Northampton , Hampshire County, Massachusetts , United States. During the 19th century, Florence was a thriving manufacturing village shaped by progressive ideas on religion, abolitionism , and education. Before the arrival of European settlers, the area of Florence and Northampton was called Nonotuck, meaning either "middle of the river" or "far away land." Nonotuck

396-546: Is named after William Heath , Major General of Massachusetts and Brigadier General in the national army during the American Revolution . General Heath had been the commanding officer and friend of Col. Hugh Maxwell, a local citizen who suggested the town be named in his honor. In 1784 Maxwell, who was severely wounded at the Battle of Bunker Hill by a bullet through his shoulder, was chosen to represent Heath at

440-701: Is patrolled by the Second (Shelburne Falls) Station of Troop "B" of the Massachusetts State Police . On the national level, Heath is represented in the United States House of Representatives as part of Massachusetts's 1st congressional district , and is represented by Richard Neal . Massachusetts is represented in the United States Senate by senior Senator Elizabeth Warren and junior Senator Ed Markey . Heath

484-608: The Corticelli Silk Company . It grew to be one of the world's largest producers of silk thread, made with raw silk imported from Japan . The company went out of business in 1930. Mirage Studios , the creative force behind the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic books, was based out of a renovated factory space in Florence. Florence was the filming location for the 1999 movie, In Dreams . The Miss Florence Diner opened in 1941 and

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528-627: The General Court in Boston and obtain a division of the town from Charlemont. Accordingly, the new town was incorporated on February 14, 1785. Chloe Maxwell, daughter of Col. Maxwell, was married to prominent local landowner and state legislator abolitionist Roger Leavitt. Their son was the Congregational minister, lawyer, social reformer, editor and fervent abolitionist Rev. Joshua Leavitt , who after his graduation from Yale College

572-475: The Liberty Party ticket, a political party which his son Joshua had helped found. Col. Leavitt was best known for his sheltering of the fugitive slave Basil Dorsey, who escaped from Frederick County, Maryland unassisted in 1836. By that time, apparently, Col. Hooker's home had become known to anti-slavery zealots as a safe place to shelter escaped slaves. "It was always understood that a resting place

616-697: The Massachusetts House of Representatives as part of the Second Berkshire district, represented by Paul Mark, which covers central Berkshire County, as well as portions of Hampshire and Franklin Counties. In the Massachusetts Senate , the town is part of the Berkshire, Hampshire and Franklin district, represented by Ben Downing, which includes all of Berkshire County and the western portions of Hampshire and Franklin Counties. The town

660-732: The South . The town had some farming and other small industry in the nineteenth century, but much of it is gone now, leaving the town as a rural area. One of its more distinctive industries was a straw hat business, where palm fronds were imported from the Carolinas to be woven by women and children during their free time. Each year, the Heath Agricultural Society hosts the Heath Fair, a small agriculturally-focused fair held two weekends before Labor Day . According to

704-569: The United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 24.9 square miles (64 km ), of which 24.9 square miles (64 km ) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km ), or 0.08%, is water. Heath lies along the Vermont border between Franklin and Windham counties. Heath is bordered by Whitingham and Halifax, Vermont , to the north, Colrain to the east, Charlemont to the south and southwest, and Rowe to

748-543: The open town meeting form of government, and is led by a board of selectmen and an administrative assistant. The town has its own police and fire departments, as well as a post office. The town has a library, Heath Free Public Library, which is connected to the regional library network. The nearest hospital is the Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield. On the state level, Heath is represented in

792-645: The Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society clearly show that 'B. Dorsey' of Charlemont contributed 50 cents to the cause in 1839. Shortly after his arrival in Charlemont, Dorsey's first wife died, in the same year as Roger Hooker's first wife Kezeah Osgood Hunt Leavitt. On learning the news of the death of Dorsey's wife, Joshua Leavitt wrote his brother Roger Hooker: "I feel for Mr. Dorsey in his bereavement and trust that you will do all that Christian benevolence requires in his care." It

836-498: The NAEI community. As a member of the community, he sought out hydropathic treatments for his ailments under Dr. Robert Wesselhoeft in Cambridge. Ruggles began practicing hydropathy himself, and in 1845 he established a water cure hospital on the Mill River. Ruggles died in Florence in 1849 at the age of 39. Charles Munde emigrated from Germany. He became familiar with the water cure methods of Vincent Priessnitz around 1836. After

880-587: The Northampton Association of Education and Industry from 1842 through 1846. In 1848, the village took on the name Bensonville after George W. Benson and the Bensonville Manufacturing Company. After Benson's company went bankrupt in 1849, the village adopted the name Greenville after Greenville Manufacturing Company. In preparation for creating a post office, the village came together in the fall of 1852 to select

924-590: The Northampton Silk Company, began manufacturing silk thread in 1837. Due to economic recession and losing critical investors, Whitmarsh sold this business which was later purchased by the Northampton Association of Education and Industry . Silk production would go on to be an important product in the Florence economy. Northampton Association of Education and Industry (NAEI) was founded in 1842. This utopian community drew upon

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968-671: The death of David Ruggles in 1849, Munde picked up where Ruggles left off and opened the Florence Water Cure, also called the Munde Water Cure. Florence residents Samuel L. Hill, David Ruggles, Seth Hunt, Austin Ross, A.P. Critchlow, and Elisha Hammond have been identified as part of the Underground Railroad network working to free the enslaved. The Nonotuck Silk Company later changed its name to

1012-610: The family was aiding other escaped slaves during this period. Col. Leavitt died in Waterloo, Iowa , where he was visiting his son John Hooker Leavitt . In its obituary, The New York Times noted Leavitt's abolitionist activities and called him "one of the prominent and leading citizens of Franklin County." Leavitt is interred at the Leavitt Cemetery in Charlemont. The correspondence of Joshua Leavitt, his brothers Col. Roger Hooker and Hart, and that of his father Roger, from

1056-689: The founders of the NAEI. Born in Smithfield, Rhode Island to Quaker parents, Hill had trained as a carpenter and was the superintendent of a cotton textile factory in Willimantic, Connecticut. A member of the anti-slavery movement, Hill's home at 31-35 Maple Street in Florence served as a stop for the Underground Railroad . After the NAEI dissolved, Hill took over the factory and ran it as the Nonotuck Silk Company and

1100-628: The fracas enabled the three brothers to fully convert their parents to the abolitionist cause. By the following year, Col. Leavitt was president of the Franklin County Anti-Slavery Society as well as vice-president of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society in 1838–39. In that year, Col. Leavitt's father moved from his home in Heath to Charlemont, where his sons lived, and agreed to run for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts on

1144-566: The home of Joshua's brother Roger Hooker Leavitt. Charlemont records subsequently reflect the birth of Dorsey's son Charles Robert Dorsey in 1838 at Charlemont, as well as the presence in town of two of Dorsey's children born earlier in Maryland. Census records for 1840 show no persons of color living in the households of any of the Leavitt family – at the homes of father Roger, brother Hart nor at Col. Roger Hooker's – but records of

1188-746: The nearby Deerfield River , and there is a large settlement around Papoose Lake, which drains into the Taylor Brook and eventually the North River. Massachusetts Route 8A runs from Charlemont towards its terminus at the Vermont border, where it becomes Vermont Route 8A (this route, however, never rejoins Vermont Route 8 , but rather joins Vermont Route 112 ). Route 8A is the main link between Heath and Charlemont, where it meets Massachusetts Route 2 (the Mohawk Trail ) and provides access to

1232-530: The principles of Fourierism and mixed it with interests in radical abolitionism , temperance, manufacturing, and education. Members of NAEI believed that the rights of all should be "equal without distinction of sex, color or condition, sect or religion." The association was 1 of 3 utopian groups founded in Massachusetts before the Civil War. Samuel L. Hill moved to Florence in 1841 to be one of

1276-507: The printer of The Liberator and Frederick Douglass's slave narrative. Truth published her narrative in 1850 on credit with the same publisher. A memorial statue was erected in her honor in Florence in 2002. David Ruggles was an African American abolitionist, journalist, business owner, and a practitioner of hydropathy. He was one of the founders of the New York Committee of Vigilance, an organization dedicated to protecting

1320-685: The region. 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 college is Williams College in Williamstown, with several others located southeast in the Northampton area. Florence, Massachusetts Florence

1364-576: The region. The nearest expressway, Interstate 91 , is accessible in Greenfield. The town has no rail, bus or air service. The nearest bus and small air service is in Greenfield and Turners Falls , respectively, and the nearest Amtrak service is in Greenfield . The nearest national air service can be reached at Albany International Airport in New York . As of the census of 2000, there were 805 people, 292 households, and one family residing in

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1408-474: The rights and safety of African Americans in the 1830s. By the early 1840s, Ruggles was struggling due to falling out with the New York Committee of Vigilance, the death of his father, protests in New England over segregated seating on trains, and his overall declining health rendered him almost blind. On learning of his health and financial struggles, Lydia Maria Child and others arranged for him to join

1452-500: The slaves to freedom." At the same time, she averred that she could not furnish any specific details. By 1844, Basil Dorsey moved on to other housing, likely in Florence, Massachusetts . He had spent over five years under the roof of the Leavitt family, either at Col. Roger Hooker's home, the adjoining farm of his brother Hart, or at the home of the patriarch Roger – and probably at all three places. Contemporary accounts show that

1496-489: The town was 97.76% White , 0.50% Asian , 0.37% from other races , and 1.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.62% of the population. There were 292 households, out of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.7% were married couples living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.1% were non-families. Of all households, 19.9% were made up of individuals, and 6.8% had someone living alone who

1540-533: The town. By population, Heath ranks twenty-first of the twenty-six towns in Franklin County, and 332nd out of the 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth. The population density was 32.3 inhabitants per square mile (12.5/km ), which ranks twentieth in the county and 327th in the Commonwealth. There were 648 housing units at an average density of 26.0 per square mile (10.0/km ). The racial makeup of

1584-666: The west. Heath is located 17 miles (27 km) northwest of Greenfield , 49 miles (79 km) north-northwest of Springfield , and 106 miles (171 km) west-northwest of Boston . Heath is located in the northeastern portion of the Berkshires , with the highest point being Burnt Hill to the southeast. Heath is fed by the West Branch of the North River , which originates near the state line and heads south-eastward towards Colrain. Several brooks also feed into this and

1628-693: The years 1812–71, is deposited at the Library of Congress Manuscript Division in Washington, D.C.. The home of Col. Roger Hooker is now part of the campus of the Academy at Charlemont , and is included on the National Park Service 's National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. On the Network to Freedom, as well, is the former Charlemont home of Col. Leavitt's brother Hart and his wife Mary. Heath, Massachusetts Heath

1672-454: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.19. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.7% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 29.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.1 males. The median income for

1716-669: Was a prime force behind the defense of the crew of the Amistad , a slave ship that had sustained a mutiny aboard, and in 1833 founded the New York Anti-Slavery Society . In October 1835, Col. Roger Hooker Leavitt joined his brothers Joshua and Hart in attending the Utica, New York , state convention of the Utica Anti-Slavery Society. Violence by pro-slavery factions marred the gathering, but

1760-501: Was a settlement in the Pocumtuc confederacy. The Florence area was known as "Broughton's Meadow" referring to John Broughton, an English settler who purchased land in 1657 that included what is now Northampton and Florence. Broughton's Meadow was used to describe the area until 1846. Other names included "Warner School District" after three brothers who had lived in the area during the early 19th century, and "The Community" referring to

1804-792: Was also a partner in other local factories. Hill and others founded the Free Congregational Society in 1863 and supported the construction of Cosmian Hall. A supporter of education, Hill organized the Florence Kindergarten in 1876. Upon his death in 1882, he left an endowment to support the kindergarten which later became the Hill Institute. Sojourner Truth , a former slave from the Hudson Valley in New York, moved to Florence in 1843 to become

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1848-496: Was at Mr. [Hosea] Blake's and Mr. Leavitt's," a resident recounted years later of the men operating the local Underground Railroad. "This was carried on with the greatest secrecy, because of the personal danger, not only to the slave but to those who harbored them." In 1836, shortly after Dorsey's successful escape, Rev. Joshua Leavitt, living in New York City, helped Dorsey and his wife find refuge in Massachusetts – at

1892-514: Was probably open knowledge in some parts of the community that the Leavitts were harboring fugitive slaves, but it seems that many like-minded citizens cooperated with the Leavitts and others who were sheltering the fugitives. As late as 1895, nearly thirty years after the Civil War , a Franklin County woman called Leavitt "a whole souled Abolitionist & [someone who] did all he could to help

1936-556: Was the first lawyer to practice in Heath. (Rev. Leavitt soon gave up law for the ministry, training at Yale Theological Seminary and settling in Stratford, Connecticut , before decamping for New York City and a career that included the editorship of The Emancipator . ) Members of the Leavitt family of Heath and Charlemont provided stops on the Underground Railroad , and in some cases sheltered slaves like Basil Dorsey who were fleeing

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