(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved. Contact us for information about using this image.
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Plainfield, Massachusetts, is located in the northwest corner of Hampshire County. First settled in 1770, Plainfield was incorporated as a district in 1785 and as a town in 1807. Primarily an agricultural community during the 1800's when this map was produced, Plainfield entered into a long period of population decline. This decline came as a result of the globalization of agricultural goods in the 1870's and can be attributed in part to the advent of the steamship which decreased the cost of imported goods making it difficult for small farm communities to compete.