Historical Maps

A series of maps in the same format allows one to determine in what year a particular change occurred.  These maps were all scanned from Rand McNally Road Atlases.

The face of Franklin County, Massachusetts has changed greatly since the 1920's.  The most striking  change is the appearance of Quabbin Reservoir.  Flooding of the Swift River valley began in 1939 and was completed in 1946.  The towns of Dana, Greenwich, Prescott and Enfield were completely inundated. 

Between 1954 and 1961, State Route 2 and U.S. Route 202 were rerouted to avoid Orange and Athol.

During 1955, a Route 2 bypass was constructed around Shelburne Falls.

Interstate Highway I-91 runs 290 miles, from New Haven, Connecticut to the Canadian border.   The Franklin County portion of I-91 was constructed during the 1960's.

Maps labeled with multiple years appear to be identical, in Franklin County.

All maps copyright Rand McNally and Company.
This thumbnail page was generated by ThumbsPlus.

Some related links:

Franklin County Chamber of Commerce
Shelburne Falls Page, Shelburne Falls Area Business Association
Spend a Day in Shelburne Falls by Beverly Knox
Shelburne Historical Society
Bear Haven Bed and Breakfast, Shelburne Falls
Deane Merrill's Genealogy

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Deane Merrill, merrill@crocker.com