 By Allie Egan-Sherry
If there was ever a town in Western Massachusetts that represented the perfect balance of rural, rolling farmland and urban sprawl, it would be Hadley, a small farming community of about 4,800 people located in the heart of the Pioneer Valley.
For many individuals, part of the appeal of living in rural parts of Western Massachusetts is the opportunity to be constantly surrounded by breathtaking scenery. This is especially true for the town of Hadley. Aside from the built up urban shopping centers that populate Route 9, much of Hadley is made up of lush green pastures, rolling farmland, and picturesque bodies of water.
While Hadley has a country-living vibe, it is located right in between two lively Western Mass. locales ─ the college towns of Northampton (home to Smith College) and Amherst (home to the  University of Massachusetts Amherst). While Northampton and Amherst may offer more everyday bustle and cultural activities, Hadley is smaller, and thus, is strongly community-oriented. Everyone is neighbors in Hadley; in a town so small, one would have to make an excruciating effort not to get to know their fellow townsfolk. Hadley offers a place where your neighbors are your friends and your friends are your neighbors. And for those days when Hadley residents want to expand their small-town horizons, a short drive down Route 9 to the west will take you into Northampton; follow Route 9 in the opposite direction, and Amherst will be calling your name.
Aside from farmland, if there is one thing Hadley has a lot of, it is shopping. If you’re looking to buy anything from apples to xylophones, chances are, it can be found at one of Hadley’s plethora of chain or family-owned stores. Route 9, although home to quite a bit of traffic congestion and all too frequent construction, also serves as the focal point for much of Hadley’s commercialization. A drive down Route 9 takes passengers past restaurants, shopping centers, and recreation centers. Hungry? Check out some of Hadley’s best known restaurants: Carmelina’s, Butternut’s, or, if casual All-American fare is more your style, try Pete’s.
 Further up on Route 9 is the Hampshire Mall, which has nearly everything a shopper could need, except the overbearing crowds seen at larger area malls, such as the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside. Aside from being home to stores such as Target, Best Buy, and American Eagle, the mall also houses a Cinemark movie theatre. Across the street is another shopping center with stores such as Wal-Mart, Barnes and Noble, and Old Navy.
For a town with a thriving farming community, it makes sense that Hadley is also the place to find quality, healthy food and local produce. Numerous local family farm stands selling the freshest of produce populate neighborhood streets, and both Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s are located across the street from the Hampshire Mall.
Hadley is a family-friendly community. For a town of less than 5,000 it is beaming with places for family fun. On any given lazy Saturday afternoon, parents can take the kids rollerblading at Interskate 91 in the Hampshire Mall, take in a movie at Cinemark, go miniature golfing at the Hadley Family Golf Center, or let the kids run off some energy at KidSports, which features a 2 story giant indoor play structure and basketball courts. If all that play time makes you hungry, stop by Flayvors of Cook Farm for some homemade ice cream, all the while being up close and personal with the farm’s cows, which are right nearby.
Hadley’s small community makes for a tight-knit educational system. All children attending Hadley Public Schools go to the same two schools─ Hadley Elementary, followed by Hopkins Academy for middle and high school. If you are looking for a private school with a more unique and alternative educational style, the Waldorf-run Hartsbrook School is also located in town. While Northampton and Amherst’s high schools graduate senior classes of about two hundred students, the average size of a graduating class from Hopkins Academy is typically between thirty and forty students.
Hadley has a history dating back to the 1600s. The town was settled in 1659, becoming officially incorporated in 1661. Hadley’s first settlers were predominantly from the puritan colonies of Hartford and Wethersfield, Connecticut. These settlers started Hadley as a new  northern community after they endured controversy over doctrine in their Connecticut churches. The late 1600s saw the town accusing and later acquitting a woman named Molly Webster of being a witch. This occurred in 1683, eleven years before the Salem Witch trials, Webster was unsuccessfully hung by raucous Hadley residents.
Hadley has also been home to some important historical figures. Civil War general Jonathan Hooker was a resident of the town. In addition, Levi Stockbridge, founder of the Massachusetts Agricultural College (which later became the University of Massachusetts Amherst) was a farmer in Hadley.
 Hadley was almost exclusively a farming community until around the 1960s, with the expansion of nearby Umass Amherst. During this expansion, a great deal of farmland was put on the housing market for faculty and off-campus students. It was also around these years that Route 9 became the central location for Hadley’s commercial development, with the arrival of chains such as McDonalds and Stop & Shop.
Hadley’s residents praise the community for its numerous positive qualities. “Hadley is a close knit rural community with a good public school system, beautiful scenery, and many local attractions,” says David Skelly, a resident of Hadley for the past fourteen years. “It is also close to shopping centers and just generally is a good place to live.”
Hadley offers an appeal that many other communities lack─ a perfect combination of urban shopping centers and old-fashioned country farmlands. Although Hadley is a community that continues to commercialize and develop, the town’s old-fashioned country ambience will allow it to retain its all-American agricultural community vibe.
About the author: Allison Egan-Sherry is a graduate of Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, with a degree in Communication and Culture and concentration in Media Dimensions. Allie currently resides in Northampton, Massachusetts.
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