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History · Leyden

Leyden’s post office opened in 1828, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1890 on and the census since 1790.

1828first post office
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: ToddC4176 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Leyden began

When was Leyden founded?

1828

The Leyden post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, West Leyden (1882), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 989 in 17902020 census: 734198 years
Founding year: the first Leyden post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Leyden’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Leyden are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1790 and 1940, then more than doubled.On the map since 18906 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1990. Watch Leyden change.Deep rootsA post office since 1828: 198 years of Leyden.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Leyden’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Leyden’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Leyden, census by census

02004006008001,00018001850190019502000989 in 1790Low: 260

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1790 and 1940, then more than doubled.

20 censuses, 1790–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Leyden’s Wikipedia page.

On the map

Leyden on the map, 1890 to 1990

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Leyden. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Leyden on the 1890 USGS mapLeyden on the 1937 USGS mapLeyden on the 1945 USGS mapLeyden on the 1961 USGS mapLeyden on the 1977 USGS mapLeyden on the 1990 USGS map1890Greenfield sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Leyden.

The story

How Leyden came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Leyden.

Read it all →

Immediately prior to English settlement, the area was occupied by the Wabanaki people. English colonists first settled in Leyden in 1737 as part of "Fall Town", which also included Bernardston and Colrain. The town was set off from Bernardston in 1784, but it was not incorporated as a town until February 22, 1809. The town was named for the city of Leiden, Netherlands, refuge of the Pilgrims before colonizing the Americas. Leyden had several small industries in the eighteenth century, including grist mills, wood product mills, and dairying, but today the largest industry is maple sugar production. The town also has a reservoir which supplies the town of Greenfield. The Dorrellites, a utopian sect founded and led by William Dorrell, was active in Leyden in the 1790s. The Brotherhood of the Spirit commune was founded in Leyden in 1968.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Leyden, 1902–1904

Passages that mention Leyden, cut from the printed page as they were published.

ent time no society or church of that faith has been found within its bounds. In July, 1780, nine years before the appearance of the Baptist society in Bernardston, a Baptist church was organized in Leyden. The members worshipped presumably in private houses or in Colrain until 1797, when there was…
History of the town of Bernardston, Franklin county, Massachusetts. 1736-1900. With genealogies1902 · page 98Read the page →
Read the text

ent time no society or church of that faith has been found within its bounds. In July, 1780, nine years before the appearance of the Baptist society in Bernardston, a Baptist church was organized in Leyden. The members worshipped presumably in private houses or in Colrain until 1797, when there was erected by several persons in company, called the " Meeting house proprietors," a place of worship.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The town of Leyden entered enthusiastically into the matter, and appointed a committee to confer with the committee chosen by the parent town. On the i ith of January, 1862, these committees met in the town hall at Bernardston, chose Hon. Henry W. Gush man as chairman, and voted to have the celebra…
History of the town of Bernardston, Franklin county, Massachusetts. 1736-1900. With genealogies1902 · page 191Read the page →
Read the text

The town of Leyden entered enthusiastically into the matter, and appointed a committee to confer with the committee chosen by the parent town. On the i ith of January, 1862, these committees met in the town hall at Bernardston, chose Hon. Henry W. Gush man as chairman, and voted to have the celebration on Wednesday, the 20th day of August, 1862. vSub-committees were appointed and the committee separated, agreeing that this celebration should be one " worthy the descendants of the old ' Falls Fight Township' and

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
1896, September 2. Henry Sheldon died, aged 76. Born in Leyden he came to Greenfield about 1876. He was selectman and assessor of Leyden several years, and also served as assessor in Greenfield. He was quiet in manner, honest and respected.
History of Greenfield1904 · page 879Read the page →
Read the text

1896, September 2. Henry Sheldon died, aged 76. Born in Leyden he came to Greenfield about 1876. He was selectman and assessor of Leyden several years, and also served as assessor in Greenfield. He was quiet in manner, honest and respected.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Leyden, 1790 to 1935

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1790CensusPopulation peaks at 989
  3. 19th century
  4. 1807Born hereJohn Leonard Riddell is born here
  5. 1812Born hereRalph Pomeroy Buckland is born here
  6. 1814Born hereHenry Kirke Brown is born here
  7. 1828Post officeThe Leyden post office opens
  8. 1851Born hereHomer Taylor is born here
  9. 1882Post officeThe West Leyden post office opens
  10. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 20th century
  12. 1920Post officeThe West Leyden post office closes
  13. 1935Post officeThe Leyden post office closes
By decade

Leyden, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Trail2011TrailTrail, Leyden, Franklin County, Massachusetts - panoramio (1)2011Trail, Leyden, Franklin County, Massachusetts - panor…Town Common2009Town CommonLeyden Town Hall, MA2009Leyden Town Hall, MALeyden-Frizzell Hill2004Leyden-Frizzell Hill
Famous people

5 famous people were born in Leyden

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Henry Kirke BrownAmerican artist · b. 1814
H
Homer TaylorAmerican archer · b. 1851
John Leonard RiddellAmerican scientist · b. 1807
Ralph Pomeroy BucklandUnion Army general · b. 1812
Charles C. CarpenterUnited States admiral · b. 1834
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Leyden had its own post office from 1828 to 1935. Another post office, West Leyden, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Leyden
1828–1935
West Leyden
1882–1920
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
West Leyden
Gone or out of use
Beaver Meadowlocale
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Leyden
Beaver MeadowEast HillSouthWest Leyden

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Colrain2 historic placesA+Bernardston2 historic placesAGreenfield10 historic placesA+

Questions about Leyden’s history

What year was Leyden founded?

The Leyden post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.