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is a city in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,168 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Franklin County. Greenfield is home to Greenfield Community College, the Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra, and the Franklin County Fair. The city has a Main Street Historic District containing fine examples of Federal, Greek Revival and Victorian architecture.
Greenfield is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Pocumtuck Indians (ancestors of present-day Abenaki Indians) first settled and originally inhabited the area. Native American artifacts in the area have been dated at 9,000 to 12,000 years B.P. (before present). They planted field crops and fished the rivers. First colonized by the English in 1686 as part of Deerfield, it was defended repeatedly by Indians, with the last skirmish in 1756. The Native American population was eventually driven from the land and/or sold into slavery during the course of King_Philip's_War. In 1753, Greenfield was set off and incorporated as a separate town, named for the Green River. It was the eastern terminus of the Mohawk Trail, a principal route for Native American trade traveling west into Upstate New York.
In 1795, the South Hadley Canal opened, allowing boats to to reach Greenfield via the Connecticut River, after bypassing the South Hadley falls Located at the confluence of the Deerfield and Green rivers, and not far from where they merge into the Connecticut River, Greenfield developed into a trade center. It was designated county seat when Franklin County was created from Hampshire County in 1811. Falls provided water power for industry, and Greenfield grew into a prosperous mill town. John Russell established the Green River Works in 1834, hiring skilled German workers at what was the country's first cutlery factory. The Connecticut River Railroad would be the first of several railways to enter the town, replacing the former canal trade.