Incorporated: 1979

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Franklin County, 10 miles south of the Vermont border, is Massachusetts' most rural county. Its county seat, Greenfield, settled in 1686, was the site of the first cutlery factory in the United States (established in the early 1800s), and is home to miles of farms, fields, and valleys, and the eastern terminus of the Mohawk Trail. There are about 102 people a square mile in Franklin County, compared to an average of 810 people a square mile in the state as a whole.

Franklin County's economic opportunities are limited by its remote location. While the state's economy boomed between 1980 and 1990, Franklin County's average per capita income fell nearly ten points to 81 percent of the state's average. There are a few large manufacturers and professional service businesses, some small manufacturers, compact downtown centers, and numerous working farms. The area is also marred by obsolete and deteriorating buildings, a sad tribute to the region's industrial past.