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Pelham is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,403 at the 2000 census.
History
Pelham was first settled in 1738 and was officially incorporated in 1743. The name is properly pronounced "pel-am;" the "h" is silent. Emphasis is on the first syllable.
Pelham was the homeplace of Daniel Shays, leader of Shays Rebellion, an uprising to stop declining economic conditions in Massachusetts from 1786 to 1787.
Pelham holds the distinction of having the oldest town hall in continuous use in the United States. A town meeting is held there for that primary purpose each year.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 68.6 km² (26.5 mi²). 64.9 km² (25.1 mi²) of it is land and 3.7 km² (1.4 mi²) of it (5.40%) is water.
Pelham now contains a portion of Enfield, Massachusetts, one of the four towns that were disincorporated in 1938 to make way for the Quabbin Reservoir.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 1,403 people, 545 households, and 382 families residing in the town. The population density was 21.6/km² (56.0/mi²). There were 556 housing units at an average density of 8.6/km² (22.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.08% White, 1.43% African American, 1.07% Asian, 0.64% from other races, and 1.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.85% of the population.
There were 545 households out of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 19.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the town the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 32.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 99.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $61,339, and the median income for a family was $71,667. Males had a median income of $50,435 versus $33,500 for females. The per capita income for the town was $29,821. About 2.6% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.
"Pelham, Massachusetts"