Massachusetts was once a largely agricultural region, and the Connecticut River Valley still has some of the most productive farmland in New England. These rare photos from the past reveal our state’s proud farming history, and some of the families that helped feed entire communities.
1. Hatfield was once blanketed by fertile farmland. Here, onion pickers are seen hard at work in 1936.
8. Here we see the small farm of John P. Collins in Taunton. He raised about six acres of vegetables and had 11 cows. To supplement his income he rents his truck out to a nearby Army camp.