Leyden to celebrate 200th birthday: Big party for small town's bicentennial

[ Originally published on: Friday, October 09, 2009 ]

LEYDEN -- The small hilltown that some of its officials say struggles to maintain its agrarian identity will have plenty of opportunity to show it off this weekend when it celebrates its 200th birthday.

Leyden, which is bordered by Greenfield to the south, Bernardston to the east, Vermont to the north and Colrain to the west, has about 800 residents. It was incorporated as a town on Feb. 22, 1809.

The town's Bicentennial Committee has spent the last nine months preparing for the weekend-long event, which will include a parade, fireworks, historical exhibitions and Art on the Common.

'This town has struggled to maintain its identity for a long time and it's still doing so,' said selectman of 10 years, William Glabach, who heads up the committee. 'It used to be all agriculture, with lots of farms dotting the landscape.'

Glabach said today, almost all of Leyden's residents work outside of the town and there are only a couple of working farms.

'We don't have any large employers here and any businesses we have are small and family-run,' he said.

Glabach and others hope that the bicentennial celebration will morph into an annual fall harvest or old home day celebration.

 

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