Dana was founded in 1801, formed from parts of Greenwich, Hardwick and Petersham in the far northeast of the valley. It was a flat area, fertile and dotted with ponds. The town lay on a branch of the Swift River and became a thriving industrial center due to the abundant water power available. Dana was made up of four villages: Dana Common, North Dana, Doubleday Village and Storrsville.

Houses of worship included Baptist, Congregationalist, Methodist, Roman Catholic (the only one in the valley) and Unitarian. A Grange Hall, a Lodge of Good Templars and a Redmen’s Hall were social centers in North Dana. The Mount L Hotel, North Dana Hotel, Harvey’s Inn and the Eagle House were the noted hotels.

In Dana, and throughout the valley, farm women and children worked at home weaving palm leaf imported from Cuba into braid for hats. The money the palm-leaf distributors paid them made ends meet during the hard winter months. When a factory was built in North Dana to shape and finish the locally-braided palm leaf into hats, North Dana became known as “The Hat Town”. The factory flourished: in 1837 alone, it produced 30,000 hats for export worldwide.

Crawford and Tyler Mills

Industries included grist mills, sawmills, and factories making hats, textiles and wood products flourished. Noted factories were the Crawford and Tyler Mills (pictured at right) and the Swift River Box Company.

Another industry was soapstone, which was quarried in Dana, then sent to a local factory where it was fashioned into sinks and other household items. Soapstone was soft and easily shaped, and it also retained heat well.

In 1898, a generator was installed in the old soapstone factory, giving Dana the first electricity in the valley. But all public affairs had to end by 11 pm when the power was shut off.

Notable citizens included Hosea Ballou, the Father of Unitarianism, who had a ministry in town in the mid-1800’s.