Settlement began late in Leyden because of the uplands, the absence of high quality agricultural land and its exposure to Indian attack. The settlement of the community in the early 1740's was not followed by any real growth until the end of the French and Indian wars brought peace and safety to the area. One of the earliest industries in town was cheesemaking. Famous sons of Leyden include John Riddell, the inventor of the binocular microscope, and Henry Kirke Brown, sculptor of the Washington and Lincoln statutes at West Point and in the Capitol.

The town was the site of a Dorrite religious community established in 1792 and the entirely agricultural character these new residents found in the 18th century essentially extended into the 20th century. The town is still agricultural, producing beef, pork, wool and butter and making maple sugar.

Leyden Mass is located in Northwestern Massachusetts, bordered by Guilford, Vermont, on the north; Bernardston on the east; Greenfield on the southeast; and Colrain on the southwest and west. Leyden is 52 miles north of Springfield and 110 miles northwest of Boston.

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