These industries expanded and textiles became one of the products of the town. Woolen mills functioned side-by-side with chair and coffin factories, while the discovery of bog iron ore led to the development of iron works. In the meanwhile, tobacco became a cash crop and leaf drying barns built in the 19th and early 20th century to prepare the product for cigar and cigarette making, still dot the countryside. Clay found in Whately was also used to manufacture pottery.

The modern history of the town has shown a shift in its economy toward recreational uses with agriculture, especially the production of maple sugar products, as one of the major remaining businesses. Servicing campers is a seasonal business for townspeople, there are bed and breakfast operators and there is potential for developing winter vacation homes close to area ski areas. Whately is the home of the Smith College Observatory, which is located at the summit of Poplar Hill.

Whately Mass is located in Western Massachusetts, bordered by Hatfield on the south, Williamsburg on the southwest and west, Conway and Deerfield on the north, and separated by the Connecticut River from Sunderland on the east. Whately is 11 miles south of Greenfield and 99 miles west of Boston.