Town Edition
Franklin County
Rowe, Massachusetts
Photo: John Phelan, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
In 1956 Percy Whiting Brown handed the town Pelham Lake and the parkland around it, and Rowe took the gift, elected three commissioners to look after it, and then spent seventy years buying up the land next door until the park passed 1,300 acres. A town of about 424 people did that, one Town Meeting vote at a time. Rowe still runs itself the same way. On May 16, 2026, one hundred of its 321 registered voters filled every seat on the town ballot, and any budget the town spends is settled in a room you are allowed to stand in. This guide shows you how to get into that room.
Rowe at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Franklin. Rowe is a hilltown in the far northwest corner of Massachusetts, on the Vermont line, with the Deerfield River along its western edge and Adams Mountain rising to 2,140 feet inside Pelham Lake Park.
- Government: open Town Meeting, with an elected three-member Board of Selectmen and an appointed Town Administrator, Brooke Shulda.
- Schools: Rowe runs its own Rowe Elementary School, about 51 students, within the Northern Berkshire School Union led by Superintendent John Franzoni.
How Rowe’s Government Works
Rowe runs on an open Town Meeting, which means there are no elected Town Meeting members at all: every registered voter in Rowe is a member, and any of them can walk in, speak, and vote on the budget. Voters also elect a three-member Board of Selectmen to set policy between meetings and a School Committee that oversees Rowe Elementary School. The Board of Selectmen hires a professional Town Administrator to run the town day to day. So the money is voted by whoever shows up, the direction is set by the Board of Selectmen, and the daily work is carried out by the Town Administrator.
Town Meeting
The legislative body, and it is not a committee. Every registered voter in Rowe is a member. Town Meeting adopts the annual budget, passes town bylaws, and approves major spending. This is direct democracy in its literal sense.
Board of Selectmen
Three members elected town-wide. They set policy, sign the warrants that decide what reaches Town Meeting, appoint residents to many town boards, and hire and supervise the Town Administrator.
Town Administrator
The appointed chief administrator. Runs the departments, builds the budget, and answers to the Board of Selectmen. Hired under contract, not elected.
School Committee
Three members, elected town-wide. It sets policy for Rowe Elementary School, approves the school budget, and works through the Northern Berkshire School Union that employs the Superintendent.
- Residents elect the three members of the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee.
- The Board of Selectmen hires the Town Administrator and decides what goes on the Town Meeting warrant.
- Town Meeting votes the budget and the bylaws, and every registered voter present can vote.
- You take part: register at 16, vote at 18, and once you are registered you are already a member of Town Meeting.
Civic Calendar
- Board of Selectmen: meets every other Thursday at 5:00 p.m. at Town Hall, 321 Zoar Road, with remote participation offered. The agenda is posted in advance, so check the town calendar before you go.
- Town Meeting: the Annual Town Meeting is held on the second Monday in May at Rowe Elementary School, and the town can call a Special Town Meeting when business cannot wait.
- Town elections: the Annual Town Election is held on the first Saturday after Town Meeting. In 2026 it fell on May 16, and one hundred of the town’s 321 registered voters cast ballots.
- State and federal elections: even-numbered years. The 2026 primary and general are this fall.
Explore the Rowe Edition
- Town Administrator’s OfficeThe town’s chief administrator
- Board of SelectmenYour three board members
- School CommitteeSuperintendent & committee
- Town DepartmentsWho does what at Town Hall
- Boards & CommissionsWhere residents serve
- LegislatorsYour voice in Boston & D.C.
- Rowe HistoryMyrifield, the mills, and Pelham Lake
- DemographicsWho lives in Rowe
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataRowe schools by the numbers
Your County Officials
Two of the people with the most direct power over your life are elected countywide. The district attorney decides who gets charged with a crime, and what they get charged with. The sheriff runs the county jail. Both of them answer to the voters of Franklin County, and that includes Rowe. They appear on your ballot. Now you know what to look for.
Every county in Massachusetts elects its own, and the job is the same everywhere: the charging decisions, the jail. Look up any town in the state and see who holds these two offices there.
Your First Civic Action in Rowe
You do not have to wait until you can vote to be heard in your own town. Here is how to take a real concern to the people who decide.
- Pick the right body. Town policy, roads, and police or fire go to the Board of Selectmen. Schools go to the School Committee. The budget and bylaws are voted by Town Meeting.
- Find the meeting. The Board of Selectmen meets every other Thursday at 5:00 p.m. at Rowe Town Hall, 321 Zoar Road, and the agenda is posted in advance.
- Know your members. All three Board of Selectmen members are elected town-wide, so every one of them answers to you.
- Speak. Meetings are open to the public and residents may address the board. Check the agenda for how to sign up.
- Or skip the trip. Report a pothole, a washed-out road, or a downed limb to the Highway Department, which is the department that owns the repair.
- Town Hall: 321 Zoar Road, P.O. Box 462, Rowe, MA 01367. Board of Selectmen office (413) 339-5520 ext. 100.
- Town Clerk & agendas: (413) 339-5520 ext. 103, with meeting agendas and minutes posted at rowe-ma.gov.
- Public schools: Rowe Elementary School, 413-339-5760, roweschool.org.
Local government works best when residents show up. Find your Board of Selectmen, speak at a meeting on the town’s published calendar, or simply register to vote and take your seat at Town Meeting.