New Salem is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States.

Prior to its building, New Salem, which has always been the southeastern corner of Franklin County, did not extend much further south than the village of Cooleyville, now along U.S. Route 202.

With its southern borders now following former branches of the Swift River, New Salem now includes most of the former town of Prescott (except for a small corner east of the Middle Branch of the Swift River, which is now in Petersham), and parts of Greenwich and Enfield.

Today most of the lands it gained are off-limits, protected as part of the Quabbin Reservation, which is administered by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR).

Additionally, members of the Swift River Historical Society take a yearly tour of the area in the peninsula by bus.

[4] Because of the lands of the Prescott Peninsula, New Salem is the largest town by area in Franklin County and the largest community by area in western Massachusetts (Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin, and Berkshire counties).

New Salem's modern southern town lines are dictated by the former West and Middle Branches of the Swift River, which are now submerged as part of the Quabbin Reservoir.

The town is bordered by Orange to the north, Athol to the northeast, Petersham to the east, Ware to the south, Belchertown to the southeast, and Pelham, Shutesbury and Wendell to the west.

In the trilogy The Secret Circle by L. J. Smith events take place in the town of New Salem, which is located in Massachusetts.

In the New York Times best seller The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow, the plot unfolds in New Salem, Massachusetts.