This 1900-square-foot, three-bedroom, one-and-a-half bath Colonial is one of the more expensive homes on the sales market in Sunderland, priced at $369,900.

Sunderland in Franklin County is what Massachusetts is supposed to look like – literally. A picture of the view of the town from the top of Mount Sugarloaf is featured on the cover of “Massachusetts (The America Series),” a book by Tanya Lloyd published by Whitecap Books. The image is of the Connecticut River Valley’s pastoral expanses encompassing the structures of the center of Sunderland.

“It’s one of the most photographed images in the state,” said Linda Rotti of Jones Town & Country Real Estate in nearby Amherst. “It’s a very famous photo.”

In a sense, the community acts as an emblem for all the small towns of Massachusetts, and it seems that it’s for a very good reason.

“Sunderland’s biggest charm is its small-town feel,” said Rotti.

The community’s main tourist attraction arguably is the “Buttonball Tree” that stands on North Main Street and has been there for more than 350 years. Mount Toby State Forest provides residents with a place for hiking, biking and trail-riding.

There is also “a wonderful waterfall on Falls Road. It’s very picturesque,” said Rotti.

The town also contains several active dairy farms, tobacco farms, produce farms and a maple sugaring business.

“It is definitely a farming community. There’s lots of farms and lots of great soil from the Connecticut River Valley,” said Rotti.

But there is more growing in Sunderland than crops. The town’s population has increased to 3,777 in 2000 from 3,399 in 1990, according to U.S. Census figures. A difference of 378 may seem little, but it’s not exactly a small change for a small town.

“You can tell by the amount of new construction that the [town] has increased slightly. There’s not a lot of new construction but there is some, and it’s all residential,” said Rotti.

The cost of purchasing a home, however, have remained relatively level. The median price of a single-family home increased slightly from $207,500 in April 2003 to $230,000 in April 2004, according to statistics compiled by the Warren Group, parent company of Banker & Tradesman.

While prices remain similar, they remain affordable.

“Certainly Amherst is higher [in median home prices], but Amherst has mystique because of [the University of Massachusetts at Amherst] and the academic community,” said Rotti. Sunderland, however, is not lacking in its own unique appeal that brings in a diverse population.

“A whole cross-section of people [live in Sunderland],” said Rotti. “Some work at the university, some want to travel north and work in the Greenfield area. Some people are retiring here. It’s a very broad range.”

Sunderland’s status as a small community does not mean that it is disconnected from the more urban parts of the state.

“It’s convenient to everything. It’s right near Interstate 91,” said Rotti. Its proximity to Amherst also brings in a larger rental market than most small towns.

“The college town of Amherst is [Sunderland’s] most populous near neighbor and is in large part responsible for the high number of rental units in the town. Statistics indicate that Sunderland has a higher number of rental units per capita, outside the city of Boston, than any other municipality in Massachusetts,” according to the town’s official Web site.

“It’s a wonderful little community,” said Rotti. “It’s a great small town.”

Just the Facts:

Year incorporated:

As a town: 1718

Total area:

14.80 square miles

Population:

3,777

Density:

262 per square mile

Public school enrollment:

K-6 235