Palmer, Massachusetts | |
|---|---|
 St. Paul's Church | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Nickname: "Town of Seven Railroads"[1] | |
 Location in Hampden County in Massachusetts | |
  Palmer, Massachusetts Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates:42°09′30″N72°19′45″W / 42.15833°N 72.32917°W /42.15833; -72.32917 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| County | Hampden |
| Settled | 1727 |
| Incorporated | August 23, 1775 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council-manager |
| • Councilors-at-large | Barbara Barry (District Councilor), Council President , At Large Councilors Mark Caci, Christopher Pelletier Jessica Sizer; District Councilors Philip Hebert, Matthew Lemieux, Karl Williams |
| • Town Manager | Brad Brothers |
| Area | |
• Total | 32.00 sq mi (82.88 km2) |
| • Land | 31.58 sq mi (81.78 km2) |
| • Water | 0.42 sq mi (1.09 km2) |
| Elevation | 331 ft (101 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 12,448 |
| • Density | 394.2/sq mi (152.21/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (Eastern) |
| ZIP Codes | |
| Area code | 413 |
| FIPS code | 25-52144 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0619387 |
| Website | townofpalmer |
Palmer is a city inHampden County, Massachusetts, United States. With a population was 12,448 at the 2020census, Palmer is the least populous city in the Commonwealth.[a] It is part of theSpringfield, MassachusettsMetropolitan Statistical Area. Palmer adopted a home rule charter in 2004 with acouncil-manager form of government. Palmer is one of thirteen Massachusetts municipalities that have city forms of government but retain "The town of" in their official names.[3]
The villages ofBondsville, Thorndike,Depot Village, andThree Rivers are located in Palmer.
Palmer is composed of four separate and distinct villages: Depot Village, typically referred to simply as "Palmer" (named for the ornateUnion Station railroad terminal designed by architectHenry Hobson Richardson), Thorndike,Three Rivers, andBondsville. The villages began to develop their distinctive characters in the 18th century, and by the 19th century two rail lines and a trolley line opened the town to population growth. Today, each village has its own post office, and all but Thorndike have their own fire station.
Palmer was originally a part ofBrimfield but separated after being too far from Brimfield. Palmer's first settler was John King. He was born inEdwardstone, Suffolk, England, and built his home in 1716 on the banks of the Quaboag River. The area as then known was called "The Elbow Tract". In 1731, a deed to land in today's Palmer renamed the town 'New Marlborough' afterMarlborough, Massachusetts, in today's Middlesex County. In 1731, residents of the borough renamed the town 'Kingsfield', after the aforementioned John King. Though in some papers in the Massachusetts General Court, it was referred to as the Elbow. A large group ofScots-Irish Presbyterians followed, arriving in 1727. Finally in 1752, it was named Palmer after John Palmer, a Chief Justice of the Superior Court of the Dominion of New England.[4] In 1775, Massachusetts officially incorporated Palmer.[5][6]
Depot Village became Palmer's main commercial and business center during the late 19th century and remains so today. Palmer's industry developed in Bondsville. During the 18th century, saw and grist mills were established by the rivers, and by 1825 Palmer woolen mills began to produce textiles. The Blanchard Scythe Factory, Wright Wire Woolen Mills, and the Holden-Fuller Woolen Mills developed major industrial capacity, and constructed large amounts of workers' housing. By 1900, Boston Duck (which made heavy cotton fabric) had over 500 employees in the town. The 20th century brought about a shift of immigrants in Palmer from those of French and Scottish origin to those of primarily Polish and French-Canadian extraction.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, Palmer has a total area of 32.0 square miles (82.9 km2), of which 31.5 square miles (81.7 km2) are land and 0.5 square mile (1.3 km2) (1.53%) is water. The city is bordered byLudlow andWilbraham on the southwest,Belchertown on the northwest,Ware on the northeast,Warren on the east,Brimfield on the southeast, andMonson on the south.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 3,974 | — |
| 1860 | 4,082 | +2.7% |
| 1870 | 3,631 | −11.0% |
| 1880 | 5,504 | +51.6% |
| 1890 | 7,520 | +36.6% |
| 1900 | 7,801 | +3.7% |
| 1910 | 8,610 | +10.4% |
| 1920 | 9,896 | +14.9% |
| 1930 | 9,677 | −2.2% |
| 1940 | 9,149 | −5.5% |
| 1950 | 9,533 | +4.2% |
| 1960 | 10,358 | +8.7% |
| 1970 | 11,680 | +12.8% |
| 1980 | 11,389 | −2.5% |
| 1990 | 12,054 | +5.8% |
| 2000 | 12,497 | +3.7% |
| 2010 | 12,140 | −2.9% |
| 2020 | 12,448 | +2.5% |
| 2022* | 12,337 | −0.9% |
| * = population estimate. Source:United States census records andPopulation Estimates Program data.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] Source: U.S. Decennial Census[18] | ||
As of thecensus[19] of 2000, there were 12,497 people, 5,078 households, and 3,331 families residing in the town. The population density was 396.3 inhabitants per square mile (153.0/km2). There were 5,402 housing units at an average density of 171.3 per square mile (66.1/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 96.82%White, 0.75%Black orAfrican American, 0.23%Native American, 0.56%Asian, 0.44% fromother races, and 1.19% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 1.23% of the population.
There were 5,078 households, out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% weremarried couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the town the population was spread out, with 25.2% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $41,443, and the median income for a family was $49,358. Males had a median income of $35,748 versus $26,256 for females. Theper capita income for the town was $18,664. About 5.8% of families and 7.9% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 10.3% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.
The New England Region of theSports Car Club of America has reached an agreement with the Town of Palmer to construct a new road course near their town.Palmer Motorsports Park will operate along a similar vein asButtonwillow Raceway Park inCalifornia, in that it will be owned and operated by a limited liability corporation formed by New England Region. This effort is to ensure that NER would have its own "flagship" racetrack, as the two tracks it currently uses—New Hampshire Motor Speedway andLime Rock Park inConnecticut—are heavily used byNASCAR.
Palmer Motor Sports Park opened for racing in May 2015. It is a 2.3 mile road course with over 190 feet in elevation change. Road & Track magazine named Palmer Motorsports Park one of the top 10 racetracks to drive in North America.[20]
The Quaboag Hills Chamber of Commerce is headquartered in Palmer and is the advocate for business and community development in the Quaboag Valley area by providing the 200+ members with a voice in political, social and economic issues.[21]
The Town of Palmer is served by three schools. Old Mill Pond Elementary School serves grades K through 5 andPalmer High School serves grades 6 through 12.[22] Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School is also located in Palmer, and serves grades 9 through 12.Camp Ramah in New England is located in Palmer.
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Palmer is served by thePioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) with two routes, the Palmer Shuttle and the Ware Shuttle. The Palmer Shuttle connects Palmer Big Y, Palmer Center, Wing Hospital, and the villages of Thorndike, Three Rivers, and Bondsville. Select trips run directly from Palmer Big Y to Springfield Union Station.[23] The Ware Shuttle connects the Church Street Senior Center and Valley View to Ware Center, Ware Walmart, Palmer Center, Palmer Big Y, and Wilbraham Big Y;[24] in Wilbraham, riders can transfer to other PVTA routes into Springfield. Both routes operate seven days per week.
Palmer has been called the "Town of Seven Railroads". These included five operating railroads (Boston & Albany,Central Vermont,Springfield, Athol & North-eastern,Ware River, andCentral Massachusetts), one which was built but never operated (Hampden), and one which was not completed (Southern New England) The B&A, CV, and Ware River servedUnion Station, which was designed byH. H. Richardson.
The Central Vermont was sold to RailTex in 1995 and operated as theNew England Central Railroad. RailTex was merged intoRailAmerica in 2000, which in turn was acquired by theGenesee & Wyoming company in 2012. The B&A is now theCSXBoston Subdivision, while parts of the otherwise defunct Ware River and Central Massachusetts are operated by theMassachusetts Central Railroad. The SA&N was abandoned in the 1930s when theQuabbin Reservoir was built.
Amtrak'sLake Shore Limited passes through Palmer, as did theMontrealer from 1989 to 1995 and theVermonter from 1995 to 2014, but no trains have stopped at Palmer since 1971. Union Station is privately owned and houses a restaurant.
On January 17, 2024MassDOT announced that a consultant has been selected to progress planning and design work for the new train station as part of theWest-East Rail project.[25]
I-90 (Mass. Turnpike) currently has one exit in Palmer nearby the center of the city. This exit leads toMassachusetts Route 32, which runs south to north from Monson to the center of the city then runs through the eastern side of the city until it enters Ware.U.S. Route 20 which runs east to west, coming from Brimfield (not including a short clip through Monson), it then enters the center of the city, intersecting MA 32 andMA 181. After this U.S. 20 heads west into Wilbraham. MA 181 starts at U.S. 20 in the city center, before heading north into Three Rivers and Bondsville. After that, MA 181 enters Belchertown.MA 67 starts nearby the Monson border on U.S. 20 and stays on the extreme east side of Palmer before it heads into Warren. MA 67 goes under I-90, but never intersects the highway.
Unlike many Massachusetts communities, The Town of Palmer does not have its own water department. Instead Palmer, Bondsville and Three Rivers each have their own water department and their own fire department. Each fire department has its own fire chief, as there is no town-wide chief. Thorndike does not have its own fire department or water department instead contracting out with Palmer. The Thorndike Fire Department was disbanded following World War II.
Municipalities and communities ofHampden County, Massachusetts,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Towns | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Other villages | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| Geographic | |
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| Other | |
