42°20′N72°50′W / 42.333°N 72.833°W /42.333; -72.833
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Western Massachusetts, known colloquially as "Western Mass," is a region inMassachusetts, one of the sixU.S. states that make up theNew England region of theUnited States. Western Massachusetts has diverse topography; 22 colleges and universities includingUMass inAmherst, MA, with approximately 100,000 students;[1] and such institutions asTanglewood, theSpringfield Armory, andJacob's Pillow.
The western part of western Massachusetts includes theBerkshire Mountains, where there are several vacation resorts. The eastern part of the region includes theConnecticut River Valley, which has a number ofuniversity towns, the major citySpringfield, and numerous agricultural hamlets.[2] In the eastern part of the area, theQuabbin region is a place of outdoor recreation.[3]
Archeological efforts in the Connecticut River Valley have revealed traces of human life dating back at least 9,000 years. Pocumtuck tradition describes the creation ofLake Hitchcock in Deerfield by a giant beaver, possibly representing the action of aglacier that retracted at least 12,000 years ago. Western Massachusetts was originally settled byNative American societies, including thePocomtuc, NonotuckMohawk,Nipmuck, andMahican. Various sites indicate millennia of fishing, horticulture, beaver-hunting, and burials. The passage of theNative American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in 1990 ordered museums across western Massachusetts and the country to repatriate these remains to Native peoples, an ongoing process.
The region was inhabited by several Algonkian-speaking Native American communities, culturally connected but distinguished by the place names they assigned to their respective communities: Agawam (low land), Woronco (in a circular way), Nonotuck (in the midst of the river), Pocumtuck (narrow, swift river), and Sokoki (separated from their neighbors). The modern-day Springfield metropolitan area was inhabited by theAgawam people.[4] The Agawam, as well as other groups, belong to the larger cultural category ofAlongkian Indians.
In 1634, a plague, probablysmallpox, reduced the Native American population of the Connecticut River Valley to a tiny percentage of its previous size.Governor Bradford of Massachusetts writes that inWindsor, notably the site of a trading post, where European diseases often spread to Native populations, "of 1,000 of [the Native Americans] 150 of them died." With so many dead, English colonists were emboldened to attempt significant settlement of the region.[5]
The first European explorers to reach western Massachusetts wereEnglish Puritans, who in 1635, at the request of William Pynchon, settled the land that they considered most advantageous for both agriculture and trading in modern-dayAgawam, adjacent to modernMetro Center,Springfield. In 1636, a group of English colonists—lured by the promise of a "great river" and the northeast's most fertile farmland—ventured to Springfield, where they established a permanent colony. Originally, this settlement was calledAgawam Plantation, and administered by theConnecticut Colony. (Springfield lies only 4 miles north of Connecticut; however, Agawam included lands as far south asWindsor Locks, as far north asHolyoke, and as far west asWestfield.[6]) In 1640, Springfield voted to separate from the Connecticut Colony following a series of contentious incidents and, after a brief period of independence, decided to align with the coastalMassachusetts Bay Colony, shaping the region's political boundaries. The Massachusetts Bay Colony settled at the Connecticut River Valley's most fertile land―stretching fromWindsor, Connecticut, (once part of Springfield,) toNorthampton, Massachusetts―from 1636 to 1654.[7]
For the next several decades, Native people experienced a complex relationship with European settlers. Thefur trade stood at the heart of their economic interactions, a lucrative business that guided many other policy decisions. White settlers traded wampum, cloth and metal in exchange for furs, as well as horticultural produce. Because of the seasonal nature of goods provided by Native people compared with the constant availability of colonial goods, a credit system developed. Land, the natural resource whose availability did not fluctuate, served as collateral for mortgages in which Native people bought goods from the colonists in exchange for the future promise of beavers. However, trade with the colonists made pelts so lucrative that the beaver was rapidly overhunted. The volume of the trade fell, from a 1654 high of 3723 pelts to a mere 191 ten years later. With every mortgage, Native people lost more land, although their population recovered and expanded from the old plague.[8]
In a process that historianLisa Brooks calls "the deed game", colonists acquired an increasing amount of land from Indian tribes through debt, fraudulent purchases and a variety of other methods.[9] Native people began to construct and gather in palisaded “forts”―structures that were not necessary beforehand. These sites were excavated in the 19th and 20th centuries by anthropologists who took cultural objects and human remains and displayed them for years in area museums. With the passage of theNative American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in 1990, a long process of repatriation began.[citation needed]
Tensions between the colonists and surrounding Indian tribes, which had already been poor for some time, continued to deteriorate in the years preceding the outbreak ofKing Philip's War. Colonial encroachment on Indian lands combined with thedecimation of the native population with European diseases led to increasing Native resentment and hostility towards the colonists. Though some Indians became integrated into colonial society, with many being employed in white households, numerous pieces of legislation were passed which prevented Indians from marrying settlers and staying in colonial settlements after dark, while colonists were prevented from living among the Indians.[10]
In 1662, the leader of the eastern MassachusettsWampanoag Indian tribe,Wamsutta, died shortly after being questioned at gunpoint by Plymouth colonists. Wamsutta's brother, ChiefMetacomet (known to inhabitants ofSpringfield as "Philip,") began a war against colonial expansion in New England which spread across the region. As the conflict grew in its initial months, colonists throughout western Massachusetts became deeply concerned with maintaining the loyalty of "their Indians."[11] The Agawams cooperated, even providing valuable intelligence to the colonists.[citation needed]
In August 1675, a group of colonists in Hadley demanded the disarming of a “fort” of Nonotuck Indians. Unwilling to relinquish their weapons, they left on the night of August 25. A hundred colonists pursued them, catching up to them at the foot of Sugarloaf Hill, which was a sacred space for the Nonotucks called the Great Beaver. The colonists attacked, but the Nonotucks forced them to withdraw and were able to keep moving.[12] The shedding of Native blood on sacred land was an attack on their entire kinship network, and caused Native peoples in western Massachusetts to join the ongoing conflict.[citation needed]
Following the war, the greater part of the Native American population left western Massachusetts behind.[13] Many refugees of the war joined theWabanaki in the north, where their descendants remain today. Native American influence remains evident in the land and culture of western Massachusetts, from the practice of tobacco farming to the names of cities and rivers[14]
In 1777,George Washington andHenry Knox selected Springfield for the site of the fledgling United States'National Armory. Built atop a high bluff overlooking the Connecticut River, Washington and Knox agreed that Springfield provided an ideal location—beside a great river and at the confluence of major rivers and highways. For the following 200 years, the Springfield Armory would bring concentrated prosperity and innovation to Springfield and its surrounding towns.
After the American Revolution,a rebellion led byDaniel Shays culminated in a battle at theNational Armory in Springfield.[15]
The Berkshires have long been patronized by artists (e.g.Herman Melville, who wroteMoby-Dick while living inPittsfield;Edith Wharton, who wroteThe House of Mirth andEthan Frome while living inLenox; andNorman Rockwell, many of whose painting were based on scenes that he observed in the town ofStockbridge). Cultural institutions include Lenox'sTanglewood, Becket'sJacob's Pillow, and Stockbridge'sNorman Rockwell Museum, as well theClark Art Institute inWilliamstown. The city of Pittsfield is the largest community located in the Berkshires.
New England's largest river, theConnecticut, flows through the center of its agricultural valley. Nearly bisected by theHolyoke Range and theMount Tom Range, this relatively small area contains a number of college towns, urban environments, and rural hamlets. The portion of this valley in Massachusetts is also commonly referred to as thePioneer Valley.
At its southern tip, theSpringfield-Hartford region is home to 29 colleges and universities and over 160,000 university students—the United States' second highest concentration of higher learning institutions after theBoston metropolitan area.[16][better source needed]
Innovations originating in the valley include the sports ofbasketball (James Naismith, 1895) andvolleyball (William Morgan, 1895); the first American automobile (Duryea, 1893); the first motorcycle company (Indian, 1901); the first use of interchangeable parts in manufacturing (Thomas Blanchard, 1825); and the first commercial radio station, (WBZ, 1920, from Springfield'sKimball Hotel).
Significant Massachusetts towns and cities in the valley's so-called "Knowledge Corridor" includeNorthampton,Amherst,Easthampton,Holyoke,Chicopee,West Springfield,East Longmeadow,Longmeadow,Ludlow,Agawam, andWestfield.
The Hilltowns include the areas of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties west of and above theescarpment bordering the ancient rift valley through which the Connecticut River flows. Elevations increase from about 200 feet (60 m) to at least 1,000 feet (300 m) in the escarpment zone. On top, elevations rise gradually to the west.Williamsburg in Hampshire County andBecket in Berkshire County are prominent hilltowns. Generally, the hilltowns west of the Connecticut River Valley were less attractive for agricultural uses, which resulted in later migration there than, for example, the fertile Connecticut River Valley.Subsistence farming predominated in this area.
The 1,000-foot elevation difference between uplands and the Connecticut River Valley produced streams and rivers with gradients around 40 feet/mile (8 meters/km) flowing through steep-sided valleys, notably theWestfield andDeerfield rivers and their larger tributaries. Mills were built to exploit the kinetic energy of falling water, andmill towns grew up around them, orcompany towns integrating production, residential and commercial activities.
The development of steam engines to free industrialization from reliance on water power brought about the so-calledSecond Industrial Revolution whenrailroads were built along the rivers to take advantage of relatively gentle grades over the Appalachians. And so as hilltop farming towns declined in importance, industrial towns in the river valleys rose to local prominence.
In northern Massachusetts, the higher altitude area to the east of the Connecticut River Valley is known as the North Quabbin region. These northern municipalities includeWarwick,Orange,Petersham,Phillipston,Wendell,New Salem, andAthol near theNew Hampshire border.
The South Quabbin region (formerly the Swift River Valley) includes the towns ofBarre,Belchertown,Pelham,Ware,Hardwick,Leverett, andShutesbury. This area once included the four "Lost Towns" of Enfield, Dana, Greenwich, and Prescott, which were destroyed to make way for theQuabbin Reservoir.
Farther south, the area called theQuaboag Hills includesHampden,Monson,Wales,Warren,Holland, andWilbraham on theConnecticut border. Numerous other towns stretching east towards Worcester are sometimes included in the Quaboag Valley region.
Geology is similar to the Hilltown-Berkshire uplands with resistant metamorphic rocks overlain by thin and rocky soil. With less relief, the river valleys are less pronounced, but still moderately high gradient. The Quaboag Hills and Valley, the Quabbin Regions, and populated places stretching east towards Worcester are all locally known as "Hill Towns"; a term interchangeable with the Hill Towns west of the Pioneer Valley.
The mountain range inBerkshire County at the western end of Massachusetts is conventionally known as the "Berkshires". Geologically, however, the Berkshires are a westward continuation of uplands west of the Connecticut River and a southern extension of Vermont'sGreen Mountains.
The Hilltown-Berkshire upland ends at the valley of theHousatonic River which flows south to Long Island Sound, and in the extreme north west of Massachusetts at theHoosic River, a tributary of theHudson. From these valleys, uplands to the east appear as a rounded mountain range, rising some 1,600 feet (490 meters) although they are actually aplateau. West of the Housatonic-Hoosic valley system rises the narrowerTaconic Range along the New York border. Upper tributaries of the Hoosic separate Massachusetts' highest peak,Mount Greylock 3,491 ft (1,064 meters) from both ranges, however Greylock's geology connects it with the Taconics.
Most of this region is a rolling upland ofschist,gneiss and other resistantmetamorphics with intrusions ofpegmatite andgranite. Scraping by continentalglaciers during the Pleistocene left thin, rocky soil that supported hardscrabblesubsistence farming before theIndustrial Revolution. There was hardly aland rush into such marginal land, but the uplands were slowly settled by farmers throughout most of the 18th century and organized intotownships. Then in the early 1800s better land opened up inWestern New York and theNorthwest Territory. The hilltown agricultural population went into a long decline and fields began reverting to forest.
The Connecticut River Valley is an ancient downfaultedgraben orrift valley that formed during theMesozoicEra when rifting developed in thePangaea supercontinent to separate North America from Europe and South America from Africa. Secondary rifts branched off the main crustal fracture, and this one was eventually occupied by the Connecticut River. TheMetacomet Ridge is a series of narrowtraprock ridges where lava penetrated this rift zone, beginning at the northern end of the graben near Greenfield and extending south across Massachusetts and Connecticut toLong Island Sound. Fossildinosaur footprints inHolyoke attest to the life present in this region during the Mesozoic.
As continentalglaciers receded near the end of thelast glacial period, amoraine atRocky Hill, Connecticut, dammed the river to createLake Hitchcock, extending northward some 200 miles (320 km) inundating places such as Springfield, Agawam, and West Springfield, while certain highlands remained above water, (i.e. sections of Holyoke).
Accumulation of fine sediments during the era of Lake Hitchcock accounts for this region's exceptionally rich agricultural soil, which attracted settlers as early as 1635. Although the Connecticut River Valley's soil is the richest in New England, many of its fields have been covered by urban and suburban development. Regardless, the valley remainsNew England's most productive farmland. Tobacco, tomatoes, sweet corn, and other vegetables are still produced there in commercial quantities.
Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties, in the year 2020 collectively had 828,188 residents, a population greater than that of any one of the six smallest U.S. states. The population amounted to approximately 12.84% of the 2000 population of the entire state of Massachusetts, which was 6,349,097.[17] Its averagepopulation density is 293.07 inhabitants per square mile (113.16/km2), compared to 422.34/km2 (1,093.87/sq mi) for the rest of Massachusetts, and 312.68/km2 (809.83/sq mi) for the state as a whole.
Western Massachusetts' population is concentrated in the cities and suburbs along the Connecticut River in an urban axis surrounding Springfield that is contiguous with greaterHartford, Connecticut (i.e. theKnowledge Corridor.) A secondary population concentration exists in the Housatonic-Hoosic valley due to the industrial heritage of Pittsfield and North Adams, and the development of tourism throughout that valley. This far-western zone is linked toNew York City andAlbany, New York, more than with the rest of Massachusetts, however both populated zones are ultimately part of theNortheast megalopolis. The rest of western Massachusetts is lightly populated, particularly the Hilltowns where densities below 50 persons per square mile (20 per km2) are the rule.
In descending order of size, its largest communities are: Springfield, Chicopee, Pittsfield, Westfield, Holyoke, Northampton, Agawam, West Springfield,Amherst Center (CDP), Easthampton,Longmeadow (CDP), East Longmeadow,North Adams, andGreenfield (CDP).
Western Massachusetts has been compared as a microcosm of the rest of the United States.[18] The third largest city in Massachusetts, Springfield is situated in the region, and it has struggled financially coming close to bankruptcy at the beginning of the 21st century.[19] The unemployment rate in the area lags behind that of eastern Massachusetts by double[20][21] though officials have pushed for ways to lure more longer-term business growth into the region to tap the abundance of students being turned out by colleges and universities in the area.[22] To combat the higher cost of telecommunications which were roughly double that of eastern Massachusetts, the government of the Commonwealth invested $45.4 Million in building out a broadband network using Federal grant under the 'Massachusetts Technology Park - MassBroadband 123' initiative,[23] funds which were matched by $45 million in federal investment.[24] The 1,200 mile 'middle mile' project was completed in early 2014,[25] connecting public institutions throughout central and western Massachusetts, but also providing a fiber-optic backbone to allow for further expansion in these regions. Building off of that project, the Commonwealth launched a 'Last Mile' initiative targeting 54 communities that were unserved or under-served by broadband. That program has invested in municipal fiber-to-the-home networks,[26] which are also supported by municipal bonds; private provider projects;[27] and advanced wireless projects[28] to connect homes and businesses in these communities. Small, rural towns such as Mount Washington, Mass., now have access to internet speeds that reach 500 megabit per second (Mbps) symmetrical service.[29] In recent years there has been a push for adding high-speed rail from western Massachusetts for eastern Massachusetts.[30][31] The residents of western Massachusetts have vibrant culture in and support the local mix of arts, tourism, and culture.[32]
The decline of manufacturing as the region's economic engine since World War II—and in particular, since the controversial closing of theSpringfield Armory—was counterbalanced in western Massachusetts by growth in post-secondary education and healthcare.
This created new jobs, land development, and hadgentrifying effects in manycollege towns. State and community-funded schools (e.g.,University of Massachusetts Amherst andWestfield State University) were conspicuous in their growth, as were the region's highly regardedliberal arts colleges, includingWilliams founded 1793,Amherst founded 1821,Mount Holyoke founded 1837,Smith founded 1871, andAmerican International founded 1885.
Despite the gains in higher ed, the region has sought to obtain equitable share of the state's education budget to place into local primary education as well. Several communities in western Massachusetts have fought to have changes made the Chapter 70 structure which the state presently uses to allocate education funding to cities and towns.[33]
Western Massachusetts used to be the Republican stronghold in an otherwise heavily Democratic state, but it is now consistently viewed by political analysts as one of the most politically liberal regions in the United States. In 2006 and 2010, the region voted heavily in favor of Democratic gubernatorial candidateDeval Patrick.
InCrash!ng the Party,Ralph Nader includes western Massachusetts as one of the few places in the country where he believes small-town spirit is still strong. In a 2010 editorial, theBoston Globe berated communities in northern western-Massachusetts for resisting efforts to force consolidation of local school districts.[34] In response, the Franklin County School Committee Caucus released a map that overlaid the county north-to-south over Metro Boston. The overlay reached from Rhode Island in the south to New Hampshire in the north and Framingham in the west.
In 2008 theOffice of the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts opened a local office in western Massachusetts.
The western portion of Massachusetts consists approximately of the four counties ofFranklin,Hampshire,Hampden andBerkshire. This set of four counties is sometimes regarded as defining western Massachusetts; for example, theWestern Massachusetts Office of the Governor serves residents of these counties. Towns at the western edge ofWorcester County, especially those near theQuabbin Reservoir, may be considered to be in western Massachusetts for some purposes; for example, two Worcester County towns have telephone numbers in western Massachusetts'sarea code 413.
Hampden County, with over half of the population of western Massachusetts, includes theCity of Springfield; to the north, Hampshire County contains the college towns ofNorthampton,Amherst andSouth Hadley; further north, rural Franklin County borders Vermont and New Hampshire; to the west is Berkshire County, bordering New York, Vermont and Connecticut and the other three counties.
After a number of county governments were eliminated in Massachusetts in the late 1990s (including Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden, Berkshire and Worcester), most county functions were assigned to the state government. The municipalities ofFranklin andHampshire counties then organized two voluntary county-oriented "regional councils of government".
Some residents of western Massachusetts are critical towardsBoston, the state's capital and largest city. This group believes that the Massachusetts legislative and executive branches know little of and care little about western Massachusetts, which comprises 20% of the total population of the state.[35]Among the incidents that have created this feeling:
Long a haven for small, independent businesses, western Massachusetts has expressed conflicted feelings towardsbig box corporations, leading to controversies about zoning changes and variances that would allow companies such asWal-Mart to build in western Massachusetts towns. The debate has been particularly strong in northern towns; for example, inGreenfield, Massachusetts.[40]
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The following regional transit authorities operate in western Massachusetts:
