Holyoke

 

(hō'lē-ōk', hōl'yōk) , city (1990 pop. 43,704), Hampden co., S central Mass., on the Connecticut River; settled 1745, inc. 1873. The city has varied manufactures including printed materials, medical supplies, envelopes, metal products, electronic goods, and chemicals. Mt. Holyoke College and a U.S. air force base are nearby.

See Holyoke, Colorado for the city in Colorado.

Holyoke, Massachusetts
Nickname: Paper City
Location in Hampden County in Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°12′15″N 72°37′00″W / 42.20417, -72.616667
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Hampden
Settled	1745
Incorporated	1850
Government
- Type	Mayor-council city
- Mayor	Michael J. Sullivan
Area
- City	sq mi (km²)
- Land	sq mi ( km²)
- Water	sq mi ( km²)
Elevation	ft ( m)
Population (2005 estimate)
- City
- Density	/sq mi (/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	01040
Area code(s)	413
FIPS code	25-30840
GNIS feature ID	0617679
Website: http://www.holyoke.org/

Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, on the banks of the Connecticut River. The population was 39,958 at the 2005 population estimate. The current mayor is Michael Sullivan. It was named after Elizur Holyoke, who explored the area in 1660. Holyoke's nickname is "The Paper City."

History

The region of the Connecticut River Valley was first inhabited by Englishmen in 1633 by virtue of a post established at Windsor by traders from the Plymouth Plantation. Very shortly it became subject to rival claims on the part of New Netherlands, the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Plymouth. The Massachusetts Bay men explored the overland route to the "Great River." In 1635-1636, a warehouse and wharf, for purposes of trading with the Indians, was constructed in nearby Agawam. Out of this "trading post" grew Springfield, which later evolved into West Springfield, whose third Parish, called North Parish, or "Ireland Parish," became Holyoke. Holyoke was first settled in 1745 and was officially incorporated in 1850.

Holyoke had few inhabitants until the construction of a dam and the Holyoke Canal System in 1849, and the subsequent construction of water-powered mills, particularly paper mills. At one point over 25 paper mills were in operation in the city, and the population exploded from 4600 in 1885 to over 60,000 in 1920. In 1888, Holyoke's paper industry spurred the foundation of the American Pad & Paper Company, which as of 2007 is one of the largest suppliers of office products in the world. As an early planned industrial town, its rectilinear street grid is noteworthy in a region where few streets are parallel or even straight.

However, Holyoke's fortunes took a turn for the worse as manufacturing became an ever-shrinking part of the American economy. In the past several years, there have been efforts to bring jobs into Holyoke and diversify the economic base. The retail sector has been a major employer in the city since the Holyoke Mall opened in 1979, as well as the nearby Holyoke Crossing shopping center. This has also provided the city with a large and steady tax base. Despite these improvements, Holyoke is the poorest city in Massachusetts, with about 50% of schoolchildren living below the poverty line. It is sister-cities with Deltona, Florida.

Holyoke, Massachusetts is home to the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside, one of the biggest shopping malls in New England. Holyoke also contains the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House, which has won numerous awards and recognitions and is claimed to be one of the top banquet facilities in New England. ^{[citation needed]}

"The People's College"

Holyoke Public Library, found at 335 Maple Street, is one of the very few examples of neo-classic architecture in the city of Holyoke. It sits firmly on Library Park, which was donated by the Holyoke Water Power Company in 1887. In 1870 the library was originally located in a room in the old Appleton Street School. In 1876 it moved to a large central room on the main floor of City Hall. It remained there until it was determined that it had outgrown the space and a modern facility was required.^[1] Holyoke's citizens were charged to raise money to construct the library building and provide additional books. Under the leadership of Henry Chase, $95,000 was raised. William Whiting and William Skinner, each gave $10,000. Joseph Clough, the architect in charge of designing the building, gave his services gratis because his daughter was a faithful patron of the library. It opened officially in 1902.^[2] At the dedication ceremony William Whiting, who was library president at the time, referred to the library as the "people's college", and added that: “A library is as much a part of the intellectual life of a community as its schools, and should be supported generously as part of our educational system. Within these walls you will find authors devoted to literature, arts and science, and they are free to any who will ask. We can say to the citizens of Holyoke you have only to ask her and you will find knowledge to make your life useful and happy”.^[3]

Home of Volleyball

On February 9, 1895, William G. Morgan invented volleyball at a YMCA in Holyoke.

Immigration and Migration

Holyoke has the highest percentage of Puerto Ricans of any city in the United States outside Puerto Rico.^[4] Always a city of working-class immigrants, the first wave of mill workers was predominantly Irish, and Holyoke is still home to the second-largest St. Patrick's Day parade in the United States, surpassed only by the New York City parade.^[5] Held annually since 1952 on the Sunday following St. Patrick's Day, the parade draws thousands of people from across the region and nation. In the 1850s, mills began to recruit French-Canadians, who were viewed as more docile and less likely to form labor unions.^[6] Later waves of immigration and migration led to significant communities of Germans, Poles, Jews, and then, starting in the 1950s, Puerto Ricans, and other Latino groups. Today Latinos form the largest minority group in the city. Unlike most immigrants to Holyoke, Puerto Ricans were already American citizens when they migrated here, due to the Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917. The Latino community of Holyoke holds an annual Puerto Rican Day parade on the third weekend in July as part of an Annual Hispanic Family Festival held by La Familia Hispana, inc. Every year the parade grows in popularity and may soon rival the city's St. Patrick's Day parade.

Geography

Holyoke is located at 42°12′11″N, 72°37′26″W (42.203191, -72.623969).¹

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 59.1 km² (22.8 mi²). 55.1 km² (21.3 mi²) of it is land and 4.0 km² (1.5 mi²) of it (6.70%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 39,838 people, 14,967 households, and 9,474 families residing in the city. The population density was 722.5/km² (1,871.4/mi²). There were 16,210 housing units at an average density of 294.0/km² (761.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 65.76% White, 3.71% African American, 0.38% Native American, 0.81% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 26.41% from other races, and 2.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 41.38% of the population.

There were 14,967 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.5% were married couples living together, 22.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.5% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 88.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,441, and the median income for a family was $36,130. Males had a median income of $34,849 versus $26,652 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,913. About 22.6% of families and 26.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.7% of those under age 18 and 13.2% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

• Holyoke Canal System

Education

Holyoke Public Schools [1] serves the city of Holyoke.

References

1. ^ http://holyokelibrary.org/library_history.htm
2. ^ http://papercityscribblings.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_papercityscribblings_archive.html
3. ^ http://holyokelibrary.org/library.htm
4. ^ http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/Puerto-Rican.html
5. ^ http://newsite.holyokestpatricksparade.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=27
6. ^ http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:kTu6yVaILBIJ:www.masslive.com/printer/printer.ssf%3F/base/news-2/1101718046296430.xml

External links

• Western Mass Blitzen Bears
• Holyoke Community College Website
• City of Holyoke Website
• Holyoke, MA History
• Nuestras Raices
• Paper City Notes - Holyoke blog
• PassportHolyoke.org

Coordinates: 42.203191° N 72.623969° W

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