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Hampden County, Massachusetts

Coordinates: 42°08′N 72°38′W / 42.14°N 72.63°W / 42.14; -72.63
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42°08′N 72°38′W / 42.14°N 72.63°W / 42.14; -72.63

Hampden County
County
Hampden County Courthouse in Springfield
Hampden County Courthouse in Springfield
Official seal of Hampden County
Seal
Map of Massachusetts highlighting Hampden County
Location within the U.S. state of Massachusetts
Map of the United States highlighting Massachusetts
Massachusetts's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 42°07′39″N 72°34′17″W / 42.12756°N 72.571312°W / 42.12756; -72.571312
Country United States
State Massachusetts
FoundedAugust 1, 1812
Named forJohn Hampden
SeatSpringfield
Largest citySpringfield
Area
 • Total634 sq mi (1,640 km2)
 • Land617 sq mi (1,600 km2)
 • Water17 sq mi (40 km2)  2.7%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total465,825 Increase
 • Density755/sq mi (292/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts1st, 2nd

Hampden County is a non-governmental county located in the Pioneer Valley of the U.S. state of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, Hampden County's population was 465,825. Its traditional county seat is Springfield,[1] the Connecticut River Valley's largest city, and economic and cultural capital; with an estimated population of 154,758, approximately one-third of Hampden County residents live in Springfield.

History

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Springfield had been Hampshire County's traditional shire town since its founding in 1636, then in 1794 Northampton was made Hampshire County's shire town.[2] Springfield grew at a pace far quicker than Northampton, so was granted shire town-status over its own southerly jurisdiction.[2] The southern division of Hampshire County was separated as Hampden County on August 1, 1812, by a prior act of the Massachusetts General Court on February 25, 1812, with Springfield named as the shire town.[3][4] The agreement of settlement (regarding assets, liabilities, income and expenses) made between Hampden and Hampshire counties in November 1812 can be found in the Court of Sessions Record Book 1, pages 5-6 of the Hampden County Commissioners' Archives, housed in the Registry of Deeds.[2] Hampden County was named for parliamentarian John Hampden,[5] and is the youngest county by establishment date in the state.

To the north of Hampden County is modern-day Hampshire County; to the west is Berkshire County; to the east is Worcester County; to the south are Litchfield County, Hartford County, and Tolland County in Connecticut. Hampden County is part of the Springfield, MA Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the most urban county in Western Massachusetts. The Knowledge Corridor surrounding Springfield-Hartford is New England's second most populous urban area (after Greater Boston) with 1.9 million people.

Law and government

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As with most Massachusetts counties, Hampden County exists today only as a historical geographic region, and has no county government. All former county functions were assumed by state agencies in 1998. The sheriff and some other regional officials with specific duties are still elected locally to perform duties within the county borders, but there is no county council, county commission or other county governing body. Communities are now granted the right to form their own regional compacts for sharing services. Hampden County and Hampshire County together are part of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.

Government and politics

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United States presidential election results for Hampden County, Massachusetts[6]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 87,318 40.02% 125,948 57.73% 4,911 2.25%
2016 78,685 38.18% 112,590 54.63% 14,826 7.19%
2012 73,392 36.62% 123,619 61.69% 3,388 1.69%
2008 71,350 36.09% 121,454 61.43% 4,916 2.49%
2004 70,925 38.00% 113,710 60.93% 2,004 1.07%
2000 59,558 34.61% 100,103 58.17% 12,432 7.22%
1996 48,513 28.17% 105,050 60.99% 18,676 10.84%
1992 54,621 29.01% 86,026 45.69% 47,618 25.29%
1988 74,872 43.17% 97,332 56.13% 1,216 0.70%
1984 89,330 51.05% 84,985 48.57% 656 0.37%
1980 72,528 40.36% 80,369 44.72% 26,823 14.92%
1976 70,008 37.78% 110,028 59.38% 5,254 2.84%
1972 86,164 47.31% 94,945 52.13% 1,024 0.56%
1968 55,783 31.31% 111,376 62.52% 10,991 6.17%
1964 44,299 24.86% 133,085 74.67% 835 0.47%
1960 72,054 37.17% 121,061 62.46% 713 0.37%
1956 104,689 55.87% 81,743 43.63% 935 0.50%
1952 98,641 51.86% 90,936 47.81% 616 0.32%
1948 70,256 41.89% 94,609 56.41% 2,855 1.70%
1944 63,293 40.71% 91,819 59.05% 374 0.24%
1940 64,502 41.67% 89,477 57.80% 817 0.53%
1936 51,288 36.59% 80,164 57.19% 8,728 6.23%
1932 55,032 44.51% 63,189 51.11% 5,408 4.37%
1928 56,063 47.18% 62,056 52.23% 703 0.59%
1924 46,489 59.97% 19,079 24.61% 11,947 15.41%
1920 46,741 68.92% 19,156 28.25% 1,923 2.84%
1916 18,207 50.19% 17,028 46.94% 1,042 2.87%
1912 11,393 37.45% 10,620 34.91% 8,410 27.64%
1908 14,485 52.19% 9,910 35.71% 3,358 12.10%
1904 14,962 57.61% 9,369 36.07% 1,640 6.31%
1900 13,757 54.70% 10,424 41.45% 970 3.86%
1896 16,064 68.67% 6,787 29.01% 541 2.31%
1892 11,373 48.82% 11,228 48.20% 693 2.98%
1888 9,577 49.71% 9,177 47.64% 511 2.65%
1884 7,897 47.76% 7,245 43.81% 1,394 8.43%
1880 8,673 57.67% 6,195 41.20% 170 1.13%
1876 7,963 54.66% 6,605 45.34% 0 0.00%
1872 6,565 61.56% 4,100 38.44% 0 0.00%
1868 6,760 64.61% 3,702 35.39% 0 0.00%
1864 6,356 68.71% 2,894 31.29% 0 0.00%
1860 5,184 64.28% 1,993 24.71% 888 11.01%
1856 5,533 62.21% 2,730 30.69% 631 7.09%
1852 3,458 44.50% 3,545 45.62% 767 9.87%
1848 3,306 43.21% 3,061 40.01% 1,284 16.78%
1844 3,416 45.79% 3,593 48.16% 451 6.05%
1840 3,441 50.09% 3,312 48.21% 117 1.70%
1836 2,262 48.83% 2,370 51.17% 0 0.00%
County-level state agency heads
Clerk of Courts: Laura S. Gentile (D)
District Attorney: Anthony Gulluni (D)
Register of Deeds: Cheryl Coakley-Rivera (D)
Register of Probate: Suzanne Seguin (I)
County Sheriff: Nicholas Cocchi (D)
State government
State Representative(s): by community
State Senator(s): by community
Governor's Councilor(s): Tara Jacobs (D) 8th District
Paul DePalo (D) 7th District
Federal government
U.S. Representative(s): Richard Neal (D-1st District),
U.S. Senators: Elizabeth Warren (D), Ed Markey (D)
Voter registration and party enrollment as of February 2024[7]
Unenrolled 219,200 62.5%
Democratic 91,495 26.09%
Republican 35,661 10.17%
Libertarian 1,416 0.4%
Other parties 2,971 0.85%
Total 350,743 100%

Geography

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Cities and Towns of Hampden County
Chester
Blandford
Tolland
Granville
Russell
Montgomery
Westfield
Southwick
Holyoke
Chicopee
West Springfield
Springfield
Agawam
Longmeadow
East Longmeadow
Ludlow
Wilbraham
Hampden
Palmer
Monson
Brimfield
Wales
Holland

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 634 square miles (1,640 km2), of which 617 square miles (1,600 km2) is land and 17 square miles (44 km2) (2.7%) is water.[8]

Adjacent counties

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Communities

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Cities

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Towns

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Census-designated places

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Other unincorporated communities

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City neighborhoods

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The following are neighborhoods located in Springfield or West Springfield.

The following are neighborhoods located in Chicopee.

  • Aldenville
  • Burnett Road
  • Chicopee Center (Cabotville)
  • Chicopee Falls
  • Fairview
  • Smith Highlands
  • Westover
  • Willimansett

The following are neighborhoods located in Holyoke.

National Parks

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State parks

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Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
182028,021—
183031,63912.9%
184037,36618.1%
185051,28337.2%
186057,36611.9%
187078,40936.7%
1880104,14232.8%
1890135,71330.3%
1900175,60329.4%
1910231,36931.8%
1920300,30529.8%
1930335,49611.7%
1940332,107−1.0%
1950367,97110.8%
1960429,35316.7%
1970459,0506.9%
1980443,018−3.5%
1990456,3103.0%
2000456,2280.0%
2010463,4901.6%
2020465,8250.5%
2023 (est.)460,291[9]−1.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[10]
1790–1960[11] 1900–1990[12]
1990–2000[13] 2010-2020[14]

2010 census

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As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 463,490 people, 179,927 households, and 115,961 families residing in the county.[15] The population density was 751.0 inhabitants per square mile (290.0/km2). There were 192,175 housing units at an average density of 311.4 per square mile (120.2/km2).[16] The racial makeup of the county was 76.5% white, 9.0% black or African American, 2.0% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 9.2% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 20.9% of the population.[15] The largest ancestry groups were:[17]

Of the 179,927 households, 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.9% were married couples living together, 17.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.6% were non-families, and 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.09. The median age was 38.6 years.[15]

The median income for a household in the county was $47,724 and the median income for a family was $61,061. Males had a median income of $50,207 versus $37,765 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,718. About 13.2% of families and 17.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.5% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.[18]

Demographic breakdown by town

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Income

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See also: List of Massachusetts locations by per capita income

The ranking of unincorporated communities that are included on the list are reflective if the census designated locations and villages were included as cities or towns. Data is from the 2007–2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.[19][20][21]

Rank Town Per capita
income 		Median
household
income 		Median
family
income 		Population Number of
households
1 Longmeadow Town $50,203 $100,092 $111,803 15,772 5,605
2 Wilbraham Town $39,372 $88,839 $107,871 14,145 5,393
3 Hampden Town $38,396 $79,773 $103,173 5,134 1,960
4 Montgomery Town $36,575 $78,125 $90,313 742 291
5 Tolland Town $36,567 $67,083 $75,625 434 164
6 Blandford Town $36,412 $78,875 $82,656 1,174 462
Massachusetts State $35,051 $65,981 $83,371 6,512,227 2,522,409
7 East Longmeadow Town $34,417 $76,517 $89,570 15,555 5,660
8 Southwick Town $33,753 $74,721 $86,915 9,425 3,657
9 Wales Town $32,129 $60,938 $70,536 1,914 773
10 Granville Town $32,050 $71,667 $85,625 1,444 554
11 Brimfield Town $31,671 $78,380 $86,695 3,582 1,385
12 Monson Town $31,274 $70,485 $86,333 8,531 3,318
Monson Center CDP $29,938 $50,242 $51,691 1,880 846
13 Agawam City $29,914 $65,339 $76,258 28,408 11,506
14 Holland Town $29,835 $69,565 $79,779 2,595 998
15 West Springfield City $27,946 $54,251 $63,954 28,320 11,571
United States Country $27,915 $52,762 $64,293 306,603,772 114,761,359
16 Palmer City $27,694 $50,864 $58,144 12,161 5,006
17 Ludlow Town $27,644 $60,694 $73,048 21,131 7,876
18 Chester Town $27,630 $56,711 $69,063 1,320 528
19 Westfield City $26,605 $53,772 $72,210 41,025 15,207
20 Russell Town $25,600 $60,398 $72,759 1,846 681
Hampden County County $25,363 $48,866 $61,800 462,752 177,954
21 Chicopee City $23,703 $45,763 $58,118 55,205 23,136
22 Holyoke City $20,370 $33,915 $42,033 39,897 16,012
23 Springfield City $18,483 $35,603 $41,454 152,992 56,211

Education

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Colleges and universities

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Public school districts

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Other institutions

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Although no county government exists in Hampden County, a number of private associations, mainly representing trades remain identified with Hampden County. For example the Hampden Agricultural Society opened Hamden Park In Springfield in 1853. To maintain current training among municipal inspectors, in 2005 the nongovernmental Hampden County Plumbing & Gas Inspectors Association was formed.[22] The Hampden County Bar Association provides support and resources to the legal community and those seeking such representation.[23] In part a legacy of the Eastern States Exposition, the Hampden County Improvement League, and Hampden County Beekeepers Association, both provide agricultural education and outreach.[24][25] The Hampden County Radio Association, an affiliate of the ARRL, offers training in amateur radio and related technology.[26]

Transportation

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Major highways

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Hampden County Memorial Bridge over the Connecticut, connecting Springfield/West Springfield, c. 1945

Public transportation

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Hampden County is served by both bus and rail service, with intermodal connections at Springfield Union Station, and Holyoke station via the Holyoke Transportation Center. Additionally the region is served by the Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport, and Westover Metropolitan Airport. A bike share program, ValleyBike, connects Springfield, Chicopee, Holyoke and West Springfield to points north in Hampshire County.

Bus

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Rail

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c Hampden County Incorporated in 1812. Posted October 2, 2018, by Hampden County Registry of Deeds. Accessed August 5, 2023.
  3. ^ An Act for dividing the county of Hampshire, and erecting and forming the southerly part thereof into a separate county, by the name of Hampden. Passed February 25, 1812, Effective from and after August 1, 1812. Chapter CXXXVII. Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, passed at the Several Sessions of the General Court Holden in Boston. Beginning May 31, 1809, and Ending on February 29, 1812. Vol. V. Publisher: Adams, Rhoades & Co., Boston, 1812. Accessed April 7, 2024.
  4. ^ 01 AUG 1812 HAMPDEN created from HAMPSHIRE. (Mass. Acts 1812, ch. 137/p. 291) HAMPDEN. Massachusetts : Individual County Chronologies. Massachusetts Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library, 2009. Accessed April 7, 2024.
  5. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 148.
  6. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  7. ^ "The Commonwealth of Massachusetts" (PDF). Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. February 24, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  8. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 14, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  9. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  10. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  11. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  12. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  13. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  14. ^ "2020 Census Demographic Data Map Viewer". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  15. ^ a b c "DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  16. ^ "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 – County". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  17. ^ "DP02 Selected Social Characteristics in the United States – 2006–2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  18. ^ "DP03 Selected Economic Characteristics – 2006–2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  19. ^ "SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS 2007–2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  20. ^ "ACS DEMOGRAPHIC AND HOUSING ESTIMATES 2007–2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  21. ^ "HOUSEHOLDS AND FAMILIES 2007–2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  22. ^ "Hampden County Plumbing & Gas Inspectors Association". Archived from the original on February 17, 2019.
  23. ^ "Hampden County Bar Association". Hampden County Bar Association.
  24. ^ "Hampden County Beekeepers Association". Archived from the original on March 2, 2019.
  25. ^ "Hampden County Improvement League". Archived from the original on January 6, 2020.
  26. ^ "Hampden County Radio Association". Archived from the original on January 7, 2019.

Further reading

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