Holyoke, Massachusetts

English colonists arrived in the Connecticut River Valley in 1633, when traders from the Plymouth Plantation established a post at Windsor, Connecticut.

This area, previously allotted to landowners on the east side of the river in Springfield, was settled by colonists by 1655, and included what is now Holyoke.

By the time West Springfield was partitioned in 1707, a number of Irish families had moved to the Parish.

Originally, the settlement spanned both sides of the river but was partitioned in 1774 with the land on the western bank becoming West Springfield, Massachusetts.

Holyoke as a geographic entity was initially incorporated as the 3rd parish of West Springfield on July 7, 1786, and was called "Ireland" or "Ireland Parish".

A part of Northampton known as Smith's Ferry was separated from the rest of the town by the creation of Easthampton in 1809.

The area's first post office, "Ireland", was established June 3, 1822, with Martin Chapin as first postmaster; it was discontinued in 1883.

Another, "Ireland Depot", was established February 26, 1847, with John M.

Following land acquisitions and development by the Hadley Falls Company, the town of Holyoke was officially incorporated on March 14, 1850.

With the emergence of Holyoke's industrial base, a new wave of Irish Catholic immigration occurred and by 1855 a third of residents were of Irish heritage.

Many Québecois workers were first recruited by Nicholas Proulx (anglicized as Prew) who hailed from Saint-Ours, Quebec and arrived in Holyoke in 1856.

Holyoke's population rose from just under 5,000 in 1860 to over 60,000 in 1920.

" Habitants in Holyoke: the Development of the French, Canadian Community in a Massachusetts city, 1865-1910" (PhD Dissertation, University of New Hampshire, 1976) online.

The first and most prominent hydraulic testing lab in the United States, the Holyoke Testing Flume performed 3,176 tests to establish turbine efficiency from 1870 to 1932.

Due to this staggering growth the municipality was officially incorporated as a city on April 7, 1873, only 23 years after its initial incorporation as the "Town of Holyoke".

From 1874 until 1896, the City Council was bicameral; the Board of Aldermen consisted of seven at-large members, and a Common Council of 21 presided with three representatives p...

In electronics, the world's first commercial toll line, between the city's Hotel Jess and a location in Springfield, entered service on June 15, 1878.

This trend began in 1881, when the city went from a population of zero to fifty head of registered Jerseys, the largest herd in the Connecticut Valley being that of William Whit...

Holyoke—Chicopee: A Perspective 1882–1982.

On May 2, 1885, Clark W.

It sits on Library Park, which was donated by the Holyoke Water Power Company in 1887.

In 1888, Holyoke's paper industry spurred the foundation of the American Pad & Paper Company (AMPAD), which as of 2007 was one of the largest suppliers of office products in the...

In the 1890 census, Holyoke had the third most foreign-born residents, per capita, of any city in the United States, with 47% of residents born in another country; this was exce...

It has been affiliated with the Sisters of Providence of Holyoke, who have operated medical facilities in the city since they first received their charter in 1892.

Victory Theater Wistariahurst Museum == Sports == === Birthplace of volleyball === On February 9, 1895, William G.

From the ratification of the 1896 charter until the 1950s, the common council was eliminated and the Board comprised 21 members with 14 at-large, subsequently changed to eight a...

Holyoke was also previously the location of the headquarters of the American Writing Paper Company, a trust company established in 1899 with the merging of 23 rag paper mills, 1...

Before 1900 Holyoke would produce 320 tons per day, predominantly of writing paper.

It opened officially in 1902.

Both congregations originated in the 19th century, with Rodphey Sholom founded in 1903 but tracing its heritage to the Paper City Lodge of the Order Brith Abraham, founded in 18...

Other pioneering developments included the first use of Hans Goldschmidt's exothermic welding process in the Americas in 1904, by George E.

The largest of these is Springdale Park, designed by the brothers in 1905–1906, and today the site of the annual Western Massachusetts Puerto Rican Parade and Festival.

The city was also home to Thaddeus Cahill's New England Electric Music Company which, on March 16, 1906, demonstrated the Telharmonium, the world's first electromechanical instr...

The neighborhood became the northern part of Holyoke in 1909.

Holyoke reached its peak population before the end of the First World War with an estimated 62,300 residents according reported in 1913 by the school superintendent at that time...

A Greek Orthodox church, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, has also existed in the city since its founding in 1917.

This prize-winning herd, then 75 head, was lost, however, to an incendiary fire that destroyed Whiting Farm's stock barn in 1919.

He would work with the club for many years, completing a full redesign of the course by 1922, which remained unchanged until the construction of I-91 in 1965.

In 1930 a former supply route built by soldiers of the regiment was dedicated in Massachusetts as the Apremont Highway in a joint ceremony between Holyoke and Westfield.

It was in Holyoke that bantamweight Sixto Escobar, the first Puerto Rican to become a world champion, fought and won his first match in the United States, on May 7, 1934, agains...

Post Office, Captain Alezue Holyoke's Exploring Party on the Connecticut River, an oil on canvas mural, painted by Ross Moffett and installed in 1936.

Green, Constance McLaughlin (1939).

Though the original YMCA building in which the sport was first played was lost to fire in 1943, the Greater Holyoke YMCA remains an active chapter.

Patrick's Day, March 17, 1947; the venue also served as the ring for many other well-known fighters including Beau Jack, Fritzie Zivic, and Tony DeMarco.

Held annually since 1952 on the Sunday following St.

The first permanent Puerto Rican resident was said to have been Domingo Perez; a landlord who later became among the first to be appointed in city government, he was reported to...

The Golden Gloves tournament was held in Holyoke from 1958 until 2005, when it was relocated to Vernon, Connecticut.

Since 1962, the city has held an annual Shad Derby every year in May with rare exception.

At one point the company was the largest producer of fine papers in the world, but leadership lacking technical knowledge of the industry led the company to fold by 1963.

The city was thus a rare unaffected area in the Northeast blackout of 1965, for example.

From 1966 to 1967 much of the landscape was reshaped by golf architect Al Zikorus; today, five holes and seven greens remain of Ross's original designs.

The city has its own symphony as well; the Holyoke Civic Symphony, originally a project of the Holyoke Community College, has been playing popular and classical works since 1967...

By 1970 the number of Puerto Rican residents numbered around 5,000; however, by that time, many faced a city economy in free fall.

The city served as a filming location for the 1977 bodybuilding documentary Pumping Iron, as Mountain Park then held bodybuilding championships at its Clambake Pavilion.

=== Services === The retail sector has been a major employer since the construction of the Holyoke Mall, the third largest shopping mall in New England, in 1979.

Conventional dairy and cattle farming remained extant through most of the 20th century, with the last conventional livestock farm closing in 1982.

Prior to his professional career, one of Mike Tyson's earliest fights was at the Holyoke Boys and Girls Club on February 12, 1983.

The Children's Museum at Holyoke, started by the Junior League of Holyoke in 1984, features a number of hands-on exhibits, including a water table, Lite-Brite wall, and a variet...

Though not weighed in time to enter Derby records, the section of the Connecticut south of the Holyoke Dam at Hadley Falls holds the world record for the largest American shad c...

Despite economic and social difficulties the population grew significantly during the 1980s, and from 1990 to 2016, the buying power of the Latino community at-large increased b...

Historic records refer to the city council as the "Board of Aldermen" until its name changed in 1992; however, the title also reflected a separate body.

Holyoke's own newspaper of record, the Holyoke Transcript-Telegram, which had been connected with the city since its founding under several variations of that name, ceased publi...

Wiesinger, Gerwart (1994).

In its first year alone the event featured a laser show, and had as many as 60 thousand attendants over the course of four days; financial difficulties, however, led to its canc...

In 1996 the Paper City Brewing Company opened out of one of the former Farr Alpaca Company's facilities, following a period of financial difficulties in 2017, the brewery closed...

=== Telecom and public fiber === Since September 1997, the city's municipal utility, Holyoke Gas & Electric, has provided fiber optic high-speed internet service to municipal ag...

The latter, once part of the Mount Tom Ski Area, has remained closed since the ski resort shuttered in 1998, and was subsequently purchased in part by the Trustees, along with t...

Thanks to conservation measures, the river is known for a thriving American shad population, which has fluctuated between 226,000 and 778,000 fish since 2000.

Previously the Concord Quarry Dogs from 2001 until 2006, the collegiate summer baseball franchise moved to Holyoke in 2007, winning their first NECBL Championship in 2017.

The 2003 book covered the final days of his father's furniture and real estate businesses in the city, mirroring its deindustrialization and decline.

Holyoke also has a prominent example of ecosystem garden permaculture—the Holyoke Edible Food Forest Garden, established in 2004 by Eric Toensmeier and Jonathan Bates.

Following their departure from Middletown, Connecticut, the Holyoke Giants, an NECBL team, made Mackenzie Stadium their home until 2007, subsequently becoming the North Shore Na...

There were 15,361 households in 2010, out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.5% were headed by married couples living together, 24.9% had a fem...

In 2011, two Catholic parishes, Holy Cross and Mater Dolorosa were merged into Our Lady of the Cross Parish.

Today the city contains a number of specialty manufacturing companies, as well as the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center, an intercollegiate research facility...

=== Employment and income === For the period 2013–2017, the estimated median annual income for a household in the city was $37,954, and the median income for a family was $46,940.

Citizens cited higher rates of asthma, attributing them to the plant and after many years of discussion it was finally shuttered in December 2014.

In 2015, the editors of Popular Mechanics ranked Holyoke as 6th on a list of 14 cities they considered to be best for startups in the United States, citing these factors.

Powered by these municipally owned canals, Holyoke has among the lowest electricity costs in the Commonwealth, and as of 2016 between 85% and 90% of the city's energy was carbon...

As of 2017, the city had the most recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance per capita of any in Massachusetts, with 37% of residents receiving such benefits.

In 2018, the first cannabis cultivation operation, a $10 million investment, opened in the city, with plans to open a dispensary in the future.

On September 16, 2019, the Daily Hampshire Gazette announced that it was expanding its coverage to Holyoke full-time, opening a bureau there.

== Demographics == As of the census of 2020, there were 38,247 people in 15,062 households.

Garcia was elected, and assumed the remainder of the term of Terence Murphy on November 15, 2021, who had assumed the office in an acting capacity.

As of August 2024 the department employed 88 sworn employees.