Chicopee, Massachusetts

Etymology

"Chicopee" is derived from the Nipmuc language. It is likely derived from chekee ("violently") and -pe (root suffix used in water place names) or chikkupee ("of red cedar"), an adjectival form of chikkup ("red cedar").^[16][17][18]

There have been several variant spellings of the name.^[19][20][21]

Nayasett (Cabotville and Chicopee Falls)

Cabotville as it appeared in 1844, prior to the incorporation of Chicopee (top); the dam at Chicopee Falls today

In 1636, William Pynchon purchased land from the Agawam Indians on the east side of the Connecticut River. He moved from the Town of Roxbury to Springfield to found the first settlement in the area that comprises the territory of today's Chicopee Center (Cabotville). Both Cabotville and the Falls were developed as manufacturing centers (villages).^[22]

According to local historian Charles J. Seaver, the area above the falls was first settled in 1660. The land purchased from the Indians was divided into districts. Nayasett (Nipmuc for "at the small point/angle") was the name given to the area of what are now Chicopee Center and Chicopee Falls. The settlement in the upper district was at Skipmuck (possibly based on Nipmuc Skipmaug, meaning "chief fishing place" or Shipmuck, meaning "big watery place"), a place above the falls on the south side of the river.^{[citation needed]}

Colonists built a sawmill as the first industrial site along the river. The mill was built at Skenungonuck (Nipmuc for "green fields") Falls (now Chicopee Falls) in 1678 by Japhet Chapin, John Hitchcock and Nathaniel Foote.^{[citation needed]}

In 1786, what was called Factory Village began to develop when two acres of land was leased to 10 local men, with the understanding that they would build an iron foundry within two years. This was accomplished and the business flourished.^{[citation needed]}

In 1823, Jonathan Dwight purchased the water privilege at Skenungonuck Falls in Chicopee. He built a textile mill and five years later, it operated 14,000 spindles and nearly 500 looms, making it the second-largest operation in the state. It processed cotton from the Deep South, becoming part of the extended slave economy and King Cotton. By 1831, settlers had developed two giant dams, two waterpower canals, and two manufacturing communities on the Chicopee River.^{[citation needed]}

Before and after the partition, eight Chicopee River companies gained product recognition around the globe: Ames, Belcher, Lamb, Dwight, Stevens, Spalding, Fisk, and Duryea. Below the falls, in the bend of the river at a place called Factory Village, an important chapter of the region's industrial history was played out.^{[citation needed]}

Partition from Springfield

In 1716, Upper Chicopee, Lower Chicopee and Skipmunk were divided into Springfield's fourth, fifth and sixth precincts, respectively.^[23]

In the late 1740s, a discussion took place among members of the First Church of Springfield over whether the town should build a new meetinghouse out of brick, which would be more expensive yet durable, or timber, which would be relatively inexpensive. Residents of what is now Chicopee tended to support a timber meetinghouse, due to the time-consuming four to eight mile journey that visiting the meetinghouse would require.^[23][24] In 1749, residents in Springfield's fourth, fifth and sixth precincts petitioned the Massachusetts General Court to form their own parish, with their own church and meetinghouse. Facing opposition from Springfield, the petition was rejected by the General Court. In 1750, the petition was filed again by Japhet Chapin, signed by 49 residents of what are now Chicopee and Holyoke, and was approved by the General Court. This created Springfield's Fifth Parish. The boundaries of the new parish were laid out on June 11, 1751.^[b] The first service took place on July 21, 1751.^[c] This marked the earliest move toward political separation by Chicopee and Holyoke from Springfield.^[23]

In 1844, Springfield's Second Parish,^[d] now containing only Chicopee, petitioned the General Court to separate as its own municipality. Once again opposed by Springfield's First Parish, their petition was rejected. In 1848, Springfield began to seek a city charter. Second Parish residents tended to oppose a city charter on the grounds of increased expenditures. In response, 700 residents of Chicopee's neighborhoods of Cabotville, Chicopee Falls, Chicopee Street and Willimansett signed a petition to form their own municipality.^[25]

The General Court approved Chicopee's Act of Incorporation on April 25, 1848. Governor George N. Briggs signed the act on April 29, 1848, creating the Town of Chicopee.^[25][5] Chicopee's first municipal elections took place at Chicopee's first town meeting on May 17, 1848 at 1:00 p.m. When electing State Representatives and State Senators, the Town of Chicopee would be treated as a district of Springfield until after the 1850 U.S. census.^[25]

Incorporation as a city

On April 18, 1890, the community was granted a charter as a city by the Massachusetts General Court. George Sylvester Taylor (1822–1910) became Chicopee's first mayor on January 5, 1891.

Westover Field was created by a war-readiness appropriation signed by president Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939. The site used to be tobacco crop fields east of and part of Fairview, east of Aldenview, and northern Willimansett. It was assigned to the United States Army Air Corps Northeast Air District. It was renamed Westover Air Force Base in 1948 after that Air Force's creation as a separate service. In 1974 SAC leadership turned the base over to the Air Force Reserve.

In 1991, St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Church, located on Front Street, was proclaimed a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II.

Industries

Chicopee adopted the motto "Industriae Variae", which means "Various Industries". Chicopee's industries included cotton mills, woolen mills, textiles, brass and iron foundries, paper making, footwear factories, for leather boots and shoes, the first friction matches, and ship building. In nearby South Hadley Canal, the firearms company Crescent-Davis specialized in producing double-barrel shotguns.

The Ames Manufacturing Company made many machines and bronze cannons, and more swords than any other American manufacturer at the time. Ames cast a number of bronze statues, including Thomas Ball's monumental equestrian statue of President George Washington, installed in Boston's Public Garden. Ames was a major provider of cannon to the Union army during the Civil War.^[26] The Stevens Arms plant (later Savage) was responsible for most of the No. 4 Enfields manufactured for the British under Lend-Lease. Chicopee was home to production of the first gasoline-powered automobile made in the United States, the Duryea.^[27][28]

Bicycles

During the late nineteenth century, Chicopee Falls became a major manufacturing center of bicycles.^[29] The town was the site of at least two bicycle factories: The Overman Wheel Company (1882 to about 1899), and the Spalding sporting goods company.^[30]

Albert H. Overman moved his bicycle production from Hartford, Connecticut, to Chicopee Falls in 1883.^[29] The Overman company benefited from the surging popularity of the safety bicycle during the bicycle boom of the 1890s. At its height in 1894, Overman's factory employed over 1,200 workers. The boom eventually went bust, as overproduction drove the price of bicycles down. By 1901 the Overman firm was out of business.^[29]

Library

The Chicopee Public Library developed from the Cabot Institute, a literary society organized in 1846. The society voted on April 4, 1853 to donate its books to the town.^[31] It was the first locally funded public library in Western Massachusetts.^[32]

Neighborhoods

Events

• The Great New England Air Show is an annual two-day air show held at Westover Air Reserve Base. The show has featured the USAF Thunderbirds and the US Navy's Blue Angels.^[56]
• The World Kielbasa Festival is a four-day fair featuring Polish food, polka dancing, games, and rides.

Sites

• The Basilica of Saint Stanislaus, is a 1908 brownstone, church built in the Baroque Revival Style of architecture. Pope John Paul II designated it a Minor Basilica.
• The Cabotville Historic Sycamore Trees, trees that were present when Chicopee became a town in 1848, matured when it became a city in 1890. They were designated Heritage Trees by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
• Chicopee City Hall, built in 1871 in the Romanesque style, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
• Veterans Memorial Plaza, located on Front Street. It is home to monuments dedicated to veterans of the Civil War, World War I, World II, Korean War, Vietnam War, and the War on Terror.
• Edward Bellamy House was built in 1852 and was the home of journalist Edward Bellamy. It is listed on the NRHP and is a National Historic Landmark.
• Emerson Gaylord Mansion, a historic mansion at Elms College, based on French Second Empire style^[57]
• The Facemate Tower, a historic tower on the Chicopee River in Chicopee Falls. It used to be a part of the Facemate Industrial Complex.
• The Polish Center of Discovery and Learning, a local history museum.
• The Uniroyal Office Building, a historic building in Chicopee Falls that was part of the Uniroyal Industrial Complex.
• The Willimansett Dike, an elevated, artificial levee in Willimansett, built after the destructive Willimansett flood caused by The Great New England Hurricane of 1938.
• Westover Air Reserve Base, built here in 1940. Originally an Army Air Corps and later Army Air Forces installation known as Westover Field, it became Westover Air Force Base when the Air Force became an independent service in 1947. From 1955 until 1974, it was a Strategic Air Command (SAC) installation. Transferred to the Air Force Reserve in 1974, it was renamed Westover Air Reserve Base and is now the home of the 439th Airlift Wing, flying the C-5 Galaxy aircraft.^[58] Westover has one of the largest runways on the east coast, and is the largest Air Force Reserve base in the United States.^[59][60] A joint civil-military facility, it is also home to Westover Metropolitan Airport.^[61] Two military-minded youth programs, the Young Marines and the Westover Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol are also located at Westover.

Voter registration

College of Our Lady of the Elms

The College of Our Lady of the Elms is a four-year liberal arts college offering thirty-three academic majors. It was first founded in 1897 as a girls' preparatory academy in Pittsfield, the Academy of Our Lady of the Elms. In 1899, it moved to Chicopee as St. Joseph's Normal College. A charter for the school to operate as a women's liberal arts college was approved in 1928, and the name was changed to the College of Our Lady of the Elms. It began admitting men in 1998.

Private elementary

Catholic schools operated under the Diocese of Springfield include: Saint Joan of Arc School which serves Saint Rose de Lima Church; and Saint Stanislaus School which serves the St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr's Parish.

Private secondary

Holyoke Catholic High School was founded in 1963 at the campus of the former Saint Jerome High School in Holyoke. In 2002 it relocated to the campus of Saint Hyacinth Seminary in Granby. It moved to its Holyoke location in September 2008, and 2015 it merged with Cathedral High School to form a new regional Catholic school that was completed in 2016 as Pope Francis High School in Springfield.^[71][72]