South Hadley, Massachusetts

Infobox Settlement
official_name = South Hadley, Massachusetts
nickname =
motto =


imagesize =
image_caption =
image_

---

mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location in Hampshire County in Massachusetts


mapsize1 =
map_caption1 =
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Massachusetts
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Hampshire
established_title = Settled
established_date = 1659
established_title2 = Incorporated
established_date2 = 1775
established_title3 =
established_date3 =
government_type = Representative town meeting
leader_title = Town Administrator
leader_name = Michael A. Szlosek
leader_title1 = Board of Selectmen
leader_name1 =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 47.6
area_total_sq_mi = 18.4
area_land_km2 = 45.9
area_land_sq_mi = 17.7
area_water_km2 = 1.8
area_water_sq_mi = 0.7
population_as_of = 2000
settlement_type = Town
population_total = 17196
population_density_km2 = 374.9
population_density_sq_mi = 971.0
elevation_m = 78
elevation_ft = 257
timezone = Eastern
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = Eastern
utc_offset_DST = -4
latd = 42 |latm = 15 |lats = 30 |latNS = N
longd = 72 |longm = 34 |longs = 30 |longEW = W
website = http://www.southhadley.org/
postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 01075
area_code = 413
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 25-64145
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0618208
footnotes =

South Hadley is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,196 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.

South Hadley is home to Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley High School, and the Berkshire Hills Music Academy.

History

South Hadley was an uninhabited area of Hadley from 1659 until 1721 when the first English settlers arrived from Hadley. [http://www.hampshirecountyhistory.com/southhadley/barber/index.html “History And Antiquities of Every Town In Massachusetts” by John Warner Barber, 1848.] (edited excerpt)] A separate town meeting was held in 1753 (1733?), and the town was officially split and incorporated in 1775 (1773?). [http://www.southhadley.org/history/milestones.htm South Hadley town website - Historical milestones] ]

The town is the home of the nation's first successful navigable canal [ [http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/conn.river/canal.html The Role of the South Hadley Canal in Western New England's Development] ] as well as the oldest continuing institution of higher education for women.

The candlemaking of Yankee Candle Company founder Mike Kittredge originated in South Hadley in 1969.

The Civil War Monument in the center of the Commons was given to South Hadley by William H. Gaylord in the 1900s.

Geography

South Hadley is located in the western part of Massachusetts, specifically in the Pioneer Valley. It is bordered on the north by Hadley and Amherst, on the east by Granby, and on the south by Chicopee. The Connecticut River defines the town's western border and separates it from the city of Holyoke. South Hadley is 45 miles south of Brattleboro, Vermont, 87 miles west of Boston, and 145 miles from New York City.

Although no Interstate Highways cross South Hadley's borders, U.S. Route 202, and Massachusetts Highways 33, 47, and 116 provide primary routes of transportation. Interstate 91 can be accessed in Holyoke while Interstate 90 is accessible through Chicopee. Bradley International Airport, serving the greater Hartford-Springfield area, is located 17 miles to the south. The closest Amtrak station is in Springfield.

The Village Commons, a center for dining, shopping, and leisure, is located at the juncture of Massachusetts Routes 116 and 47, in the area commonly called South Hadley Center. Additional commercial centers are located on Massachusetts Routes 116 and 33. South Hadley is also the home of Mount Holyoke College, the oldest continuously operating institution of higher education for women, founded in 1837.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 18.4 square miles (47.6 km²), of which, 17.7 square miles (45.9 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) of it (3.70%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 17,196 people, 6,586 households, and 4,208 families residing in the town. The population density was 971.0 people per square mile (374.9/km²). There were 6,784 housing units at an average density of 383.1/sq mi (147.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.05% White, 1.20% African American, 0.12% Native American, 2.53% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.77% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.36% of the population.

There were 6,586 households out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.6% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the town the population was spread out with 19.6% under the age of 18, 14.9% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 72.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 65.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $46,678, and the median income for a family was $58,693. Males had a median income of $42,256 versus $31,219 for females. The per capita income for the town was $22,732. About 4.1% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.8% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Mount Holyoke College, one of the historic Seven Sisters, is located in South Hadley.

South Hadley High School is known for its highly competitive boys athletic teams for a smaller-sized town. It is home of the 2004 state champion lacrosse team that won Division II with the smallest high school enrollment of all 81 teams. It also won the 2005 Division IA Super Bowl in football.

The South Hadley High School Marching Band has won the state and or New England USSBA Championship each year. In 2005 they placed second nationally and won Best Percussion. In 2006 they won the United States Marine Corps Esprit De corps award, second place in USSBA, and Best Percussion. In 2007 they won the Esprit De corps award for the second year in a row, best percussion for the third year in a row, Massachusetss USSBA championship, New England Championship, and seventh place in the Northeast championship.

Berkshire Hills Music Academy (BHMA), founded in 1999 and opened in 2001, is a private post-secondary residential school providing young adults, with learning or developmental disabilities, the opportunity to live in a collegiate setting and acquire independent living skills while developing their musical potential. BHMA emphasizes students' aptitudes and abilities rather than their deficits. [http://www.berkshirehills.org Berkshire Hills Music Academy] ] The school is located on 40 acres at the former Joseph Skinner estate.

Notable residents

*Daniel T. Barry, retired NASA Astronaut; contestant on the CBS reality television program
*Benjamin Ruggles Woodbridge (1739–1819) was a doctor, a colonel of the Massachusetts militia during the American Revolutionary War, and a member of the Massachusetts legislature."Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution, Vol 17", online database, The Generations Network Inc., Provo, Utah (1998); original data from the Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution, Vol. 17", Wright and Potter Printing Co., Boston (1896), pp. 798-800.] Frothingham, Jr., Richard: "History of the Siege of Boston and of the Battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill", Second Edition, published by Charles C. Little and James Brown, Boston (1851) Chapters V and VII, regarding the Bunker Hill Battle, pp. 136, 183.]
*A. Bartlett Giamatti (1938-1989) was the seventh commissioner of Major League Baseball and former president of Yale University.
*Joseph E. O'Connor, Massachusetts State Police; Joseph O'Connor was the first state trooper in Massachusetts and therefore, the first state trooper in the United States. When Boston police riots broke out in 1921, Governor Calvin Coolidge called upon General Alfred Foote and Joseph O'Connor to form a state police force (then located in Framingham). Mr. O'Connor served as an assistant to General Foote in the first world war and on the Mexican border. Many relatives of O'Connnor continue to live in South Hadley today.Fact|date=September 2008

References

External links

* [http://www.southhadley.org/ Official site]
* [http://www.mtholyoke.edu/ Mount Holyoke College]
* [http://home.comcast.net/~southhadleyhistoricalsociety/ South Hadley Historical Society]
* [http://www.berkshirehills.org Berkshire Hills Music Academy]