Hampden, Massachusetts

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Hampden, Massachusetts
nickname =
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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location in Hampden County in Massachusetts


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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Massachusetts
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Hampden
established_title = Settled
established_date = 1741
established_title2 = Incorporated
established_date2 = 1878
established_title3 =
established_date3 =
government_type = Open town meeting
leader_title =
leader_name =
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area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 50.9
area_total_sq_mi = 19.7
area_land_km2 = 50.9
area_land_sq_mi = 19.6
area_water_km2 = 0.0
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0
population_as_of = 2000
settlement_type = Town
population_total = 5171
population_density_km2 = 101.7
population_density_sq_mi = 263.3
elevation_m = 88
elevation_ft = 290
timezone = Eastern
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = Eastern
utc_offset_DST = -4
latd = 42 |latm = 03 |lats = 50 |latNS = N
longd = 72 |longm = 24 |longs = 50 |longEW = W
website = http://www.hampden.org/
postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 01036
area_code = 413
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 25-28075
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0618184
footnotes =

Hampden is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,171 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Hampden has 2 communities, the center, or the "village", where the town hall, fire dept., police dept., Hampden Hardware, Grog Shoppe, Country Kitchen, Scantic Pub, and other businesses are located, and the "west side", where the Shell gas station, Village Mart, Monson Savings Bank, Pop's Pizza, Hampden Nurseries, Bilton's Farm Market, Mountain View Restaurant, and other businesses are located.

Hampden was built on the banks of the Scantic River. The first grist and saw mills required the waters of the Scantic to provide them with power. Since their businesses had to be near the river, so also did the owners need to be close to their mills. So many of the earliest homes were built bordering the river or its tributaries.

The first settlers arrived in Hampden about 1741. The first European settlers were the Stebbins and Hitchcock families. The first sawmill was erected on the Scantic in the vicinity of the V.F.W. building.

During the first hundred years as South Wilbraham, Hampden was an agricultural town with Wilbraham as the "mother" town.

At the time of separation from Wilbraham in 1878, industries were becoming active in Hampden. There is every evidence that Hampden could have well turned into one of the many New England factory or industrial towns.

Several factors, however, changed the destiny of the town. The lack of transportation to deliver the materials manufactured is probably the greatest deterrent. When the proposed railroad from Stafford to Springfield failed, quarries and mills were forced to use limited facilities, thereby slowing delivery of goods.

Fires leveled some of the mills and, with the lack of marketing, other businesses failed. The advent of automobiles enabled men to find occupations outside of the town.

There was then the trend back to agriculture with many orchards developed throughout the area, with the herds of milk-producing cows, and with farmers growing their many crops.

At about this time numerous summer type vacation homes were built for Springfield residents who vacationed in Hampden. From these many year-round homes developed.

Now the mills and quarries, orchards and cows are about gone and Hampden has become a residential town.

In August 1955, Hampden was hit by Hurricane Diane. Flooding was the major damage. Most bridges were washed away.

Since 2000, Hampden residents have acquired over convert|100|acre|km2 of open space and park land, including the peak of Minnechaug Mountain, one of the higher hills in town. A trailhead and parking lot on South Road was created.

In September 2004, an arson [http://www.massaudubon.org/Nature_Connection/Sanctuaries/Laughing_Brook/news.php?id=1084&event=no] fire hit Laughing Brook Wildlife Sanctuary (located on Main Street in Hampden). The building was dedicated to author Thornton Burgess after his death. The headquarters building was burnt down, but original Burgess' home on the property was untouched by the fire, and still stands. After a week of rain and an extremely hard rain on the early morning of October 9, 2005, the Scantic River and many of its tributaries overflowed their banks. Many homes, and businesses were flooded. The VFW bridge was washed away.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 19.6 square miles (50.9 km²), of which, 19.6 square miles (50.9 km²) of it is land and 0.05% is water.

Hampden is a delightful and picturesque town at the eastern edge of the Connecticut River Valley. Hills rise up to over 1000' from the valley elevation of 150-250'. The highest peaks are Pine Mt. and Rattlesnake Peak, both at 1070' AMSL.

Hampden is bordered on the north by Wilbraham, on the east by Monson, on the south by Stafford, CT and Somers, CT, and on the west by East Longmeadow.

Climate

Weather is enjoyable during Spring, Summer and Fall. Winters are variable, sometimes fairly mild, with days in the 30's, and sometimes rather cold. A record cold temperature of -40 degrees fahrenheit (-40°C) was recorded at the Hampden Post Office, and at other points in the village of Hampden, on an early morning in January, 1960. In late July, 2006, the temperature reached 100 degrees on a hot afternoon. These are the known recent extremes of temperature in Hampden. On March 14, 1995, after several snowstorms and little melting, a snow depth of 28" was recorded. However, some winters there is little snow. In the summer there are hot and humid periods, which alternate with warm and dry periods.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 5,171 people, 1,818 households, and 1,463 families residing in the town. The population density was 263.3 people per square mile (101.7/km²). There were 1,846 housing units at an average density of 94.0/sq mi (36.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.32% White, 0.17% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.27% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.64% of the population.

There were 1,818 households out of which 37.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.6% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.5% were non-families. 16.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 28.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $65,662, and the median income for a family was $75,407. Males had a median income of $49,320 versus $30,870 for females. The per capita income for the town was $26,690. About 1.4% of families and 2.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.4% of those under age 18 and 3.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Hampden's Government consists of a 3 member Board of Selectmen, which also doubles as the Board of Health. There is a Planning Board, Conservation Committee, Board of Assessors, Park and Recreation Board, and various other boards and committees common to town governments throughout New England. Hampden's Board of Selectmen is currently composed of Chairman John Flynn, Rick Green and Vinny Villamaino.For a short time in 2005 and 2006, The town library and senior center were closed down after budget increases were voted for the school district within the main budget, but the existing library and senior center funding was put on a property tax increase override vote, which failed. Because of this, although residents could read and research at neighboring libraries, town residents could no longer borrow books from many libraries in other towns. The library and senior center were reopened in the summer of 2006.

Education

Green Meadows School opened in 1956. Also, in 1956, Hampden joined with the neighboring town of Wilbraham in a unified school district for grades 9-12. The two towns built Minnechaug Regional High School in Wilbraham, which opened in 1959. Thorton W. Burgess Middle School was built in 1967. Hampden joined Wilbraham in unifying the school district throughout all grades in 1995.

Trivia

*Hampden is one of very few towns in the area that does not possess a single traffic light, blinking or otherwise, nor does it have a numbered highway route passing within town limits. Except for one small water district serving 8 homes, Hampden does not have public water or sewer services. Each home has its own well and septic system. In almost all areas of town the well water is of the highest quality. In 2007, one national magazine listed the towns of Wilbraham, MA and Somers, CT within the top 100 best places to live in the USA. Those towns border Hampden north and south. Hampden had too small a population count to be eligible for the list.

Places of worship

Hampden has 3 churches, Baptist, Roman Catholic, and Federated. The Federated Church is Congregational, (also known as the United Church of Christ), and United Methodist, combined.

Their baptist church, Bethlehem Baptist Church, has grown extremely successful over the last few years. They are currently thinking about moving to a bigger area as soon as they can

Points of interest

* The former site of Laughing Brook Wildlife Sanctuary, home of author Thornton Burgess
* Minnechaug Mountain: Hiking trails and nature walks on a town owned reserve. Parking at the trailhead on South Rd.
* Algonquin Trail: Also known as the old "Boy Scout Trail", or the "Ridge Trail", it traverses the town from north to south. Goes through the Minnechaug Mtn. reserve. It is fragmented in some areas, but as of 2008, it is being marked and improved, and should connect with other regional trail systems through the towns of Wilbraham, MA, and Somers, CT, sometime in the future.
* Mountain View (also known as Snappy's, Sullivan's, and Sully's, which were its former names): A popular restaurant to Hampden residents during the summer (also in late spring). It includes an indoor diner and an outdoor order window, complete with picnic tables.
* Hollow Road: A notorious, haunted road between Hampden, and the neighboring town of Wilbraham, MA.

External links

* [http://www.hampden.org Town of Hampden]