Hampshire, not Hampden, gotta remember that…
Belchertown
Pronunciation: Bell-chur-town or maybe Bell-chah-town
Population as of 2020: 15,350
Incorporated: 1761
Original Name: none recorded
Belchertown was once known as Cold Spring and was later named for Jonathan Belcher, a Boston merchant who owned some of the land and who later became Royal Governor of Massachusetts.
According to this write-up, Belcher had “a quick temper and a sharp tongue,” which caused him difficulties as Governor. He later became Governor of New Jersey, where he helped establish what was to become Princeton University.
Chesterfield
Pronunciation: Ches-tur-feeld
Population as of 2020: 1,186
Incorporated: 1762
Original Name: none recorded
Chesterfield (not to be confused with Chester) was named for Philip Stanhope, 4th earl of Chesterfield, a British politician who opposed Britain’s unfair treatment of the colonies. He was also largely responsible for the British adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in 1752.
Cummington
Pronunciation: Coming-tun
Population as of 2020: 829
Incorporated: 1779
Original Name: none recorded
This small town was named after the first landowner, Col. John Cuming of Concord. His grave (in Concord) is here. I’m not sure if he ever lived in the town. And I don’t think he was the same man as Dr. John Cuming, also of Concord.
You should know: Cummington has a mineral named for it: Cummingtonite!
Easthampton
Pronunciation: Eest-hamp-tin
Population as of 2020: 16,211
Incorporated: 1809 (town), 1996 (city)
Original Name: Nashawannuck? Pascommuck?
Easthampton was once part of Northampton and was the site of a palisaded village inhabited by “one small band of Indians.” When it split from Northampton the division was the Manhan River. Easthampton confusingly looks south of Northampton but when you locate the river you can see the Easterly direction.
Goshen
Pronunciation: Goh-shun
Population as of 2020: 960
Incorporated: 1781
Original Name: Quabbin?
Originally part of Chesterfield, Goshen was so named because “Goshen of old was the best part of Egypt, so the name was considered appropriate for what was claimed to be the best part of Chesterfield.”
Goshen is found in the Bible in the Book of Exodus.
Granby
Pronunciation: Gran-bee
Population as of 2020: 6,110
Incorporated: 1768
Original Name: Norowttuck
Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States: “said to have been named for Earl Granby.”
So, is this the Earl of Granby or a guy named Earl? Earl doesn’t strike me as a particularly 18th century first name, so I went with the title. John Manners, the Marquess of Granby (not an earl) was a soldier who eventually became commander in chief of the British army. He was a hero of the Seven Years’ War, which ended 5 years before the town was incorporated.
The Seven Years’ War was also known as the French and Indian War.
Hadley
Pronunciation: HAD-lee
Population as of 2020: 5,325
Incorporated: 1661
Original Name: Norwottuck?
Hadley is the Asparagus Capital of the World and it was named for Hadleigh, England.
“Hadley was named from Hadleigh or Hadley, a town in England, in the county of Suffolk, situated on the small river Berton, a branch of the Stour, a few miles west of Ipswich and east of Sudbury” (Source)
Hadley was the hiding place for fugitive Puritan generals, Edward Whalley and William Goffe, following the regicide of Charles I in 1649. Was Goffe the Angel of Hadley? Perhaps, perhaps not.
Hatfield
Pronunciation: Hat-feeld
Population as of 2020: 3352
Incorporated: 1670
Original Name: Norwottuck?
Once part of Hadley, Hatfield was named for Hatfield, England.
That wasn’t particularly interesting, so here, go read this article about local history in Hatfield and the way the residents keep the past alive. It contains this quote from an elderly expert on historical cemetaries:
““I took it upon myself just as a hobby, I guess—maybe I’m nuts—but to go around and make maps.” Lavallee took action when the easier thing to do would have been to let the public resource fall to the wayside. “I wrote down everything on every headstone in the five cemeteries. It took me like five years.””
Sounds like somebody I know.
Huntington
Pronunciation: HUN-ting-tuhn
Population as of 2020: 2,094
Incorporated: 1775 (as Norwich), 1855 (as Huntington)
Original Name: Unclear
Huntington, then known as Plantation No. 9, was settled by people from Norwich, CT. Plantation No. 9 eventually became Chester, except for the part that became a district imaginatively called Norwich. In 1833, parts of Blandford and Chester were annexed to Norwich and the town was renamed in 1855 after Hon. Charles P. Huntington, who “aided in securing the annexation.“
Middlefield
Pronunciation: Mid-uhl-feeld
Population as of 2020: 385
Incorporated: 1783
Original Name: None recorded
What is now Middlefield was once part of the nearby towns of Chester, Becket, Washington, Peru and Worthington, along with Prescott’s Grant, a large tract of land. I’m guessing the new town was in the middle of all that?
At any rate, it’s a very small town with one very famous former resident.
Northampton
Pronunciation: North-AMP-tun
Population as of 2020: 29,571
Incorporated: 1653 (town) 1883 (city)
Original Name: Nonotuck
Conventional wisdom says that Northampton was named by a man named John King, after Northampton, England. This may be the case, but I can’t prove it.
This is as close to the truth as I think we’re going to get:
“Northampton, as is generally believed, was so called from an English town of that name, from which some of its settlers came ; the suggestion is also made that the name was applied because the town was then the most northerly settlement on the Connecticut river. Both facts may have had an influence. The colonial authorities recognized its existence and established its legal status, when in answer to its first petition, a board of “commissioners to end small causes ” was appointed. In the first petition the new name was not used, for the court appointed the commissioners for the town of “Nonotucke.” The next year both names were employed, ‘ ‘ Nonotucke alias Northampton.””
Pelham
Pronunciation: PEL-um
Population as of 2020: 1280
Incorporated: 1743
Original Name: Unknown
“The selection of the name Pelham for the town doubtless came from the fact that Lord Pelham was travelling in this country at the time. It has been said that Lord Pelham, pleased to learn that a town had selected his name to be placed in the act of incorporation, signified his pleasure by sending from England a bell for the meeting house. If one was sent it never arrived in Pelham. The reason why the bell did not reach its destination, it has been said, was caused by the fact that no money was forthcoming to pay the freight charges on its arrival in Boston, and that after waiting in vain for payment on the freight bill the bell was sold to the Old South Church. If Lord Pelham was so kind and thoughtful as to order a bell sent over from England it was very unfortunate that he did not open his purse and pay for its free delivery in Boston, if not in Pelham.”
Wait a minute…I’ve heard that story before! Sort of. The elements are the same: a community of hardy Presbyterians, a promised bell, a bell never received. That’s one amazing coincidence.
And, furthermore – why was the Prime Minister of England tromping about in the wilderness of Western Massachusetts? And why did he ship an enormous bell across the sea without paying the freight?
And then we have the claim that the bell was sold to the Old South Church. The church didn’t even have a bell tower until 1766! This story is like a Christopher Nolan film, just layers upon layers.
I don’t buy it.
Plainfield
Pronunciation: Plane-feeld
Population as of 2020: 633
Incorporated: 1807
Original Name: none recorded
Plainfield is the youngest town in Western MA and, it may surprise you to know, it is not the same place as Plainville, MA, which is in Norfolk County.
“The east range is much broader than the west, forming a gently undulating table land, which decreases in breadth toward the south part, and ends abruptly near the Cummington line. The only abrupt elevation on this range, and even this slopes gently south and east, is at the north end of the range. It is proposed to name this elevation, which is 1900 feet high, Mt. Warner, in honor of Charles Dudley Warner, who was born and reared on its heights. From this east range the town undoubtedly derives its name.”
I’m still reeling from Pelham, so I’ll accept this explanation without complaint.
South Hadley
Pronunciation: South HAD-lee
Population as of 2020: 18,150
Incorporated: 1775
Original Name: none recorded
’twas part of Hadley, natch.
Southampton
Pronunciation: South HAMP-tun
Population as of 2020: 6,224
Incorporated: 1775
Original Name: Nonotuck
Let’s look at a map:
Southampton is west of Easthampton and doesn’t share a border with Northampton at all. I’m not making a point, it’s just something to note.
Anyway, we already know where they got their name, sort of.
Ware
Pronunciation: Where
Population as of 2020: 10,066
Incorporated: 1775
Original Name: None recorded
“ It is believed to have its roots in the Native American word “Nenameseck” for the weirs or fish traps that were used at the base of the falls on the Ware River.”
I kind of like “Fishtrap, Massachusetts.” Has a ring to it.
Westhampton
Pronunciation: West HAMP-tun
Population as of 2020: 1,622
Incorporated: 1778
Original Name: Nonotuck
The last of the ‘hamptons and the only one where you can’t purchase alcohol.
Williamsburg
Pronunciation: Will-yums-berg
Population as of 2020: 2,504
Incorporated: 1771
Original Name: Nonotuck
I assumed this was going to be a simple one. Ha! I laugh at my naivete.
Turns out, it’s very difficult to pin down exactly who the town is named for, The Google AI has some ideas:
Uh huh. That last one doesn’t even make any sense. And the links are just to random pages with no corroborating information.
This is why you never bring an LLM to a municipal names fight. I think that’s how the expression goes.
Worthington
Pronunciation: Werthing-tun
Population as of 2020: 1,193
Incorporated: 1768
Original Name: None
Worthington was named for Colonel John Worthington, a lawyer and speculator from Springfield who had originally purchased the parcel that would become the town. A little more about Worthington here.
And there you have it! Hampshire County, over and out.
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