Holyoke's History is the story of immigrant and migrant labor that built a textile and paper city. The city is still a place where immigrants and migrants can begin a new life.

About 15,000 years ago, the current site of the City of Holyoke lay on the bottom of a portion of a 157 mile long body of water known as Lake Hitchcock. As the waters receded, they left a double legacy - the rich alluvial soils which have supported a long history of agriculture in the Connecticut Valley, and the river itself, the original motor of economic progress in the region.

The first inhabitants of Holyoke were Native Americans, specifically the tribes of the Algonquians, including the Pequots, Mohegans, and Chippewas. The Agawams settled to the south of Holyoke and the Nonotocks settled to the north of Holyoke. The Connecticut River provided resources such as food and transportation for all Native Americans who settled nearby.

Holyoke was then known as Ireland Parish, a name that would be in common use until 1850, when Holyoke became a town.

Industrial investment and the corresponding growth in population, housing and employment began in the first half of the 19th century. Once Boston entrepreneurs realized Western Massachusetts could be as profitable as Lowell and Waltham, they set out to plan and create an industrial city on a scale never seen before.

In 1847, taking advantage of the broad plain and the 57 foot drop in the Connecticut River at South Hadley Falls, work began on a planned industrial City. Construction of Holyoke's first wooden dam began in 1847 under the Hadley Falls Company.  On November 16, 1848 at 10 am, the gates were closed and the reservoir began to rise. At 3:26 pm, the dam was swept away to the famous words "Dam gone to hell by way of Willimansett." A second wooden dam began construction in 1849, made with an apron for support.  In 1858, the Holyoke Water Power Company took control of Hadley Falls Company. In 1900, the wooden dam was replaced by a new stone dam, which had taken five years to construct. Known as Holyoke's Million Dollar Dam, it used the most advanced technology of its day, and attracted visitors from all over the world. Canals, mills, boarding houses, offices and a dam were all built by pick and shovel.

As Holyoke matured, it began to diversify industrially. Four and a half miles of canals were dug by pick and shovel through the lower wards, and all types of products were manufactured along their banks. Steam pumps, blank books, silk goods, hydrants, bicycles and trolleys were among a growing list of goods being shipped all over the world.

Holyoke was a city built on opportunities. Irish immigrants, the first and largest wave of immigrants, began entering Holyoke in the 1840s, finding employment working on the Holyoke dam and canal system. The second largest immigrant group into Holyoke after the Irish was French Canadian, most of who came from the 1870s to the 1880s. Those who crossed the Canadian border into Holyoke first sent back enthusiastic accounts of America along with more money than the families at home had ever seen.  German families came mostly to Holyoke in the 1860s. They were textile workers from the Rhineland and Saxony, highly trained in hand weaving and with experience in making woolens for German markets. The first Italians came to Holyoke in the late 1880s. Records show most Italians were involved in the confectionary and fruit stores established between 1882 and 1900 in Holyoke were mostly on High and Main Street. Mass Polish immigration began after the close of the Civil War and the end of the 1863 Polish Revolt for independence. The Portuguese first arrived in Holyoke in the early 1900s, drawn by the work in the textile mills.

Holyoke's development was rapid. By 1873, Holyoke qualified as a city. Textiles were the first major product of the City, quickly followed by paper. Within 30 years, Holyoke would become known as the "Paper City of the World".

Holyoke also built schools, churches, parks and many public buildings, including the City Hall, and was well-known for being a vibrant city with arts and culture. This photo is of a Holyoke Street Railway Trolley taking passengers to Mountain Park, Holyoke's famed amuseument park.

The early part of the 20th century witnessed a pattern of development similar to most Northern industrial cities. Difficulties in absorbing large numbers of immigrants resulted in crowded housing conditions. The boom and bust cycle of manufacturing first attracted new residents, and then left them jobless. Holyoke, though, fought back. Service and aid groups, such as the Family Service Society, were organized to meet the needs of the unfortunate. These agencies, oriented towards self-help, seem to be echoed by many of the "new ideas" talked about today.
 

As society adapted, so did business. From its highs of the 1920's industry showed a gradual decline in overall employment. Many labor and energy intensive firms followed the national pattern, and moved to the South and West, to be nearer raw materials and cheaper labor. The remaining industries took advantage of Holyoke's unique resources, especially her highly skilled labor force and plentiful water for power and process uses. Although many of the paper mills left, many specialty paper producers remained, capitalizing on their greater need for the types of resources Holyoke had to offer.

The 1968 economic recession on the Island of Puerto Rico resulted in an influx of Puerto Ricans to Holyoke seeking employment in the local tobacco fields. They were drawn to the Connecticut Valley to plant, tend and harvest tobacco.

The recession of the mid 1970's shook out many of the remaining weaker industries. The current economic base is strong and healthy, facing the enviable problem of difficulties in locating space to expand. Industries include printing and publishing, electrical machinery, plastics, chemicals, and high technology, as well as more traditional companies. The many services and programs for business offered within the City are recognized as supporting and encouraging this growth.

Because of its success, many communities look to Holyoke as a model of the public-private partnership, and attempt to duplicate it as a new idea for improving municipal/industrial relations. What this short history shows us is that these relationships are rooted in over a century of cooperation. This partnership has always been strong in the City of Holyoke, and will doubtlessly continue long into the future.

For more information on Holyoke's history, visit  Wistariahurst Museum or Holyoke's History Room  

For more information on the Holyoke Historical Commission: Please go to the next page

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