| East Longmeadow, Massachusetts | |
|---|---|
| — Town — | |
| East Longmeadow Town Hall | |
| Location in Hampden County in Massachusetts | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| County | Hampden |
| Settled | 1720 |
| Incorporated | 1894 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Open town meeting |
| Area | |
| • Total | 13.0 sq mi (33.7 km2) |
| • Land | 13.0 sq mi (33.6 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.1 km2) |
| Elevation | 400 ft (69 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 15,720 |
| • Density | 1,209.2/sq mi (467.9/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 01028 |
| Area code(s) | 413 |
| FIPS code | 25-19645 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0618182 |
| Website | www.eastlongmeadowma.gov |
East Longmeadow is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States situated in the Pioneer Valley region of Western Massachusetts. It has a population of 15,720 at the 2010 census. East Longmeadow is 25 miles north of Hartford, 5 miles south of Springfield, 88 miles southwest of Boston, and 142 miles north of New York City.
East Longmeadow is part of the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area.
East Longmeadow was first settled in 1720 and was officially incorporated in 1894. East Longmeadow and Longmeadow compete in an annual Thanksgiving Day football game that routinely attracts a few thousand spectators. The town is also the home to the 2007 Western Massachusetts champions in Varsity High School Baseball, along with the Western Mass champions in Girls Indoor Track in 2010-2011.
East Longmeadow hosts an annual Fourth of July Parade. It is the largest Fourth of July parade in western Massachusetts. East Longmeadow High School also serves as host to an annual Fourth of July fireworks display, traditionally held on July 3.
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According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 13.0 square miles (34 km2), of which, 13.0 square miles (34 km2) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) of it (0.31%) is water.
East Longmeadow is bordered by Enfield and Somers, Connecticut to the south; Hampden to the east; Wilbraham on the northeast; Springfield on the north and northwest; and Longmeadow on the west.
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1900 | 1,187 | — |
| 1910 | 1,553 | +30.8% |
| 1920 | 2,352 | +51.4% |
| 1930 | 3,327 | +41.5% |
| 1940 | 3,403 | +2.3% |
| 1950 | 4,881 | +43.4% |
| 1960 | 10,294 | +110.9% |
| 1970 | 13,029 | +26.6% |
| 1980 | 12,905 | −1.0% |
| 1990 | 13,367 | +3.6% |
| 2000 | 14,100 | +5.5% |
| 2001* | 5,556 | −60.6% |
| 2002* | 5,602 | +0.8% |
| 2003* | 5,626 | +0.4% |
| 2004* | 5,585 | −0.7% |
| 2005* | 5,524 | −1.1% |
| 2006* | 5,494 | −0.5% |
| 2007* | 5,469 | −0.5% |
| 2008* | 5,478 | +0.2% |
| 2009* | 5,462 | −0.3% |
| 2010 | 15,720 | +187.8% |
| * = population estimate. Source: United States Census records and Population Estimates Program data.[1][2][3][4][5][6] | ||
As of the census[7] of 2010, there were 16,187 people, 5,248 households, and 3,988 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,087.1 people per square mile (419.7/km²). There were 5,363 housing units at an average density of 413.5 per square mile (159.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.52% White, 0.74% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.88% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.24% from other races, and 0.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.92% of the population.
There were 5,248 households out of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.7% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.0% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the town the population was spread out with 24.8% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $62,680, and the median income for a family was $70,571. Males had a median income of $51,062 versus $32,267 for females. The per capita income for the town was $27,659. About 2.1% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.
A point of interest in East Longmeadow is Heritage Park. Heritage Park has a lake known as "Blackmon's Pond", swans and fish, as well as baseball fields, soccer field, play scape, and a picnicking area. Historic places in East Longmeadow include the numerous red and brown sandstone quarries that gave the town its industrial beginnings and from which the original Smithsonian Institution building in Washington was mined, and the Elijah Burt House, The Seward Pease House and the First Congregationalist Church.
Another point of interest is the area around the central rotary. Here, there are small shops, including many restaurants such as Boston Market, DeNardo's, Fazio's, Romito & Sons, the Pizza Shoppe, and recently Spoleto's. Also an integral part of East Longmeadow are the many churches, such as St. Michael's (Catholic), St. Paul's, St. Mark's and many more. Also, East Longmeadow was home to Milton Bradley Company for many years, and still houses one of their largest facilities after Hasbro bought this corporation in 1984.
East Longmeadow has an annual open town meeting held on the third Monday in May presided over by an elected Moderator, who also is responsible for appointing the town's Finance Committee. Special town meetings may be held throughout the rest of the year if a minimum of certified signatures are gathered from registed voters (200), one is called for by the town's chief executive board and if no selectmen are in office this duty falls either to the Town Clerk or a Justice of the Peace. (Consult the Massachusetts General Laws for more detailed information.)[8] The chief executive board in the town is the Board of Selectmen. It consists of three popularly elected members who hold staggered three year terms.
Current Members of the Board: Chairman Jim Driscoll, Selectman Paul Federici and Selectman Jack Villamaino.
Besides this board which also serves the role of Fire and Police Commissioners, the town has a series of independent Executive Boards. The Boards of Public Works, Planning, Library Trustees, Assessors, a School Committee and an independent yet elected Housing Authority Board. The town also has numerous advisory boards under these various executive boards.
The East Longmeadow public library began in 1896.But in 2005 a new library was put in and is now very popular.[9][10] In fiscal year 2008, the town of East Longmeadow spent 1.4% ($584,361) of its budget on its public library—some $38 per person.[11]
Current Residents
Former Residents Living and Deceased
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