Palmer, Massachusetts

Palmer, Massachusetts
City
St. Paul's Church
Motto: "Town of Seven Railroads"[1]
Location in Hampden County in Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°09′30″N 72°19′45″W / 42.15833°N 72.32917°W / 42.15833; -72.32917Coordinates: 42°09′30″N 72°19′45″W / 42.15833°N 72.32917°W / 42.15833; -72.32917
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Hampden
Settled	1727
Incorporated	1775
Government
• Type	Council-manager
• Councilors-at-large	Paul Burns, Council President Michael Magiera, Karl, Williams, Eric Duda, William Hielman, District Councilors, Barbara Barry, Phil Hebert, Raymond Remillard and Roger Duguay
• Town Manager	Matthew Streeter
Area
• Total	32.0 sq mi (82.9 km2)
• Land	31.5 sq mi (81.7 km2)
• Water	0.5 sq mi (1.3 km2)
Elevation	330 ft (101 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	12,497
• Density	396.3/sq mi (153.0/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	01069
Area code(s)	413
FIPS code	25-52105
GNIS feature ID	0619387
Website	Town of Palmer, Massachusetts

Palmer is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,140 as of the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Palmer adopted a home rule charter in 2004 with a council-manager form of government. Palmer is one of fourteen Massachusetts municipalities that have applied for, and been granted, city forms of government but wish to retain "The town of” in their official names.^[2]

The communities of Bondsville, Thorndike, Depot Village, and Three Rivers are located in the town.

History

Palmer is composed of four separate and distinct villages: Depot Village, typically referred to simply as "Palmer" (named for the ornate Union Station railroad terminal designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson), Thorndike, Three Rivers, and Bondsville. The villages began to develop their distinctive characters in the 18th century, and by the 19th century two rail lines and a trolley line opened the town to population growth. Today, each village has its own post office and fire station.

Palmer's first settler was John King who was at that time representing Palmer Industries. King was born in Edwardstone, Suffolk, England, and built his home in 1716 on the banks of the Chicopee River. A large group of Scottish-Irish Presbyterians followed, arriving in 1727. In 1775, Massachusetts officially incorporated Palmer.^[3] Palmer was named after Chief Justice Palmer.^[4]

Depot Village became Palmer's main commercial and business center during the late 19th century and remains so today. Palmer's industry developed in Bondsville. During the 18th century, saw and grist mills were established by the rivers, and by 1825 Palmer woolen mills began to produce textiles. The Blanchard Scythe Factory, Wright Wire Woolen Mills, and the Holden-Fuller Woolen Mills developed major industrial capacity, and constructed large amounts of workers' housing. By 1900, Boston Duck (which made heavy cotton fabric) had over 500 employees in the town. The 20th century brought about a shift of immigrants in Palmer from those of French and Scottish origin to those of primarily Polish and French-Canadian extraction.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 32.0 square miles (82.9 km²), of which 31.5 square miles (81.7 km²) are land and 0.5 square mile (1.3 km²) (1.53%) is water. The town is bordered by Ludlow and Wilbraham on the southwest, Belchertown on the northwest, Ware on the northeast, Warren on the east, Brimfield on the southeast, and Monson on the south.

Demographics

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1850	3,974	—
1860	4,082	+2.7%
1870	3,631	−11.0%
1880	5,504	+51.6%
1890	7,520	+36.6%
1900	7,801	+3.7%
1910	8,610	+10.4%
1920	9,896	+14.9%
1930	9,677	−2.2%
1940	9,149	−5.5%
1950	9,533	+4.2%
1960	10,358	+8.7%
1970	11,680	+12.8%
1980	11,389	−2.5%
1990	12,054	+5.8%
2000	12,497	+3.7%
2001*	12,677	+1.4%
2002*	12,872	+1.5%
2003*	13,009	+1.1%
2004*	13,122	+0.9%
2005*	13,185	+0.5%
2006*	13,217	+0.2%
2007*	13,276	+0.4%
2008*	13,000	−2.1%
2009*	13,101	+0.8%
2010	12,140	−7.3%
* = population estimate. Source: United States Census records and Population Estimates Program data.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]

As of the census^[15] of 2000, there were 12,497 people, 5,078 households, and 3,331 families residing in the town. The population density was 396.3 people per square mile (153.0/km²). There were 5,402 housing units at an average density of 171.3 per square mile (66.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.82% White, 0.75% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.56% Asian, 0.44% from other races, and 1.19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.23% of the population.

There were 5,078 households out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $41,443, and the median income for a family was $49,358. Males had a median income of $35,748 versus $26,256 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,664. About 5.8% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.3% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Future development

The New England Region of the Sports Car Club of America has reached an agreement with the Town of Palmer to construct a new road course near their town. Palmer Motorsports Park will operate along a similar vein as Buttonwillow Raceway Park in California, in that it will be owned and operated by a limited liability corporation formed by New England Region. This effort is to ensure that NER would have its own "flagship" racetrack, as the two tracks it currently uses – New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Lime Rock Park in Connecticut – are heavily used by NASCAR. The benefits to the town would include upwards of $50,000 a year in property income taxes and increased business at local gas stations, restaurants, motels and retail stores.

As of 2011, Palmer is the site favored by Mohegan Sun for a "resort style" casino, if residents vote to allow it, and if the state of Massachusetts awards one of only three casino licenses to this location.^[16] This casino would lie directly off of Palmer's exit on the Mass Pike, not far from its Main Street, where the railroad would potentially bring additional tourists. Ironically, the Palmer Amtrak stop is scheduled, in late 2012, to be re-routed to the Central Corridor Rail Line, with a southern terminus in New London, Connecticut and a northern terminus in Brattleboro, Vermont, passing the original Mohegan Sun – so, hypothetically, one could travel door-to-door from one Mohegan Sun to the other by rail.

The Quaboag Hills Chamber of Commerce is headquartered in Palmer and is the advocate for business and community development in the Quaboag Valley area by providing the 200+ members with a voice in political, social and economic issues.^[17]

Arts and culture

Camp Ramah in New England is located in Palmer.

Education

The town of Palmer is served by four schools. Old Mill Pond Elementary School serves grades K through 4, Converse Middle School serves grades 5 through 7, and Palmer High School serves grades 8 through 12. Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School is also located in Palmer, and serves grades 9 through 12.

Infrastructure

Railroads

Palmer has been called the "Town of Seven Railroads". Those railroads included the Boston & Albany, Central Vermont, Boston & Maine, Ware River, Central Massachusetts, Hampden, and Southern New England railroads.^[18]

Currently, the old B&A line is owned by CSX, and the old Central Vermont by New England Central Railroad. Massachusetts Central Railroad interchanges with the two roads in town. The Amtrak passenger trains Lake Shore Limited and Vermonter pass through Palmer, but the town does not have a station stop.

The Palmer Union Station is now home to the Steaming Tender Restaurant.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Palmer, Massachusetts.

• Town website
• Home rule charter of Palmer
• Massachusetts official website – Town of Palmer
• DCR Palmer Reconnaissance Report
•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Palmer, Massachusetts". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press 

v t e Municipalities and communities of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States County seat: Springfield Cities Agawam Chicopee Holyoke Palmer Springfield West Springfield Westfield Towns Blandford Brimfield Chester East Longmeadow Granville Hampden Holland Longmeadow Ludlow Monson Montgomery Russell Southwick Tolland Wales Wilbraham CDPs Blandford Chester Holland Monson Center Russell Wilbraham Other villages Bondsville‡ Depot Village Feeding Hills Three Rivers Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

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