Hampden County is a non-governmental county located in the Pioneer Valley of the state of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, Hampden County's population was 465,825. Its traditional county seat is Springfield, the Connecticut River Valley's largest city, and economic and cultural capital; with an estimated population of 154,758, approximately 1 in 3 residents of Hampden County live in Springfield. Hampden County was split from Hampshire County in 1812, because Northampton, Massachusetts, was made Hampshire County's "shire town" in 1794; however, Springfield—theretofore Hampshire County's traditional shire town, dating back to its founding in 1636—grew at a pace far quicker than Northampton and was granted shire town-status over its own, southerly jurisdiction. It was named for parliamentarian John Hampden. To the north of Hampden County is modern-day Hampshire County; to the west is Berkshire County; to the east is Worcester County; to the south are Litchfield County, Hartford County, and Tolland County in Connecticut. Hampden County is part of the Springfield, MA Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the most urban county in Western Massachusetts. The Knowledge Corridor surrounding Springfield-Hartford is New England's second most populous urban area with 1.9 million people.
Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern Mill River. As of the 2020 Census, the city's population was 155,929, making it the third-largest city in Massachusetts, the fourth-most populous city in New England after Boston, Worcester, and Providence, and the 12th-most populous in the Northeastern United States. Metropolitan Springfield, as one of two metropolitan areas in Massachusetts, had a population of 699,162 as of 2020.
Chicopee is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 55,560, making it the second-largest city in Western Massachusetts after Springfield. Chicopee is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The communities of Chicopee Center (Cabotville), Chicopee Falls, Willimansett, Fairview, Aldenville, Burnett Road, Smith Highlands and Westover are located within the city.
Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,238. Located 8 miles (13 km) north of Springfield, Holyoke is part of the Springfield Metropolitan Area, one of the two distinct metropolitan areas in Massachusetts.
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton was 29,571.
East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts with over 45,000 residents. Annexed by the city of Boston in 1637, it is bordered by the cities of Winthrop, Revere, and Chelsea to the east, north, and northwest. It is separated from the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown and downtown Boston by Boston Harbor to the west and south. The footprint of the East Boston neighborhood as it is known today was created in the 1940s by connecting five of the inner harbor islands using land fill.
Forest Park in Springfield, Massachusetts, is one of the largest urban, municipal parks in the United States, covering 735 acres (297 ha) of land overlooking the Connecticut River. Forest Park features a zoo, aquatic gardens, and outdoor amphitheater, in addition to design elements like winding wooded trails, and surprising, expansive views. The site of America's first public, municipal swimming pool, currently, during the holiday months Forest Park hosts a popular high-tech lighting display, known as Bright Nights. Contrary to popular belief, the park was not designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.
Medfield is a neighborhood located in north Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America. It is located to the north of the trendy Hampden neighborhood and south of affluent Roland Park neighborhood. Its unofficial boundaries are Coldspring Lane to the north; Jones Falls Expressway to the west; Falls Road/Hickory Avenue to the east; and West 41st Street to the south.
Forest Park is a Victorian garden district located in Springfield, Massachusetts, developed between 1880 and 1920. It is the city's most populous neighborhood, and surrounds the 735-acre Forest Park, for which the neighborhood is named. The Forest Park neighborhood has nature and recreation within walking distance. To the west, I-91 separates Forest Park from the Connecticut River. A 195-acre section of the neighborhood was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 as the Forest Park Heights Historic District.
Metro Center is the original colonial settlement of Springfield, Massachusetts, located beside a bend in the Connecticut River. As of 2019, Metro Center features a majority of Western Massachusetts' most important cultural, business, and civic venues. Metro Center includes Springfield's Central Business District, its Club Quarter, its government center, its convention headquarters, and in recent years, it has become an increasingly popular residential district, especially among young professionals, empty-nesters, and creative types, with a population of approximately 7,000 (2010.)
East Forest Park is a neighborhood in the south central part of Springfield, Massachusetts. The neighborhood borders East Longmeadow, Forest Park, and the Sixteen Acres neighborhood. It is a primarily residential middle-class neighborhood.
Indian Orchard is a neighborhood in the City of Springfield, Massachusetts. Located in the northeast corner of Springfield, Indian Orchard affords the quickest commute to Worcester, I-495, and Boston by way of the Mass Turnpike (I-90).
East Springfield is a neighborhood located in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The Six Corners and Maple Heights neighborhoods are located in Springfield, Massachusetts. They are often combined for political purposes, although they feature dramatically different political and socioeconomic characteristics.
Boston Road is Springfield, Massachusetts's principal commercial and retail corridor. The Boston Road neighborhood, historically known as Springfield Plain, is named for being a major waypoint on the Boston Post Road system.
The McKnight National Register Historic District in Springfield, Massachusetts is known worldwide to urban-planners as one of the first planned residential neighborhoods in the United States of America. Begun in 1870, to the North of the Old Hill neighborhood, a mixed-use area including homes and a variety of industrial uses, which had already been developed to serve workers at the Springfield Armory, the McKnight was built on land originally considered to be "Un-improvable Pine barrens" when the Armory and the area around it was laid out in the 1780s. Economic conditions had changed drastically by 1868 when the horse-drawn streetcars of the Springfield Street Railway first started to run on State Street, to the south of what became the McKnight District.
The North End of Springfield, Massachusetts is a name that describes three distinct Springfield neighborhoods: Brightwood, Memorial Square, and Liberty Heights. For more than a century, Springfield's North End neighborhood has served as a first home for some of the city's various immigrant communities, from Greeks in Memorial Square to Russians in Liberty Heights. As of 2011, the contemporary Puerto Rican flavor of the North End is evident in numerous banners depicting traditional Carnival masks and the coquí, Puerto Rico's unofficial mascot.
Old Hill is one of the seventeen neighborhoods of Springfield, Massachusetts. It is composed, almost entirely, of Victorian buildings overlooking Springfield's Metro Center.
Van Horn Park is a park in Springfield, Massachusetts' northern Liberty Heights neighborhood, in a subdivision called Hungry Hill. It is the second largest park in the City of Springfield.
The City of Springfield, Massachusetts, has 19 distinct neighborhoods. Many feature subdivisions known by other names, such as The X, Hungry Hill, and Mason Square. Springfield's neighborhoods fan out north, south, and east, from its original, colonial settlement in what is now Metro Center.
