West Springfield, Massachusetts

West Springfield, Massachusetts
City
Storrowton Green at the Eastern States Exposition
Seal
Nickname(s): West Side, "Crossroads of New England"
Location in Hampden County in Massachusetts
West Springfield, Massachusetts Location in the United States
Coordinates: 42°06′25″N 72°37′15″W / 42.10694°N 72.62083°W / 42.10694; -72.62083Coordinates: 42°06′25″N 72°37′15″W / 42.10694°N 72.62083°W / 42.10694; -72.62083
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Hampden
Settled	1660
Incorporated	1774
Government
• Type	Mayor-council city
• Mayor	William Reichelt
Area
• Total	17.5 sq mi (45.4 km2)
• Land	16.8 sq mi (43.4 km2)
• Water	0.8 sq mi (2.0 km2)
Elevation	65 ft (20 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	28,391
• Density	1,647.0/sq mi (643.1/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	01089
Area code(s)	413
FIPS code	25-77850
GNIS feature ID	0618194
Website	Town of West Springfield, Massachusetts

West Springfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 28,391 at the 2010 census. The city is also known as "West Side", in reference to the fact that it is on the western side of the Connecticut River from Springfield, a fact which played a major part in the town's early history.

In paraphrase, from the official town history book... The area that became known as West Springfield was settled in 1635. The settlers fled to higher ground on the east side of the river and founded Springfield in the aftermath of the great hurricane of 1635. West Springfield was good farm land, so some families did stay on the west side.

Other than the trade in beaver skins, economic activity in early colonial Springfield consisted largely of subsistence farming and animal husbandry, with barter being the preferred medium of exchange for neighbors' crops, and locally produced goods. Gristmills and saw mills were also present in the early settlement.

Because the Connecticut River was too wide to be bridged at the time, crossings had to be made by boat. The Hay Place was created between the current town common and East School Street, for people who farmed or mowed on land grants on the west side to leave their crops while they awaited transport back to the eastern side.

By the 1650s some English settlers had begun living full-time on the western side of the river, probably near what is now Riverdale Road, across from the Chicopee River.

Early in that decade, Springfield had made a provision that any able-bodied man (and his work animals) could be required to work up to six eight-hour days on local roads (the barter economy equivalent of an infrastructure tax). In 1666, the west side residents complained about having to work on east side roads while their own were not well taken care of. After considerable dispute, it was determined that the men of the settlement would tend the roads on their own sides of the river.

In many ways, the distinction between the church and the state in the early New England town form of government was fuzzy, though religious and secular meetings were held separately and generally led by different people.