Hampshire County, Massachusetts

Hampshire County, Massachusetts
Old Hampshire County Courthouse
Seal
Location in the U.S. state of Massachusetts
Massachusetts's location in the U.S.
Founded	1662
Named for	Hampshire, England
Seat	Northampton
Largest town	Amherst
Area
• Total	545 sq mi (1,412 km2)
• Land	527 sq mi (1,365 km2)
• Water	18 sq mi (47 km2), 3.3%
Population
• (2010)	158,080
• Density	300/sq mi (116/km²)
Congressional districts	1st, 2nd
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	www.hampshirecog.org

Hampshire County is a historical and judicial county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It has no county government. Instead there is a Hampshire Council of Governments. As of the 2010 census, the population was 158,080.^[1] Its most populous municipality is Amherst, and its county seat is Northampton.^[2] The county is named after the county Hampshire, in England.^[3]

Hampshire County is part of the Springfield, MA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Hampshire County was constituted in 1662 from previously unorganized territory comprising the entire western part of Massachusetts Bay Colony. It included the original towns of Springfield, Northampton, and Hadley. The original Hampshire County included territory that is now in modern-day Hampden County, Franklin County, and Berkshire County, as well as small parts of modern-day Worcester County. By 1683, three new towns (Westfield (now Southwick), Suffield, and Enfield) had been incorporated south of Springfield. These towns were partly or wholly in the modern state of Connecticut at the time of their incorporation and resulted in a border dispute between the Connecticut Colony and Massachusetts Bay Colony.

In 1731, Worcester County was created, which included the original town of Brookfield (incorporated in 1718 as part of Hampshire County). More territory was lost to Worcester County in 1742 when the town of Western (now Warren) was created and added to Worcester County. Further territorial losses occurred in 1749 when the towns of Enfield, Somers (split off from Enfield in 1734), and Suffield unilaterally joined Connecticut Colony. In 1761, Berkshire County was created resulting in even more territorial loss for Hampshire County. In 1811, Franklin County was split off from the northern part of Hampshire, and in the following year, Hampden County was split off from the southern part of Hampshire.

Like a number of Massachusetts counties, Hampshire County exists today both as a historical geographic region and a judicial district; it has no county government. Many former county functions were assumed by state agencies in 1999. The sheriff and some other regional officials with specific duties are still elected county-wide to perform duties within the region. The Hampshire Council of Governments, with elected councilors from 15 towns, provides many regional services,^[4] though otherwise there is no county council or commissioners. Together with Hampden County, Hampshire County municipalities belong to the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.

Politics

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 545 square miles (1,410 km²), of which 527 square miles (1,360 km²) is land and 18 square miles (47 km²) (3.3%) is water.^[7]

Hampshire County is the middle section of the Pioneer Valley, and the northern tip of the Hartford-Springfield Knowledge Corridor.

Adjacent counties

Hampshire County is the only county in Massachusetts surrounded in all directions by other counties of Massachusetts: all other counties in the state are adjacent to at least one other state or the open ocean.

• Franklin County (north)
• Worcester County (east)
• Hampden County (south)
• Berkshire County (west)

Demographics

2000 census

As of the census^[13] of 2000, there were 152,251 people, 55,991 households, and 33,818 families residing in the county. The population density was 288 people per square mile (111/km²). There were 58,644 housing units at an average density of 111 per square mile (43/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.10% White, 1.96% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 3.40% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.50% from other races, and 1.80% from two or more races. 3.42% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 14.7% were of Irish, 12.8% Polish, 9.6% English, 9.5% French, 8.5% French Canadian, 6.9% Italian and 6.4% German ancestry according to Census 2000. 88.8% spoke English, 3.4% Spanish, 1.7% French and 1.4% Polish as their first language.

There were 55,991 households out of which 28.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.40% were married couples living together, 9.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.60% were non-families. 28.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the county the population was spread out with 19.60% under the age of 18, 19.30% from 18 to 24, 26.80% from 25 to 44, 22.20% from 45 to 64, and 12.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 87.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $46,098, and the median income for a family was $57,480. Males had a median income of $39,327 versus $30,362 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,685. About 5.10% of families and 9.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.20% of those under age 18 and 6.70% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 158,080 people, 58,702 households, and 34,480 families residing in the county.^[14] The population density was 299.8 inhabitants per square mile (115.8/km²). There were 62,603 housing units at an average density of 118.7 per square mile (45.8/km²).^[15] The racial makeup of the county was 88.7% white, 4.5% Asian, 2.5% black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 1.5% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.7% of the population.^[14] In terms of ancestry, 22.2% were Irish, 14.3% were Polish, 14.2% were English, 10.8% were German, 9.1% were Italian, 7.1% were French Canadian, and 2.6% were American.^[16]

Of the 58,702 households, 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.8% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 41.3% were non-families, and 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age was 36.6 years.^[14]

The median income for a household in the county was $59,505 and the median income for a family was $80,891. Males had a median income of $52,686 versus $43,219 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,367. About 6.2% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.^[17]

Demographic breakdown by town

Income

The ranking of unincorporated communities that are included on the list are reflective if the census designated locations and villages were included as cities or towns. Data is from the 2007-2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.^[18][19][20]

Education

Hampshire County is notable for the presence within its borders of the "Five Colleges", comprising the University of Massachusetts flagship campus and four well-known private colleges:

• Amherst College, Amherst
• Hampshire College, Amherst
• Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley
• Smith College, Northampton
• University of Massachusetts Amherst

A consortium, Five Colleges, Inc., provides easy course cross-registration and free bus service between the campuses.

Communities

Cities

• Easthampton
• Northampton (traditional county seat)

Towns

Villages

Villages are census divisions, but have no separate corporate existence from the towns they are in.

Former towns

• Ringville (Hamlet of Worthington)

The following towns were disincorporated for the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir.

• Enfield
• Greenwich
• Prescott

See also

• Registry of Deeds (Massachusetts)
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Hampshire County, Massachusetts
• USS Hampshire County (LST-819)

References

Notes

• Wall & Gray. 1871 Atlas of Massachusetts. Map of Massachusetts. USA. New England. Counties - Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden, Worcester, Middlesex, Essex and Norfolk, Boston - Suffolk,Plymouth, Bristol, Barnstable and Dukes (Cape Cod). Cities - Springfield, Worcester, Lowell, Lawrence, Haverhill, Newburyport, Salem, Lynn, Taunton, Fall River. New Bedford. These 1871 maps of the Counties and Cities are useful to see the roads and rail lines.
• Beers,D.G. 1872 Atlas of Essex County Map of Massachusetts Plate 5. Click on the map for a very large image.

External links

• Hampshire County Sheriff's Office

		Franklin County
	Berkshire County		Worcester County
		Hampshire County, Massachusetts
		Hampden County

Municipalities and communities of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Cities	Easthampton Northampton
Towns	Amherst Belchertown Chesterfield Cummington Goshen Granby Hadley Hatfield Huntington Middlefield Pelham Plainfield South Hadley Southampton Ware Westhampton Williamsburg Worthington
CDPs	Amherst Center Belchertown Bondsville‡ Granby Hatfield Huntington North Amherst South Amherst Ware
Other villages	Florence Leeds Mount Tom
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

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Regions	The Berkshires Blackstone Valley Cape Ann Cape Cod Central Massachusetts Greater Boston The Islands Merrimack Valley MetroWest Montachusett-North County North Shore Pioneer Valley Quabbin-Swift River Valley South Coast South County South Shore Southeastern Massachusetts Western Massachusetts
Counties	Barnstable Berkshire Bristol Dukes Essex Franklin Hampden Hampshire Middlesex Nantucket Norfolk Plymouth Suffolk Worcester
Cities	Agawam Amesbury Attleboro Barnstable Beverly Boston Braintree Bridgewater Brockton Cambridge Chelsea Chicopee East Longmeadow Easthampton Everett Fall River Fitchburg Franklin Gardner Gloucester Greenfield Haverhill Holyoke Lawrence Leominster Lowell Lynn Malden Marlborough Medford Melrose Methuen New Bedford Newburyport Newton North Adams Northampton Palmer Peabody Pittsfield Quincy Randolph Revere Salem Somerville Southbridge Springfield Taunton Waltham Watertown Westfield West Springfield Weymouth Winthrop Woburn Worcester Note: Municipalities not listed have a town meeting form of government (see all municipalities)

Coordinates: 42°20′N 72°40′W / 42.34°N 72.66°W / 42.34; -72.66