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96-617: The Pioneer Valley Railroad , founded in 1982, is a Class III short line freight railroad operating the former Conrail (née- New York, New Haven & Hartford ) trackage in the western part of Massachusetts in towns of Westfield , Holyoke , and Southampton . The railroad has been owned by the Pinsly Railroad Company since its founding, with headquarters in Westfield, Massachusetts . In August 2023, Macquarie Infrastructure Partners reached an agreement with Pinsly to acquire

192-747: A duopoly over all transcontinental freight rail lines in the Western United States, while CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway operate most of the trackage in the Eastern United States, with the Mississippi River being the rough dividing line. Canadian National Railway (via its subsidiary Grand Trunk Corporation ) operates north–south lines near the Mississippi River. Canadian Pacific Kansas City , doing business as CPKC, runs from southern Canada, then goes south through

288-402: A $ 17,500 purchase from previous owner Boston and Maine Railroad on March 20, 1984. Similarly to its lines purchased from Conrail, PVRR pledged to drop a $ 276 per car surcharge that B&M had charged customers, which was responsible for the loss of most business on the line. Several customers which had previously switched to trucking expressed support of PVRR's purchase of the line and ending of

384-810: A coalition of universities and tech companies have built the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center , an energy-efficient, high-performance computing center, in Holyoke which opened in 2012. Partners in this project include Cisco Systems , Harvard University , the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT,) the University of Massachusetts , Boston University , Northeastern University , EMC Corporation , and Accenture PLC . The data center has been built in Holyoke in part due to hydropower accessibility as well as

480-476: A company that has earned gross revenues exceeding $ 250 million (CAD) for each of the previous two years. Class I railroads are the largest rail carriers in the United States. In 1900, there were 132 Class I railroads, but as the result of mergers and bankruptcies, the industry has consolidated and as of April 2023 , just six Class I freight railroads remain. BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad have

576-526: A congregation today. As of 2010 an estimated 60% of Holyoke was religious, with the largest demographic being Christians, more specifically Roman Catholics , who comprised 49% of the city's population. In 2011, two Catholic parishes, Holy Cross and Mater Dolorosa were merged into Our Lady of the Cross Parish. A number of other Catholic parishes, including Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Jerome's, Blessed Sacrament and Immaculate Conception Parish also reside in

672-482: A credit union for the students of a former parochial school. Despite a reputation as an industrial city, agriculture has played a continuing role in the Holyoke's livelihood throughout its history. On July 24, 1917, it became the first city in Western Massachusetts to open a modern farmers market , a novelty at the time, bringing producers directly to consumers. The current farmers market, which began in 1979,

768-530: A major employer since the construction of the Holyoke Mall , the third largest shopping mall in New England , in 1979. Retail has provided the city with a large and steady tax base, contributing over $ 7 million in taxes annually. The city also features the corporate headquarters of PeoplesBank , the largest bank in Western Massachusetts, as well as the local Holyoke Credit Union which was originally started as

864-548: A massive demand for new housing as the population grew by more than 1000% from the years from 1850 to 1890. Initially this demand was filled by company housing, including such examples as the Hadley Falls Company Housing District , whose structures were built in 1847–1848. Gradually the Holyoke Water Power Company began building housing on its land holdings to sell to working families, and by

960-451: A number of line workers for Lyman Mills , including his son John J. Prew, who founded Springdale and became the first French member of the city council, then the board of aldermen. By 1900, one in three residents were French or French Canadian descent, and when the city reached its peak population of 62,300 in 1913, this number had become one in four, while the city contained the 7th largest French or French Canadian immigrant population in

1056-604: A number of which remain operational today under the Pioneer Valley Railroad . As of the census of 2020, there were 38,247 people in 15,062 households. There were 16,874 housing units in the city. The racial makeup in 2017 was 84.9% white (33.0% non-Hispanic white ), 21.8% black , 0.4% Native American , 1.6% Asian (0.4% Cambodian , 0.4% Indian , 0.3% Chinese , 0.3% Korean , 0.1% Pakistani ), 0.1% Pacific Islander , 6.6% some other race, and 4.6% from mixed race . Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 51.2% of

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1152-546: A peak rank as the 82nd largest city in the United States by 1900, comparable to the standing of Buffalo (83rd) or Scottsdale (85th) among cities in 2018. Holyoke reached its peak population before the end of the First World War with an estimated 62,300 residents according reported in 1913 by the school superintendent at that time, and 65,286 reported for 1916 by the World Book . Following a period of de-industrialization after

1248-538: A quarterly or annual schedule. In 1925, the ICC reported 174 Class I railroads, 282 Class II railroads, and 348 Class III railroads. The $ 1 million criterion established in 1911 for a Class I railroad was used until January 1, 1956, when the figure was increased to $ 3 million. In 1956, the ICC counted 113 Class I line-haul operating railroads (excluding "3 class I companies in systems") and 309 Class II railroads (excluding "3 class II companies in systems"). The Class III category

1344-439: A small class of young mothers who have completed The Care Center's own educational programs in addition to those by Bard. Holyoke Public Library, found at 335 Maple Street, is one of the very few examples of neoclassical architecture in the city of Holyoke, designed by prominent local architect James A. Clough . It sits on Library Park, which was donated by the Holyoke Water Power Company in 1887. The library established in 1870

1440-616: A system of numbered streets and avenues, engineer Philander Anderson laid out the names of routes in Holyoke's grid system alternating between tree species for North to South streets (Sycamore, Locust, Linden, Oak, Beech, Pine, Walnut, Elm, Chestnut, Maple), and the names of the Hadley Falls Company founders ( Lyman , Dwight , Appleton , Cabot , Sargeant , Jackson ), as well as several Massachusetts counties ( Hampden , Suffolk , Essex , Hampshire , Franklin ) for thoroughfares running east to west. The city's advantageous location on

1536-689: Is Nuestras Raices . Established in 1992 by members of the La Finquita community garden of South Holyoke , the nonprofit organization has worked with state and federal agencies to help new farmers build skills and expertise, particularly in the Puerto Rican community, through microloans , direct marketing, and land leasing. Holyoke also has a prominent example of ecosystem garden permaculture —the Holyoke Edible Food Forest Garden, established in 2004 by Eric Toensmeier and Jonathan Bates. In

1632-484: Is currently in receivership and managed by Dr. Stephen Zrike, a receiver appointed by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; as superintendent, the receiver presides over school curriculum and practices. The city's private schools include First Lutheran School and Mater Dolorosa Catholic School. The city is also home to Holyoke Community College , the first community college in

1728-632: Is home to an estimated 1,300 residents observing the faith and two synagogues, Congregation Sons of Zion, a Conservative congregation, and Congregation Rodphey Sholom, practicing Orthodoxy . Both congregations originated in the 19th century, with Rodphey Sholom founded in 1903 but tracing its heritage to the Paper City Lodge of the Order Brith Abraham, founded in 1899, and Sons of Zion being founded in 1901. Today both congregations hold joint services during certain holidays. Known by its moniker,

1824-490: Is located at 42°12′11″N 72°37′26″W  /  42.20306°N 72.62389°W  / 42.20306; -72.62389 (42.203191, −72.623969). According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 22.8 square miles (59 km ), of which 21.3 square miles (55 km ) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km ) (6.70%) is water. The city is bordered by Southampton and Westfield to

1920-647: Is part of the Springfield Metropolitan Area , one of the two distinct metropolitan areas in Massachusetts. Holyoke is among the early planned industrial cities in the United States. Built in tandem with the Holyoke Dam to utilize the water power of Hadley Falls, it is one of a handful of cities in New England built on the grid plan . During the late 19th century the city produced an estimated 80% of

2016-545: Is regularly held outside city hall on Thursdays from 10 to 2 from May to October. As late as the 1950s, the city maintained a poor farm while, in contrast, during the late 19th century a number of wealthy manufacturers raised thoroughbred Jersey cattle . This trend began in 1881, when the city went from a population of zero to fifty head of registered Jerseys, the largest herd in the Connecticut Valley being that of William Whiting . This prize-winning herd, then 75 head,

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2112-886: The Association of American Railroads as "Regional Railroads" are typically Class II. Some examples of Class II railroads would be the Florida East Coast Railway , the Iowa Interstate Railroad , and the Alabama and Gulf Coast Railway . Class III railroads are typically local shortline railroads serving a small number of towns and industries or hauling cars for one or more railroads; often, they once had been branch lines of larger railroads or even abandoned portions of main lines. Some Class III railroads are owned by railroad holding companies such as Genesee & Wyoming or Watco . Some examples of Class III railroads would be

2208-580: The Connecticut River Valley in 1633, when traders from the Plymouth Plantation established a post at Windsor, Connecticut . In 1636, Massachusetts Bay Colony assistant treasurer and Puritan iconoclast William Pynchon led a group of settlers from Roxbury, Massachusetts to the Valley to establish Springfield on land scouts had found to be advantageous for farming and trading. This settlement

2304-606: The Farm Labor Program initiated by the US Department of Labor . Not unlike the Bracero program , in the following decades the agency recruited Puerto Rican laborers to work on agricultural land in the continental United States; in the case of Holyoke, many worked on valley tobacco farms, and arrived in the city in search of better job opportunities at the mills as previous generations had. The first permanent Puerto Rican resident

2400-918: The Holyoke Post Office , apartment blocks, and many of the city's iconic Victorian estates. Alderman started his independent practice after being an apprentice to James A. Clough of Clough & Reid, who is best known as the architect of the former iconic Mount Tom Summit Houses as well as the Holyoke Public Library. Architect Oscar Beauchemin 's work shaped both the Main Street landscape of Springdale and many large multi-colored brick tenements built in mixed density housing can be attributed to him, often with Renaissance Revival architectural motifs. Holyoke's own millwright engineers and architects David and Ashley Tower, doing business as D. H. & A. B. Tower , would go on to design more than 100 mills in

2496-771: The Maryland and Delaware Railroad , the San Pedro Valley Railroad , and the Buckingham Branch Railroad . Holyoke 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 38,247. Located 8 miles (13 km) north of Springfield , Holyoke

2592-525: The Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center , an intercollegiate research facility which opened in 2012. Holyoke is also home to the Volleyball Hall of Fame and known as the "Birthplace of Volleyball", as the internationally played Olympic sport was invented and first played at the local YMCA chapter by William G. Morgan in 1895. While managing the Holyoke Testing Flume in

2688-722: The Surface Transportation Board in 1992. With annual adjustments for inflation, the 2019 thresholds were US$ 504,803,294 for Class I carriers and US$ 40,384,263 for Class II carriers. (Smaller carriers were Class III by default.) There are six Class I freight railroad companies in the United States: BNSF Railway , CSX Transportation , Canadian National Railway , CPKC , Norfolk Southern Railway , and Union Pacific Railroad . Canadian National also operates in Canada and CPKC operates in Canada and Mexico. In addition,

2784-604: The "Paper City", Holyoke's economic base was developed almost entirely around the paper industry for the better part of the late 19th and early 20th century; at one time the city was reportedly the largest producer of stationery, writing, and archival goods in the world. While writing paper production has left the city, Holyoke is still home to a number of specialty paper manufacturers and converters, including companies like Eureka Lab Book , Hampden Paper , Hazen Paper , United Paper Box , and University Products . Several international companies also maintain manufacturing facilities in

2880-540: The 1880s, hydraulic engineer Clemens Herschel invented the Venturi meter to determine the water use of individual mills in the Holyoke Canal System . This device, the first accurate means of measuring large-scale flows, is widely used in a number of engineering applications today, including waterworks and carburators , as well as aviation instrumentation. Powered by these municipally-owned canals, Holyoke has among

2976-470: The 19th century, whereas others like Rock Valley and Elmwood were villages within West Springfield that predate the city. Additionally a number of names such as Ewingville and Elmwood Heights have been used historically but have become defunct as separate entities. In alphabetical order, Holyoke's neighborhoods are: Holyoke's industrial development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries led to

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3072-688: The Connecticut River—the largest river in New England —beside Hadley Falls, the river's steepest drop (60 feet), attracted the Boston Associates , who had successfully developed Lowell, Massachusetts ' textile industry. From the late 19th century until the mid-20th century, Holyoke was the world's biggest paper manufacturer. The elaborate Holyoke Canal System , built to power paper and textile mills, distinguishes it from other Connecticut River cities. A series of railways running parallel to these canals also provided easy access to freight,

3168-772: The First Congregational Church of Holyoke, founded in 1850, the First Lutheran Church of Holyoke, founded in 1867, and the United Methodist Church of Holyoke, South Hadley, and Granby, which meets in South Hadley , which was founded in 1810. A Greek Orthodox church, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, has also existed in the city since its founding in 1917. Holyoke is also home to a significant Jewish population. As one of 35 municipalities in Massachusetts with more than 100 Jewish residents, Holyoke

3264-547: The HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute in cooperation with MGM Springfield in April 2018. In 2016, Bard College established the first of its microcolleges in Holyoke, its other being based out of Brooklyn. Bard Microcollege Holyoke operates in partnership with local nonprofit The Care Center, which provides educational and career opportunities to pregnant and parenting teens. Associates of Arts degrees are granted to

3360-419: The ICC in 1996, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) has become responsible for defining criteria for each railroad class. The STB continues to use designations of Class II and Class III as there are different labor regulations for the two classes. The bounds are typically redefined every several years to adjust for inflation and other factors. Class II and Class III designations are now rarely used outside

3456-442: The ICC to increase the minimum annual operating revenue criteria (then established at US$ 93.5 million) to avoid being redesignated as Class I, which would have resulted in increased administrative and legal costs. The Class II maximum criterion was increased in 1992 to $ 250 million annually, which resulted in the Florida East Coast Railway having its status changed to Class II. The thresholds set in 1992 were: Since dissolution of

3552-537: The Mount Tom Range and the Connecticut River, is characterized by a series of terraces separated by wooded ravines, known as dingles , which drain to the river. Mount Tom is characterized by its high cliffs, sweeping vistas, and microclimate ecosystems. The 110-mile (180 km) Metacomet-Monadnock Trail traverses the Mount Tom Range and East Mountain. Fossilized dinosaur tracks and specimens can be found at

3648-464: The New Haven and Northampton in 1887. The bankrupt New Haven was included in the newly formed Penn Central Railroad on January 1, 1969, which abandoned the tracks north of Southampton. Penn Central promptly went bankrupt in what was at the time the largest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history, and was folded into government created Conrail in 1976, which became the new operator. Conrail ended operations on

3744-417: The area in the 1650s. Following land acquisitions and development by the Hadley Falls Company, the town of Holyoke was officially incorporated on March 14, 1850. The first official town meeting took place a week later, on March 22, 1850. A part of Northampton known as Smith's Ferry was separated from the rest of the town by the creation of Easthampton in 1809. The shortest path to downtown Northampton

3840-559: The area, including a power transmission factory for U.S. Tsubaki in Springdale , and a Sonoco cardboard recycling plant in South Holyoke . Some former mills have in the past been used as incubators for new manufacturing businesses as well; from 1973 until 1983, when it relocated to a newly constructed factory in Deerfield , Yankee Candle's first factory was located in one such building in

3936-716: The canal district. Today the City of Holyoke has one of three foreign-trade zones in the Commonwealth, the other two being the Port of New Bedford and the Massachusetts Port Authority of Boston. Though the number of service-based jobs overtook Holyoke manufacturing jobs in 1972, the city is still home to an array of manufacturing concerns outside of the paper and textile industries, including several producing industrial machinery and components. Until 2017, its oldest manufacturer

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4032-537: The central United States to central Mexico. In addition, the national passenger railroads in the US and Canada— Amtrak and Via Rail —would both qualify as Class I if they were freight carriers. Mexico's Ferromex would qualify as a Class I railroad if it had trackage in the United States. A Class II railroad in the United States hauls freight and is mid-sized in terms of operating revenue. Switching and terminal railroads are excluded from Class II status. Railroads considered by

4128-567: The city elected its first mayor, William B. C. Pearsons , who, a quarter-century earlier, had established himself among the first lawyers in the city, and was the first editorial writer of the area newspaper-of-record, the Hampden Freeman , best known as the Holyoke Transcript-Telegram . By 1885, Holyoke was the largest single producer of paper of any city in the United States, producing around 190 tons per day, more than double

4224-418: The city has been approached by several cultivation businesses hoping to establish themselves in former mills. In 2018, the first cannabis cultivation operation, a $ 10 million investment, opened in the city, with plans to open a dispensary in the future. The city's educational needs are served by Holyoke Public Schools , including Holyoke High School , and a number of private institutions. The school system

4320-505: The city is still home to a number of firms specializing in such equipment as medical devices, industrial vacuums, solid waste containers, plastics and rubber manufacturing, bookbinding agents and archival supplies. In recent years the city has also seen a handful of food manufacturing firms, due to its proximity to large metropolitan areas like New York City and Boston. In 1996 the Paper City Brewing Company opened out of one of

4416-424: The city was $ 22,625. About 24.7% of families and 28.6% of the population were below the poverty line , including 45.6% of those under age 18 and 19.8% of those age 65 or over. As of 2017, the city had the most recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance per capita of any in Massachusetts, with 37% of residents receiving such benefits. Of all ZIP codes in the Commonwealth, including those of Boston, Holyoke had

4512-468: The city's extensive fiber network. In 2015, the editors of Popular Mechanics ranked Holyoke as 6th on a list of 14 cities they considered to be best for startups in the United States, citing these factors. ISO New England , one of the United States' eight electricity regional transmission organizations , is based in Holyoke, utilizing the city's central location for easy access to metropolitan areas in New England and New York. The retail sector has been

4608-402: The city's in total. As one of the first planned industrial communities in the United States, downtown Holyoke features rectilinear street grids —a novelty in New England . This street hierarchy was seen as an economic development tool as it lends well to high-rise buildings, and the surrounding canals could be landscaped for recreation. Whereas New York's Commissioner's Plan of 1811 lays out

4704-524: The city's population of 39,880. Holyoke is home to houses of worship for numerous denominations of Christianity and Judaism. One of the city's oldest monikers was Baptist Village as the first congregation established there was the First Baptist Church of Holyoke, which first erected a meetinghouse in 1792, traces its origins to five baptisms on the shores of the Connecticut in 1725, and continues as

4800-561: The city. In addition to its parishes, the city has a number of convents of sisters including the Sisters of Providence of Holyoke in Ingleside , the Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield who maintain group homes there, and the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi in Highland Park . Protestant congregations have played a significant role in Holyoke's civic life since its founding, including

4896-463: The city. The Holyoke Machine Company , manufacturer of the Hercules water turbine, was among many industrial developments of the era. Holyoke's population rose from just under 5,000 in 1860 to over 60,000 in 1920. Due to this staggering growth the municipality was officially incorporated as a city on April 7, 1873, only 23 years after its initial incorporation as the "Town of Holyoke". Later that year

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4992-468: The country, exceeding Chicago's at that time. By 1980, reflecting economic and cultural changes, this population comprised 10% of the population, a similar figure to those who identified as French or French Canadian in the 2010 census. Beginning at the end of World War II , an influx of Puerto Ricans and other Latino groups began to migrate to the Northeast United States , driven largely by

5088-553: The end of the 19th century more private developments had begun to appear. Holyoke's architecture can be characterized by a mixture of Italianate , Gothic Revival , Queen Anne and Second Empire , with some Tudor revival examples throughout its neighborhoods. The city is also home to at least two examples of works by national architects, the Holyoke City Hall designed in the Gothic Revival style by Charles B. Atwood , and

5184-555: The flume's resulting developments were Clemens Herschel 's Venturi meter in 1888, the first accurate way to measure large-scale flows, as well as the Hercules turbine by John B. McCormick in 1899, the first mixed flow turbine. Other pioneering developments included the first use of Hans Goldschmidt 's exothermic welding process in the Americas in 1904, by George E. Pellissier and the Holyoke Street Railway . In electronics,

5280-499: The following decade the two designed and developed their tenth of an acre backyard into a year-round food producing garden, with over 100 perennial plant species which sustain limited wildlife populations, and have remediated soil on the site. Their permaculture garden has been featured in The New York Times , as well as lectures at Harvard and Yale University . A detailed account of the design and management of this space and

5376-505: The foot of these mountains due to their unique geology. A species of dinosaur, Podokesaurus holyokensis , whose fossils were first discovered across the river in South Hadley , was given its name for the area, and the city has in recent years passed measures to try to protect fossils in parks from theft or vandalism. The city of Holyoke contains 15 distinct neighborhoods. Some, like Springdale and Oakdale , were conceived by individual developers as streetcar suburbs for mill workers in

5472-586: The former Farr Alpaca Company's facilities, following a period of financial difficulties in 2017, the brewery closed temporarily, with plans in place to reopen in the future. Another notable firm, Dan's Power Plant, produces nut-based cheese substitutes known as "Fauxmaggio", as a vegan alternative, selling many of their products in upscale markets in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. In recent years there have been successful efforts to attract high-tech jobs to Holyoke and diversify its economic base. For example,

5568-454: The latter half of the 19th century, and in many respects made Holyoke synonymous with its present-day handle "The Paper City". Holyoke's paper mills from this period were largely the work of the brothers, who designed mills on five continents and among the first of Kimberly-Clark and Crane Currency . In sum they would design 16 factories and mills in Holyoke and, including minor design roles, performed engineering work in some capacity on 25 of

5664-656: The line under the Pioneer Valley Railroad name. The Pioneer Valley Railroad began operations with three locomotives of 1939 and 1949 vintage, 13 employees, and 24 miles of trackage. In 1983, the railroad had a total of 40 customers. The company began to reverse the fortunes of its lines by dropping a $ 590 surcharge per car that was instated by Conrail, pursuing small customers that Conrail ignored, and forging good relationships with shippers. The company gained an additional 1.7 miles (2.7 km) of track in Easthampton by

5760-722: The line. On October 5, 2017, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation awarded PVR a $ 495,000 grant to complete the PVR Knowledge Corridor Service Interchange project that is planned to reduce local truck traffic by improving the connection between Pan Am Railways and Pioneer Valley Railroad in Holyoke . MassDOT awarded the railroad a grant of $ 384,022 in September 2021 to expand its yard facilities in Easthampton, matching PVRR's commitment of 40% of

5856-437: The lowest electricity costs in the Commonwealth, and as of 2016 between 85% and 90% of the city's energy was carbon neutral , with administrative goals in place to reach 100% in the future. The Indigenous people of Holyoke and South Hadley Falls were the Algonquian peoples . Though records are incomplete, the area was settled by the Pocomtuc , sometimes referred to as the Agawam or Nonotuck. English colonists arrived in

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5952-623: The national passenger railroad in the United States, Amtrak , would qualify as Class I if it were a freight carrier, as would Canada's Via Rail passenger service. Mexico 's Ferromex freight railroad would also qualify as Class I, but it does not operate within the United States. Initially (in 1911) the former federal agency Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) classified railroads by their annual gross revenue . Class I railroads had an annual operating revenue of at least $ 1 million, while Class III railroad incomes were under $ 100,000. Railroads in both classes were subject to reporting requirements on

6048-407: The next-largest producer, Philadelphia , producing 69 tons per day despite having a population nearly 40 times its size. Before 1900 Holyoke would produce 320 tons per day, predominantly of writing paper. In 1888, Holyoke's paper industry spurred the foundation of the American Pad & Paper Company (AMPAD) , which as of 2007 was one of the largest suppliers of office products in the world. Holyoke

6144-409: The now-defunct Connecticut River Railroad Station designed by eminent architect H. H. Richardson . Philadelphia rowhouses are also a common feature among residential streets in downtown area. Throughout its history Holyoke has been home to a number of architects who shaped its unique urban landscape. The most prominent included George P. B. Alderman , who designed industrial buildings as well as

6240-483: The population (40.7% Puerto Rican , 7.3% Dominican , 6.4% Venezuelan , 1.8% Mexican , 1.5% Colombian , 1.9% Cuban , 0.3% Salvadoran , 0.2% Argentine , 0.1% Honduran , 0.1% Guatemalan ). The ten largest ancestry groups in the city were Irish (13.4%), Polish (8.3%), French (7.2%), German (4.4%), Italian (3.8%), English (3.6%), French-Canadian (3.3%), American (2.8%), Scottish (1.0%), and sub-Saharan African (0.9%). Immigrants accounted for 28.8% of

6336-405: The population grew significantly during the 1980s, and from 1990 to 2016, the buying power of the Latino community at-large increased by nearly 300%. Today Latinos form the city's largest minority group, with the largest Puerto Rican population per capita of any American city outside Puerto Rico proper, at 44.7%. The entire Latino population of Holyoke, as of the 2010 census, was 19,313, or 48.4% of

6432-561: The population. The ten most common countries of origin for immigrants in the city were the Dominican Republic , Poland , Germany , China , El Salvador , the United Kingdom , Colombia , Kenya , and Mexico . There were 15,361 households in 2010, out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.5% were headed by married couples living together, 24.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.3% were non-families. Of all households, 32.0% were made up of individuals, and 12.3% were someone living alone who

6528-439: The principles behind it can be found in the book by the two, "Paradise Lot", released in 2013 by Chelsea Green Publishing . Soon after medical marijuana was legalized in Massachusetts, Mayor Alex Morse began promoting the city as a growth and distribution center for the new industry, due to its low energy costs and proximity to several metropolitan markets. Since the legalization of recreational weed in Massachusetts in 2016,

6624-422: The racial educational attainment gap narrowed by 30%, but homeownership declined slightly, and the proportion of working poor marginally increased. Throughout its history Holyoke has undergone fluctuations in different foreign-born demographics. In the 1890 census , Holyoke had the third most foreign-born residents, per capita, of any city in the United States, with 47% of residents born in another country; this

6720-420: The rail transport industry. The Association of American Railroads typically divides non–Class I companies into three categories: In the United States, the Surface Transportation Board categorizes rail carriers into Class I, Class II, and Class III based on the carrier's annual revenue. The thresholds, last adjusted for inflation in 2019, are: In Canada , a Class I rail carrier is defined (as of 2004 ) as

6816-436: The railroad interchanges with CSX Transportation . Major commodities transported include lumber, steel, and waste. [REDACTED] Media related to Pioneer Valley Railroad at Wikimedia Commons Class III railroad Railroad classes are the system by which freight railroads are designated in the United States . Railroads are assigned to Class I, II or III according to annual revenue criteria originally set by

6912-663: The railroad through its subsidiary Gulf & Atlantic Railways . The tracks that the PVRR operates on were originally constructed by the New Haven and Northampton (also known as the Canal Line) from 1842 to 1856 as part of the company's line between its namesake cities. The branch line connecting Westfield and Holyoke was built in 1871. Both lines passed to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad ( reporting mark NH ) when it took control of

7008-534: The river but was partitioned in 1774 with the land on the western bank becoming West Springfield, Massachusetts . This area, previously allotted to landowners on the east side of the river in Springfield, was settled by colonists by 1655, and included what is now Holyoke. Holyoke as a geographic entity was initially incorporated as the 3rd parish of West Springfield on July 7, 1786, and was called "Ireland" or "Ireland Parish". The area's first post office , "Ireland",

7104-407: The state, which was initially created by the city's school board. Today the 2-year college selectively allows high school seniors to enroll in its coursework for transferable college credit, and has the highest percentage of student graduates completing associate degrees and certificate programs among the state's community colleges. With the aid of state and federal education grants the college opened

7200-581: The surcharge. As traffic began to grow in the 1980s, the railroad received part of a $ 5.3 million appropriation from the United States Congress in the summer of 1987 to install heavier rail on its line between Westfield and Holyoke. Service to Easthampton was discontinued following an April 23, 1987, derailment of a PVRR train. Despite criticism from residents and local industry, the company stated in January 1992 that it had no plans to resume service, and

7296-459: The third highest total households receiving such assistance, with the highest per capita of any of the state's 351 municipalities, representing 54% of all households. A 2020 study by the Urban Institute found Holyoke to be the least socio-economically inclusive city in New England for minorities, despite them representing the largest group demographically. The report found between 2010 and 2015

7392-798: The time West Springfield was partitioned in 1707, a number of Irish families had moved to the Parish. With the emergence of Holyoke's industrial base, a new wave of Irish Catholic immigration occurred and by 1855 a third of residents were of Irish heritage. Holyoke's Irish roots are celebrated today in its annual St. Patrick's Day Parade . In the 1850s, mill owners began to recruit French-Canadians , regarded as docile and less likely to create labor unions due to their agrarian backgrounds and anti-unionism promoted by Québecois clergy at that time. Many Québecois workers were first recruited by Nicholas Proulx (anglicized as Prew) who hailed from Saint-Ours, Quebec and arrived in Holyoke in 1856. He and his sons would import

7488-500: The total project cost. In August 2023, Macquarie Infrastructure Partners reached an agreement with Pinsly to acquire the railroad through its subsidiary Gulf & Atlantic Railways . As of March 2022, the Pioneer Valley Railroad owns and operates 31 miles of trackage in Massachusetts, split between two lines which connect at Westfield Main Yard in Westfield, Massachusetts. It is also where

7584-412: The tracks around Westfield in 1982, claiming the two lines were no longer profitable to operate. At this time, Pinsly Railroad Company purchased both from Conrail for under $ 300,000, along with making a guarantee to the state of Massachusetts to commit $ 800,000 in spending to track repairs and improvements within four years of the purchase. Upon purchasing the two lines, Pinsly began railroad operations on

7680-434: The war and into the end of the 20th century, the population briefly stabilized during the first decade of the 21st century before continuing to decline during the 2010s. For the period 2013–2017, the estimated median annual income for a household in the city was $ 37,954, and the median income for a family was $ 46,940. Male full-time workers had a median income of $ 46,888 versus $ 41,406 for females. The per capita income for

7776-549: The west, Easthampton to the north, Hadley, South Hadley and Chicopee as river borders to the east, and West Springfield to the south. Holyoke is the location of East Mountain , the Mount Tom Range , and Mount Tom , at 1,202 feet (366 m) the highest traprock peak on the Metacomet Ridge , a linear mountain range that extends from Long Island Sound to the Vermont border. The most densely populated area, lying between

7872-468: The world's first commercial toll line , between the city's Hotel Jess and a location in Springfield, entered service on June 15, 1878. The city was also home to Thaddeus Cahill 's New England Electric Music Company which, on March 16, 1906, demonstrated the Telharmonium , the world's first electromechanical instrument, a predecessor of the synthesizer . Neighborhoods of Holyoke, Massachusetts Holyoke

7968-435: The writing paper used in the United States and was home to the largest paper mill architectural firm in the country, as well as the largest paper, silk, and alpaca wool mills in the world. Although a considerably smaller number of businesses in Holyoke work in the paper industry today, it is still commonly referred to as "The Paper City". Today the city contains a number of specialty manufacturing companies, as well as

8064-448: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51, and the average family size was 3.16. In the city, 26.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 10.2% were from 18 to 24, 25.5% were from 25 to 44, 23.8% were from 45 to 64, and 14.2% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.4 males. The city reached

8160-628: Was also previously the location of the headquarters of the American Writing Paper Company , a trust company established in 1899 with the merging of 23 rag paper mills, 13 of which were located in Holyoke. At one point the company was the largest producer of fine papers in the world, but leadership lacking technical knowledge of the industry led the company to fold by 1963. The availability of water power enabled Holyoke to support its own electric utility company and maintain it independently of America's major regional utilities. The city

8256-512: Was built north of the Connecticut River's first major falls, Enfield Falls , where seagoing vessels had to transfer cargo into smaller shallops to continue northward on the river. Due to its proximity to the banks of the river Springfield quickly became a successful settlement on the Bay Path to Boston, as well as the Massachusetts Path to Albany. Originally, the settlement spanned both sides of

8352-450: Was considering selling the right of way, due to a downturn in Easthampton's industries during the 1980s. The PVRR was one of 6 railroad companies to receive a request for proposals from the state of Vermont in early 2000 to potentially operate a railroad line owned by the state between White River Junction and Wells River . Ultimately, the state chose a railroad based in Vermont to operate

8448-542: Was dropped in 1956 but reinstated in 1978. By 1963, the number of Class I railroads had dropped to 102; cutoffs were increased to $ 5 million by 1965, to $ 10 million in 1976 and to $ 50 million in 1978, at which point only 41 railroads qualified as Class I. In a special move in 1979, all switching and terminal railroads were re-designated Class III — even those with Class I or Class II revenues. In early 1991, two Class II railroads, Montana Rail Link and Wisconsin Central , asked

8544-483: Was established June 3, 1822, with Martin Chapin as first postmaster; it was discontinued in 1883. Another, "Ireland Depot", was established February 26, 1847, with John M. Chapin as first postmaster, and assumed the town name upon Holyoke's incorporation. Though the name Hampden was considered, the area was subsequently named for earlier Springfield settler William Pynchon 's son-in-law, Elizur Holyoke , who had first explored

8640-414: Was exceeded only by Fall River, Massachusetts and Duluth, Minnesota . Later waves of immigration led to significant growth and cultural influence of communities of Germans, Italians, Jews, Poles, and Scots into the first half of the 20th century, and Puerto Ricans, Greeks, Colombians, and Dominicans in the subsequent decades. Historically, a city of working-class immigrants, the first wave of millworkers

8736-411: Was lost, however, to an incendiary fire that destroyed Whiting Farm's stock barn in 1919. Conventional dairy and cattle farming remained extant through most of the 20th century, with the last conventional livestock farm closing in 1982. Nevertheless smaller market agriculture operations, which began in the 20th century, endure today. Among Holyoke's most notable contemporary agricultural organizations

8832-543: Was on a road near the Connecticut River oxbow, which was subject to frequent flooding. The neighborhood became the northern part of Holyoke in 1909. Holyoke had few inhabitants until the construction of the dam and the Holyoke Canal System in 1849 and the subsequent construction of water-powered mills, particularly paper mills , the first and last to operate in the city, being those of the Parsons Paper Company . At one point over 25 paper mills were in operation in

8928-644: Was predominantly Irish . Irish immigrants began settling in the region before the construction of the dam and industrialization that followed, granting the area the name "Ireland" or "Ireland Parish." While colonists had claimed lands by 1655, it was only in the following decade that homesteads would appear. Traditional accounts refer to John Riley as the first permanent settler of Holyoke, but while Riley owned 28 acres along "Riley's Brook" (Tannery Brook in modern-day Ingleside ), his daughters Mary and Margaret, and their Irish Protestant husbands, Joseph Ely and William MacCranny, first resided there beginning in 1667. By

9024-529: Was said to have been Domingo Perez; a landlord who later became among the first to be appointed in city government, he was reported to have arrived in Holyoke around 1955. By 1970 the number of Puerto Rican residents numbered around 5,000; however, by that time, many faced a city economy in free fall. Holyoke's mills had closed due to the changing economic landscape of early globalization and deindustrialization ; from 1955 to 1970, one of every two industrial jobs vanished. Despite economic and social difficulties

9120-472: Was the Holyoke Machine Company which, incorporated in 1863, served large mills and factories with specialty roll parts and service; the firm manufactured a number of different products. At one time the company produced the "Holyoke Hercules" model of water turbine which served the city's industries on the canal system, and previously their shops cast bronze doors for the U.S. Capitol Building . Today

9216-488: Was thus a rare unaffected area in the Northeast blackout of 1965 , for example. In addition to developments in the paper and textile industries, a number of industrial inventions would arise out of the city in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The first and most prominent hydraulic testing lab in the United States, the Holyoke Testing Flume performed 3,176 tests to establish turbine efficiency from 1870 to 1932. Among

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