Insurance in Westfield, Ma

History

Once the westernmost settlement in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Westfield, Massachusetts is today a city of 41,000 people. It was originally called Woronoco “the winding land” by the Pocomutc tribe that first inhabited these lands. Following the building of trading houses in 1639 and 1640, the town became part of Springfield in 1647.

Over time, the land was purchased from the Native American tribe and sold to English settlers who permanently settled the area during the 1660s, and was incorporated as a town of its own in 1669. It was later reincorporated as a city in 1920.

For over 150 years, we were primarily an agricultural community. However, industry soon took over the town with the production of buggy whips giving the town its nickname of “Whip City.” Bicycles, boilers, tools, and other items were also produced here, making it a thriving industrial city well into the first half of the 1900s.

Geography

Located in Hampden County, in the western part of Massachusetts and covering 47.3 square miles, we are surrounded by towns including Holyoke, West Springfield, Southampton, Agawam, Granville, Russell, and Montgomery.

The Westfield River divides the city into two sections, the North Side and the South Side, and is prone to flooding, an event which has affected the city several times in its history. We became a convenient shipping point for New England with the building of a canal to New Haven, Connecticut, and our location at the junction of two major regional railroads. Almost halfway between Boston and New York, we also find ourselves along the Massachusetts Turnpike, near to I-91 for north- south access to Canada and Connecticut. In the modern age, this location has made us a prime location for warehousing and shipping for corporations operating in New England including Home Depot, Lowes, and C&S Wholesale.

Fun Facts About Westfield

With a long history and many unique features, it's hard not to be proud of where we live. Some notable examples include:

• Only 4 buildings in the city exceed 3 stories based on a law, put in place due to a large fire in 1952. At six stories tall, the Westfield Professional Building exceeded the limits of the city’s fire department. When the fire broke out, extensive damage was done and the town agreed to limit the high-rise construction for good.
• One of the town’s nicknames is the “Pure Food Town”. In the early 1900s, we became a center of the Pure Food movement, leading to stricter standards on food production.
• Our location makes us an interesting anomaly in Massachusetts. Though the city itself is a 21-st century industrial city, some of its neighbors have such a low population density that they resemble pre-settlement villages. Such swift transition was certainly unique to the region.
• Home to the campus of Westfield State University, 15% of the city’s population is students. This has changed the climate of the town, with more businesses aiming to cater to this growing population of youngsters.

Overall, we can be classified as an old agricultural and industrial town that has today moved to have a strong educational focus as a modern city. With its unique location, we offer a variety of opportunities to corporations, residents, and students throughout the region to come learn, grow and explore.