|
|
The
Town of Palmer Mass is made up of four separate and distinct villages;
Depot Village, Thorndike Village, Three Rivers and Bondsville. There are
four separate water districts, three separate fire departments and four
separate village centers. In addition, there are some agricultural areas.
The villages began to develop their distinctive characters in the 18th
century, and by the 19th century when two rail lines and a trolley line
opened the town to population growth, newcomers generally migrated to the
village that appealed to them.
John King was the first settler in
Palmer, building his home in 1716 on the banks of the Chicopee River. He
was followed by a large group of Scottish-Irish Presbyterians who arrived
and put down their roots in 1727. Depot Village has been the main commercial
and business center for 125 years. Bondsville is the site of much of the
town's industry, beginning in the 18th century when the first saw and grist
mills were established. By 1825, textile production began in town with
a woolen mill.
The Blanchard Scythe Factory, Wright
Wire Woolen Mills and the Holden-Fuller Woolen Mills developed major industrial
capacity in Palmer and constructed a large amount of workers housing. By
1900 a company like Boston Duck which made heavy cotton fabric, had housed
500 employees in the town in workers housing which remains as part of the
town fabric.
Palmer Mass is located in South central
Massachusetts, bordered by Monson on the south, Wilbraham and Ludlow on
the west, Belchertown and Ware on the north, and Warren and Brimfield on
the east. Palmer is 15 miles east of Springfield, 36 miles west of Worcester,
73 miles west of Boston. |