Editing Chicopee, Massachusetts (section)

==History==
===Etymology===
"Chicopee" is derived from the Nipmuc language. It is likely derived from ''chekee'' ("violently") and ''-pe'' (root suffix used in water place names) or ''chikkupee'' ("of red cedar"), an adjectival form of ''chikkup'' ("red cedar").<ref>An Historical Address / Delivered before the citizens of [[Springfield, Massachusetts|Springfield]] in Massachusetts at the public celebration May 26, 1911, of the Two Hundred and Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the Settlement with Five Appendices, by Charles H. Barrows. Copyright 1916, Connecticut Valley Historical Society. Thef. A. Bassett Co. Printers, Springfield, Mass. Appendix A, "Meaning of Local Indian Names."</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Huden |first1=John |title=Indian place names of New England |date=1962 |publisher=Heye Foundation |location=New York |pages=50–52, 378 |url=https://ia600704.us.archive.org/6/items/indianplacenames00hude/indianplacenames00hude.pdf |access-date=12 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Trumbull |first1=James Hammond |title=Natick Dictionary |date=1903 |publisher=G.P.O. |location=Washington |pages=22–24, 120 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31822019638436&seq=11 |access-date=12 December 2023}}</ref>

There have been several variant spellings of the name.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Szetela |first1=Thaddeus |title=History of Chicopee |date=1948 |publisher=Szetela & Rich Publishing Company |location=Chicopee, Mass. |pages=6–8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Szetela |first1=Thaddeus |title=History of Chicopee |date=1948 |publisher=Szetela & Rich Publishing Company |location=Chicopee, Mass. |pages=9–11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Chapin |first1=Isreal |title=Plan of Springfield surveyed by Isreal Chapin, dated May 20, 1795 |url=https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:2227nn39s |website=Digital Commonwealth |access-date=27 May 2023}}</ref>

===Nayasett (Cabotville and Chicopee Falls)===

{{multiple image
   | direction = vertical
   | width = 220
   | align = left
   | footer = Cabotville as it appeared in 1844, prior to the incorporation of Chicopee (top); the dam at Chicopee Falls today
   | image1 = Village of Cabotville, Springfield, Massachusetts (1844).jpg
   | image2 = ChicopeeRiver.jpg}}

In 1636, [[William Pynchon]] purchased land from the Agawam Indians on the east side of the Connecticut River. He moved from the Town of Roxbury to Springfield to found the first settlement in the area that comprises the territory of today's Chicopee Center (Cabotville). Both Cabotville and the Falls were developed as manufacturing centers (villages).<ref name="Chicopee illustrated">{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=L.L. |title=Chicopee illustrated, 1896 |date=1896 |publisher=Transcript Publishing Company |location=1896 |url=https://ia801605.us.archive.org/28/items/chicopeeillustra00holy/chicopeeillustra00holy.pdf |access-date=21 May 2023}}</ref>

According to local historian Charles J. Seaver, the area above the falls was first settled in 1660. The land purchased from the Indians was divided into districts. Nayasett (Nipmuc for "at the small point/angle") was the name given to the area of what are now Chicopee Center and Chicopee Falls. The settlement in the upper district was at Skipmuck (possibly based on Nipmuc ''Skipmaug,'' meaning "chief fishing place" or ''Shipmuck,'' meaning "big watery place"), a place above the falls on the south side of the river.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Colonists built a sawmill as the first industrial site along the river. The mill was built at ''Skenungonuck'' (Nipmuc for "green fields") Falls (now Chicopee Falls) in 1678 by Japhet Chapin, John Hitchcock and Nathaniel Foote.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

In 1786, what was called Factory Village began to develop when two acres of land was leased to 10 local men, with the understanding that they would build an iron foundry within two years. This was accomplished and the business flourished.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

In 1823, Jonathan Dwight purchased the water privilege at Skenungonuck Falls in Chicopee. He built a textile mill and five years later, it operated 14,000 spindles and nearly 500 looms, making it the second-largest operation in the state. It processed cotton from the Deep South, becoming part of the extended slave economy and King Cotton. By 1831, settlers had developed two giant dams, two waterpower canals, and two manufacturing communities on the Chicopee River.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Before and after the partition, eight Chicopee River companies gained product recognition around the globe: [[Ames Manufacturing Company|Ames]], Belcher, Lamb, Dwight, [[Stevens Arms|Stevens]], [[Spalding (company)|Spalding]], [[Fisk Rubber Company|Fisk]], and [[Duryea Motor Wagon|Duryea]]. Below the falls, in the bend of the river at a place called Factory Village, an important chapter of the region's industrial history was played out.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

===Partition from Springfield===
[[Image:Seal of Chicopee, Massachusetts.png|thumb|150px|Seal of the former Town of Chicopee, prior to its incorporation as a city in 1890]]

In 1716, Upper Chicopee, Lower Chicopee and Skipmunk were divided into Springfield's fourth, fifth and sixth precincts, respectively.<ref name="Fifth Parish">{{cite book |last1=Szetela |first1=Thaddeus |title=History of Chicopee |date=1948 |publisher=Szetela & Rich Publishing Company |location=Chicopee, Mass. |pages=26–33}}</ref>

In the late 1740s, a discussion took place among members of the [[First Church of Christ, Congregational (Springfield, Massachusetts)|First Church of Springfield]] over whether the town should build a new meetinghouse out of brick, which would be more expensive yet durable, or timber, which would be relatively inexpensive. Residents of what is now Chicopee tended to support a timber meetinghouse, due to the time-consuming four to eight mile journey that visiting the meetinghouse would require.<ref name="Fifth Parish" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Nobles |first1=Gregory H. |title=Divisions Throughout the Whole: Politics and Society in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, 1740-1775 |date=1983 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=New York, NY |pages=134–35}}</ref> In 1749, residents in Springfield's fourth, fifth and sixth precincts petitioned the [[Massachusetts General Court]] to form their own parish, with their own church and meetinghouse. Facing opposition from Springfield, the petition was rejected by the General Court. In 1750, the petition was filed again by Japhet Chapin, signed by 49 residents of what are now Chicopee and [[Holyoke, Massachusetts|Holyoke]], and was approved by the General Court. This created Springfield's Fifth Parish. The boundaries of the new parish were laid out on June 11, 1751.{{efn|[[Old Style and New Style dates|O.S.]]}} The first service took place on July 21, 1751.{{efn|[[Old Style and New Style dates|O.S.]]}} This marked the earliest move toward political separation by Chicopee and Holyoke from Springfield.<ref name="Fifth Parish" />

In 1844, Springfield's Second Parish,{{efn|Springfield's Fifth Parish was renamed as the Third Parish and later as the Second Parish, following the incorporation of [[West Springfield, Massachusetts|West Springfield]] and [[Ludlow, Massachusetts|Ludlow]] in 1774 and [[Longmeadow, Massachusetts|Longmeadow]] in 1785 respectively.<ref name="Fifth Parish" />}} now containing only Chicopee, petitioned the General Court to separate as its own municipality. Once again opposed by Springfield's First Parish, their petition was rejected. In 1848, Springfield began to seek a city charter. Second Parish residents tended to oppose a city charter on the grounds of increased expenditures. In response, 700 residents of Chicopee's neighborhoods of Cabotville, Chicopee Falls, Chicopee Street and Willimansett signed a petition to form their own municipality.<ref name="Establishment of town">{{cite book |last1=Szetela |first1=Thaddeus |title=History of Chicopee |date=1948 |publisher=Szetela & Rich Publishing Company |location=Chicopee, Mass. |pages=62–67}}</ref>

The General Court approved Chicopee's Act of Incorporation on April 25, 1848. Governor [[George N. Briggs]] signed the act on April 29, 1848, creating the Town of Chicopee.<ref name="Establishment of town" /><ref name="Atlas of SPG Boundaries" /> Chicopee's first municipal elections took place at Chicopee's first town meeting on May 17, 1848 at 1:00&nbsp;p.m. When electing State Representatives and State Senators, the Town of Chicopee would be treated as a district of Springfield until after the [[1850 United States census|1850 U.S. census]].<ref name="Establishment of town" />

===Incorporation as a city===
[[Image:Basilica of St. Stanislaus, Chicopee MA.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Basilica of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop & Martyr]]]]

[[File:Massachusetts - Cape Cod Canal through Lexington - NARA - 23941289 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Aerial view of Chicopee, August 1940]]
On April 18, 1890, the community was granted a charter as a city by the [[Massachusetts General Court]]. [[George Sylvester Taylor]] (1822–1910) became Chicopee's [[List of mayors of Chicopee, Massachusetts|first mayor]] on January 5, 1891.

Westover Field was created by a war-readiness appropriation signed by president Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939. The site used to be tobacco crop fields east of and part of Fairview, east of Aldenview, and northern Willimansett. It was assigned to the United States Army Air Corps Northeast Air District. It was renamed Westover Air Force Base in 1948 after that Air Force's creation as a separate service. In 1974 SAC leadership turned the base over to the Air Force Reserve.

In 1991, [[Basilica of St. Stanislaus, Chicopee|St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Church]], located on Front Street, was proclaimed a [[minor basilica]] by [[Pope John Paul II]].

===Industries===

Chicopee adopted the motto ''"Industriae Variae",'' which means "Various Industries". Chicopee's industries included cotton mills, woolen mills, textiles, [[brass foundry|brass]] and [[iron foundry|iron]] foundries, paper making, footwear factories, for leather boots and shoes, the first friction matches, and ship building. In nearby South Hadley Canal, the firearms company [[Crescent-Davis]] specialized in producing double-barrel [[shotgun]]s.

The [[Ames Manufacturing Company]] made many machines and [[bronze]] cannons, and more [[sword]]s than any other American manufacturer at the time. Ames cast a number of bronze statues, including Thomas Ball's monumental equestrian statue of President [[George Washington]], installed in Boston's Public Garden. Ames was a major provider of cannon to the Union army during the Civil War.<ref name="NorthAndSouth">{{cite web|last1=Lynch|first1=Jacqueline T.|title=The Ames Manufacturing Company – Civil War and the New England Mill Town|url=http://newenglandtravels.blogspot.com/2009/03/ames-manufacturing-company-civil-war.html|website=New England Travels|publisher=Originally published in North and South Magazine June 2006|access-date=6 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823042906/http://newenglandtravels.blogspot.com/2009/03/ames-manufacturing-company-civil-war.html|archive-date=23 August 2011|date=3 March 2009}}</ref> The [[Stevens Arms]] plant (later [[Savage Arms|Savage]]) was responsible for most of the [[Enfield rifle#Rifle No 4 Mk I|No. 4 Enfields]] manufactured for the British under [[Lend-Lease]]. Chicopee was home to production of the first [[gasoline]]-powered [[automobile]] made in the United States, the [[Duryea brothers|Duryea]].<ref>[[G.N. Georgano]]. Cars: Early and Vintage, 1886-1930 (London: Grange-Universal, 1985)</ref><ref>Kimes, Beverly Rae [editor] and Clark, Henry Austin, jr., The Standard Catalogue of American Cars 1805–1942 , 2nd edition, Krause Publications [1989], {{ISBN|0-87341-111-0}}</ref>

====Bicycles====

[[File:1891 Overman ad SportsmansDirectory.png|thumb|right|Overman advert]]
During the late nineteenth century, Chicopee Falls became a major manufacturing center of bicycles.<ref name="Jendrysik">{{cite web|last1=Jendrysik|first1=Stephen|title=Stephen Jendrysik: Victor bicycle rode economic rise, fall|url=http://www.masslive.com/living/index.ssf/2013/06/stephen_jendrysik_victor_bicycle_rode_economic_rise_fall.html|website=MassLive|access-date=August 18, 2016|date=June 26, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302194401/http://www.masslive.com/living/index.ssf/2013/06/stephen_jendrysik_victor_bicycle_rode_economic_rise_fall.html|archive-date=March 2, 2016}}</ref> The town was the site of at least two bicycle factories: The [[Overman Wheel Company]] (1882 to about 1899), and the [[Spalding (sports equipment)|Spalding]] sporting goods company.<ref name="D&C">{{cite news|title=The Overman Failure|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/135287409|access-date=February 8, 2016|newspaper=Democrat and Chronicle|date=December 30, 1897|location=Rochester, New York|page=13|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303185930/https://www.newspapers.com/image/135287409/|archive-date=March 3, 2016}}</ref>

Albert H. Overman moved his bicycle production from [[Hartford, Connecticut]], to Chicopee Falls in 1883.<ref name="Jendrysik"/> The Overman company benefited from the surging popularity of the [[safety bicycle]] during the [[bicycle boom]] of the 1890s. At its height in 1894, Overman's factory employed over 1,200 workers. The boom eventually went bust, as overproduction drove the price of bicycles down. By 1901 the Overman firm was out of business.<ref name="Jendrysik"/>

===Library===

The [[Chicopee Public Library]] developed from the Cabot Institute, a literary society organized in 1846. The society voted on April 4, 1853 to donate its books to the town.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Town of Chicopee, Mass. |title=Catalogue of the Chicopee Town Library: Its history and regulations |date=1875 |publisher=Town of Chicopee, Mass. |location=Chicopee, Mass.}}</ref> It was the first locally funded public library in Western Massachusetts.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor |title=Census of Massachusetts: 1885: Volume I, Part 2 |date=1888 |publisher=Wright & Potter Print. Co., State printers |location=Boston, Mass. |pages=902–967 |url=https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/122033 |access-date=20 May 2023}}</ref>

[[Image:ChicopeeLibrary.jpg|thumb|right|Main Branch of the Chicopee Public Library]]