Editing Hampshire County, Massachusetts (section)

==History==
{{More citations needed section|date=January 2023}}
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, MA|Springfield]], [[Northampton, MA|Northampton]], and [[Hadley, MA|Hadley]]. The original Hampshire County also included territory that is now in modern-day [[Hampden County, Massachusetts|Hampden County]], [[Franklin County, Massachusetts|Franklin County]], and [[Berkshire County, Massachusetts|Berkshire County]], as well as small parts of modern-day [[Worcester County, Massachusetts|Worcester County]]. By 1683, three new towns (Westfield (now [[Southwick, MA|Southwick]]), [[Suffield, CT|Suffield]], and [[Enfield, CT|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. They 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, MA|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, MA|Warren]]) was created and added to Worcester County. Further territorial losses occurred in 1749 when the towns of Enfield, [[Somers, CT|Somers]] (split off from Enfield in 1734), and Suffield unilaterally joined Connecticut Colony. In 1761, Berkshire County was partitioned from 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 its southern part.

Following the dissolution of the [[county government]] in 1999, county affairs were managed by the [[Hampshire Council of Governments]]. The council itself ceased operations in 2019, due to what an appraisal of the council termed a "fundamentally flawed, unsustainable operational model"; it had no inherent source of income and lacked a regional planning function.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Russell |first=Jim |date=April 17, 2019 |title=Hampshire Council of Governments shutdown a 'sad but necessary event,' former councilor says |url=https://www.masslive.com/news/2019/04/hampshire-council-of-governments-shutdown-a-sad-but-necessary-event-former-councilor-says.html |work=The Republican |location=Springfield, Mass.}}</ref>