Editing Ludlow, Massachusetts (section)

==History==

[[Image:MA Route 21 northbound entering Ludlow, MA.jpg|thumb|left|Put's Bridge looking towards Ludlow]]
The Indigenous people along the [[Chicopee River]], including modern-day Ludlow, were [[Algonquin language|Algonquian speaking peoples]]. Though records are incomplete, the first inhabitants were likely the [[Nipmuc]] or [[Pocomtuc]] tribes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/indians-at-the-post-office-murals-encounter/mr-pynchon-and-the-settling-of-springfield|title=Mr. Pynchon and the Settling of Springfield|website=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|archive-date=September 23, 2018|title=First Peoples- Overview|website=Our Plural History, Springfield, MA|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923173833/http://ourpluralhistory.stcc.edu/firstpeoples/overview.html|url=http://ourpluralhistory.stcc.edu/firstpeoples/overview.html|publisher=Springfield Technical Community College|year=2009}}</ref> During [[King Philip’s War]] (1675–1676), British settlers forced a band of Indigenous people, led by Roaring Thunder, to jump to the water of the [[Chicopee River]] to escape their attackers (this place has since been called Indian Leap).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Ludlow-Massachusetts|title = Ludlow &#124; Massachusetts, United States &#124; Britannica}}</ref>

Although plans were drawn up for settlement as early as 1685, within the original boundaries of [[Springfield, Massachusetts]], the British first settled in Ludlow in 1751 as Stony Hill Parish.<ref>Copeland, Alfred Minott. Our County and Its People; A History of Hampden County, Massachusetts. Hampden County: Century Memorial Pub. Co., 1902</ref> However, the town was later renamed Ludlow and incorporated as a separate entity in 1774, just before the breakout of the [[American Revolution]].<ref name="Noon, Alfred 1912">Noon, Alfred. The History of Ludlow, Massachusetts. Springfield, MA: Higginson Book Company, 1912.</ref> For much of its early history the town was agrarian and today many of Ludlow's street names are derived from the names of these farming families (e.g. Chapin Street, Miller Street, Alden Street, Fuller Street). Ludlow was home to many sawmills and gristmills, utilizing the power from several sources of water nearby,  the Chicopee River, Broad Brook, Higher Brook, and Stony Brook. Before the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the town began to develop into a [[mill town]]. This included the manufacturing of glass bottles by the many glassware companies, including John Sikes.<ref>Noon, Alfred.  The History of Ludlow, Massachusetts. Springfield, MA: Higginson Book Company, 1912.</ref> Then Governor of [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]], [[Thomas Hutchinson (governor)|Thomas Hutchinson]] renamed the town from the District of Stony Hill to Ludlow. The town of Ludlow was possibly named after [[Roger Ludlow]], one of the founders of the [[Connecticut Colony]] or named after [[Ludlow]], a town in England.

In 1868, the largest mill was opened and operated by the Ludlow Company (The [[Ludlow Clock Tower]] is depicted on the town seal), who produced jute yarns, twine, and webbing. This company helped shape the town by providing housing, a library, schools, playgrounds, and even a clubhouse for the increasingly diverse community.<ref name="Noon, Alfred 1912"/><ref>Pillon, Karen. Ludlow (Images of America: Massachusetts). Mount Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 1999.</ref> In the 20th century, this company moved to [[India]] and is now known as Ludlow Jute and Specialties of Mumbai.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ludlowjute.com/|title=Jute Products Manufacturer & Suppliers in India|website=Ludlow Jute & Specialities Ltd}}</ref>

In the early 20th century Ludlow developed from a mill town into a [[streetcar suburb]] of [[Springfield, Massachusetts]], with a trolley line running over the bridge from [[Indian Orchard, Massachusetts|Indian Orchard]]. Ludlow also had two railroads that traversed the town: the [[Springfield, Athol and North-eastern Railroad]] and the Hamden Railroad. The Hamden Railroad was closed and Interstate 90 was constructed over its former tracks. The Springfield, Athol, and Northeastern Railroad was reduced in length in the late 1930s as a result of the creation of [[Quabbin Reservoir]]. The train station for this line was at the corner of Winsor Street and Sewall Street and was the last station from [[Boston]] when the railroad closed in the 1950s. The train station was demolished in 1960. In 1981, the [[Stony Brook Power Plant]] was constructed in the town providing 517 [[Megawatts]] of electricity to 24 municipalities. In 1983, the plant became the first [[combined-cycle]] power plant in Massachusetts.<ref name=ccj>{{cite web|title=Stony Brook Energy Center|url=http://www.ccj-online.com/2q-2010/stony-brook/|website=ccj-online|publisher=Combined Cycle Journal|access-date=May 11, 2015}}</ref>

Ludlow's population boomed in the 1950s with the creation of Interstate 90, known in Massachusetts as the [[Massachusetts Turnpike]]. [[John F. Thompson (politician)|John F. Thompson]], who was Speaker of the House of Representatives in the [[Massachusetts General Court]] at the time, was influential in gaining an exit on the Turnpike for Ludlow (now Exit 54, formerly 7) and subsequently the Turnpike influenced the growth of Ludlow as a [[suburb]] of Springfield.{{citation needed|reason=Nonspecific, unable to find source for claim|date=December 2023}} Since the 1950s, the development of numerous [[Subdivision (land)|subdivisions]] has added to Ludlow's growth.{{citation needed|reason=unable to find source for claim|date=December 2023}}