Editing Southwick, Massachusetts (section)

== History ==

Southwick was originally inhabited by either the Matitacooke, Mayawaug, or Woronoake [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] tribes.

===Early history===

In the mid-17th century, pioneering English explorers moving up the [[Connecticut River Valley]] in search of fertile farmlands and game discovered the area and settled Southwick. It became a farming community, defined as the Southern ''(South-)'' village ''(-wick)'' part of the town of [[Westfield, Massachusetts|Westfield]]. Early on, it was nicknamed "Poverty Plains" because the land was thought to be infertile. Its first residential home was built by [[Samuel Fowler (1779–1844)|Samuel Fowler]] and his wife Naomi Noble on what is now College Highway ([[U.S. Route 202 in Massachusetts|US 202]] and [[Massachusetts Route 10|MA 10]]), approximately one-quarter mile (0.4 km) north of the current town center.

In colonial times, church attendance was mandatory. The 800 Christian residents of Southwick in the 1760–1770s were required to travel to Westfield to congregate. Their envisioned parish could only be established by first building their church community. On November 7, 1770, Southwick was incorporated as a separate district of Westfield. The area of Southwick became somewhat smaller in 1770. The southernmost portion of Southwick joined [[Suffield, Connecticut]], as the result of a simultaneous secession of citizens in that part of the village.

===Independence===

Southwick became a fully independent town in 1770. The town remained divided until 1793 when Massachusetts claimed the area (known as the "jog"). A border dispute continued until 1804 when the current boundary was established through a compromise between [[Connecticut]] and Massachusetts. As a result of this border resolution, Southwick is the southernmost town in [[western Massachusetts]].
[[File:Southwick-stake (crop).jpg|framed|left|A stake marks the southernmost point in the "Southwick jog" of the Massachusetts-Connecticut boundary. Seen from East Street in [[Granby, Connecticut|Granby, CT]].]]

===Early 1800s===

In the early 19th century, the [[Farmington Canal]] and the [[Hampshire and Hampden Canal]] were built to link [[New Haven, Connecticut]] to [[Northampton, Massachusetts|Northampton]] through Southwick. [[Irish immigrants]] came to the area to labor on this project. Developers spoke of Southwick's potential, calling it the "Port of the World". Traces of the canal can still be found in the Great Brook and Congamond Lakes area. Due to winter freezing, summer drought, and wildlife impact (beaver dams, etc.), the canal was phased out in favor of a railroad. 

[[Laflin-Phelps Homestead]] was built soon after the area was settled and remains the oldest standing structure in Southwick.

Completed in the late 1840s, the [[New Haven and Northampton Company]]'s railroad was built alongside the canal. With the railroad came the ice industry and tourist resorts around the Congamond Lakes (which were named ''Wenekeiamaug'' by the previous native peoples). Along with the construction of a small amusement park, numerous elaborate hotels and dance halls were constructed. During the Industrial Era, summer vacationers and day-trippers would escape to Southwick from cities connected by the Northeast Railroad Corridor including [[New York City]], [[Albany, New York|Albany]], [[Boston]], [[Worcester, Massachusetts|Worcester]], [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]], and especially [[Springfield, Massachusetts|Springfield]]. There was a special stop near the lakes where visitors would disembark to swim and/or pile into canopied pleasure boats.

During [[World War I|WWI]] and [[World War II|WWII]], trains loaded with soldiers would pass through town. It has been noted that local girls would gather letters thrown by the soldiers from the train and forward them to the intended recipients at the post office. The last train to pass along these tracks was ''circa'' 1976. As of 2022, the old railway was converted into a rail trail leading to [[Granby, Connecticut]], known as the Farmington Canal Rail Trail.

All of Southwick's grand hotels and ornate train stations have since been torn down. Babb's Roller Skating Rink on the [[Suffield, Connecticut|Suffield]] side of Congamond Lakes is all that remains of the amusement park.