Westfield, Massachusetts

History

Westfield was first settled in 1660 and was officially established in 1669. It was incorporated as a city in 1920.

Related Topics:
1660 - 1669 - 1920

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From the time of its founding until 1725, Westfield was the westernmost settlement in the Massachusetts Colony. Town meetings were held in a church meeting house until 1839 when Town Hall was erected on Broad Street. This building served as a City Hall from 1920 to 1958. Due to its alluvial lands, the inhabitants of this area were entirely devoted to agricultural pursuits for about 150 years. Early in the 19th century the making of bricks, whips, and cigars became the principal occupations. At one point in the 1800s, Westfield was the prominent center of the buggy whip industry. To this day, the city is nicknamed the "Whip City." Other firms at the time engaged in the production of bicycles, paper products, boilers and radiators, textile machinery, abrasives, wood products, and precision tools. The establishment of industry in the community changed its character from agricultural to a thriving industrial city during the latter part of the 19th century.

Related Topics:
Massachusetts Colony - 1839 - 1920 - 1958 - Alluvial - 1800s - Buggy whip

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In the early 20th century, Westfield was at the center of the Pure Food movement, an effort to require stricter standards on the production of food. Edward B. Allyn lived in a house on Western Ave, where he was murdered. In 1906 Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906.

Related Topics:
Edward B. Allyn - 1906 - Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906

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