Holyoke, Massachusetts
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Holyoke is a city located in Hampden County, Massachusetts, on the banks of the Connecticut River. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 39,838. The current mayor is Michael Sullivan.
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History
Holyoke was first settled in 1745 and was officially incorporated in 1850. One of the first planned industrial towns, its rectilinear street grid is noteworthy in a region where few streets are parallel or even straight. Named after Elizur Holyoke, who explored the area in 1660, Holyoke had few inhabitants until the completion of a dam in 1849 and the arrival of mills, particularly paper mills. At one point over 25 paper mills were in operation in the city, and the population exploded from 4600 in 1885 to over 60,000 in 1920. As manufacturing became an ever-shrinking part of the American economy, however, Holyoke's fortunes took a turn for the worse. Today, Holyoke is the poorest city in Massachusetts, with 50.0% of schoolchildren living below the poverty line.
It is home to the Holyoke Mall, one of the biggest malls in New England.
On February 9, 1895, William G. Morgan invented volleyball at a YMCA in Holyoke. It is also sometimes claimed that basketball shares volleyball's Holyoke origins, but, nonetheless, the credit goes to neighboring Springfield.
Geography
Holyoke is located at 42°12'11" North, 72°37'26" West (42.203191, -72.623969)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 59.1 km² (22.8 mi²). 55.1 km² (21.3 mi²) of it is land and 4.0 km² (1.5 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 6.70% water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 39,838 people, 14,967 households, and 9,474 families residing in the city. The population density is 722.5/km² (1,871.4/mi²). There are 16,210 housing units at an average density of 294.0/km² (761.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 65.76% White, 3.71% African American, 0.38% Native American, 0.81% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 26.41% from other races, and 2.81% from two or more races. 41.38% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Holyoke has the highest concentration of Puerto Ricans of any city in the world outside Puerto Rico. Always a city of working-class immigrants, the first wave of mill workers was predominantly Irish, and Holyoke still has a major St. Patrick's Day parade every year. In the 1850s, mills began to recruit French-Canadians, who were viewed as more docile and less likely to form labor unions. Later waves of immigration led to significant communities of Poles and then, starting in the 1950s, the Puerto Ricans who dominate today.
There are 14,967 households out of which 33.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.5% are married couples living together, 22.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% are non-families. 30.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 13.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.57 and the average family size is 3.23.
In the city the population is spread out with 29.5% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 88.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 81.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $30,441, and the median income for a family is $36,130. Males have a median income of $34,849 versus $26,652 for females. The per capita income for the city is $15,913. 26.4% of the population and 22.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 41.7% of those under the age of 18 and 13.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
External links
- City of Holyoke Website (http://www.holyoke.org/)
- Holyoke, MA History (http://www.holyokemass.com)