The region of the Connecticut River Valley was first inhabited by Englishmen in 1633 by virtue of a post established at Windsor by traders from the Plymouth Plantation. Very shortly it became subject to rival claims on the part of New Netherland, the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Plymouth Colony. The Massachusetts Bay men explored the overland route to the "Great River." In 1635-36, a warehouse and wharf, for purposes of trading with the Indians, was constructed in nearby Agawam. Out of this "trading post" grew Springfield, which later evolved into West Springfield, whose third Parish, called North Parish, or "Ireland Parish," became Holyoke. Holyoke was first settled in 1745 and was officially incorporated in 1850.
Population and Economy
Holyoke had few inhabitants until the construction of a dam and the Holyoke Canal System in 1849, and the subsequent construction of water-powered mills, particularly paper mills. At one point over 25 paper mills were in operation in the city, and the population exploded from 4,600 in 1885 to over 60,000 in 1920. As an early planned industrial town, its rectilinear street grid is noteworthy in a region where few streets are parallel or even straight. This street hierarchy is seen as a potential economic development tool as it lends well to high-rise buildings, and the surrounding canals could be landscaped into a source of recreation and relaxation.
The retail sector is a major employer in the city since the Holyoke Mall, one of the largest shopping malls in New England, opened in 1979, as well as the nearby Holyoke Crossing shopping center. This has also provided the city with a large and steady tax base, contributing over millions of dollars in taxes annually.
Always a city of working-class immigrants, the first wave of mill workers was predominantly Irish, and Holyoke is still home to the second-largest St. Patrick's Day parade in the United States, surpassed only by the New York City parade. Held annually since 1952 on the Sunday following St. Patrick's Day, the parade draws thousands of people from across the region and nation. In the 1850s, mills began to recruit French-Canadians. Later waves of immigration and migration led to significant communities of Germans, Poles, French, and then, starting in the 1950s, Puerto Ricans, and other Latino groups.