Chicopee (MA) (Postcard History Series) - Softcover

Stephen R. Jendrysik

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0738537276 ISBN 13: 9780738537276

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing, 2005

Synopsis

These vintage postcards illustrate the significant role that manufacturing played in the day-to-day life of the blue-collar community of Chicopee River.

The original meaning of ""Chicopee"" is ""place where water rushes. In 1823, Jonathan Dwight purchased the water privilege at Skenungonuck Falls in Chicopee. Five years later, the textile mill had fourteen thousand spindles and nearly five hundred looms, making it the second-largest operation in Massachusetts. By 1831, there were two giant dams, two waterpower canals, and two manufacturing communities on the Chicopee River. During the next one-hundred years, eight Chicopee River companies gained product recognition around the globe: Ames, Belcher, Lamb, Dwight, Stevens, Spalding, Fisk, and Duryea. These vintage postcards illustrate the significant role that manufacturing played in the day-to-day life of this blue-collar community.

About this title

About the Author

Author Stephen R. Jendrysik is the president of the Edward Bellamy Memorial Association and a longtime member of Chicopee Historical Commission. He retired in 2003, completing a forty-year career in the Chicopee public schools. Depending almost entirely on private postcard collections, this historian's insightful comments capture the spirit of a community that works.

Edition details

• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0738537276
• ISBN 13: 9780738537276
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 128