Transportation

Hampden is one of sixteen towns in Massachusetts that has no numbered highways or state routes. Of these, half are on the islands, and one is the North Shore town of Nahant. Of the rest, Hampden is the easternmost town to have this distinction. In fact, the town does not even have stoplights. The nearest state route, Route 83, just misses the town by less than a tenth of a mile. The town lies 10 miles (16.1 km) south of two exits of Interstate 90

Massachusetts Turnpike

The Massachusetts Turnpike is the easternmost stretch of Interstate 90. The Turnpike begins at the western border of Massachusetts in West Stockbridge connecting with the Berkshire Connector portion of the New York State Thruway...

, and approximately 9 miles (14.5 km) east of Interstate 91

Interstate 91

Interstate 91 is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It provides the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of New England...

. There are no means of mass transportation in the town. The nearest rail service is in Springfield, and the nearest national air service is at Bradley International Airport

Bradley International Airport

Bradley International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located in Windsor Locks on the border with East Granby and Suffield, in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is owned by the State of Connecticut....

 in Connecticut.

Climate

Winters are variable, sometimes fairly mild, with days in the 30's, and sometimes rather cold. A record cold temperature of -40 degrees Fahrenheit (-40 °C) was recorded at the Hampden Post Office, and at other points in the village of Hampden, on an early morning in January, 1960. In late July, 2006, the temperature reached 100 degrees on a hot afternoon. These are the known recent extremes of temperature in Hampden. On March 14, 1995, after several snowstorms and little melting, a snow depth of 28" was recorded. However, some winters there is little snow. In the summer there are hot and humid periods, which alternate with warm and dry periods.

Demographics

As of the census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 5,171 people, 1,818 households, and 1,463 families residing in the town. The population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 263.3 people per square mile (101.7/km²). There were 1,846 housing units at an average density of 94.0 per square mile (36.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.32% White, 0.17% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.27% from other races

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 0.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.64% of the population.

There were 1,818 households out of which 37.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.6% were married couples

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.5% were non-families. 16.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 28.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $65,662, and the median income for a family was $75,407. Males had a median income of $49,320 versus $30,870 for females. The per capita income

Per capita income

Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the town was $26,690. About 1.4% of families and 2.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.4% of those under age 18 and 3.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Hampden's Government consists of a 3 member Board of Selectmen, which also doubles as the Board of Health. There is a Planning Board, Conservation Committee, Board of Assessors, Park and Recreation Board, and various other boards and committees common to town governments throughout New England. Hampden's Board of Selectmen is currently composed of Chairman Vincent Villamaino, Selectman John Flynn and Selectman Richard Green.

Library

The Hampden Public Library opened in 1891. For a short time in 2005 and 2006, the town library and senior center were closed down after budget increases were voted for the school district within the main budget, but the existing library and senior center funding was put on a property tax increase override vote, which failed. Because of this, although residents could read and research at neighboring libraries, town residents could no longer borrow books from many libraries in other towns. The library and senior center were reopened in the summer of 2006. In fiscal year 2008, the town of Hampden spent 0.85% ($76,862) of its budget on its public library—some $14 per person.

Education

Green Meadows School opened in 1956. Also, in 1956, Hampden joined with the neighboring town of Wilbraham in a unified school district for grades 9-12. The two towns built Minnechaug Regional High School

Minnechaug Regional High School

Minnechaug Regional High School is a public high school located in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, and has a student population of approximately 1,400. It is the flagship school of the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District. The current principal is Mr. Stephen Hale...

 in Wilbraham, which opened in 1959. Thorton W. Burgess Middle School was built in 1967. Hampden joined Wilbraham in unifying the school district throughout all grades in 1995.

Places of worship

Hampden has three churches: Baptist

Baptist

Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

, Roman Catholic, and Federated which is the (combined United Church of Christ, Congregational

United Church of Christ

The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition but also historically influenced by Lutheranism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC...

  and United Methodist).
A Roman Catholic Church named St.Mary's.
The Bethlehem Baptist Church has particularly grown in attendance in recent years and is contemplating a new location.

Points of interest

• The former site of Laughing Brook Wildlife Sanctuary, which was home of author Thornton Burgess
  Thornton Burgess
  Thornton Waldo Burgess was a conservationist and author of children's stories. Burgess loved the beauty of nature and its living creatures so much that he wrote about them for 50 years in books and his newspaper column, "Bedtime Stories". He was sometimes known as the Bedtime Story-Man...
  
  .
• Minnechaug Mountain: Hiking trails and nature walks on a town owned reserve. Parking at the trailhead on South Rd.
• Algonquin Trail: Also known as the old "Boy Scout Trail", or the "Ridge Trail", it traverses the town from north to south. Goes through the Minnechaug Mtn. reserve. It is fragmented in some areas, but as of 2008, it is being marked and improved, and should connect with other regional trail systems through the towns of Wilbraham, MA, and Somers, CT, sometime in the future.
• Mountain View (also known as Snappy's, Sullivan's, and Sully's): A popular restaurant to Hampden and Springfield area residents during the summer (also in late spring). It includes an indoor diner and an outdoor order window, complete with picnic tables.
• Hollow Road: A notorious, thought to be haunted road between Hampden, and the neighboring town of Wilbraham, MA. The road is closed on the Wilbraham side.
• Tall Pines: adult community.

External links

• Town of Hampden