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Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, Berkshire, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Worcester

Massachusetts Counties

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Massachusetts Counties

Massachusetts consists of the 14 counties. Massachusetts has abolished seven of its fourteen county governments, leaving five Counties with county-level local government (Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Norfolk, Plymouth) and two, Nantucket County and Suffolk County, with combined county/city government.

Hampden County, Massachusetts

Hampden County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat:
Year Organized: 1812
Square Miles: 618

Court House:

, MA

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Possibly named for John Hampden (1595—1643), the famous 17th century English parliamentarian

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Hampden County is located in southwestern Massachusetts, with the state of Connecticut at its southern boundary; it was split from Hampshire County in 1812. Its largest city and county seat is Springfield

Like an increasing number of Massachusetts counties, Hampden County exists today only as a historical geographic region, and has no county government. All former county functions were assumed by state agencies in 1998.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 634 square miles (1,642 km²), of which, 618 square miles (1,602 km²) of it is land and 16 square miles (41 km²) of it (2.48%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

North: Hampshire County
Northeast: Worcester County
Southeast: Tolland County, Conn.
South: Hartford County, Conn.
Southwest: Litchfield County, Conn.
Northwest: Berkshire County

Cities and Towns:

- Agawam	city	Incorporated Area
- Blandford	town
- Brimfield	town
- Chester	town
- Chicopee	city	Incorporated Area
- East Longmeadow	town
- Granville	town
- Hampden	town
- Holland	town
- Holyoke	city	Incorporated Area
- Longmeadow	town
- Ludlow	town
- Monson	town
- Montgomery	town
- Palmer	town
- Russell	town
- Southwick	town
- Springfield	city	Incorporated Area
- Tolland	town
- Wales	town
- West Springfield	city	Incorporated Area
- Westfield	city	Incorporated Area
- Wilbraham	town

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."