Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA
1854 - Holyoke

Holyoke, a post-village of Hampden county, Massachusetts, on the right bank of the Connecticut river, and on the Connecticut River railroad, 8 miles N. from Springfield, and 106 miles by railroad W. by S. from Boston. The Hadley Falls Company, chartered in April, 1848, with a capital of $4,000,000. have here constructed a dam across the Connecticut, and laid the foundations of a manufacturing city. The fall in the river at this place is 60 feet in three-quarters of a mile. The dam is 1018 feet between the abutments, and 30 feet high, and the hydraulic power thus rendered available is capable of being employed to an almost unlimited extent. Such is the conformation of the ground, that the water admitted to the canals can be used twice, the power being divided between two levels. The company have erected two mills, each 268 feet long, 68 wide, and 5 stories high, with spindles, looms, and other appurtenances, one for the manufacture of fine lawns, silks, &c, and the other for the production of heavy cotton goods. They also have a machine-shop, 448 feet by 60, and 3 stories high. The churches, dwellings, &c. are situated on a fine elevation, W. of the canals. This portion is handsomely laid out with streets intersecting each other at right angles, and contains a bank, a news paper office, and a hotel, 162 feet long, and 4 stories high. The village is supplied with water from the Connecticut river by forcing pumps, operated by hydraulic power. Population of the township, 3245.

A New and Complete Gazetteer of the United States: Giving a Full and Comprehensive Review of the Present Condition, Industry, and Resources of the American Confederacy ... Thomas Baldwin (of Philadelphia.) Joseph Thomas January 1, 1854 Philadelphia : Lippincott, Grambo & Company 1854.

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