About
Chicopee
Chicopee is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States of America. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2007 census, the city had a total population of 54,653, making it the second largest city in Western Massachusetts. The current mayor is Michael D. Bissonnette.
The city is made up of several neighborhoods, the result of the city's origin as a collection of villages in the northern-most part of Springfield, which it seceded from in 1848. These villages are now represented by the neighborhoods of Aldenville, Willimansett, Chicopee Center (Cabotville), Chicopee Falls, and Fairview.
The city has since filled in most of its open space resulting in a number of new neighborhoods. These neighborhoods include Chicomansett (often referred to as part of Willimansett, this area is located at the southern intersection of Meadow and Chicopee Streets northward to Meetinghouse Road), Ferry Lane (an offshoot of Chicomansett surrounding Ferry Lane), Sandy Hill (the area overlooking Chicopee Center, connecting Cabotville and Aldenville), and the geographically isolated Burnett Road neighborhood.
Chicopee uses the nickname “Crossroads of New England” as part of a business-development marketing campaign. The name reflects the city's convenient location amongst a number of metropolitan areas and its transportation network. Chicopee is located 29 miles away from Hartford, 92 miles away from Boston, 90 miles from Albany, and 140 miles from New York City. Four highways run through its boundaries: I-90, I-91, I-291, and I-391. State routes such as Route 33, 116, and 141, are major providers of regional linkage. The city is home to Westover Metropolitan Airport and is also served by Bradley International Airport in nearby Windsor Locks, Connecticut. Westover Air Reserve Base, was built here in 1940. It has one of the largest runways on the east coast at 11,597 x 301 feet (92 m).
Reflecting the Polish background of many of its residents, a number of Polish-American businesses are based in Chicopee. These include the Chicopee Provision Company,a major producer of Polish sausage kielbasa under the Blue Seal brand and Millie's Pierogi Company, a producer of traditional Polish dumplings pierogi. Chicopee held an annual kielbasa festival at the Fairfield Mall (now the site of Chicopee Crossing on Memorial Drive) until the mid 1990's. The festival featured the World's Largest Kielbasa for a number of years (several times the city's kielbasa lost to a kielbasa in Krakow, Poland).
