The Town of Easthampton is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 15,994 at the 2000 census.

History
Easthampton was first settled by European immigrants beginning in 1664 and was originally considered part of Northampton, Massachusetts. In 1785, the village of Easthampton was formally named its own separate political entity, and 1809, it officially became a New England town.

The town grew primarily around the Manhan River, both through its phase as a strictly agricultural community and later, through the industrial revolution, when mills and factories were first built in Easthampton,...

The Town of Easthampton is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 15,994 at the 2000 census.

History
Easthampton was first settled by European immigrants beginning in 1664 and was originally considered part of Northampton, Massachusetts. In 1785, the village of Easthampton was formally named its own separate political entity, and 1809, it officially became a New England town.

The town grew primarily around the Manhan River, both through its phase as a strictly agricultural community and later, through the industrial revolution, when mills and factories were first built in Easthampton, mainly in connection with textile manufacturing and its offshoots. The first of these, the Williston-Knight Button Company, was established in 1847 by Samuel Williston, son of the townTs first minister, a Congregationalist church named Payson Williston. The company specialized in cloth-covered buttons " a coveted item at the time " and to facilitate the operation of the machinery, a local brook was dammed, creating Nashawannuck Pond. Other mills soon opened nearby, a number of them specializing in elastic and rubber thread manufacturing.

Following this spurt of industrial development, the townTs first high school and first national bank opened in 1864, and a town hall was built in 1869. Constables were replaced by the townTs first police officer in 1871, the same year that Easthampton became a regular stop on the railroad. The townTs public library opened in 1881, and 1895, the community was introduced to two new innovations, telephones and streetcars. With the influx of new residents came a number of new churches, founded for Roman Catholic Church, Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Lutheran, and Methodist parishioners, as well as a second Congregational church. In 1899, the West Boylston Manufacturing Company and the Hampton Company, both specializing in cloth production, moved to Easthampton, recruiting a larger immigrant labor force, particularly from Poland and French Canada.

During World War I, the townTs mills all obtained federal wartime contracts and did well financially, but long before the Great Depression hit, many factories owners were already laying off employees, seeking mergers with other companies, or looking for buyers for their facilities.