3 Hollow Road, 01081
Tel 413-245-7571
Fax 413-245-3261
History
Wales was settled by colonists from
Brimfield and Springfield during the
mid-18th Century. Townspeople farmed
and made shoes and boots, and in the 19th
Century the Wales and the Shaw companies
made the town an important woolen producing
location. The jobs in the mills drew
immigrants from Ireland and French
Canada. Residents who didn't work in
the mills worked in market gardens, dairy
farms and woodlands, as some of them
continued to do today. The town center
retains a remarkable early 19th Century
character as a street village with several
stylish brick houses and a Greek revival
meeting house. Growth of the town in
modern times has been in the recreational
land around the Brimfield Forest and Lake George.
Town Facts
Population (2000): 1,737
Registered Voters (1996): 915
School Enrollment (1996): 332
Hampden County
Square Miles: 15.96
Public Road Miles (1996): 23.67
Median Family
Income (2000): $51,629
Tax Rate (2003): $17.57
