Blandford, Massachusetts

Blandford is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,215 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts. It was the home of the Blandford Ski Area. The town contains the census-designated place of the same name.

History

Blandford was first settled in 1735 primarily by Scots-Irish settlers and was officially incorporated on November 10, 1741. Because of these Scots-Irish families, Blandford was originally called "New Glasgow" after Glasgow, Scotland, but was renamed "Blandford" at the time of incorporation. While the petition of incorporation from the settlers asked that the town be named "Glascow" (as misspelled in source document), William Shirley, the newly appointed governor of the province of Massachusetts, ignored their request and named the town "Blandford" after the ship that brought him from England.,

The name change came at a cost to the townspeople. The people of Glasgow, Scotland, had promised the settlers a gift of a church bell if they named the town after their city. With the town now named Blandford, the bell was never sent.

The last significant line built in Massachusetts, by the Berkshire Street Railway, was from East Lee to Huntington via Blandford, opening August 15, 1917. The Berkshire suspended service on this route in October 1918 for the winter months. It was never reopened when a request for operating subsidies from local communities was rejected. Today, the right of way for this line, including the ties for the rails, the bases of the wooden poles that carried the overhead electric lines, viaducts for carrying the trolleys over streams and gullies, and foundations for its buildings, can still be found in the forest—most easily around North Blandford. All of the town except for its southwest corner is part of the Westfield River watershed, although the river itself passes north and east of the town. The southwestern corner of Blandford drains via Otis Reservoir to the Farmington River, which like the Westfield is a tributary of the Connecticut River.

The Blandford town center is in the east-central part of the town, along Massachusetts Route 23. Via MA 23 and U.S. Route 20, Blandford is west of Springfield, the largest city in western Massachusetts. Pittsfield is to the northwest via local roads.

Points of interest

Porter Memorial Library (Massachusetts)

thumb|right|Blandford public library in 1899

The Porter Memorial Library is a public library, established in 1891. In fiscal year 2008, the town of Blandford spent 1.46% ($35,908) of its budget on its public library—approximately $28 per person.

Other points of interest

Blandford was home to the Blandford Ski Area, a small ski mountain opened by the Springfield Ski Club in 1936 until it closed on 2020. It was the oldest, continuously operating club-owned ski area in North America.
The Blandford Fairgrounds plays host to the annual Labor Day weekend Blandford Fair. Home to old fashioned agricultural exhibits and competitions, a fun filled midway, and many musical acts each year. This fair is made possible by the hard work of many volunteers each year.
South of the fairgrounds is a historic white church building that has just recently begun to host services.
The oldest cemetery adjacent to Route 23 includes gravesites for original settlers, some born in Ireland.
The Blandford Club, a private nine-hole golf course with tennis facilities, was established in 1909 and recently celebrated 100 years of operation. It is located at 17 North Street, right past the historic White Church of Blandford.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,214 people, 456 households, and 350 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 526 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.76% White, 0.49% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.25% Asian, and 0.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.33% of the population.

There were 456 households, out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.4% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.2% were non-families. Of all households 19.5% were made up of individuals, and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.1% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 31.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $52,935, and the median income for a family was $59,375. Males had a median income of $37,708 versus $32,917 for females. The per capita income for the town was $24,285. About 1.7% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.0% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

George Ashmun, born in Blandford, United States congressman from Massachusetts
Winifred E. Lefferts (also known as Winifred Lefferts Arms), painter, designer and philanthropist
Charles A. Taggart, awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Civil War