Talk:Chicopee, Massachusetts

Ethnic makeup of Chicopee

"Chicopee is equally divided between a large Polish-American community and a large French American community."

What does "equally divided" mean? 50/50? Cite? No one else of any other ethnic/national heritage lives in Chicopee? I think readers are owed a clarification here. Ripogenus77 23:49, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

First U.S. built automobile

It is generally accepted that the Duryea brothers built the first automobile in the USA and that this happened in Chicopee. They called their car a "Ladies Phaeton" and presented it to the public on September 21, 1893 in Chicopee. (Georgano, G. N. Cars: Early and Vintage, 1886-1930; London: Grange-Universal, 1985; and Kimes, Beverly Rae [editor] and Clark, Henry Austin, jr., The Standard Catalogue of American Cars 1805-1942 , 2nd edition, Krause Publications [1989], ISBN 0-87341-111-0). --Chief tin cloud (talk) 10:08, 6 July 2010 (UTC)

The "Lady's Phaeton" was, following the above mentioned sources, a unique car with a single cylinder engine. The Duryea Motor Wagon came later. It had a 4 cylinder engine and was introduced in 1895. Production started in 1896 in it's own factory in 1896 with an output of 13 cars. This makes it the first production automobile - and the cite the first automobile factory in the USA, but sources (including "American Auto Factory (Automotive History and Personalities)" - Hardcover (Nov. 14, 2002) by Barney Olsen and Joseph Cabadas) mention it having been built in Springfield, Massachusetts. --Chief tin cloud (talk) 10:23, 6 July 2010 (UTC)

Elementary schools. Szetela was an Elementeary school from grades Kindergarten thru 3rd Grade at least thru 1967. In what year it became an "Early Childhood Development Center" I do not know. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mycroft 514 (talk • contribs) 22:01, 9 September 2012 (UTC)

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WikiProject Greater Springfield

Hi all-
Because of the breadth of history, geography, culture, and other details which tie into Springfield, Holyoke, and Chicopee, I am currently proposing the creation of a Wikiproject under WikiProject Massachusetts, not unlike WikiProject Boston or WikiProject Lowell. Since this page receives far more views than Greater Springfield I figured I would leave this here. There are so many primary resources out there on this area's history, economy, culture, that I think it would be useful to have a single location to discuss using them for building and improving multiple related pages. If you're interested, please leave some support here.
--Simtropolitan (talk) 18:01, 31 May 2017 (UTC)

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Review of Tags, help identifying sources

Hi all, it may be helpful to pump the brakes a little and review tagged and uncited content, just to make sure that helpful, verifiable content in this article is not lost to deletions. I am a little worried about the overlapping edits this article has seen. I think this type of discussion could help coordinate improvements in the near future.

I know there are have been many contributors on this article like me, who live near this city and have access to sources that far-afield contributors don't, but it's clear that locals do not have sufficient time to improve this article alone.

Summary: The article's History and Neighborhood sections will be the most difficult to verify and require the most work if they're going to be included in the article. The Culture and Parks & Rec sections are accurate, but need citations.

History

• "The city is named after the Chicopee River." - We know from surviving maps and deeds that the name of the river predates the name of the city and its villages. Many secondary sources prior to Wikipedia make the claim that the city is named for the river. I have included some of these sources in the Etymology section. If I recall, Szetela's History of Chicopee (1949) includes this claim.
• "According to local historian Charles J. Seaver, the area above the falls was first settled in 1660...[full paragraph]" - Seaver was a local politician and businessman, but I'm not aware of him writing any books or being a historian. Given that this claim conflicts with other reliable sources, I'm concerned about this paragraph's accuracy, including the transcriptions and translations of indigenous place names.
• "Colonists built a sawmill as the first industrial site along the river..." - A sawmill was one of the first buildings in Chicopee, based on early maps and few scant sources, but I haven't verified the date or these names. Again concerned about translations of place names.
• "In 1786, what was called Factory Village began to develop when..." - Factory Village was where Chicopee Falls is now. Unable to verify that development began in 1786 or other details. Shlakman (1935) and various issues of Skipmunk (local history journal that ran c. 1970s) may provide answers.
• "In 1823, Jonathan Dwight purchased the water privilege at Skenungonuck Falls in Chicopee..." - 1823 is accurate, but less able to verify the names and stats. 1831 is slightly off, as the second dam wasn't finished until c. 1832-1833, according to the deeds. Chicopee, Holyoke, and South Hadley libraries may be of help. Paragraph should be edited for style.
• "Before and after the partition, eight Chicopee River companies..." - I think I recognize this one of the historical markers in the city. Would be good to find the marker's source, and edit this paragraph for style.
• "On April 18, 1890, the community was granted a charter as a city by the Massachusetts General Court. George Sylvester Taylor (1822–1910) became Chicopee's first mayor on January 5, 1891." - First date may be in the city's act of incorporation. Second date is in the municipal register for 1891.
• "Westover Field was created by a war-readiness appropriation..." - Unclear of sources, but most if not all of these dates are accurate.
• "In 1991, St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Church..." - I think is based on the parish's website. May be good to move this elsewhere in the article.
• "Chicopee adopted the motto "Industriae Variae", which means "Various Industries"." - from city website
• "Chicopee's industries included cotton mills, woolen mills..." - Not sure where this comes from, possibly from Lynch (2013), Shlakman (1935), Szetela (1949), The Republican. Holyoke Canal Tours is likely aware of reliable sources on this topic that I'm not.

Neighborhoods

Nearly all is uncited and hard to verify. Chickuppy magazine (a local history magazine tha ran c. 1970s-1990s), Skipmunk and HJM (Historical Journal of Massachusetts) may help.

Culture

• Great New England Air Show - This has a website and is widely covered in local news, easily verifiable.
• Sword Game - Again, a widely covered event in local news, easily verifiable. I believe I have seen the sword.
• Sites sub-section - Nearly all is uncited, but fairly easy to verify through contemporary maps, city website, historical markers, MHC, but I believe sources are scattered. Holyoke Canal Tours is likely aware of reliable sources on these as well. Most of this information about Westover should be edited for concision, moved elsewhere in the article, or moved to a different article.

Parks and recreation

• Frank J. Szot Memorial Park - City website would be a good start. There is significant local news coverage, given this site's use for community events and in the 1961 International Soccer League.
• Chicopee Memorial State Park - A contact at DCR recently provided documentation of the site's facilities, history and notability. Most of it won't fit here, but it's helpful given that I've found very few reliable sources about this park.

Government

• "Chicopee has a mayor-council form of government, with a City Council for its legislative branch and a Mayor for its executive branch." Self-evident, given everything else in the article and online.

Education

• College of Our Lady of the Elms - Some of this info may be on the college's website, at the Alumnae Library. Oral history interviews with faculty emeriti are also floating around online.
• Private schools - Most of what's here is likely on diocese and parish websites. Articles covering the closure of these schools may specify which are still open as well.

Wswoo22 (talk) 17:29, 23 October 2024 (UTC)