Early history

In the mid-17th century, pioneering English explorers moving up the Connecticut River Valley in search of fertile farmlands and game discovered the area and settled Southwick. It became a farming community, defined as the Southern (South-) village (-wick) part of the town of Westfield, Massachusetts. Early on, it was nicknamed "Poverty Plains" because the land was thought to be infertile. Its first residential home was built by Samuel Fowler and his wife Naomi Noble on what is now College Highway (US 202 and MA 10), about a quarter-mile north of the current town center.

In colonial times, church attendance was mandatory. The 800 Christian residents of Southwick in the 1760–1770s were required to travel to Westfield to congregate. Only by establishing their own church community could they establish their own parish, as they desired. On November 7, 1770, Southwick was incorporated as a separate district of Westfield. The area of Southwick became somewhat smaller in 1770. The southernmost portion of Southwick joined Suffield, Connecticut, as the result of a simultaneous secession of citizens in that part of the village.

Independence

Southwick became a fully independent town in 1770. The town remained divided until 1793, when Massachusetts claimed the area (known as the "jog"). A border dispute continued until 1804, when the current boundary was established through a compromise between Connecticut and Massachusetts. As a result of this border resolution, Southwick is the southernmost town in western Massachusetts.

A stake marks the southernmost point in the "Southwick jog" of the Massachusetts-Connecticut boundary. Seen from East Street in Granby, CT.

Early 1800s

In the early 19th century, the Farmington Canal and the Hampshire and Hampden Canal were built to link New Haven, Connecticut to Northampton, Massachusetts through Southwick. Irish immigrants came to the area to labor on this project. Developers spoke of Southwick's potential, calling it the "Port of the World." Farmers worried that the canal would drain the area's lakes. It was reported that citizens would kick in the banks to damage the canal. Traces of the canal can still be found in the Great Brook and Congamond Lakes area. Due to winter freezing, summer drought, and wildlife impact (beaver dams, etc.), the canal was phased out in favor of a railroad. Laflin-Phelps Homestead was built soon after the area was settled and remains the oldest standing structure in Southwick.

Completed in the late 1840s, the New Haven and Northampton Company's railroad was built alongside the canal. With the railroad came the ice industry and tourist resorts around the Congamond Lakes (which were named Wenekeiamaug by the previous Native peoples). Several ornate hotels and dance halls were built as well as a small amusement park. During the Industrial Era, summer vacationers and day-trippers would escape to Southwick from cities connected by the Northeast Railroad Corridor including New York City, Albany, Boston, Worcester, Hartford, and especially Springfield. There was a special stop near the lakes where visitors would disembark to swim and/or pile into canopied pleasure boats.

During WWI and WWII, trains loaded with soldiers would pass through town. It has been noted that local girls would gather letters thrown by the soldiers from the train and forward them to the intended recipients at the post office. The last train to pass along these tracks was around 1976. As of 2022, the old railway was converted into a rail trail leading to Granby, Connecticut known as the Farmington Canal Rail Trail.

All of Southwick's grand hotels and ornate train stations have since been torn down. Babb's Roller Skating Rink on the Suffield side of Congamond Lakes is all that remains of the amusement park.

Tobacco farming

The farmland of Southwick is well-suited to grow tobacco,^[2] which is widely grown as a cash crop.

Ice harvesting

Ice collected from the Congamond Lakes was once stored in large ice houses in blocks and delivered via railway for food storage from New York City to Boston before electric refrigerators were widely available.

Government

Select Board (formerly called Board of Selectmen)

• Doug Moglin, Chairman
• Jason Perron, Vice-Chairman
• Diane Gale, Clerk

Library

The Southwick Free Public Library was established in 1892.^[16][17] In fiscal year 2008, the town of Southwick spent 2.03% ($316,544) of its budget on its public library—approximately $33 per person, per year ($43.49 adjusted for inflation to 2022).^[18]