"The Whip City" a Westfield Travel Page by atufft

Until 1725, Westfield was the westernmost town in Massachusetts Colony. Divided into a "Southside" and "Northside" by the Westfield River, an upper tributary of the Connecticut River, the town was originally settled by traders Connecticut concerned with the Pocomtuc tribe that had inhabited the area. Subsequent settlement was engaged in farming the alluvial soils of the Pioneer Valley, as this region just west of Springfield, MA became part of the Massachusetts Colony claim. Soon after American independence, Westfield became a center of industry for manufacture of bricks, cigars, and most famously, whips. At one point, Westfield was the buggy whip manufacturing capital of the world, having as many as 30 separate factories by 1865. Eventually, the town was fully engaged in industry, producing bicycles, paper products, boilers and radiators, textile machinery, abrasives, wood products, and precision tools. The city became an important rail stop in Massachusetts. After the invention of the automobile, buggy whips became obsolete, and after World War II, Westfield failed to compete within the global marketplace, and so the city center of mostly brick commercial buildings began a decline to the mostly quiet center that it is today. Fortunately, Westfield State College, established to train unemployed factory workers, and a number of food product distributors, help keep the city alive today, and there is an effort by the city to restore old buildings and improve the bridges that cross the river. Though not a major tourist center within the state, Westfield is certainly worth exploring for a few hours.