Palmer, MA

Palmer is composed of four separate and distinct villages; Depot Village, (named for the ornate railroad terminal designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson), Thorndike, Three Rivers, and Bondsville. The villages began to develop their distinctive characters in the 18th century, and by the 19th century, two rail lines and a trolley line opened the town to population growth. Today, each village has it's own post office and fire department.

Palmer's first settler was John King. He built his home in 1716 on the banks of the Chicopee River. A large group of Scottish-Irish Presbyterians followed, arriving in 1727. In 1775, Massachusetts officially incorporated Palmer. Depot Village became Palmer's main commercial and business center during the late nineteenth century, and remains so today. Palmer's industry developed in Bondsville. During the 18th century, saw and grist mills were established by the rivers. By 1825, Palmer woolen mills began to produce textiles. Subsequently, Palmer's Blanchard Scythe Factory, Wright Wire Woolen Mills, and the Holden-Fuller Woolen Mills developed major industrial capacity, and constructed large amounts of workers housing. By 1900 companies Boston Duck, (which made heavy cotton fabric), housed over 500 employees in the town. The 20th century brought about a shift of immigrants from French and Scottish to primarily Polish and French-Canadians.

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