Chicopee, MA

Chicopee adopted the motto “Industriae Variae,” meaning “Various Industries,” after growing around several mill communities along the Chicopee River. In the nineteenth century it had the nation’s first producer of friction matches, while Ames Manufacturing became a major Union Army supplier of cannon, swords, and cutlasses. The city also produced the Duryea, identified as the first gasoline-powered automobile made in the United States. At 55,560 residents in 2020, Chicopee was western Massachusetts’s second-largest city after Springfield. The Chicopee River crosses the southern city before entering the Connecticut River. Westover Air Reserve Base dates to 1940, and the adjoining airport handles both military and civilian operations. Polish-American food manufacturers and the World Kielbasa Festival reflect another part of the city’s history.