Wilbraham, Massachusetts
Location in Hampden County in Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°07′25″N 72°25′55″W / 42.12361, -72.43194
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Hampden
Settled	1730
Incorporated	1763
Government
- Type	Open town meeting
Area
- Total	22.4 sq mi (58.1 km²)
- Land	22.2 sq mi (57.5 km²)
- Water	0.2 sq mi (0.5 km²)
Elevation	290 ft (88 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	13,473
- Density	606.3/sq mi (234.1/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	01095
Area code(s)	413
FIPS code	25-79740
GNIS feature ID	0619390
Website: http://www.wilbraham-ma.gov/

Wilbraham is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is also a suburb of the City of Springfield, Massachusetts The population was 13,473 at the 2000 census.

Part of the town comprises the census-designated place of Wilbraham.

History

Wilbraham was first settled in 1731 along with what is now Hampden, Massachusetts as the Fourth District of Springfield. It was officially incorporated as the independent "Wilbraham" in 1763, when its population was about 400. ^[1][2]

The Wilbraham town center is among the largest designated historical areas in the country, with fine examples of colonial and Victorian homes From as early as the 1730s along the historical areas of main street. The oldest Methodist meeting house in New England is located in the town's center, as is the campus of Wilbraham & Monson Academy, founded in 1804.

Wilbraham is also the home of Friendly's. Although this restaurant and ice cream corporation was started in Springfield, Massachusetts, it is currently headquartered in Wilbraham. On the Massachusetts Turnpike, hedges along the side of the "Pike" have been trimmed to welcome drivers to "Wilbraham, home of Friendly's Ice Cream."

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 22.4 square miles (58.1 km²), of which, 22.2 square miles (57.5 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²) of it (0.89%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 13,473 people, 4,891 households, and 3,873 families residing in the town. The population density was 606.3 people per square mile (234.1/km²). There were 5,048 housing units at an average density of 227.2/sq mi (87.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.40% White, 1.19% Black or African American, 0.06% Native American, 1.26% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.25% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.40% of the population.

There were 4,891 households out of which 37.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.7% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.8% were non-families. 17.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 27.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $65,014, and the median income for a family was $73,825. Males had a median income of $55,600 versus $36,922 for females. The per capita income for the town was $29,854. About 3.2% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.5% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.

Notable residents

• NHL Hockey Star and US Olympian Bill Guerin
• NASCAR driver Erin Crocker.

References

1. ^ A Brief History of Wilbraham, from Wilbraham Bicentennial program, 1963
2. ^ http://www.wilbraham-ma.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=134
3. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of Hampden County, Massachusetts Cities Agawam | Chicopee | Holyoke | Springfield | West Springfield | Westfield Towns Blandford | Brimfield | Chester | East Longmeadow | Granville | Hampden | Holland | Longmeadow | Ludlow | Monson | Montgomery | Palmer | Russell | Southwick | Tolland | Wales | Wilbraham CDPs Bondsville | Holland | Monson Center | Palmer | Three Rivers | Wilbraham Villages Feeding Hills | Forest Park