Along the Banks of the Chicopee River

Long before English settlement, the Chicopee River and its surrounding waterways shaped life in what is now Wilbraham. For Native American communities, rivers and streams were essential to survival. They provided fish and attracted game, supplied fresh water for daily use, and enriched nearby soils that supported crops such as corn, beans, and squash. Waterways also served as natural travel corridors, allowing people to move, trade, and communicate across great distances. Beyond their practical importance, rivers carried spiritual and cultural meaning and were often regarded as sacred. As a result, Native American settlements were commonly located near water, a pattern that influenced the region for generations.

The Chicopee River by the "Dug Way" Old Meeting House Museum

One of the earliest known written references connecting Wilbraham to the Chicopee River appears in a 1778 entry by Samuel Warner, the precinct clerk. In his record dated May 1, 1778, Warner noted that the body of a man was discovered in the river between Ludlow and Wilbraham. A jury of inquest was convened to investigate the death, and the finding suggested that a serpent or similar cause was believed to have led to the man’s demise. Though brief and plainly recorded, the entry shows that the Chicopee River was already an established geographic reference in Wilbraham’s earliest official records.

The Chicopee River itself is the product of powerful natural forces dating back to the end of the last Ice Age. Between roughly 15,000 and 20,000 years ago, glaciers covered much of Massachusetts, carving valleys and reshaping the landscape. As the ice retreated, immense volumes of meltwater flowed through these low areas, cutting channels that became rivers. The Chicopee emerged as a major drainage route, fed by the Quaboag, Ware, and Swift Rivers, all shaped by glacial melt. Temporary lakes, flooding, and erosion further deepened the river valley, leaving fertile sand and silt along its banks and gradually forming the stable river course seen today.

The name “Chicopee” comes from a Native American word commonly interpreted as meaning “violent waters” or “place of the wild goose,” a reference to the river’s strong current and rapids. Though the river measures only about eighteen miles in length, it plays an outsized role in the region. Flowing from the village of Three Rivers in Palmer to the Connecticut River, it passes through Wilbraham, Ludlow, and the Indian Orchard section of Springfield. Its drainage basin, covering more than 700 square miles, is the largest tributary basin feeding the Connecticut River in Massachusetts.

Upstream, the Swift River is now dammed by the Quabbin Reservoir, which supplies drinking water to eastern Massachusetts and to the City of Chicopee through the Chicopee Valley Aqueduct. Downstream, the Chicopee River’s steep descent, dropping about 260 feet over its short length, made it especially attractive for water-powered industry. By comparison, the Connecticut River drops only about fifty feet over a much longer distance. This sharp fall led to the construction of numerous mills and, eventually, hydroelectric dams. As of the early twenty-first century, six hydropower dams operate along the river, two of them located along the Wilbraham–Ludlow line: the Collins Hydro Dam near Cottage Avenue and the Red Bridge Dam off Red Bridge Road.

The Chicopee River formed Wilbraham’s entire northern boundary with Ludlow and was the town’s most substantial waterway. At Wilbraham’s northeastern corner lies a rare boundary point where four towns, Wilbraham, Ludlow, Belchertown, and Palmer, meet. A monument marking this junction stands on the hillside between Ludlow’s East Cemetery and the river.

Other important waterways also influenced the town’s development. The Scantic River flows through Hampden, once known as South Wilbraham, while Eleven Mile Brook, now called Twelve Mile Brook, runs through the northeastern section of Wilbraham.

Historically, two major bridges connected Wilbraham to Ludlow across the Chicopee River. The first stood on Red Bridge Road in the northernmost part of town and was Wilbraham’s oldest covered bridge, already in existence before 1836. The second crossing, long known as the Collins Covered Bridge, stood at the end of Cottage Avenue in North Wilbraham. Built around 1852 at a long-used ford, the site had served as a crossing point since colonial times. Earlier records suggest a pier bridge once stood there but was destroyed by flooding, prompting construction of the more substantial covered bridge.

The Collins Covered Bridge. Wilbraham Library

In the mid-twentieth century, the Massachusetts Turnpike added a modern crossing. Construction of the Turnpike began in January 1955, and by May 1957, traffic was flowing from West Stockbridge to the Boston area. The Turnpike bridge spanning the Chicopee River between Ludlow and Wilbraham marked a new chapter in the river’s long history of transportation and connection.

Industry along the Chicopee River developed gradually. One of the earliest enterprises was a sawmill located upstream from Put’s Bridge, likely operating before the 1830s. By the late nineteenth century, advances in technology made it possible to fully harness the river’s power. In 1872, a timber crib/stone dam was built, and the Collins Paper Company was established. It became the largest industry in North Wilbraham and played a significant role in the village’s growth.

Other businesses followed. The Cutler Company, a grain and milling operation founded in Ashland in 1839, relocated to Wilbraham in 1877 to take advantage of railroad access and water power. Its mill stood just west of the Collins Paper Mill. In 1901, a new dam was constructed upstream for Ludlow Manufacturing Associates, creating what is now known as Red Bridge Pool. This large impoundment, along with a secondary basin fed by Broad Brook, supported a complex hydroelectric system that included headgates, a power canal, and a brick powerhouse containing multiple generating units.

Red Bridge - Laying stone on the face of the dam, March 30, 1901. Hubbard Memorial Library

For a brief time, the river even carried passenger traffic. In July 1891, Peter Flibotte received permission to operate a steamboat named Chicopee River between Jenksville in Ludlow and Collins Depot in Wilbraham. The venture was short-lived; shallow water, sandbars, and rocks made navigation difficult, and the experiment was soon abandoned.

From its glacial origins to its role in Native American life, industry, transportation, and town boundaries, the Chicopee River has been a defining presence in Wilbraham’s history, a powerful and enduring force shaping the land and the lives along its banks.