Holyoke

City in Hampden County, west-central Massachusetts, on the Connecticut River, 11 km/7 mi north of Springfield; population (1998 est) 41,000. The first town in the USA to manufacture paper, Holyoke also produces textiles, machinery, steel products, and electrical supplies. It is a part of the metropolitan area of Springfield–Holyoke. The city was incorporated in 1850.

Its first principal industry was cotton, although Holyoke was a small village until 1849. It rapidly became a thriving industrial centre, making paper, when a large dam was constructed to utilize the power of the South Hadley Falls on the Connecticut River; a second and larger dam replaced the first in 1900.

First called Ireland Parish, it was named after Captain Elizur Holyoke, the first European to explore the district in 1663. It has eight entries on the national register of historic places, contains the Holyoke Heritage State Park and is near the Hampton Ponds State Park. It is home to the Holyoke Community College (1966). Volleyball was invented here, and the Volleyball Hall of Fame opened in 1987.