Northampton

City and seat of Hampshire County, in west-central Massachusetts, on the Connecticut River, 27 km/17 mi northwest of Springfield; population (2000 est) 29,000. It manufactures cutlery, wood products, paper, plastics, electronics, and optical instruments.

A centre of the Pioneer Valley region, Northampton was settled in 1654 by colonists moving north from Connecticut. By the 18th century, it had grown into a textile centre, manufacturing wool and silk. In the 19th century, it was home to a utopian community, the Northampton Association. US president Calvin Coolidge practised law in the town, served as its mayor 1910–11, and died here in 1933.

The women's liberal arts college Smith College (1871), associated with Harvard University, is situated in Northampton.

Northampton

Name of two settlements in Pennsylvania. The larger is a township in Bucks County, 26 km/16 mi north-northeast of Philadelphia; population (1990) 35,400. Its growing residential suburbs include Richboro (population 5,300). The smaller is a borough of Northampton County, situated on the Lehigh River, 10 km/6 mi north of Allentown in the east of the state; population 8,700. It produces furniture, paint, and ammunition, and is the site of Mary Immaculate Seminary.