They area of Mittineague was first settled in 1739. The area was not highly valued until a railroad from Worcester, MA to Boston was extended to Albany through Mittineague creating opportunities for industrial development, primarily the manufacturing of paper. The mills and the Great Famine (Ireland) brought many Irish immigrants who developed Mittineague into a thriving village within West Springfield. . Between 1850 and 1860 the population of the town nearly doubled. The Agawam Paper Co., the Mittineague Paper Co., the Strathmore Paper Co., the Worthy Paper Co.and the Southworth Paper Co. were the most prominent of the mills found along the banks of Mittineague Falls.