page_title: West Springfield, Massachusetts
section_title: Independence from Springfield
hierarchical_section_title: West Springfield, Massachusetts / History / Independence from Springfield
caption_attribution_description: Josiah Day House, West Springfield, MA
context_page_description: West Springfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 28,391 at the 2010 census. The city is also known as "West Side", in reference to the fact that it is on the western side of the Connecticut River from Springfield, a fact which played a major part in the town's early history.
context_section_description: Given the continuing need to cross the Connecticut River to attend town meetings, and east–west tension over resource allocation, the west side residents petitioned the Massachusetts General Court to be incorporated as a separate town in 1756. After a particularly contentious town meeting in 1773 which bounced between meeting houses on opposite shores and nearly resulted in a year-long government shutdown, proposals for partition were eventually sent from both sides to the colonial legislature.  On 23 February 1774, West Springfield was incorporated as a separate town, with territory including what is now Agawam and most of Holyoke.
  Another dispute was immediately created when the charter of the town prevented it from taxing the property of Springfield residents within its boundaries.  This law was later changed to apply only until such property was sold, but the last such parcel did not become taxable by West Springfield until the 1860s.
caption: The Josiah Day House, built c. 1754, it is believed to be the oldest saltbox house made of brick in the United States; today tours are given by the Ramapogue Historical Society
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