Formed January 1, 1662 (4th county)
Hampshire County (162,305), Northampton (29,567)
A grey concrete Modern courthouse built in 1976 replaced the very pleasant 1892 structure. The courthouse is on Gothic Street at Main Street. United States Highway 5 is one block to the east of the location. Drummey Rosane Anderson, Inc., are the architects. A 1931 Probate Courthouse is in Northampton and augmenting courthouses are in Belchertown and Hadley. The county was created on January 1, 1662 from Middlesex County as the 4th county with Northampton as the only county seat. The county is named for Hampshire, England. The county seat’s name comes from Hampton, England and being the northern Hampton. Hampshire County was the birthplace of 1 Massachusetts Governor, Caleb Strong.
Hampshire County doesn’t have a unified government as each township governs. Four District Court Judges and Three Probate/Juvenile Court Judges serve Hampshire County. Hampshire County is in western Massachusetts. Boston, Massachusetts is east and Hartford, Connecticut is south of the county. The county center is in Northampton 2.6 miles Northwest of the city center. The county is surrounded clockwise by Franklin, Worcester, Hampden, and Berkshire counties.
The area of the county is 529 square miles. It is 8 out of 14 in the state. It ranks 10 out of 14 in population in the state. It has a density of 306.8 persons per square mile making it 10 out of 14 in the state. Hampshire County has 52.4% of its population in its incorporated areas. Interstate Highway 91 crosses the county north to south from Franklin County to Hampden County. United States Highway 5 parallels Interstate Highway 91 from Franklin to Hampden counties. United States Highway 202 travels northeast to southwest from Franklin County to Hampden County. The county is shaped like a pony. Northampton is located slightly east of center in the county. Northampton is the county seat and the largest city. It is 18.2% of the county population. The county is pronounced HAMP-SHUR. This county is in the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Easthampton
Northampton
