Hampshire County (Massachusetts)
Hampshire County is a county located in the state of Massachusetts in the United States. The administrative headquarters ( County Seat) is Northampton. After the abolition of county government in 1999, the County exists only as a historical geographic region and serves some administrative purposes.
Government
As a small majority of counties in Massachusetts, Hampshire County now has no county government more. All previous tasks of the county were taken over by state authorities in 1999. The sheriff and some other regional officials with specific duties are still elected locally to perform tasks within the county. The communities now have greater autonomy and can conclude regional treaties in order to offer services together.
1900-1990
Geography
The county has an area of 1413 square kilometers, of which 42 square kilometers are water surface. It is bordered clockwise to the following counties: Franklin County, Worcester County, Hampden County and Berkshire County.
History
Hampshire County was formed in 1662 from the western part of Massachusetts.
Demography
According to the census in 2000 lived in Hampshire County 152 251 inhabitants in 55 991 households and 33 818 families. The population was made up of 91.10 percent White, 1.96 percent African American, 3.40 percent Asian, and 0.19 percent Native American. 3.42 percent of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The per capita income was 21 685 U.S. dollars; 5.1 percent of families and 9.4 percent of the population lived below the poverty line.
Cities and Towns
- Amherst
- Belchertown
- Chesterfield
- Cummington
- East Hampton
- Goshen
- Granby
- Hadley
- Hatfield
- Huntington
- Middlefield
- Northampton
- Pelham
- Plainfield
- South Hadley
- Southampton
- Westhampton
- Williamsburg
- Worthington