Wistariahurst Museum

                                    Once considered the Paper Capital of the World, and home to premier cotton and silk mills, the history of Holyoke, Massachusetts offers a microcosm of American industrial development. Founded in 1848 as one of the nation's first planned industrial cities, Holyoke attracted successive waves of Irish, French Canadian, German, Polish, Jewish, and Italian immigrants who worked in the mills, established small businesses, raised their families, and created communities defined largely by ethnic and religious affiliation. However, by the mid-twentieth century, Holyoke, like so many American cities, found its industrial base rapidly disappearing. In the 1960s the most recent wave of people began re-creating Holyoke. Puerto Rican migrant farm workers, attracted by jobs in Western Massachusetts, began settling in old tenement houses once inhabited by earlier immigrant groups.

Enjoy the past and the present as you experience interviews with local leaders, business owners, entrepreneurs, artists and young people in this new documentary on the City of Holyoke. DVD price $25 (includes shipping)

Wistariahurst Museum is a premier historical, educational and cultural site in Holyoke. Over the past decades, Wistariahurst has played a vital role in enriching the community. The fullfilment of our mission will happen through your gifts of time, talent and financial resources. Please consider contributing to our annual fund.