Southwick, Massachusetts, is a rural, farming, business, and residential community with a population of about 9,500. It is the southernmost town in western Massachusetts, approximately 10 miles from Springfield and 25 miles from Hartford, Connecticut. It's close proximity to these cities has generated significant demand for new housing. Southwick has an interesting history that dates back to the 17th century when English explorers moved in while looking for farmland. However, early on it became known as "Povery Plain", as the land was thought to be infertile. In the early 1800's a canal was built that went through Southwick, connecting New Haven, Connecticut, to Northampton, Massachusetts, at which point the developers nick-named Southwick the "Port of the World". But due to winter freezing and summer drought, the canal was soon replaced by the railroad. Along with the railroad came ornate hotels, dance halls and an amusement park around the Congamond Lake which allowed Southwick to become a very popular tourist resort. Today, although the dance halls and amusement park are gone, the town enjoys its status as a major recreational center due to Congamond Lake and Moto Cross 338. Photo of Southwick Congregational Church courtesy of Wikipedia and John Phelan, photo of View from Provin Mountain over the Southwick countryside (along the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail), courtesy of Wikipedia and 5ju989nfhs50, atLicensed under CC BY-SA 3.0/
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