On this very hot and humid July day, I passed through a few neighborhoods in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, located in Hampden County in the Pioneer Valley. This small town of approximately 16,000 borders Springfield, MA and has lots of really nice homes. You'll see such styles as Colonial Revival, Federal, English Cottage, as well as Tudor style. Lots of beautiful brick structures with slate roofs. There's some modern architecture placed in at random too, so look out for those. You'll see a wide variety of architectural styles. So many are truly historical. Most notably the old colonial homes on Route 5 built in the 1700's and 1800's, which is the Historic District. Many of these have large lawns and are set back a ways from the street, probably because when they were built originally on the farmland that's how the land was divided up and or purchased. Some other residences have hedges and landscaping that obscures much of the view for privacy reasons. I respected that and didn't press onto the properties too much. There's definitely more to the town than what I filmed, but I just captured the areas I liked the most house wise and what I thought viewers would like to see.
In 1636, Puritan leader William Pynchon lead an expedition up the Connecticut River and came across the meadow land near the river that appeared ideal for farming and grazing. Also, rich in beaver, whose pelts were in big demand in Europe at the time. Pynchon drew up an agreement with the Agawam Indians to purchase the land known to the Indians as “Masacksic” or “the long meadow”. The land was used as a common pasture with most landowners living in Springfield. Houses slowly started getting built around 1649 and a community separate from Springfield started to form in the early 1700’s. In 1783 Longmeadow was incorporated as the first community in the newly formed Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The town remained relatively pastoral until the street railway was built circa 1896, linking Springfield through Longmeadow to Connecticut, which borders on the south. Then the population tripled over a 15 year period. Today it still preserves the original historic properties, upscale neighborhoods and overall pleasant aura of the environment. Although the area consists of mainly residential homes, Longmeadow also features two private parochial schools, an all women’s university and two country clubs. Unquestionably this town is one of the nicest in this half of the state!
FEATURES:
0:00 Forest Glen Rd
2:23 Park Dr
2:46 Colony Rd
4:09 Greenwich Rd
5:26 Park Dr
8:52 Picknelly Estate
11:18 Normandy Rd
11:48 E Greenwich Rd
13:02 Normandy Rd
13:35 Modern home
14:10 Brittany Rd
14:39 E Greenwich Rd
15:28 Park Dr
15:44 Modern home 2
16:20 Colony Rd
19:57 Greenwich Rd
20:40 Laurel St
21:33 Hazelwood Ave
22:12 S Park Ave
22:57 Pastel house
23:54 Englewood Rd
25:44 Route 5
26:56 Meadowbrook Rd
28:54 Bay Path College
29:20 Historic District
30:28 Brewer-Young mansion
31:17 Longmeadow St
35:20 Birnie Rd
35:51 Mayfair Dr
36:38 Crescent Rd
38:26 Longmeadow St
43:12 First Church of Christ
43:27 Town Accountant
44:14 Storrs House & Library
45:31 Longmeadow Cemetery
46:08 Tennyson Dr
48:00 Shaker Rd
48:14 Woodsley Rd
50:12 Overlook Rd
52:17 Ardsley Rd
56:40 Modern home 3