Haberman Insurance proudly serves the personal and business insurance needs of the Wilbraham community. Whether you are in the market to find coverage for your business, or are a homeowner looking to protect your investment, our specialized insurance agents are here for you.
Wilbraham is a special place and to live and work and we love serving the great people in this town. Below, you can find some cool background information about awesome community!
Wilbraham, Massachusetts is located in Hampden County and is a suburb of neighboring Springfield. Its other neighboring towns include East Longmeadow, Ludlow, Hampden, Palmer, and Monson. Wilbraham covers 22.4 square miles and has a population of 14,800.
The Wilbraham Mountains cover much of the town. This range is a part of the Central Uplands of Massachusetts. The highest point in town is atop Mt. Chapin which reaches 937 feet. Mount Vision and Wigwam Hill are other notable peaks that lie within the town’s boundaries.
West of the mountains lies a flat area, which was once part of an inland sea. This area is a part of the Connecticut Valley Lowlands, and thus Wilbraham has land within two very distinct topographical areas of the state.
Wilbraham was first settled starting in 1675 as a part of Springfield. The town began to form in 1741, with the settlement of Nathaniel Hitchcock, and ten years later it was established as the fourth district of Springfield with approximately 30 families in the area. It was incorporated as a town in 1763, when the population numbered 400. At the time, it included the land that would become Hampden, which split off from Wilbraham in 1878.
Wilbraham was primarily an agricultural town, as was the case with many MA townships in this region. Until the early 1900s, sheep, cattle, fruit, and grains were the primary products. After 1930, turkey and other poultry rose to prominence.
The northern part of town was known as the industrial region, with textiles being the principal goods. Later, paper mills began to take over the area, with the Collins Manufacturing Company becoming the largest employer in the town. Following World War II, both agriculture and industry began to falter, and the residential communities flourished. Today, it is home to Friendly’s Ice Cream corporate headquarters, a fact denoted by carefully trimmed hedges on the side of the Massachusetts Turnpike.
Wilbraham, like much of Massachusetts, has a strong history of valuing education. Founded in 1804, the Wilbraham & Monson Academy is a private preparatory boarding and day school for high school students.
This academy is the combination of the Monson Academy, which began in 1804 and the Wesleyan Academy, which moved to Wilbraham in 1825 and was later renamed the Wilbraham Academy. It was the first coeducational boarding school in the country, as well as the first to enroll Chinese students. Today it attracts students from around the world.
The school has a strong history of diversity. In addition to welcoming both boys and girls and students from Asia, the Wilbraham & Monson Academy also welcomed black students even prior to the Civil War. In fact, the chapel on campus and other houses in Wilbraham were stations along the Underground Railroad, a passage designed to help slaves escape north to freedom.
Today, Wilbraham Massachusetts is primarily a residential suburb of Springfield, but maintains a foothold in both agriculture and industry. With a long tradition of diversity and its important role in the Underground Railroad, this town has much to be proud of.
