Information for Residents

Welcome to life in Northampton! Now that you live in Paradise City, these pages will connect you with community services and community organizations to help you feel at home.

Local Media

To keep up to date on local events and issues, be sure to follow the local media. Northampton's daily newspaper is the Daily Hampshire Gazette. The Republican published in Springfield, also covers local news and events. The Valley Advocate is a free weekly paper focusing on arts and entertainment. The Rainbow Times is a free newspaper for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender communities living in the area.

On the radio, WHMP, am1400, WRSI and WEIB broadcast from Northampton. WHMP will list all school and business closings due to winter weather and carry programs of local interest all year long. The local public radio station is WFCR.

Local television affiliates for ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS are located in Springfield and a FOX affiliate in Hartford. Comcast is the cable television provider serving Northampton.

Local Legends

Many well known people have made Northampton their home for at least part of their lives, or have enjoyed visiting "Paradise City." In fact, it was the Swedish Nightingale, Jenny Lind, who gave Northampton that nickname more than a century ago when she performed at the Academy of Music Theatre. Some of our famous neighbors have been immortalized here. You can visit President (and our former Mayor) Calvin Coolidge's bust in front of Memorial Hall on Main Street, just nearby to the monument to Revolutionary War hero Casimir Pulaski. Just down the block at Forbes Library, you can arrange to explore the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library Collection. In Florence, there is a bronze statue and small park dedicated to abolitionist and suffragist Sojourner Truth.

Many performers and artists have spent time in Northampton. MSNBC and AirAmerica Radio personality Rachel Maddow had her start on our own WHMP radio. Singer Bob Dylan gave a rare interview to 60 Minutes from his room at the Hotel Northampton. Poet Sylvia Plath taught at Smith College and some of her papers are collected in their library. Novelist Kurt Vonnegut lived here for a brief period, and painter Richard Yarde calls Northampton home. Leonard Baskin, one of the sculptors who created the Franklin D. Roosevelt memorial in Washington, D.C. also lived here. And of course, there was Sylvester Graham, the quirky 19th century vegetarian who invented the graham cracker. We hope you will enjoy finding out more about our city's history and charm and that you will grow to appreciate that we are all in good company here.

Who Do I Call...?

Not sure who to call for city services? If you don't find what you are looking for on these pages for residents, try our City Services pages. If you are still stumped, feel free to call the Mayor's Office (413.587.1249) and we will try to help you find the answer.