“Paper City”

8x8 Giclée Photograph

~At one point, more than 25 paper mills were in operation in Holyoke, annually producing the greatest tonnage of paper of any city in the world giving the city its nickname of “Paper City”. During the 1900’s, there were more millionaires per capita in Holyoke than anywhere else in the country. Although there are no longer any paper manufacturers, the dam, canals and much of the industrial and commercial architecture remain~

~Currently, about 24% of the population in Holyoke lives below the poverty line, compared to 10% in Massachusetts as a whole~