The Pioneer Valley is the region around the Connecticut River
valley in Western Massachusetts. The three counties of the
Pioneer Valley from north to south: Connecticut River Valley
This valley is about 20 miles wide at the Connecticut state line
but narrows northward. It holds much of New England's best
farmland and was settled early in New England's colonial
history. Farms have been encroached on by urban and suburban
development but still produce a variety of market crops. New
England's very finite amount of good farmland and abundant water
power made industrialization an attractive alternative to
subsistence farming. Industries grew up along the river,
especially at falls at Holyoke. Industrialization encouraged
growth of a string of cities from Northampton south through
Holyoke and Springfield to Hartford and New Haven, Connecticut.
Transportation and communication improvements increasingly
integrated this regional urban corridor into the BosWash
megalopolis. With industrialization, education became more