The
town of South Hadley began to be settled by Europeans
in the late 1600s. The town was officially formed
in 1753. The earliest industry in the area was farming,
but the waters ways were harnessed for use as early
as 1684. Milling for grist eventually gave way to
other forms of mill work and by the mid 19th century
South Hadley was a thriving industrial center. Mary
Lyon and the Mount Holyoke Board of Trustees settled
on South Hadley as the place to found the Seminary
and land purchased 1835.