Welcome to Brightwood ...
Brightwood is located in Hampden County<1>.
The location of Brightwood has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (the GNIS).<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Brightwood, you might consider that their post office opened in 1874.
Brightwood is 50 feet [15 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Brightwood lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
The area code for Brightwood: (413)
Communities Also Named Brightwood ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 9 communities that are also named Brightwood - they are located in Indiana, Maryland (3), North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Brightwood.
Communities near Brightwood ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Brightwood.
- Enfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south) - Westfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield
- Westfield is located in Hampden County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41,063 people
- Amherst
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst
- Amherst is located in Hampshire County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40,643 people
- Holyoke
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holyoke
- Holyoke is located in Hampden County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 39,921 people
- Windsor
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south) - Agawam
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agawam
- Agawam is located in Hampden County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 28,467 people
- Northampton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northampton
- Northampton is located in Hampshire County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 28,362 people
- South Windsor
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Windsor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Windsor
- South Windsor is located in Hartford County (CT)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,102 people
- Ludlow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - South Hadley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hadley
- South Hadley is located in Hampshire County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,539 people
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Brightwood. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Brightwood.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Brightwood. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Brightwood.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Brightwood. See our Newspapers Page for Brightwood.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Brightwood ...
Looking for more information about Brightwood? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Brightwood, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Brightwood.
Adding Brightwood to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Brightwood in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Brightwood was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<4>
From that list, the Brightwood post office opened in 1874.
We also found Brightwood in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Brightwood.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Brightwood. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Massachusetts' counties, including Hampden, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Brightwood - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |