RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Massachusetts >> Hampshire County >> PelhamIndex...

Welcome to Pelham ...

Pelham is located in Hampshire County<1>.

Pelham was settled in 1738 and was incorporated in 1743.

When the people of Pelham refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Pelhamite<2>

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Pelham has a population of 1,316 people<3> (see below for details).

Pelham is 1,130 feet [344 m] above sea level.<4>.

Time Zone: Pelham lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Code for Pelham: 413

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Pelham had an population of 1,316 people. This is a decrease of 0.38% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 6.2% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Pelham had a population of 1,321 people. This makes Pelham the county's 14th most populous community.

The population of Pelham represents 0.02% of the population of Massachusetts (which has 6,547,629 people), making it the state's 314th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 1,321 people, the population of Pelham decreased 5.84% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 1,403 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Pelham.

Communities Also Named Pelham ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 10 communities that are also named Pelham - they are located in Alabama (2), Georgia, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ontario, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Pelham.

Communities near Pelham ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Pelham.

  • Chicopee
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Amherst
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Holyoke
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Northampton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Ludlow
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ludlow have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludlow
    • Ludlow is located in Hampden County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,101 people
  • South Hadley
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Greenfield
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Easthampton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Belchertown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Belchertown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<6>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belchertown
    • Belchertown is located in Hampshire County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,103 people
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Belchertown
    • From Pelham to Belchertown
  • Wilbraham
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)

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 Pelham. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Pelham.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Pelham. 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 Pelham.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Pelham. See our Newspapers Page for Pelham.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Pelham ...

Looking for more information about Pelham? 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 Pelham, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Pelham.

Adding Pelham to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Pelham 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 Pelham was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>

From that list, the Pelham post office opened in 1800.

We also found Pelham in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Pelham.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Massachusetts' counties, including Hampshire, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Pelham refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a community's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Pelham may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different.
<3>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Pelham.
<4>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Pelham - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>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.
<6>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<7>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/