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 universal and lasted more years. The valley became a major educational venue, perhaps because it was considered sufficiently removed from the evils of the largest cities, yet not too remote from the blessings of progress.
Industry declined in the 20th century, but higher education has continued to grow. In the early years of the 21st century the valley's greatest need is for economic revitalization, perhaps based on educational resources.
Pleistocene glaciers scraped away New England's soil, but melted to form ephemeral Lake Hitchcock where fine sediments settled to create New England's most productive cropland.
Other educational venues near the Connecticut River to the south in Connecticut State (Trinity College, University of Connecticut and Yale University) and to the north in New Hampshire (Dartmouth College) are linked to the Pioneer Valley's schools by Route 10, often called the '''College Highway'''.
Amherst, Northampton and South Hadley all have pronounced college town ambiances, and Westfield increasingly so as its manufacturing base dwindles.
Uplands east and west of the central valley had only as much soil as weathered from bedrock and glacial debris in the past 10,000 or so years. This soil was thin, rocky and often infertile, but better land in the valley was spoken for. Settlement in the hills did not begin until the 1700s when new immigrants were mainly Scotch-Irish -- Scottish Presbyterians who had migrated to Northern Ireland before coming to the New World. Upland farming was mostly hardscrabble subsistence. Where valley farmers with cash crops could afford goods imported from England, hill farmers with very limited cash income made do with what they could produce at home or barter for. Traditional hill farmers -- mostly a departed breed now -- conformed much more to Yankee stereotypes than farmers in the Connecticut River Valley.
The early 1800s brought the '''First Industrial Revolution''' powered by falling water, especially at cascades and rapids where rivers could be dammed. Holyoke became an industrial city at cascades on the Connecticut River with a power potential of some 70,000 horsepower (50 million watts). Smaller mill towns developed along the tributary Millers, Westfield, Montague and Deerfield Rivers.
The upland population figured prominently in early industrialization since local crafts in lieu of imported goods developed mechanical aptitude and insight, while employment was a source of cash to buy goods that could be mass-produced much more efficiently than at home or in small preindustrial workshops. Women played an important part in the early industrial workforce, and employment was surprisingly genteel with farm girls chaperoned in boardinghouses and the new industrial communities very much on the lecture circuit.
Development of coal- and wood-powered steam engines began liberating industrialization from falling water, although valley sites were still preferred for their proximity to rail lines that took advantage of easy grades along rivers instead of climbing and descending over hill and dale. This was the Second Industrial Revolution starting around 1850. It created more jobs than upland Yankees could fill. Employers turned to immigrants from Canada, Ireland and then other parts of Europe, paid them low wages, and worried less about workers' morals and living conditions. Poverty and cultural differences -- immigrants were more likely to be Catholic and to speak some other language besides English -- promoted social distinctions persisting even today.
Construction of the Massachusetts Turnpike in the 1950s, and then Interstate 91 improved connections throughout the region and nearly halved travel times. However by the 1960s wage competition and obsolescence began taking a toll. Mills and factories were downsized, and then closed. The larger, most industry-dependent cities -- Springfield and Holyoke -- suffered economic decline, however the postwar growth of higher education kept cities and towns with colleges and universities afloat, and warehousing developed on the outskirts of Westfield where open land was available.
In the hilltowns, remaining subsistence farmers continued to die off. Old farmsteads were often converted to exurban residences, but fields fell into disuse and reverted to forest. Logging lagged behind growth and rural roads were no longer maintained. Patchy forests converged and matured into an approximation of wilderness. By 1960 deer were probably more abundant than they had been since 1760. Beaver, coyotes, wild turkey and black bears were reintroduced or returned from northern sanctuaries. By the end of the century even moose were showing up.
U.S. Interstate 91 connects the Pioneer Valley to Connecticut and Vermont. The [http://www.masspike.com Massachusetts Turnpike] connects it to Boston. Driving time from the Pioneer Valley to Boston is approximately two hours; to New York City, it is approximately three and a half hours.
The closest major '''airport''' serving the Pioneer Valley area is [http://www.flynewengland.com/ Bradley International Airport (BDL)] in Hartford, Connecticut.
'''Rail service''' via Amtrak is available to Springfield.
Greyhound/Peter Pan bus service is available to Springfield and other cities.
The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) [http://www.pvta.com/public/] has routes all over the Pioneer Valley. Although the system is fairly extensive for such a decentralized area, buses are somewhat infrequent and not all route run nights and weekends, especially outside of the school year (September - May).
Springfield, the region's largest city, has been named as one of the top twenty-five most dangerous cities in past editions (eleventh and twelfth) of ''City Crime Rankings'' by Morgan Quitno Press [http://www.morganquitno.com/]. It has dropped out of the "Top 25" in the most recent (thirteenth) edition, but continues to experience problems with crime. To stay safe, stick to major routes during daylight hours.