Community
Easthampton Community Organizations
The Half of Easthampton City Hall Does Not Run
A city of 16,211 does not carry everything on twenty departments. Easthampton’s food pantry, its arts program, its library building, its rail trail and its business association are all run by organizations that are not the city, and several of them work hand in glove with the departments down the hall. Every one of these is a place a student can call, volunteer at, or ask for an internship.
| Easthampton Public Library | At 9 Park Street. The library is run by the Public Library Association of Easthampton, a membership association whose Board of Directors owns the land and the building and manages the library, which is an unusual arrangement for a Massachusetts public library. Library Director Katya Schapiro. 413-527-1031. |
| Easthampton Community Center | A nonprofit that runs a food pantry and clothing and meal programs alongside recreation for residents of every age. |
| Easthampton City Arts | The city’s arts program, staffed out of Planning and Community Development, with its own coordinating committee and a public art subcommittee that post agendas like any other city body. |
| Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce | The business association for Easthampton and the towns around it. |
| Friends of the Manhan Rail Trail | The volunteer group behind the paved rail trail through the city. Easthampton also keeps a Manhan Rail Trail Committee of its own, and the City Clerk’s office is where the city points residents for trail information. |
| Historic Easthampton | The local history project that documents Samuel Williston’s button works, the Nashawannuck Manufacturing Company, and the mill buildings still standing on Pleasant Street. |
| The Williston Northampton School | The independent school on Payson Avenue, grown out of the seminary Samuel Williston founded with the money the mills made. |
| Cooley Dickinson Hospital | The nearest hospital, at 30 Locust Street in Northampton. |
Who Covers Easthampton
Knowing which outlet covers a meeting is a civic skill of its own, because a reporter in the room is often the only record a resident will read.
- Daily Hampshire Gazette. The Northampton daily that covers Easthampton City Hall. Its account of the January 2, 2026 inauguration named every councilor sworn in and recorded the vote for president and vice president.
- The Reminder. A western Massachusetts weekly with a Hampshire County section carrying council and school committee coverage.
- Easthampton Media. The nonprofit community media center at Eastworks, 116 Pleasant Street, serving Easthampton and Southampton with training, equipment and meeting coverage. 413-203-1360.
- NEPM. New England Public Media, the region’s public radio and television service.
Volunteering on a city board is its own door, and seats open regularly.
MassCivics last checked this page on October 20, 2026.
Sources
- City records: City of Easthampton, Staff Directory, as of October 2026.