The Boys & Girls Club is located on land granted in 1640 to residents of the “Agawam Plantation”. This was excellent farmland because the area had been prone to spring floods for centuries. The major flood control system, built in 1939, was necessary to protect the area, but the vista of farmland extending down to the river, is a view that will never be seen again. Because the Merrick family, early settlers in the community, owned most of the surrounding land, including the site of the Boys & Girls Club, this whole section of town is known as Merrick.
The West Springfield Boys & Girls Club actually started as a Welfare Service in the Town Hall during World War I and in the 1940’s it moved to this location on Main Street. At that time of move the organization was known as the Neighborhood House. The Springfield Family Welfare Service and the Visiting Nurse Association held clinics to provide health care and immunizations for children, while The Red Feather Organization, a forerunner of the United Way, provided funding. Local businesses, individuals, grants and fund raising events augment the budget today.
In 1961 the organization became the Boys & Girls Club and soon moved into the present building. The club offers many programs that nurture and inspire the lives of its members. In a way it is still the “Neighborhood House”, a place to go after school, to play with friends and learn new skills under caring leadership.