52 20 4978 https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/221f0b6ae98b085e5aa0681e3599cef1.tif 5790f0bb4f118db8a8d0e84aa521ceb3 https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/a5110f39110b14d93118f57c78b91b21.tif e74e7862ec9510c11bcf566cca334b0f https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/936505f67d01c293550da4f7600962d4.tif 6c34bd137a2628ead184c358f767bd3b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 2025-146 Title A name given to the resource Articles about cross-country skiing program 1997 Subject The topic of the resource Recreation Description An account of the resource "State champs pace ski all-stars" describes Berkshire County League boys and girls all-star teams. Photographs include: Jason Lemieuz, Matt Voisin, Ben Kohn, Tim Hajduk, Hunter Greene, Matt Holland, Adam Kinkaid, Ben Chaffe, Amber Dodge, Holly Dodge, Kate Whitcomb, Hannah Blazejewski, Gretchen Czaja, Katie Parker, Katie Derb y, Mellie Gilder, Hillary Hackman, Babarba Weaver. "Worthington rules in cross-country ski" focuses on Hickory Hill and the Gateway School program, mentioned and shown are Kate Whitcomb, also shown is Logan Sena, also mentioned are: Jason Lemieuz, Holly Dodge, Amber Dodge as well as participants from many other towns Type The nature or genre of the resource Still Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource scans of newspaper article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource state champs article by Tony Dobrowwolski, Worthington article by Andrew Ayers Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1997-03-19, 1997 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Berkshire Eagle, Hampshire Gazette Date Available Date (often a range) that the resource became or will become available. 2025-11-04d Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. digital archive Medium The material or physical carrier of the resource. Electronic Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Massachusetts - Other Mediator An entity that mediates access to the resource and for whom the resource is intended or useful. In an educational context, a mediator might be a parent, teacher, teaching assistant, or care-giver. jd/db https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/5b4de7094b838690d1294630b17d20c9.pdf 69821e79e5af81520f03ebc7f489d8e0 PDF Text Text STONE WALLS History and Folklore �As the cover of Stone Walls attests, the the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Doris editors of this magazine focus mainly on the has researched carefully the ancient docu- history and folklore of our area, namely the towns and related com- ments which explain this series of events and has set them forth, along with her own ex- munities. It is with great interest, therefore, planations, for us all to observe. This is a true we note the current observance of the examination of our roots, one of the chief objectives of our magazine, and, we hope, one of the main reasons for our readers to enjoy Stone Walls. We hope to be able to celebrate other such significant events in our future Berkshire that hill town of Russell's two hundredth anniversary. Our cover picture depicts a scene from that town. History buffs among our readers will be particularly interested in Doris Hayden's which details the steps leading up to the incorporation of RusseU into article in this issue issues. Barbara Brainerd Stone Walls Magazine Annual Report, July 1, 1992 FY 1992 - July 1, 1991 - June 30, 1992 BALANCE - July 1, 1991 Income Subscription $2,115.00 70.46 Interest Expense $1,932.16 Sales 1,614.85 Ads 224.00 Gifts 587.00 Total Income 4,611.31 TOTAL ASSETS $6,543.47 Printing $4,679.71 Postage Permits & Fees 130.71 Misc. 50.00 124.40 Total Expense $4,984.82 BALANCE July 1, 1992 $1,558.65 Louise H. Mason, Treasurer Cover photo of Woronoco by Frank Miller, 1905, courtesy of Edward (Dick) Miller �CONTENTS 2 Genesis of Woronoco Doris H. Wackerbarth 7 A Town is Born Doris Hayden 14 Rhythm of the Road Barbara Brainerd 15 The Granville Public Library Wilhelmina Tryon 1903 19 More from the Journal of Rev. Hutchinson 20 Oldtime Westfield Verse & Jean York The Family Trolley Ride Gordon Hawkins 22 Growing Up on a Farm Ralph Pomeroy 30 Deer Hunting in West Granville Kenneth Gridley 32 Family Values David Pierce 35 Hinsdale Gold Rush Wadsworth Pierce 1 �Genesis of Woronoco From the Village of Salmon Falls to a Milltown By Doris H. Wackerbarth Woronoco, 1907 Edward "Dick" Miller, 94, a native of the town of Russell, has in his collection of photos are given as "more or less". Names of persons the picture (above) of the first house on Valley are only "more or less" accurate, also, which View Avenue, Woronoco, taken in 1907. It is very misleading. took hours of heavy lifting at the Hampden County Hall of Records to discover who built village of Salmon Falls the house. In the process of my search, on maps who are not the principals involved The 1874, Vernon Bros. & Co. map of the is not an official Hampden County Atlas map by county surveyors. On it, the Valley View Avenue area I dis- covered that old records are not as sacrosanct as I had beUeved them to be. Where land areas are involved, the names of the persons involved are exact, with variations in spelling of names or signatures noted, but where large areas of land are concerned, measurements east of the Westfield River is mislabeled the Bishop Lot, which led to hours of frustrating search. There were pages of Bishops listed, many of them in Russell. Finally, by process of elimination, the area 2 was revealed to be �"the Old Cowles Place", the key to checking new road and the old, which even Dick Miller the land transfers. Examples of other misleading information on that map list Couch family does not remember. Farther south along the new Main Street Fairfield Company built a holdings, which were vast, as Crouch, and the hall for public gatherings. In the 20's it was name Cosby changed over time to Crosby. In 1874, when Vernon Bros & Co. acquired called "the Casino". (It was later converted to & every kind of meeting and also basketball games, both Protestant and Catholic church services were held there on Sundays until in 1923 Strathmore Paper Company built the Memorial Hall across the river (the first section of the Strathmore Community Building.) Both denominations continued to use the same facility until Catholic services were the paper mill at Salmon Falls from Jessup storage for the store.) In addition to serving Laflin of Westfield there was no Main Road or village; nor was there a post office, a bridge over the Westfield River, or housing on the east side of the river. (There was a family ferry about a mile north of town at the rapids, where the river narrows and the water is not deep.) Russell, by comparison, was a metropolis. moved to the new Holy Rosary Church in had a railroad depot and a post office; two stores; a hotel; whip companies operated by J. W. Gibbs and R. W. Parks; S. Steele, Carriage and Sleighmaker; E. B. Hull & Co. Tannery, which had two large buildings, one labeled office; and both a Baptist and a Methodist church. Charcoal kilns were part of the Blandford Brick and Tile Co. The homes along Main Street in Russell were then very much as they are today, with the few additions or changes having been made where the tannery Russell, after which only Protestant services continued to be held in Memorial Hall. It Records reveal a foot note to history that is a bit of a mystery and illustrates how towns and townsfolk operated a hundred years ago. Hampden County Records list the sale of the school house in Salmon Falls to the Fairfield Company, May 3, 1889, for $400, yet the school continued in that capacity until Strath- more built the village of Woronoco a school on land presented to the town December 23, operated. 1914 for $1.00. In 1888, Vernon Bros Company sold the paper mill and property in Salmon Falls to of 1 889, it appears that the Fairfield Company From the scanty and secretive town report Roswell Fairfield, of Holyoke. When transportation was by horse and wagon, hills were a first hazard to be avoided. The 1894 map of Fairfield shows that one of the first improvements made in the village was construction of a level Main Street into town from Westfield. The new road saved climbing a established the precedent of more or less en- dowing the local school. Article 15 of the Rus- Town meeting, February 1, 1889, reads, "To see if the town will vote to purchase the interest of the Fairfield Paper Company in the hall and school house at Fairfield, and raise and appropriate such a sum of money as may be necessary for the same." At the time, Russell sharp hill about a mile south of the village, then coming down a long incline that began had five schools, five teachers, and 131 whom were under five years of age and six over fifteen. There is no record of how the town meeting sell above the school and ended in the village, pupils, four of opposite the mill. In addition to the new road, an iron bridge had been built across the river, and the Fairfield Paper Co. had telephone and voted, but the bare-bones education report telegraph service at the mill and, in case of which was not signed by anyone and probably was written by a selectman rather than by a superintendent, (perhaps then there were emergency, for others about town. (An operator would have handled the telephone calls and the telegraph did not print out a tape only Morse code dots and dashes clicked away, needing to be interpreted.) There was also a post office and store at the comer of the only county supervisors,) explains that the two schools in section three of the town had — been combined in order to save expense. One teacher was paid $15.00 for teaching the com- 3 �Village of Salmon Falls, 1874 been purchased in the village of Fairfield." The accompanying report does not acknowledge a $400 windfall, or how it was spent. It merely states that all the classrooms now have maps and globes, and that expenses for other school materials are available through the town treasurer With but one miU, the families who lived on the west side of the river and on the farms along Blandford Road and on Russell Moun- bined group rather than two teachers, being paid $9.00 each to teach two smaller groups. — evidently The parents objected, however and after a month the system strenuously reverted to two schools again. Someone in the era also was agitating against the schools on Russell Mountain not being in session for four months during the winter The consensus was that it just was not feasible. The report complained about conditions in all the schools, and advocated having maps and globes for the benefit of older pupils, as if there was no possibility whatever that that — tain supphed all the labor that was needed, but the Fairfield Company was flourishing could be achieved. Following sale of the and there was as yet no trolley to offer daily transportation of labor from outside of town. school to the Fairfield Company, which was So, in 1889, the Fairfield Company bought the not what Article 15 proposed the year before, and which is only recorded in the county records, the town report states ambiguously, 291 acre tract on the east side of the river from Thomas and Almeda Williston and Began to provide housing. "the hall for the accommodation of larger The Williston's house was on the north rim and Thomas Williston pupils (situated over the schoolroom) has of the property, 4 �reserved the right for their neighbor. Warren grew too old to work in the mills, they lived Chapman, "to get water in pails for family out their days there. After the death of Liza my house, where water McMahon, who lived until 1937, the house was demolished. Dick Miller related that, as use, from the tub near now runs." Chapman soon afterward bought the place where he lived for $65.00. He later transferred it to the Fairfield Company for $1.00 and other considerations a Strathmore electrician, he wired the house at the direction of H. A. Moses, Founder of — which Strathmore. could have included the right to continue to live in the house the rest of his life, and /or to be employed by the company as long as he was able to work. For years, the two little Irish ladies faithfully set up and removed the portable altars and furnished the linens used at the Casino and Memorial Hall for Catholic services. Since they were very reclusive, and always dressed Such contracts were not uncommon at the McMahon and Annie Cary had such an "understanding" with Strathmore Paper Co. They lived in a little saltbox house that was the W. D. Mallory house on the Old Road, which Strathmore bought in 1912. It had a cavernous fireplace and must have dated from Revolutionary days. When they time. Liza in black, as did all old ladies of their generation, and because of their devotion and the pleasure they took in serving their church, they were known as "the Nuns". Fairfield Company construction of houses on Valley View Avenue began along the "line of an old highway". Probably when the rail- 5 �road was put through the valley, it crossed the road, served Fairfield Village and Woronoco roadway on the east side of the river, which served the hard-scrabble farms between Westfield and Russell. True to form, it would have followed along the bank of the river. Rather than require the railroad to build two grade crossings, and since the part of the road that circled west of the railroad served no purpose, it was discontinued and the original road was rerouted straight ahead, parallel to as a baseball park until Strathmore Park was the railroad. Avenue, across the new cement bridge, past both the new and the old paper mills, to the north side of the bridge over Great Brook without once needing to stop. opened north of town, by which time everyone had autos and could get there. By then, more that a dozen and a half multi-unit houses had been built along Valley View Avenue and more than forty families lived there. There were maple trees along the paved street, and sidewalks that made it possible to roller skate from the north end of Valley View In the picture of the first houses built on Valley Avenue are three single family houses and outbuildings that had been built by the Fairfield Paper Company. Fields across the The changes that have taken place are what railroad tracks, along the old straightened is known as Progress. Russell Baptist Church 6 �A Town is Bom Compiled by Doris W. Hayden and Jean H. York Most of the available printed accounts of early within twelve Months, for Confirmation, to Russell are not very specific. The following refer- them their heirs and asines Respetivly ences may be dull to some, but they are the actual forever. records leading up to the incorporation of Russell Passed December 31, 1734 Province Laws (Resolves, etc.) Vol XII Chapter 175 - p. 200 in 1792. Rather than put our own interpretation on these events here it has seemed best to use the original records in the order in which they oc- Order granting to the heirs of James Tailor curred. Occasional notes are interspersed for further time to perfect a plat A Petition of Christopher Jacob Lawton in clarification. All italics throughout are mine. DWH behalf of the heirs of James Tailor Esqr, deced. Province Laws (Resolves, etc.) Vol. XII Chapter 161 - p. 79 Shewing that pursuant to a Grant made by Court to the heirs of Mr. Tailor, they returned a plat of five hundred acres of Land to the Court, which was accepted by the House, but Rejected by the Council, and therefore praying that they may be Allowed this Order impowering the heirs of James Taylor dec'ed to survey and lay out 500 acres of land A petition of William Taylor and others, heirs of Mr. James Taylor, dec'ed, late Treasurer of this Province, Shewing that the time till the next May Session for bringing a perfect plat. Read& said treasurer, Taylor, quitted his private business, which was very profitable, to Serve that Ordered that the prayer of the petition be Granted, and the petrs are Accordingly Allowed time till nex May Session to bring in a Plat of said Grant for Confirmation. Passed December 29, 1735 Note: - Christopher Jacob Lawton was one of the proprietors of Suffield Equivalent. (Now Province in that office, which he did very Faithfully for many Years, and advanced Several Thousand of poimds for the govern- ment, for which he was never allowed any interest that he laid out Seventy Odd pounds for Mathematical Instruments for the Province, for which he was never paid; By all — Blandford) which means his Estate was lesend; And He had married for a second time to Sarah therefore praying for a grant of some of the u nap- Taylor, daughter of James Taylor. As the daughter propriated Lands of the Province. had an interest in the above grant, he was repre- Read& senting her. DWH Voted that there be and hereby is Granted to the Heirs and Legal Representa of James Province Laws (Resolves, etc.) Vol. XII Chapter 272 - p. 245 Taylor Esqr, late Treasurer of this Province, Deced, Five hundred acres of the Unappropriated Lands of this Province in consideration of the Services mentioned in the petition, and that the Grantees be allowed and impowered by a Surveyr and ChaLnmen on Oath, to survey and layout the said lands next Adjoyning to some Township, or former Order for a grant of land to Housatonuck Indians A Report of a Conferrence held by Ebenezer Pomroy and Thomas Ingersol Esqr by order of this Court, with the Housatanuck Indians; relating to a purchase of Lands for their Set- tlement. Grant, & return a plat thereof to this court 7 �Read, and the same being fully considered March 25, 1736 Voted that the Honourable John Stoddard Esqr. Ebenezer Pomroy and Thomas Ingersole Esqrs be a Committee fully authorized and impowered to Lay out a township not exceeding the quantity of six miles square, unto the Housatonnoc Tribe of Indians in upper Housatonnoc, lying and being above the Mountain, & upon Housatonnoc River, said Indians to be subject to the Law of the Province make & passed in the thirteenth Year of King William 3d CAP XXI, with respect to said Lands, and that the said Conunittee be hereby impowered to lay out unto the Reverend Mr. John Sargent, their Minister, and Mr. Timothy Woodbridge, their School Master, One sixtieth part of the said township, to Each of them to accomodate them in a Settlememt of Land, to be to each of them and their heirs Note: The above is included to clarify a state- ment in the "History of Western Massachusetts" by Pitoniak. On page 19 under "First Settling of Russell" it is said, "One would never realize the it was first intended to be a settlement of Indians."How the above record could be interpreted in such a way cannot now be determined. The province order certainly puts the Indian town in the Housatonic area, and nowhere else. DWH Province Laws (Resolves, etc.) Vol. XII Chapter 141 - p. 323 A Petition of Mr. Thomas Ingersol, Representa of the Town of Westfield, praying for a Grant to the proprietors of the said town of a tract of about Six Thousand Acres of Land, lying between Westfield West boundary and the township granted to the proprietors of & assigns, and that said Committee Suffield. lay out a sufficient quantity of Land within Read& said township to accommodate four English Ordered that the prayer of the Petition be Families, that shall Settle upon the same, to be granted, and the Lands therein Delineated under the direction and disposition of the Committee, by and with the advice of Mr. Sargeant and Mr. Woodbridge; And the committee are hereby further impowered to dispose of ye Lands that are reserved to said Indians in the town of Sheffield & mentioned and Described be and hereby are Accordingly given and granted to the proprietors of the Town of Westfield, their heirs and assignes respectively; provided they do forthwith, or as soon as may be. Open and Constantly keep in Repair hereafter, a Good and Safe Cartway over the premises in the Road that leads from in the Conunittee report, in order to make Satisfaction, so far as the same will go, to the proprietors and owners of the land hereby Westfield to Housatonock, commonly caU the Albany Road; provided also this Grant does not granted. prejudice the Grant lately laid out to the heirs of And the Committee are further impowered the late Treasurer Mr. fames Taylour, at the pond to give the proprietors of Upper Housaton- called the Ten Mile Pond, the said Grantees con- nuc, that live below the Mountain, an equivalent in some of the unappropriated Land of the province next adjacent to Upper Housatonnuc, Sheffield, said granted town; cluding not to hold the same, but it is to be Es- And the Committee are hereby further impowered to make the proprietors of Upper Hous- Hundred Acres of Land to the Heirs of the late Rev Mr. Williams of Deerfield, Deced. which satonnoc, above the Mountain, and equivalent in may or does fall within the lines of the prayed some of the unappropriated Lands of the Province in different places; provided the same, in the Judgment of the Committee, shall not prejudice any township that may hereafter be granted; the same to be in full satisfaction of their Lands as are hereby granted to the Houssatannoc According to the plat lately passed and Confirmed by this Court. And also that this Grant does not exceed the quantity of Six Thousand Acres of Land, Exclusive of the said Provisoes, & does not interfere with any former Grant; teemed & looked upon as among the Upper Housatanuck Equivalents; ** And also that part of the Grant of Seven for premises. Tribe. 8 �*** Provided also that the Grantees, as soon not the quantity of Five Thousand Eight Hundred & Seventy-Nine Acres of Land, in- as may be, lay out two hundred Acres of the granted preniises for the present minister of clusive of the said Farms at A. B. & C, and the said town; Two Hundred Acres of the ministry; and one hundred Acres for the pond; and does not interfere with any other school forever; grant. exclusive of the said Housatonnoc Equivalent and And return a plat of the premised & Se- Passed June 10, 1738 Note:: questrations afore mentioned to this Court, * this was the original grant ofJanuary 12, 1 736, which was later called the New Addition. It then within twelve months, for Confirmation. Passed January 12, 1736 Note: included what is now a part of Montgomery, as *Suffield Equivalent, which became Blandford well as what became Russell. ** The original 500 acre Taylor grant which the **The original north line of the New Addition Taylor heirs chose not to hold and was reserved for seems to have extended into what became Murrayfield, now Huntington. The 700 acre grant to a Housatonic Equivalent. *** The locations Rev. John Williams may or may not have been in the New Addition. However the Court was play- of the three farms are listed in "Footprints in Montgomery" , p. 5. DWH ing safe and excluded it if it was. It was never a Springfield Registry of Deeds Book part of present Russell. *** "Footprints in M p. 155 - John Stoddard, Ebenezer Pomeroy of Northampton Montgomery" on page 5 describes three such lots which were in the original New Addition area, but not in the present town of & Thos. Ingersole of Westfield, Esqr Russell to Chr. Jacob Lawton of Leicester DWH That on March ye 26 AD 1736 were by the General Court Assembly of Province aforesaid specifically authorized and commisioned amongst other things, to purchase rights of lands of ye proprietors of Upper Housatonnock Township, so called in said township, and to give Equivalent Therefore in some of ye unappropriated Land of ye Province to Proprietors, of whom they should purchase after the order of the said Court of Assembly, reference thereto has willfully appear. Province Laws (Resolves, etc.) Vol. XII Chapter 17 -p. 367 * A plat of land, laid out by Oliver Partridge, Surveyr and Chainman on Oath, Containing Five Thousand Eight hundred and Seventy- Nine Acres, Lying between Westfield and Suffield Equivalent, Exclusive offive hundred Acres Reserved for Housatanock Equivalent and a Pond of One hundred Acres. Read& Now we the above said have purchased of Ordered that the plat be accepted and the Lands therein delineated & described by and Chr. Lawton of Leicester * two rights of land in are hereby confirmed to the proprietors of the Housantonnock, and have agreed to give it him and equivalent, to whom the right belongs, from the Government, for ye aforesaid rights. Town of Westfield & their Assignes respectively. Excepting the Five Hundred Acres reserved for Housatonnoc Equivalent as To Wit: a Tract of land scituated a lying and being on Housatonnock Road, at a certain place called 10 Mile Pond, and includes the pond, which land with pond, includes 600 within mentioned, and Three Farms delineated in the plat at A. B. & C, which are to be and remain respectively for the mini- acres. sterial use - the present Ministers farm to be Is butted and bounded as follows: to him in fee, and the farm for the use of the Beginning at ye Brook where it runs into the school agreeable to the Grant of the Lands to outside of 10 Mile Pond, and runs said proprietors) provided the plat exceeds 70 Rods 9 W 10 M - �W - 212 Rods Thence runs S 30 30 " Thence runs to the E line of the township called Glasgow Then runs up Ye Township Line N'ward 196 Rods Then runs E 34 N - 166 Rods Then runs N 40 E - 76 Rods Jonathan Old, John Huston Samuel Worthington John Stoddard, Thomas Ingersole W Thence runs E - 252 Rods Thence runs S - 278 Rods Thence W- 160 Rods Thence runs N - 118 Rods - 78 Rods to the Comer first Thence runs W mentioned. John Stoddard Ebenezer Pomeroy Thos. Ingersole August 29, 1739 * Note: One right was at 10 Mile Pond in the 1742, "in his house." Since he died in 1742 he could not have operated it very long. New Addition, and part of it was the original Fulling was process for shrinking and thicken- Taylor Grant, which was given up and called the ing woolen cloth by moistening, heating and press- Housatonic Equivalent. ing. DWH The other right was in what became Otis and M p. 203 does not relate to the New Addition. Springfield Registry of Deeds Book The "History of Western Mass." by Josiah G. Holland states that the first settlers in the New Chr. Jacob Lawton, Gentleman of Leiscester & Dame Sarah Lawton, his wife Addition were two brothers of the name Barber and to Mathew Barber, husbandman, living at a A Mr. Gray. place known by ye name of Ten Mile Pond ye Mathew Barber was a first settler, but his brother, Robert Barber of Worcester, - Township of Westfield 200 Acres of Land adjoyning to Ten Mile Pond in Westfield and bounded as follows: Beginning at a stake and stones on the N side of a brook running into said Pond was not. However, he probably assisted Mathew financially and held a mortgage on the New Addition properRobert's wife Sarah Gray, sister to Mathew From thence runs Barber's wife Mary, so there was a close con- thence nection on both sides. W 10 N 70 Perch N 23 W 104 Perch - Then N 30 E 76 Perch Thence E 252 Perch Mathew Barber was certainly in the New Addition before Jan. 31, 1740-1, according to his deed Thence S 150 Perch to the brook issuing out of said Pond, at the East Side of the Pond Thence bounds on said Pond & brook to the comer first mentioned With one-half the liberty of Pondage and Streama for making Dam, or Dams, for a Mill, form Christopher Jacob Lawton. }ust when cannot be determined. The Barbers and Grays were descendants of immigrants from Northern Ireland - probably Scotch-Irish. Mathew's inventory, in Northampton Probate Court, includes a fulling mill and a sawmill. Sumner Wood in "Taverns and Turnpikes" says he has a tavern License in or Mills, forever. Witness: Henry Lee Chr. Jacob Lawton January 31, 1749-1 Sarah Lawton Aside from the Barbers and Grays, there is the Hazards. Note: John Gray was of a later generation than Math- another early family of interest — ew Barber, but related to Mathew's wife. His land Stewart Hazard and Robert Hazard, a clothier, lay south of 10 Mile Pond.. ( See map) The property both of Farmington, Conn., purchased the Barber lately owned by Howland Smith was apart of it. land -1769 -1771. 10 �11 �12 �town of Blanford, then running north twenty degrees east on Blanford line to the first mentioned bounds, be and hereby is incorporated into a town by (the) name of Russell; and the said town shall be and hereby is invested with all the privileges and immunities that towns in the commonwealth do, or may enjoy by the Constitution, or laws of the same. They were in theNew Addition until some years after Russell was incorporated, later going to New York State. This explains the name, Hazard Pond. There were many lots "laid out" to various residents of Westfield in the New Addition before the incorporation. Without a doubt many lived in the area before 1792. These lot descriptions are so scanty that it would be like putting a huge jig-saw And be it further enacted the Samuel Fowler Esquire be and he is hereby impowered to issue his warrant directed to some suitable inhabitants of said town to meet at such time and place as he shall appoint, to choose such Officers as other towns are impowered to choose at their annual meeting in the month of March or April. puzzle together. Someone with the patience of Job may do it some day. Acts & Resolves 1790-1 Chapter 30 - p. 323 Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives in General court as- sembled and by the authority of the same, that the northwesterly part of Westfield, Called the new Addition, on the westerly side of Westfield River, and the south westerly part Provided nevertheless, the inhabitants of of Montgomery included between the heights said town shall pay all such town. State, coun- of Shatterack Mountain, Teko Mountain, and ty and other taxes as are already assessed upon them by the said towns to which they Westfield River a foresaid, & bounded as fol- have belonged, until a new valuation shall be taken & no longer; and the inhabitants aforesaid shall pay their proportion of all public debts which are now due from the said town to which they respectively belonged. And be it further enacted that the inhabitants of the said town of Russell do and shall forever hereafter make and keep in good repair all such roads and cartway through the lows: viz. Beginiung at Blanford line where it crosses Westfield River, then running down said river 'till it comes to a turn in the river near the foot of Shatterack Mountain at the northwesterly part thereof, then crossing said river to a maple tree marked with stones about it standing at highwater mark on the eastern bank, then rurming south thirty-two degrees east one hundred and sixty rods to a pine staddle marked with stones about it on the height of Shatterack Mountain, then running south twenty eight degrees and fifty minutes east eight himdred and ninety-four rods, partly along the ridge of Teko Mountain, to a black oak staddle marked with stones about it toward the southerly end of said Teko Mountain, then running south four degrees said town of Russell, as the town of Westfield east two hundred and twenty rods to a small ought or by law is now obliged to make and maintain there. And be it further enacted that the inhabitants of the said town of Russell shall be chargeable with their proportionable part of the expense of supporting the poor which at the time of passing this Act were the charge of the towns of which the said inhabitants flat rock marked I S 41 by the highway, a few respectively belonged, and that the said town rods easterly of the river, and near the south of Russell shall be held to support all poor end of said Teko Mountain, then running persons which may hereafter be returned to south thirty-eight degrees west, crossing said river and continuing a strait line to a little river near the foot of the west mountain, then the town of Westfield and Montgomery, who had gained a settlement in that part of the town of Westfield or Montgomery, which is now incorporated into the town of Russell. westerly upon said river to the line between the third and fourth tier of lots, then southerly February 25, 1792 upon said line to Granville town line, then Happy 200th Celebration, Russell! running west twenty-two degrees north on Granville line to the south east comer of the 13 �Rhythm of the Road By Barbara Brainerd There is rhythm in Route 23 Driving up the mountain From Russell to Blandford. It starts at the bottom As the car swings from Route 20 to start the climb. Then swerves to the right And now to the left - always going up A measured rhythm that the body feels With each turn of the wheel - right and then left. Sometimes there is a small down-grade Which builds up the speed For the next swift ascent and the next wheeling curve. After driving up Route 23 a million times, know the rhythm by heart. I wonder if the horses, in the old days. Dragging the heavy wagons or the light surreys. Felt the rhythm in their bodies, too. Did they also memorize the measured beat of the road Like the notes of an old melody? I 14 �The Granville Public Library by Wilhelmena Tryon was a manufacturing community, although it was fifteen nules from the nearest railroad. Some of the families were well-to-do and able to send their children away to school; others completed their education here and Granville, Massachusetts approached the turn of the century with a small, scattered population and no library. An education- minded woman decided that the limited number of books available through the Sunday Schools was not enough, and vowed to went on to schools of higher learning, becoming professional people. The majority remained at home going to work in the factory, on the farm, or doing odd jobs. correct the situation. Scanty Scattered Population Like many New England towns in the hill Woman of Ideals districts, the scanty population was scattered These conditions existed in 1896, when the over an area of about forty square miles with three small villages as centers. Granville, Granville Center and West Granville each had its own schoolhouse, store, post office, church, and a farming population living along the outlying country roads. The two western communities were farming communities, but Granville, called the Comers, wife of one of the leading businessmen, a woman of ideals, saw the needs of the young people. The library grew out of her efforts to help them. Mrs. Ralph B. Cooley was the moving force behind the library movement. The town, in compliance with Library Act of 1890, had ap- 15 �Treasurer; Mrs. Orville R. Noble, Mrs. Silas B. Root, Miss Cettie Huddleston (name was Lucetta), Mrs. Mary Gill, Mrs. Emma Barlow, Mrs. Milo Seymour, Mrs. E.N. Henry, Mrs. Neil Gibbons, Mrs. Alice Carpenter, and Mrs. Clara E. Wilcox. Each Lady to Raise Huge Sum of Ten Dollars Next came the all important question of finances, now "How should it be done?", but "How could it be done?" The members were not chosen for their financial or literary qualifications, but for their personal qualities. Some were women of independent means; others earned their living by working in the factory; there were some whose husbands had an average daily wage, one whose husband received only one dollar a day; and one who had no pin money to call her own. Each member pledged $10.00, or more if possible, which she must earn each year. With the exception of two generous gifts, practically all the money was raised in the one, small village of Granville in five yars. In November 1901, the building was completed at a total cost of more than $13,000, a tribute Mrs. Ralph Cooley to the zeal and self-denial with which these few women worked. To realize how large a sum of $10 was, propriated a small amount of money and then had received one hundred dollars worth of books from the state. All were placed in the chapels in Granville and Granville Center, in remember at that time a poimd of cheese cost 16 cents; a quart of milk 5 cents; an excellent three course dinner at one of Westfield's best charge of the mir\ister or some other interested person. The buildings were open one day a week and, since accommodations were insufficient, neither books nor people could be carefully cared for restaurants cost only 25 cents. These enterprising ladies chose to make money in several ways. One lady lived on a farm where arbutus grew in abundance so she sent enough to a nearby city to raise six of her ten dollars. She also picked fruit and in the In February 1896, Mrs. Cooley invited to her home twelve women and laid before them evenings knitted pairs of mittens. This was Mrs. Alice Carpenter. her hopes. The Granville Library Club, with Mrs. Cooley as its President, was immediately organized and its purpose distinctly stated: To Mrs. Clara Wilcox had boys collect blueflag, which she cleaned and sweetened and sold in erect a library building containing a library and packets for 5 cts. This proved very profitable. She also knitted bed socks and mittens. The president, Mrs. Ralph B. Cooley, who raised strawberries, sold the extra berries. She also exchanged one of her husband's over- reading room and also a room provided with suitable attractions and amusement for both young men and young women. The original members were: Mrs. Ralph B. Cooley, President; Miss Nellie C. Noble, Vice President; Miss Cora A. Noble, Secretary and coats for a neighbor's crop of crab apples. 16 �These she sent to New York and realized over offered to give $5000 for the library if the town thirteen dollars for the project. would give a Uke amount, which would as- Miss Ann Noble and Mrs. Neil Gibbons sold ice cream every Saturday afternoon. sure that the entire amount for the building and its furnishings would be available. They also made lemonade for the local ball The ladies decided to raise as much money as possible from subscriptions from citizens. They also contacted former residents and their descendants. The Ubrary was at last a games. Mrs. Cettie Huddleston made popcorn baUs to the delight of all the little boys. possibility. Mrs. Silas Root had an unused field plowed and planted to turnips which she sold. The yield more than covered her pledge. She also made and sold doughnuts. Two houses and various buildings had to be removed so that the library might be buUt on its present location. The building was started in 1900, construction finished in Mrs. Nellie Noble, a talented painter, took orders for calendars to raise her $10. Her sister. November 1901, and it was furnished, stocked with books, and opened on February 22, Miss Cora Noble, laundered fine lace curtains and made jellies. 1902. Mrs. Emma Barlow made money doing housework for a neighbor. In June, 1950, the club celebrated the anniversary of the start of the actual building of Mrs. Hattie Oysler, who joined soon after the Library Club started, made carpenter's aprons. She also made and sold clam chowder the library by an "Open House" for the town. The same year the club and the town joined to the men who worked at the factory. Mrs. Emma Holcomb, another woman who was not a charter member, made money by doing her own washing and ironing and by "going without things." That was the key to the whole situation. It meant self-denial for future general good. The club as a whole was also busy. In November 1896 a fair was held, the first of 25 years, which brought in $500. The president gave a beautifully dressed French doll for which a great number of tickets were sold to guess the doll's name. The name proved to be "Celia" (the president's mother's name) and fortunately the doll was given back to the sold at auction. Three times it was sent back to be sold again and it netted $112. After trying various ways to raise money, they concentrated on the November fair and for many years they were famous for their November Fair and Chicken Pie Supper. With the coming of World War n the Chicken Pie Suppers were discontinued. Large Donation Offered At the end of three years, the club had banked nearly $3000. Then Mr. Milton B. Whitney of Westfield, a native of Granville, Members of the Library Club 17 �in a celebration at the library, honoring Mrs. Mable Root Heruy for fifty years of devoted and efficient service as Librarian. She began her service when the building opened. Later, the historical room, located in the library, was named the Mable Root Henry Historical Room in her honor. Bibliography: The Story of a Village Library, by Lavinia Rose Wilson The History of Granville, by Albion B. Wilson Note: This story was previously printed in South- woods Magazine Volume IX, issue 111, September 1989. 18 �More from the Journal of Rev. Hutchinson Oct. 11 This poor man had destroyed himself by Clark and Miss Alice Parks both of Russell. They were married in the Meeting House. A large number of people were present. drinking. He has three children, two lovely AprU 12, 1863 Died, Mr. Charles K. Phelps of Huntington at the house of Mr. Wm. Branly of Russell. daughters 15 and 17 and a little son 10 yrs. of Sunday evening, I married Rev. J.D. Pulis of N.Y. City to Miss Sarah Jane Dukensan of age. Russell, oldest daughter of Deacon Nov. 7 Nina Maria Lezen, daughter of Joel Lezen, Russell, aged 6 years. Wm. L. Dukensan. They were married in the Meeting House. Brother Dukensan and family together with Mr. Pulis are going tomorrow to the state of Illinois. Mr Pulis is going as 1865 Ettie Kendall, congestion of the lungs, aged agent of the Travel Society. 4 yrs. Feb. 18, 1864 May 3 Married this evening Mr. Eli A. Cross and Miss Emily A. Nye at the house of the father Henry Parks, fever, aged 43 of the bride, Mr. Clark Nye of Blandford. The Oct 17 bride and groom were both of Blandford. Hattie Jane Kingsley, aged 1 yr., died Springfield 1864, daughter of Wm. Kingsley June 11, 1864 and Emily. Mr. Horace Larramee and Miss Margaret Camier, both of Becket. French Canadians. Oct. 1865 A Mr. Leonard in Hanson, funeral at house and the manner of commitment of the Old Colony Baptist Association. lin married. Both of Russell. Oct. 1865 Sept. 25, 1864 Aug. 31, 1864 Mr. George W. Frost and Mrs. Clarice Ham- Middleboro, a man whose name is forgot- Married Mr. John M. Cannon and Alletta A. King, both of Russell. ten. Nov. 19 (Sunday) Dr. David Hall died of old age, 81, Oct. 16, 1864 Married Mr. Elihui Lloyd and Miss Delia Holcomb, both of Montgomery. Bridgewater. Mrs. Charles Pratt, aged 64, congestion of lungs, Bridgewater. May 15, 1865 Edward A. Allen and Miss Joseptha M. Standars, both of Huntington. Marriages performed by Rev. Joseph Hutchinson while minister of the Baptist Church at Russell, Mas- April 18, 1865 sachusetts in 1863 and 1864 as listed in his diary and Mr. J. W. Gibbs and Miss Olive Parks, both copied by F.A. Hutchinson. of Russell. Feb. 28, 1863 July 5, 1865 Mr. Wilber S. Sampson and Miss Caroline Allen, both of Huntington, Mass. Married Mr. John Clark and Miss Frances Miller, both of Russell. Were married at my house. Jan. 1, 1865 March 1, 1863 C.B. Hutchinson and Miss Laura Holcomb Sunday evening, married Mr. Chester W. of Russell (J.H.'s own son) 19 �Oldtime Westfield Verse Vignettes The Family Trolley Rides By Gordon Hawkins Oftentimes in summer When the heat was bearing down. We'd take a family trolley ride And leave the sultry town, To "get a breath" of evening air And just a nickel for the fare! Sometimes up to Pequot Park The trolley bore its load. At other times to Huntington Along the river road We'd thunder through the summer night Swifter, it seemed, than swallow's flight. Kid's favorite seat was just behind The burly motor-man. The boys liked that because they'd see Just how the trolley ran. Not only that. ..with rush of air We "rode the wind" when we sat there! 20 �But Ma and Pa preferred by far The seats not so exposed Ma didn't like disordered hair, (So Pa and I supposed). And so we'd ride the evening throughWhat better could a family do. When but a nickel was the fare? Long gone now are the trolley lines, The tracks have disappeared No more the evening trolley ride To families so endeared. But one can still remember well Their rumble and their roar And the sharp warning of the bell At twenty miles or more! And even now I faintly smell The tobacco fields at night IDuring the growing season Fragrance of rich delight! And even now I seem to hear The grasses by the track Swish, as the trolley passed along To old Springfield and back! 21 �Growing Up On a Farm (An interview with Ralph Pomeroy, who was horn Feb. 1, 1903 in Westfield) was bom on the old Pomeroy homestead which is located in the northeast comer of Westfield. Now it is called East Mountain Rd. The doctor came and said that I had to have an operation. He said that he would go home and read up on it and be back in the morning - that I had appendix trouble. He came back the next morning. "Mother, clear the table get boiling water - rip up an old petticoat." "Father, boil up knives and scissors. Stand right there - hand me what I need." Busted appendix - gangrene! Four inches of intestines taken out and whatever. No dmgs like today. They got the job done! Doctor said, "I don't think he'll live, but he may." Oh yes! I I in Owen District, Father farmed there the first three years after he married. The place was sold to settle the estate. West Suffield, Conn. We then moved to West Suffield, Conn., where may father was going to get rich growing tobacco. Our place was only a short distance from the village store, and the first I remember was walking to the store with Mother, and Mrs. Brigbee gave me a lollipop. She was my first girlfriend, for I am sure she gave me something every time I went there after that. The next thing I remember in Suffield was Uncle Frank moved in with us for the winter. His place down the road had been sold. So, with the help of an old-fashioned wheel barrow, he stored his belongings in our back room till he could find another place. Next, I remember having to stay in bed with a flatiron tied to my foot. made it! To Westfield The next year we moved back to Westfield. Mother said, "Was I ever glad to leave that place!" Dad hired a small place next to Grandfather Higgins in East Mountain. What I remember there: mnaway horses, forest fires, and rattlesnakes! I started school - first grade at the HUl School. Runaway Horses First My brother Russell Runaway: Father raised vegetables for market. I went with him to Holyoke with and I were scrapping over who would have the swing. I got pushed out and got a broken leg. The Horse Doctor, as my father called him, patched it up with splints, and told my folks, "Keep him in bed two weeks," with the flatiron tied to my foot and hanging over the end of the bed, to keep my leg from shrinking. The last I remember of Suffield was when my dad was trying to choke me with a towel with some terrible smelling stuff (ether) on it. That's all I remember. Mother told me the rest. In those days - no telephones. If you wanted a doctor, you rode a horse or bike or walked to the store, post office, or whatever, and listed the call on a billboard. The Horse Doctor, making his rounds by horse and buggy, would show up before night. a load of vegetables on a high-seat business wagon - one horse. We sold our vegetables and were on the way home. The horse was a new one and afraid of everything. A car, the first one I had ever seen, came up behind us and blasted on an old type hom. The horse jumped side-ways first, swerved into the ditch, throwing Father off the high seat. Then it ran with lines dragging on the ground and httle me hanging onto the seat and wondering what was going to happen next. There were three men in the car that had passed us. One of them looked out the back window after about a quarter of a mile and decided something was wrong. So they stopped - got out and spread out just in time to stop the horse. 22 �23 �We went back - got Father down to a little Forest Fires brook to wash the blood off his face so he could see, and we took off for home. Mother thought Father had been fighting! In a dry season, the wood-buming engines on the railroad between Westfield and Holyoke were always starting fires. It must have been dry in 1908 and 1909. Both years we lived in Owen District (what it was called then). Everyone seemed to be worrying about fires and rattlesnakes. When the fires got going, they seemed to let them go up and The Next Runaway The following winter Mother was driving School Bus. This was a two-horse bob-sled with a built-on box for cover. There was room for six on each side and two up front. We were coming from Hill School down Notre Dame St. hill over the railroad bridge just as a train was going under. The engineer blasted on his whistle as loud as possible, just to scare the horses, bum out, unless they got too close to the farms; then they took plows and plowed around their places and set backfires. There was very little timber on the East Mountain Range at that time, just scmb and "bum-out" my mother said. Well, Rob and Bill took off down the hill in a dead run. At the comer of Notre Dame and North Elm they cut as they called it. Rattlesnakes! Yes!! the comer too short. The left front comer of They came off the mountain in dry hot sum- the sled collided with a telephone pole. The mers. The farmers still cut hay by hand, and front "bob" let go, and the horses took off for each year there were casualties: a horse here, Frog Hole with the bob a-bobbing behind them. I was sitting beside my mother up front and didn't get hurt. Some of the kids in back were banged up quite a bit. A farmer down Union St. came bringing the horses back after a cow there, a dog down the road, and some- times, a man. My dad was more afraid of rattlers than Mother was. She killed a number while picking blueberries. There were a lot of due to the fires. Dad had had more close calls while growing up. When Dad was a boy, he had the experience of seeing two men die because of snake bite. In those days, there were what they called blueberries, a while. I don't remember how we got home. The sled was all beat up. The Next Runaway: Rob and Bill were on the hay wagon, haying in Gramp Higgins lower mowing. I was riding on the hay wagon. We had a full load of hay and started for the bam. I have no idea what happened. All of a sudden the horses were on a dead mn headed for the bam. Someone yelled to slide off the back, and they didn't have to yell a second time. Hay was scattered all the way to the bamyard. I don't know where the horses ended up. The Last Runaway: Mother was driving the one-horse wagon School Bus just before summer vacation. I was sitting beside Mother up front, going up Clay Hill. The whiffle-tree "drifters," men of all ages, but mostly young, who traveled around the country, working wherever they could find work - in the summer months or longer. The Pomeroys had a large farm at that time, so they always hired extra help. One year one of the boys got bitten by a rattler through his cow-hide boot and died from the bite. Later that fall, the boys were getting out wood for winter supply. It came up a heavy storm, and before they got out of the woods, they got soaked. There was a pair of boots sitting in the back room, not being used, so one of the boys put them on while his dried out. Within a few days he died of snake bite. The fang of the snake had gone through the boot of the first boy and broken off, which poisoned the second feUow. My father, when he was older and farming on his own, had a dog that would hunt out a broke! Billy took off! Mother, hanging onto the lines, took off with him and was dragged quite a ways on her stomach around a comer and out of sight! It was some time before they got the horse rounded up. That was the last time Mother drove School Bus! 24 �snake and bay at it. When working in the fields, they felt safer with him around. Over to Middle Farms, April 1910 East Mountain, 1909: First fishing a load of furniture. We stopped for a drink of Dad and I were on a two-horse wagon with on my own water at the little brook just this side of the railroad tracks. I asked Dad, "How much far- Opening day of trout fishing! I had fished ther do we got to go?" I was in a hurry to see with Father from a boat, but never trout fishing. I the old place they had been telling about. Dad got up early and went to the bam at said, "It Cramp's. He was milking cows. I had a can of worms and a fishpole, the kind you cut and tie a string onto. I got Dad said, "Watch your step. There are nails Gramp to bait my hook. everywhere." I was barefoot, as I remember. was not sure I could do it right to catch a trout. The brook was just a short way down the hill. There was a nice pool where the water came under the old bridge. That's where I I I explored the house, two woodsheds, hay bam (later made into a horse bam), blacksmith shop. All were falling in. Next was a horse stable with bam floor to drive in with hay. The hay went up over on each side, above caught my first trout. I tried to take it off the hook. He had swallowed it. I ran back to the the stables. On the east side was a cow stable. bam and had Gramp take it off. Now bait the A gap, then a real big bam used for storage of hook again, and back to the brook a gain. Same feed of all kinds. In those days they raised a hole -another trout, not quite so big. Boy, this lot of grain crops to grind for flour. So and baited the hook myself this time. I figured there might be a bigger one down below. I went down a ways - found a good looking spot. I threw my line in. Oh, oh! A stump! Thaf s where I lost my first hook. I had no spare. is something! I got this one off for that. much We had to take down the old build- ings before we could start building. Going to School I started school in the third grade. It was not far to walk, just down around the comer. One The Up and Down Sawmill One day my grandfather took me down to see the old Up and Down Saw Mill he had won't be long now, only another mile." We got there, and I started exploring. room, one teacher, and eight grades! Thirty or more kids! The younger ones sat up front, worked back according to age, with the older ones up back. Our first teacher was a young, stocky lady; that's all I remember about her. She didn't stay long, not over two years. She couldn't take it. Next we had Mrs. Coe. Next, Mrs. Coe-Williams, who was an older lady who mn most of his life. It washed out from a flood a few years back and it is out of working order now. But Gramp explained to me how it worked. The water fed from a dug canal along a sluice-way. A large paddle wheel was set at the end of the sluice. As I remember, it sat lower than ground level. The water flowing into the paddle wheel turned a large shaft, which tumed another large wheel with a big saw. It was the largest I ever saw, and was attached to this wheel on a swivel, so as not to bind it as it tumed. The carriage which carried the log along was hooked up some- could handle the older kids a little better It was still a problem. By toda/s standards, they couldn't leam much. But as I look back over the four years I was there, the ones that wanted to leam, did, and those that didn't give a dam, didn't. At East Mountain we never leamed to swim on account of rattlesnakes. My first experience: I had to leam to swim! We went to the river. Two older boys threw me in and yelled, "Paddle with your hands and kick how to move slowly as the saw bit into the log. Gramp's words, 'The old saw goes up and down - up and down - and by and by a board falls off." 25 �with your feet!" I leaned quick! teacher, place us according to our standing. To Hill School There were two girls in front and one in back of me. I got kidded, sitting with the girls. In 1915 Russell and I switched over to Building the tobacco bam After Hill School was out for the summer, we were home to draw logs to Southampton. At age fourteen years Russell and I drew logs to Southampton Saw Mill about every day all summer. Father and one hired man tended crops. Another man, Ed Drake, worked all simmer building the bam, with help from others part time. RusseU and I drew the logs with two pair of horses and two old farm wagons. Always something broke down. We were two kids, you might say, with no previous experience logging. We leamed fast! Prospect Hill School in Westfield, "to get a better education," as Mother said. Russ was in the eighth grade and I was in the seventh. It must have been tough for both of us. I'm sure it was for me! We were farmers. We knew it, and the other boys knew it and didn't let us forget it. The principal stopped the only "near fight." That made me mad and I lit into him. After that they seemed to lay off pestering me. managed to get through that first year and passed into the eighth grade. Russell had his troubles, too. You asked, "How did we get back and forth to school?" We rode bikes in good weather and drove a horse in winter months. There was an old horse bam right north of the school yard. We got permission to hitch the horse there. In 1916, the next year, Russell dropped out to help out on the farm. I know why we didn't get killed. We left home in the morning at seven o'clock to East I don't Mountain. We loaded our two loads of logs after a fashion and drove to Southampton. Unload the logs. Load two loads of lumber and bring it home. Home around seven o'clock in the evening. The bam had to be ready in early faU for tobacco. I'm now in eighth grade. I rode bike fall months. Over to Gramp Higgins winter months. There was a one-horse school bus that picked up what kids there were in East Mountain at the time, probably six or eight. (There was no schoolhouse in that section then.) I rode the bus to the foot of Clay Hill, got out there, walked up the hill to Hill School, as that is where I had been going. The bus went to Abner Gibbs School. After school I walked back to North Elm Street to catch my bus. Things went a lot better this year for me. There was an attic, or loft, on the top floor. The principal let a few of us boys from out of town play basketball there noon hours. I had never had a chance to play with a basketball. This High School I went three months. Rode bike. No way in sight to get boarded in town for the winter. Father took sick — had worked too hard all year. I dropped out of school to keep things going. Russ had taken a job working for Uncle Herb Higgins. After Christmas work, Russell was back home from Higgins'. Russ said he was going to get work at the brickyard. I told him to get a job for me, too. He got back said he got a job. The boss said that I was too young, but I could come and give it a try. I — worked there all winter digging clay. It was was something! Come spring and baseball! They had a town my first job for money — fifty cents per hour. league for grade schools. I made the team, so I was late home from school about one day a 1918 When I was fifteen in 191 8, the Army Camp came to Westfield. Tent City, or Camp Bartlett week when we had a game to play. I was back — where the airport home from Grandfather's then, riding my now. Horses, mules and soldiers by the thousands!! Father lined up a few hundred horses to keep the manure cleaned away for the summer. Had to be there by eight o'clock and cleaned away by noon. bike. I finished is up eighth grade in fine shape! I stood third in class on graduation. The last two months of school, Mrs. Strong, our 26 �my set of eveners. He built a high box body on our best wagon, out. Only one time I broke and Dad and I pitched manure, two loads a day. One load we would unload at the IXiffey place (later the Townsend place), then we would bring the next load home. had to borrow a set from a nearby farm to get home. My dad was real mad. The man promised to get a new set made up for me and bring them over. My dad said, "You're crazy! He'll never do it!" But he did, and all was well. I Afternoons we tended to farm work. Russell had taken a job working at the Baggage 1919 Station that summer. When I was sixteen my father gave me a After fall and Christmas wreath work, I half-acre to grow tobacco, so I would have carted milk to Holyoke with horses. No roads some spending money. I was thrilled. It was best crop ever! Some years buyers came around early, before har- were kept open for cars or trucks those years. We had a long express wagon when the ground was bare. And a double bob-sled when snow was on the ground. I collected milk in Russellville: Clark's, Moores', Russells', Graves', and our own. In the Brickyard area: Goodwins', Campbells', and Franks'. I would leave at eight in the morning and get home at eight at night. One day in January I started out early with the wagon. I had gotten only half-way to Holyoke when is started snowing a Northeaster, they called it. I got there, unloaded my a good growing year — vest, to pick out farms with better tobacco. Well, thaf s what happened this year. Father sold for fifty cents a pound in the field, which was top price. Soon after we started cutting, the worst hailstorm ever hit us — ruined the crop. We had to take five cents a pound. After Christmas work was over, I carted milk again during the winter months. — 1920-1921 I think the tobacco did better this year. milk, loaded up my empties, and took off for Uncle Arthur, a trustee at the college, got me home. The horses knew the way no traffic so I got under the seat. It was snowing and blowing so hard, I could hardly see! I got across Route 10, coming toward the brickyard just before dark. Snow drifts were so deep the horses could barely drag the wagon. Just before Dolinskies' one horse fell down. They were just done in, so 1 unhitched them from the wagon. I had to hitch one horse to the other to get him up. I left the wagon and cans sitting there right in the middle of the road. I got on the best horse, leading the other, and came home. My dad was pretty mad because I didn't get the wagon home. It took us most of the next day to get the wagon dug out. enrolled in the Dairy Course at Mass Aggie — — for the winter. Requirements? Being eighteen years old and a high school graduate. Well, I was eighteen in three months. When I was asked where I attended high school, I told the truth: Westfield Got through with high marks. Lined up a job working for the state, testing cattle. I was on the farm that next summer. After Christmas work, I took a job testing cattle all winter. I bought a new Model T the basketball. spring (1922) for 625.00 dollars. On the farm Summer and fall of 1922, 1 was nineteen. In Mud Season late fall. Father had a good hired man. I got a — Mud season in the spring could be the caU from the state testing. Things seemed to be going fine until January. I was testing down in Marlboro. I got a caU from Mother worst. Slow going and terrible rough roads. In one way I liked it the best. High School! I had a great winter. Spent a lot of time in the gym playing A few of the Red Speed wagons and cars would try to make it from Holyoke to Westfield. But quite a few January 6. Father was bad. I got home the next day on a Saturday. Dad died the next day. So it was back to the farm for good. You asked about Norman. He had one more year of high got stuck in the mud. I would get a chance to earn a little spending money pulling them 27 �school. Then he was home. We kept the farm going for Mother until she remarried. Nor- man was with me one more year until Mother left. The Grange In 1923 we all joined the Grange — the best thing for all. We got out and met people; all three of us worked up through the offices and The best experience ever for farm Thaf s when, as you say, we started Master. boys! going out — always something going on. No one had money in those days to spend on entertainment and such. In the Grange we made our own. We had plays, minstrel shows, outings of all kinds in the summer. We had trips with two or three cars to the seashore. Riverside, the Mohawk Trail. CARS made this possible. All of a sudden everyone had cars, and that was the fad, to go places. Of course we had a new Grange Hall to build. We used the old schoolhouse on South Maple Street, a three room school. I worked Ralph Pomeroy, one winter taking out partitions, a large chimney in the center, ripping up flooring. In all fact, it was large brick shell Blandford Fox Hunt, 1926 when we started ting ice, chopping wood, digging potatoes, rebuilding from the bottom up. Mixed cement hoeing com and others; picking potato bugs by hand for the cellar. New floors, walls, and ceilings. I started in the fall with Harry Belden, ripping things out, then building. Then Bill Townsend helped plastering in spring months. Of course, I milked the cows night and morning. Enough on Grange! I could go off potatoes — didn't I like that (no sprays). After the World War they started coming out with better farm equipment, if you had the money to buy. if Sunday school at Wyben Chapel was a must Mother had her way. on. Hunting You asked about working a lot when young. You don't realize, in those days farm I went with brothers some, but I hunted more by myself. Russ and Norman went to fox hunts and hunted deer mostly. I started folks had to grow a family as well as crops to make a "go" of farming. Without young folks to help out, they would never make it. I knew of no farm in our neighborhood that was coon hunting with Dad at eight years old. I had coon dogs for two years: Reuben and Ted. VanDuzen poisoned them. We had no more coon dogs while Father lived. I had had just enough of it. I had to have a coon dog. So the first money I got together after Dad died, I went to Tennessee for a coon dog: Old Rock. I was never without a coon dog from then on until the last five years. During the 20's and 30's coon hides paid taxes at times when no other money was available. making a living farming without young folks to help out. begged my dad to learn to milk at eight years. From then on into everything. To harness a horse, I had to have a stool to stand I — on. I worked with horses for thirty-five years until we got our first tractor. All farm work at that time was mostly hard work. The same as our grandfathers did; cut- 28 �Later on I took up wildcat hunting, the most interesting of all. the promise we would pay for any damage, that was the beginning of the Church League: Training good hounds was my ambition. I had the best for many years, and sold many Southampton, Easthampton, Westhampton, and two or three teams from Northampton. That lasted two years; we then went to the Valley League. That lasted a number of years. We got in college boys from other towns Southampton, Easthampton and came up with good teams. After baseball in Southampton, I switched hounds for good money. Sports — Marion, to try and answer your question, I always liked sports, baseball probably first, from the time I could throw a ball. I remember my first "boughten" glove. It was a hard thing, not much better than the old mitten I'd been using. — to Westfield in the old Valley League, playing with the First Church team. We never did win the championship there but had a lot of fun. SoftbaU after that! After I got back from Amherst (spring of I took our horses and dumpcart to Southampton and, with the help of a number of ball players, drew clay for the first ballfield in Southampton. It was up just this side of where the school is now on Pomeroy Meadow Road. We lined up the base-paths, dug them out, and filled in with clay. We built a backstop and were in business. I played there many years, mostly on Sundays. Dad would let me take off if there was no hay to get in. Basketball in Southampton started about the same time. They had never had basketball there before. Stanley Howlett and 1 with a few others talked the town fathers into letting us 1921) Going out when young You don't get very far on foot, and thafs how it was until I got my Ford in 1922. Then was on wheels. I started, as I said, with Grange. Next came square dancing (First Church), the First, in Southampton. The first few times I would sit up in the old balcony and watch. I learned all the dancing by watching until I got up the nerve to ask anyone to dance. An older lady asked me if I would care to dance. That got me started. For the next you know we wore out a lot eight years of shoe leather!! I loved to dance! Well, Marion, thafs all for now. You can take over from here. You liked to dance, too! I — build shields or whatever to protect the win- dows in the old town hall for basketball. With 29 — �Deer Hunting in West Granville 1924-1934 I am thankful that I never shot a deer in famous madam from Holyoke can never be told. There was also another restaurant owner, whose name I can't recall, but whom I do not want to overlook. His restaurant was located near the comer of State and Main Streets in Springfield and called The Handy Lunch. No one will ever know of the gifts of West Granville. Herd control would not excuse the guilt feelings coming from killing one of these beautiful animals. As a matter of fact, there were not many deer In this area during the 1920s. Never- the-less, deer hunting brought me to the home of Charles and Mrs. Sheets, and these two people are the reason for my wishing to have the readers of Stonewalls know them through a bo/s eyes, and then reflecting on their lives as an older meals he gave to former customers who became jobless during the depression. His son became an attorney and hopefuUy will learn of this tribute to his dad. Then there were Mel and Mull, two characters from Holyoke, whose stories of hunting with their bird dog Nellie gave us many an interesting evening. For years I believed their tale of hand feeding ducks at Forest Park in Springfield. As the ducks came close, Mel or Mull would feed with one hand and grab the ducks neck with man. The first week of December was "Deer Week"; open season on both bucks and does. I never knew how the Sheets' farm became "the place to be" during that exciting seven days. I came there with my father. Lew Grid- known sportsman and state champion trapshooter. Other friends from the Springfield area were always with us. I ley, a well the other. Their graphic description of the "catch" seemed so simple that I wondered remember the ride, first to Westfield, then South wick and finally the long upgrade ride to the Granvilles. The Sheets farm was on a dead end road leading off from the Tolland Road which lead toward the Hubbard river. why we ever bought chicken when ducks were so easily available. Many years after I Usually there were from six to twelve men staying for all or part of the week. I'm certain now that the evenings of sociability and the home cooked food, not the promise of a deer, kept the men coming year after year. A few Bed time was seldom later than nine o'clock. The bed rooms were cold but never mind; we had three resources found in most country homes of that era. They were a feather bed, a quilted comforter and a names that I remember: George Rice, City "Thunder Jug" under the bed. Breakfast was on the table by six o'clock and it was food good for a long day in the woods: meat, potato, eggs, homemade bread, and homemade doughnuts. Then, as we were ready to leave, a generous lunch would be had the opportunity to test a wild duck's reaction and found it far quicker than the human hand. Treasurer of Springfield, Charles Vining from Longmeadow who was reputed to be an heir to the Absorbine fortvme, Eddie Olds from Southampton, whose talent for converting apple cider into something stronger was well known during this period of National Prohibition, and Bob Doolittle, who operated the Puritan restaurant on Winchester Square in Springfield. He owned one of the first automobiles in the city, a Knox, manufactured not far from his place of business. Sue Hobbs, ready. As for the hunting part of my recollections, I'm sure that I expected to see a deer over every stone wall and behind every juniper bush. Sadly, I never did, but I do remember enjoying the hike along the road past the Sheets' farm and leading toward Otis. Today my uncle whose story of association with the 30 �it must be a favorite ride for cross country several weeks I was their guest, but doubt if I every picked enough berries to make my visit worthwhile as an employee. A vehicles. Also, time has brought into true perspective enormous amount of preparation and granddaughter of the Sheets' often came to hard work that went into feeding and housing a dozen or more men. In those days there were no short cuts like store bought food or disposable dishes. How well I remember the meals, but I have no recollection of the after help with the picking. 1 remember her as a pretty teenager and a far better berry picker than I. Also, there was another girl named Leona who I recognize as the sister in the article on page 22 of the fall issue of Stone Walls. There was a visiting student minister the meal clean up duties. I know that Mr. Sheets helped in the house but he had bam chores to take care of, so the burden of after meal work mentioned in the same article. Some years ago I met a brother of the Sheets girl mentioned above. He had a camp in New Hampshire where I resided at the time. was mostly the responsibility of Mrs. Sheets. At that time I would estimate that she was more than sixty years old. I have always mar- All of us are now seniors and some are no longer with us. If at times during our lives we veled at her capacity for hard work. A final event marks the end of my association with Mr. and Mrs. Sheets and will indi- found ourselves working harder without complaining, then perhaps in our subcon- cate the compassionate side of their character. scious minds there was the example of this One summer, perhaps 1933 or 1934, I was kindly couple. without work and I asked Mrs. Sheets if I could come and stay and pick blueberries for my board and room. They agreed and for Kenneth C. Gridley Little River, So. Carolina Iggs for Barred Plymouth Rocks. — Pure blood, selected stock not inbred. Eggs carefully attended to. 50 cents per sitting. This is one- half price charged by fanciers. 31 �Family Values By David Pierce When people ask me why I like trains, often a Model A Ford as Carl would travel to meet just stare blankly, not for lack of an answer, the boys when the pusher was taken off out- but because so many feelings and memories come flooding in that I find it very hard to sort; to say what one thing triggered my en- side his store. during interest in this particular form of ence? How could you not be enamored of these beasts when such close encounters were part of your everyday exist- transport. It;s almost a family tradition, positively Pavlovian; love of the railroad Carl Pierce met his death at the age of 60 as right outside his store when he was struck by close to genetic among the Pierce family as a train during a blizzard on Feb. 8, 1945. Ad- can be achieved in the natural course of ding to the irony was the fact that his things. daughter, Janet was riding that very train, is My great-grandfather Carlton, died a scheduled to stop in Pittsfield, returning home from Wheaton College. These events, however, did not seem to diminish the inter- peaceful death at the age of 83 in the foyer to his back porch on his way to watch the pas- Clerk, and his son-in-law. He never made it, and love of the raiboad among his children and succeeding generations. To the contrary, his was an heroic exit; unloading the as Nelson had reported not seeing him at his mail during a raging snowstorm; a vital link post that evening. in the solemn duties of the U. S. Post Office. My grandfather, Carl Pierce, ran a coal and feed outlet across the tracks from his father's Three workers on the tracks in Hinsdale that night had in fact been struck by the offschedule passenger train. Yet, to this day I can't imagine a member of the family not pointing out the passage of a train to a child. The first photo, while staged (the boys didn't really hand-shovel carloads of coal) sage of train 40, as he did each evening to est in wave at Nelson Earle, Railway Post Office home in Hinsdale where trains were a large part of the daily routine of business. Coal and bulk grains arrived by rail, as well as postal cars, which Carl held the contract for loading and unloading. Of course, Carl knew all the trainmen, and when he had his sons, Wadsworth, later to be my father, and Dough in Pittsfield to help him load supplies, he would arrange for them to hitch a ride on a pusher engine to Hinsdale, where they would stand in awe on the swaying deck of the en- shows a lot of the time. Besides the now-gone array of railroad structures in the background, the leather aviator helmets and the on the coal pile at left,show these lads were also enthusiastic about a flights jackets mode of travel new to the scene, the gine cab, surveying a dizzying array of valves aeroplane. While we spent a lot of time watch- and gauges as the fireman labored to shovel ing trains, I don't recall my father ever taking nearly a ton of coal through the 'butterfly me to an airport to watch planes. doors' during the six-mile climb up the The next generational recording of involvement with the railroad is in the West mountain shoving hard on the rear of a wooden caboose. The pushers would come Springfield yards in 1953. This one is of me. & The locomotive has been condemned to Albany profile. The ride took about 30 minutes, the same amoimt of time needed to scrap, evidenced by the missing headlight, as off in Hinsdale, near the top of the Boston had thousands of sisters nationwide during this period. As the decline of steam began to ply the roads of the day (15 mins. in 1992) in 32 �33 �creep into my father's consciousness during these busy years of starting a family, he wanted to seek out the last of this disappearing breed. He hoped to have me experience day. the magic of these wondrous machines, but haven't developed a technique to get cab rides, but we always note the passage of trains, hi this instance, about 4 years ago, my cousin Steve, and his son Tom, exuberantly hailed the presence of Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited just west of Boulard's Crossing bridge which marks the highest point (1495 ft.) on the B&A line. This is also in Hinsdale, Now, while I have no children of my ov^, there are occasions when I find myself track- side with a member of the 'next' generation. I the magic had been drained away with the last of the boiler water, and final dumping of ashes. I found plenty to fascinate me, however, out on the mainline, as the newly ac- quired and elegantly painted streamlined trains raced by. These 'new' diesels are now as much objects of wistful nostalgia as their steam ancestors, having been replaced 25 years ago with today's boxy-looking locomotives. Ehiring this period, my father, as had his about three miles from the former location of Carl A. Pierce & Sons fuel and feed company. Tom's excitement when he sees a train leads me to believe he'll be watching them for many years into the future, no matter what technological changes my take place in the mean- father before him, would arrange cab rides for me. Using in these instances his press card rather than business contacts to elicit the hoped-for engineer's-eye-view, he has written many pieces sympathetic to the railroads over the years. A 1955 trip dow the New Haven Railroad's 'inland route' from time. Unlike many families with a rich lineage of railroaders, we've not a one; it's perhaps because of the disassociation that we've always Springfield to Grand Central Station in New been fans. York City began a series of father-son train trips 'just for the ride' which continues to this 34 �Once again we delve into the files of Wadsworth R. Pierce of Hinsdale, for this 1967 Springfield Republican account: Hinsdale Gold Rush for although Sutphen admitted being part of Hoax Of 1897 Kept Coirnty Agog a hoax, most evidence indicates he profited little by the maneuver. It was through his For 2 Hectic Years — HINSDALE This central Berkshire community has had more than its share of strange occurrences during its up-down-and-up again history, but none more melodramatic, unbelievable and still mysterious than the "gold rush," which started out with rumors and whispers in 1896. It exploded into full bloom the following year with the organization of a gold mining company, the sale of $30,000 worth of stock, the construction of mining buildings and the installation of machinery. Hundreds of people, including generally-suspicious newsmen, were among those who lost their insistence, however, that the golden ball kept rolling for so long. Other participants who were in on the ground floor include an apparently wealthy couple from Springfield, Mr. and Mrs. George H. Page, and an itinerant oil man named Davis, who was known in Hinsdale as "Rattlesnake Bill." Page, who was apparently a victim of the elaborate scheme rather than a perpetrator, went on to become president of the Alpha Mining Co., which set up operations on the property of the late George M. French on East Washington Rd. Buildings were constructed, machinery installed and $30,000 worth of stock was sold at $5 a share. About the time the actual mining began, Sutphen, who had fled from town, made his last-minute confes- savings. Amazingly enough, the company's "boom" lasted more than two years on sheer promises. None of the stockholders ever received a dividend. A few oldtimers, still sion. living in the area, recall the excitement, but Public confidence in the operation remained unshakable during the first quarter of 1899, for on March 16 of that year the old Pittsfield Sun referred to the mine as "a siire, safe and thorough business project with suf- are vague on details. Their versions of what happened conflict somewhat. A definite hoax was perpetrated, but the records, old newspapers along with word of mouth reports, differ regarding the identity of ficient stock to the gmlty parties and their degree of involve- enable the management to erect a large well-constructed building." ment. It is a matter of record, however, that all but two or three persons involved were sin- A letter to the editor of that newspaper about the same time says that eight tons of material was put through the test plant of Prof. Sutphen of Glens Falls, N.Y., and that George H. Page, president of the Alpha Min- who poured out everything they owned, certain their money would be cere residents multiplied many times. The lid was slammed shut on the "gold mining project" in 1900 with the dramatic death-bed confession of Prof. John E. Sutphen of Glens Falls, N.Y., one of the principals. when the tests were made. "The Alpha Mining Co. has unhmited ing Co., was present quantities of this material, thus guaranteeing Sutphen, who made many gold assays, admitted at the end of his life that his estimates were false. His assays ranged from $15 to $100 worth of gold and even some silver in each ton of ore. absolute and long-continued success to the project and satisfaction to the fortunate stock- holders." 'This writer has had the pleasure to see with his own eyes and handle with his own An unsolved mystery remains, however. 35 �up a rock, which the Prof, assayed conservatively at $40 a ton, so a company was formed hands the beautiful samples of gold and silver which Mr. Page brought back from Glens Falls. The management is earnest and confident." The letter, printed on the paper's editorial page, was signed "A Well Wisher" Soon after Sutphen's death-bed confession that he was part of a hoax, the bitter stockholders disbanded, the company folded and to mine it." Entering the gold rush spirit, a Sunday Morning Call reporter wrote of the Hinsdale gold fields, "You are shown lumps of rock so rich you might walk away with a fortune in your pockets. When you 'wash' your hands in the sand they become gold plated." At the Berkshire Athenaeum there is a letter from Prof. WV. Crosby of Massachusetts Institute of Technology dated as early as Feb. 28, 1898, which exposed the whole operation as worthless. Crosby said that a sample he had examined contained no gold and was probably "of no economic interest." This letter was the land was sold for taxes. Word of gold in Hinsdale began as early as 1896, for in a bulletin of the U.S. Geological Survey, an item dated Aug. 15, 1896 stated: "George M. French has a number of men excavating on his gold find preparatory to final exanunation by Prof. Southpen of Albany. (Southpen is an apparent misspelling of Sutphen.) Mr. French still has hopes and flatter- apparently not circulated. The boom continued until after the turn of the century, and for two years farmers forgot to farm, believing their east pastures rested on 24 karat mine fields and gold bearing sand lay ing offers as well." According to a report from The Berkshire "Near the Alpha Mine a Brooklyn lady owns a 100 acre farm, which also had a stream. After the professor's assay, she formed the River Bend Mining Company and was said to have turned down an offer of Traveller, in their barnyards. Although Prof. Sutphen died just before the operation crumbled. Rattlesnake Bill and Mr. and Mrs. Page just disappeared. There are no $100,000 for it. Her property was so highly regarded that even the canny West Pittsfield written accounts of where the Pages went from Hinsdale, but it appears they put all their money into the mines. About 30 years Shakers invested $6,000 in the project." Oldtimers also recall that there were diggings about the same time on Tully Mountain Rd. between Hinsdale and Pittsfield - venture later a resident contacted the Pages in New Mexico. which Rattlesnake Bill set up and which at- Most Hinsdale residents today are vaguely aware that the community was once the scene of a gold rush, and only a few oldtimers have any idea what part of the community was tracted many investors. There too, a building was started before the truth was known. The Berkshire Traveller account of what happened is - 'Tage organized the Hinsdale Mining and Milling Company, brought in the mysterious Professor Sutphen, and named Rattlesnake Bill as mine superintendent and promoter To bolster the gold rush when interest seemed to flag, he called on a kind of off-stage voice he identified as 'California Jack O'Brien, a world famous authority.' His Hinsdale lode was called the Alpha Mine, and profits of $1,000 a day were predicted from involved. Despite the fact it is rough walking from the road into the mine shaft, 82-year-old Munroe F. Watkins, who has lived in Hinsdale since he was three, accompanied this reporter through brush and trees and over fences to the Alpha remains. In its heyday the mining firm constructed a large "L" shaped frame refining building near the shaft behind the nowboarded up French home. The terrain was then an open meadow, Watkins recalled, but it has since been reclaimed by the forest. Trees the workings. "All at once, people began finding gold on every side. Prof. Sutphen assayed it for them, quoting impressive figures. A Pittsfield native, while fishing in a brook in Peru, picked nearly a foot thick grow inside the stone foimdations. These stones and bits of rusted machinery hide the evidence of a most 36 �Bill and Prof. Sutphen are as familiar to him elaborate confidence game. Watkins and other residents nearby say as Babe Ruth. He says that Sutphen collected there truly is a trace of gold on the land; in fact money from the operation, but he feels the Pages were honest victims. Another veteran Hinsdale native is William Doherty, who will be 80 in July and now lives shiny flecks can readily be seen in the sunshine. Appraisals made since Alpha collapsed, however, reveal there is only about $3 or $4 worth in a ton of ore, a figure that would not cover the cost of mining and refining. its at 39 Fairfield St., Pittsfield. He particularly recalls the Tully Moimtain mining operation because that was near his home which was then on Hinsdale's Curtis St. He, too, recalls the names of the principals, the excitement of it all, but is somewhat vague on the details. Watkins, who has been a dairy farmer most of his life, was about 12 or 14 years old during the get-rich-quick years, but he vividly recalls the excitement. The names Page, Rattlesnake The foundation of the Alpha Mining Co. 37 �MOLTENBREY'S MARKET Serving the people of Huntington for over 35 years DARRYL PISK, Prop. HUNTINGTON Handmade Dolls and Gifts Buffington Hill Road Worthington, HARDWARE MA 01098 Florence Chamberlin (413) 238-5548 East Main St., Huntington, MA 01050 667-5531 Quality Hardware. Electrical & Plumbmg Supplies Sacrete Products, Glass, Lawn & Garden Products carpentry ^B^BI ^^^^^^^^^ CilRQUEST woodworking remodeling A Dwtrtbuiocof IISXFARMA Ron Birrell (41 3) 238-4433 GATEWAY —AUTO PARTS— "More Than Just An Auto Parts Store" ROUTE 20, HUNTiNGTON, MA 01050 Huntington Road South Worthington, MA WESTFIELD PHARMACY Prescriptions Convalescent Medical Equipment Tel. 562-4411 65 Franldin Street • Westfield, Mass. Call Toll Free (41 3) 667-31 01 1 -800-992-1 054 Proudly serving the Hilltowns for over 20 years. �Proprietors: Art Muller and Janice Haywood Comers Grocery Bradford P. Fisk, Inc. 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O'Leary, Broker WEST'MOORE INSURANCE AGENCY MA 01011 Main Street, Chester, 413-354-9688 • 1-800-649-1021 Insurance for Your HOME • BUSINESS • AUTO* FARM VACATION PROPERTY LIFE • LONG TERM CARE • ANNUITIES 'Tour Local Hilltown Insurance Agency" 413 / 848-2076 - Residence �— Editorial Board — Barbara Brainerd Natalie Birrell Harry Bishop Helena Duris William S. Hart Ellie Lazarus Louise Mason Doris Wackerbarth Grace Wheeler — Friends — Mr. & Mrs. Philip Ives Mrs. Carl Knittle Mr. & Mrs. Donald Ives Barbara Bush Edna Hart May Anderson Anna Rheaume Mr. & Mrs. James Gilman Frank Andras Gustave Suhm Eleanor Tortolani Alta Crowley �"Building a stone wall seems to he a craft reserved for the rare artist who can place the right stone atop another and have them stand forever." Charles McRaven, "Building with Stone" — STONE WALLS NON PROHT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE Box 85 Huntington, Massachusetts 01050 Vol. 19 No. 3 PAID Huntington, MA 01050 Permit #1 Winter '92-' 93 Mrs. Dorothy M. Miller 15 North Rd. � Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Text Any textual data included in the document. local history articles, 1992 Original Format If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Magazine Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 2024-023 Title A name given to the resource Stone Walls magazine, fall 1992 Description An account of the resource Stone Walls Magazine, Fall 1992. Contents include Genesis of Woronoco by Doris H. Wackerbarth A Town is Born by Doris Hayden & Jean York Rhythm of the Road by Barbara Brainerd The Granville Public Library by Wilhelmina Tryon 1903 More from the Journal of Rev. Hutchinson Oldtime Westfield Verse The Family Trolley Ride by Gordon Hawkins Growing Up on a Farm by Ralph Pomeroy Deer Hunting in West by Granville Kenneth Gridley Family Values by David Pierce Hinsdale Gold Rush by Wadsworth Pierce Type The nature or genre of the resource Document Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource digitized version of stapled magazine Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Stone Walls Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource fall 1992 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Stone Walls magazine Date Available Date (often a range) that the resource became or will become available. 2024-03-02 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. digital archives Medium The material or physical carrier of the resource. Electronic Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Massachusetts - Other Mediator An entity that mediates access to the resource and for whom the resource is intended or useful. In an educational context, a mediator might be a parent, teacher, teaching assistant, or care-giver. db created item 2024-03-02 https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/27e2279a63dd08a1821b093a245872c1.pdf 2800b56dad60c552a878fc5fec6b1845 PDF Text Text STONE WALLS �EDITORIAL The damage caused by the October earthquake in California makes us stop and look at our familiar hills and wonder. Storms are predictable, but not earthquakes! The realization that rock and earth can move suddenly on such a vast scale is difficult to comprehend. The few earthquakes that we have known in our area have been mild wobbles. Yet there are ancient fault lines in the region where the earth has moved in the past. Our rocky hillsides seem eternal to us but not to a geologist. Nature has its own timetable. It was only fifteen thousand years ago or so when this area was covered by a glacier which reshaped our hills and valleys, dropping off boulders and other debris along its path. Meanwhile our brooks and rivers are in the process of making their own changes in the landscape. It all makes human activities seem puny in comparison. Let us take another look at our beloved hills and valleys, beautiful in the snow and ice of a New England winter. Lucy Conant STONE WALLS Box 85 Huntington, Massachusetts 01050 Vol. 16 No. 4 STONE WALLS is published quarterly. Subscriptions are $9.00 a year, $2.50 for individual copies. Please add 80 cents with a special request for any back issue to be mailed. The retail price of individual copies may be modified only with the permission of the editorial Board. We welcome unsolicited manuscripts and illustrations from and about the hilltowns of the Berkshires. Theeditors of STONE WALLS assume no responsibility for non-commissioned manuscripts, photo- No such material will be returned unless submitted with self addressed envelope We also welcome letters from our readers. No portions of this publication may be reproduced in any the exception of brief excerpts for review purposes, without the express consent of the editors of STONE graphs, drawings, or other material. andsuffient postage. form, with WALLS. Due to the fact as it is that we are a financially possible. If at non-profit making publication, we will continue to publish our magazine as long any time we are unable to continue, we will be under no obligation to refund any subscription. © STONE WALLS 1989 �- 2 CONTENTS - Diary of Charles H. Gardner - 1861 Continued from Spring of "89" 4 To Know The Indians 6 Hildred Palmer Cortes: is Gone" Doris Wackerbarth 10 The 13 North Granby - Bedford or The Wedge 24 Index for 1985 - 1989 28 William C. Whitney and the Whitney Estate 32 The Deacon's Son and The Parson's Daughter 34 Blandford Settlers Built Three Forts 35 A 36 Norwich Once Separate Town Life of a Visit to in Hall Carol Laun "Memories of a Time That House Pam Worthington Joan Hastings William Ida Joslyn S. Hart and Connie Dorrington ]ohn Wright Crane Dr. Howard A. Gibbs Robert L. Soule Aunt Hannah Dr. Howard A. Gibbs Robert T. Soule -1- �Diary of Charles H. Gardner PART III Continued from Spring Issue "89" Submitted hy Pamela G. Donovan Hall of Huntington and Ann and Richard Gardner ofN.C. Charles H. Gardner was Richard's great uncle. Charles H. Gardner was the son of William and Electra (Miller) Gardner. He was bom in 1840 in the Knightville section of Norwich (now Huntington). This diary begins when he was living in the Village of Norwich. Cloudy and rainy all day was much Fri. 1 1 middle of the day but was cool AM night v^th a cold disappointed this in not getting a furlough to go home but the Col. was not available and being a soldier I must submit to orders letters Sat. 2 It is been out on drill for the first time in 2 weeks had a letter from Rachel Miller to day and was disappointed at not hearing from Sun 3 Sun. Oct. 13th to Fri. Rained hard all day the forenoon it was the hardest storm we have had BLANK Oct. 18, 1861 all Rained very hard Sat. 19 in the ery and cold in the came the tent today. 21 It is off last Mon.4 Tues. 5 cold tonight. fellow got camp life they 6 Very pleasant and warm drilled and done stable duty. There is a mass brewing here that is certain but cannot tell when it will come off but am ready to do my part Still continues pleasant and warm but went to the stable in the irons Thurs. 7 The weather • and month empty we continues warm were confined in our still quarters until 10 AM when we went out and got a blowing up and our office were tumed out of office. NOVEMBER Pleasant and continues evening Very pleasant but cool wind has been blowing all day Father and Fordyce left here this AM and were had a high time here in the PM Co. revolted and several were put in but did not get hurt much expect to Fri. 1 before AM and got kicked as well as my horse Rest of up brought me a lot of things that Very pleasant worked down to the bams all day had a chance to ride go but cleared quite pleased with Wed. Tues. 21 fall and was quite pleasant Father and Fordyce came into camp Very pleasant we was detailed for bam duty 2 days had some work and a good deal from the horses the night guard duty early this AM laid out last rute and caught more cold it is quite cool this evening Rained hard in the forenoon cold and showery in the PM came off guard about 12 oclock and laid in Sun. 20 Mon. AM show- PM I was have written 8 and received no answer. a cool windy day and I have better then Cloudy and rainy in the AM cool in the PM pleasant in the everung went on picket duty got cold was sick took a Corporal prisoner and had a good time. Sat. 1 2 at wind am much warm in the Fri. -2- 8 Pleasant and warm in the �PM on guard in the evening staid First down to the bam all night and slept 2nd got up early this AM 3rd 4th MEMORANDA Fri. Oct 5th 6th 18, 1861 Very stormy called at E.S. Searles and saw Gertrude and she promised to send me her picture and as promised to write to me as she received my letter Wrote to Gertrude last Sunday and Nov. 2 have not heard from her yet expect she has not received mine Tues. Apr. 2 Saw Miss Wheeler she left forConn. today promised to write to me to send some papers to her May 1 0 Received a letter from Annie today in which she promised to correspond with me In camp at Readville and sick at that wish I was at home but cannot go like camp life better than perpetuated we have a fine bimch of boys here 12 of whom are in the tent with me Thurs,Oct. 11, 1861 Had a letter from Jule today in which she said she was sorry that she gave me the (Matter)(?) Commenced work for H. Williams April 1st 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th week worked 6 days " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " Remember me through many miles We distance be Julia Charlie Hasten home Charles H. Gardner served with the 1st Mass. Cav. Co. F from Sept. 25, 1861 to July 18, 1862 which time he was given a medical discharge because he had contracted consumption. He died four weeks later at the family homestead in Knightville and was buried in the Knightville Cemetery. He was 21 years at old. �To Know The Indians by Carol Laun Some of early writers regarded the Indians factor. New England with admiration for certain Writings from the late 1600's and early 1700's were gathered by Rev. Henry White and published in an 1841 book called "Early History of New England." It is and factual reports of Indians written in that time period. Most rare to find objective were colored by the and moral values of the articles social prejudices v^iters. Hospitality is mentioned by several writ- rest to his weary kees." "As Governor Joseph Dudley, naked, come and look on, as a pastime, to see his men work, he asked him why he did not work, and get some clothes to cover himself. The Indian answered by asking him, why he did not work. The Governor, pointing with his finger to his head, said, "I work head work, and so have no need to work with my limbs; hands as you should." "The Governor told him he wanted a calf killed, and that if he would go and do it, he would give him a shilling. He accepted the offer, and went immediately and killed the calf, and then went sauntering about as before. The governor, on observing what he had done, asked him why he did not dress the calf before he left it. The Indian answered, "No, no Governor, that was not in the bargain. I was to have a shilling for killing him. Am he no dead. Governor?" The Governor, seeing himself outwitted, told him to dress it, and he would give him another shilling." "Among the savages, hospitality prevailed to The Europeans everywhere found the most friendly and cordial recep- a high degree. ages; and from all they first came among the sav- their hospitality they derived the assistance the savages could afford them. It was not until disputes and differences had taken place, that the Indians be- came of Massa- chusetts, observed an able-bodied Indian, half food was shared with him, or given in exchange for his trifles; they were ready with their simple medicines to heal his diseases and his wounds; they would wade through rivers and climb rocks and mountains to guide him on his way, and they would remember and requite a kindness more than it deserved." Williams in his History of Vermont, says, when are considered indicate that they their tion, all The shrewdness of the Indians seems to were the original "Yan- "Belknap, speaking of the reception the Europeans who first visited Canada received from the natives, says, "Suspecting no danger, and influenced by no fear, they embraced the stranger with imaffected joy. Their huts were open to receive him, their fires and furs warmth and it, want." ers. to give of the earth, with by them as a liberal and impartial donation to the whole family of mankind, and by no means intended to supply only the wants of a few. Hence an Indian is ever free to give of all that he possesses, and v^l often share with strangers even to the last morsel, preferring to lie down hungry himself, than that a visitor should leave his door unfed, or that the sick and needy should remain uncherished and in traits of character. contemporary The productions the animals which inhabit Even now, an unarmed, who repairs to them for relief and protection, is sure to find safety and unfriendly. defenseless stranger, "This Indian, having several times outwitted the Governor, was asked by the Governor how he had cheated and deceived him so many times. The Indian answered, pointing with his finger to his head, "Head work. assistance in their hospitality." "Hospitality," says another writer, "is one most prominent Indian characteristics, and has its source in an enlarged view of the goodness and justice of our heavenly Beneof the Governor, head work!" -4- �"A sachem being on a visit at the house of Johnson, told him one morning of a dream which he had had the preceding night. This was that Sir William had given him a rich suit of military clothes. Sir William, knov^dng that it was the Indian custom to give Sir William whatever present he claimed in this manner, gave him the clothes. Some time after, the sachem was at his house again. Sir William observed to him that he also had had a dream. The sachem asked him what. He answered, he dreamed that the sachem had given him a tract of land. The sachem replied, "You have the land, but we no dream again." "A white trader sold a quantity of powder to an Indian, and imposed upon him by making him believe it was a grain which grew like wheat, by sowing it upon the ground. He was greatly elated by the prospect, not only of raising his own powder, but of being able to supply others, and thereby becoming immensely rich. Having prepared his ground with great care, he sowed his powder with the utmost exactness in the spring. Month after month passed away, but his powder did not even sprout, and wdnter came before he wcis satisfied that he had been deceived. He said to a friend nothing; but some time after, when the trader had forgotten the trick, the same Indian suc- ceeded in getting credit for a large amount. The time set for payment having expired, he sought out the Indian at his residence and demanded payment for his goods. The Indian heard his demand with great complaisance; then looking him shrewdly in the eye, said, "Me pay you when my powder grow." This was enough. The guilty white man quickly retraced his steps." "I am glad," said the Rev. Dr. , to the chief of the Little Ottowas, "that you do not drink whiskey. But it grieves me to find that Y— your people use so much of it." "Ah, yes," replied the Indian and he fixed an arch and impressive eye upon the doctor, which communicated the reproof before he uttered it "we Indians use a great deal of whiskey, but — we do not make it." Other anecdotes illustrate the Indian traits of fidelity, gratitude, sympathy, maternal affection, ness filial shown love, and veneration and kind- the aged. Perhaps one of the most striking examples between the "savage" Indians and the "civilized" Europeans is in the matter of honesty. "Trained up to the most refined cunning of the difference and dissimulation in war, the Indian carries nothing of this into the affairs of commerce, but is fair, open, and honest in his trade. He was accustomed to no falsehood or deception in the management of his barter, and he was astoiushed at the deceit, knavery and fraud of the European traders. He had no bolts or locks to guard against stealing, nor did he ever conceive that his property was in any danger of being stolen by any of his tribe. All of the infamous and unmanly vices which arise from avarice, were almost unknown to the savage state." These early writers paint a picture of a people with a well-developed social and moral structure; living harmoniously with their environment. The systematic destruction of the tribes is a chapter of shame in the history of America. �Hildred Palmer Cortis: "Memories of a Time That is Gone" by Doris H. Wackerbarth Hildred Palmer was bom on MounRoad, Russell Mountain, in 1900; she has seen the active community of which she was once a part swallowed up by forests, and the town of Woronoco spring up almost fullgrown over night, and begin to dwindle away. She grew up in the days when people didn't walk for their health: they walked because that was the way a person got any place, and no one stayed home because a distance was tain three or four miles snowing. When —or was raining she went to work and it for Strathmore Paper Company in her late teens, her family was living on Russell Mountain, four miles up Blandford Road Route 23 and she walked to work to be there by eight in the morning; after work, at five o'clock, she walked back home again. (It wasn't a solitary walk, there were others to walk with part of the way.) — Hildred's family were pioneers who came into the Woronoco-Russell area when it was a farming area, when so many salmon came up the river to spawn in the spring they could be harvested in baskets. Her forefathers were here when county records Woronoco as Fairfield Station. listed (The Fair- who built the first papermill were from became a world-famous manufacturer of high quality paper and acquired all the property contingent to its spreading mills, Hildred's immediate family was well-established in the community along the General Knox Trail, (then called Mountain Road.) There were farm families every half mile or so along Mountain Road, and along South Quarter Road which angled off to the west and Blandford, and Robbins Road to the east, along the summit of Russell Mountain (it circled back to Blandford Road, just above Laurel Road.) The Appalachian Mountain Clubhouse looks out over the Connecticut Valley from where a stalwart Robbins family once earned their living. There were no woods along Blandford Road or the other roads on Russell Mountain then. Everywhere within sight was fenced mowings, meadows and pasture, with wood lots beyond the last stonewalls at the back of a property. For those like the Robbins who looked out over the valley, the view must have been worth being whipped by the winds in winter. Hildred was that became bom in the pleasant cottage Sanbom summer home; she in a little one room school the started school was the substantial house halfway between Woronoco and house about a half mile from her home, on a triangle of land where South Quarter Road took off from Mountain Road. (The schoolhouse disappeared without a trace, but its Russell, known as the Savage Place (the name lilac trees fields Russell Mountain, originaUy, too.) Her great- grandfather's farmhouse of the family who last lived there, not a de- on the "wrong" side of the river, across from route 20. It was a landmark for generations, standing isolated and alone, staring across the valley, a destination on a pleasant Sunday afternoon for hikers who were not put off by the necessity of watching scription): the time Strathmore Paper nating one, this is an account of Hildred and changes she remembers of her lifetime she and her younger sister, Ruth Richards, are the only persons left of that once busy area. When Hildred was nine years old, her story: — family and the Shurtleffs on Shurtleff Road carefully for rattlesnakes. By The story of community is a fasciworthy of more than one later flourished for years.) the Russell Mountain Company sold their farms skirting Hazzard Pond to �Horace A. Moses, developer and president of Strathmore Paper Company, for Moses Heights and Woronoke Farm, his summer estate. The pond had a bountiful supply of bass and pickerel, and gravestones in the little cemetery at the west end of the pond give evidence to how it got its name: more than one family lost members who were caught on the pond in winds that evidently came up suddenly and were unique to the area, perhaps due to the narrow passes at both ends end of the pond. With the sale of his farm, her father bought acreage across from where Moimtain Road leaves Blandford Road, and built a two-story, two family house for his fannily and his parents, rather out of keeping with the neighborhood.) Being taught was a problem for students attending coim try schools. Not as many teachers married farmers and stayed in the area, to be pressed into service when needed, as has been believed. According to Hildred, teachers didn't stay long enough to get acquainted v^th the local swains. Some towns allowed girls fresh out of high school to teach in their home towns where family peer pressure helped v^th discipline, and the girls had the support of her family and the comforts of home while gaining experience. But Russell, probably due in no small part to Mr. Moses's progressive turn of mind, required two years of Normal School training. Teachers came and went with distressing regularity. They didn't like the isolation, their boarding houses were not as comfortable as their own homes, and there was all that walking no trolleys in this mountain community. When the weather was at its worst, if the teacher was boarding with someone not much interested in education anyway, she didn't make it to school, though the students who lived closest to the school always did. The Russell Mountain and became the R(ural) F(ree) D(elivery) mailman. (I remember him in winter wearing a really swashbucking, full-length fur coat that reminded me of a Russian Cassock. I knew that the collar was red fox, and she tells — me that the coat was of red squirrel—^but she know whether he was the marksman himself, or how he acquired it. He also had a doesn't robe I remember him throwing over his laphe drove an open touring car at the time I remember him. I had been told the robe was buffalo. because If it it wasn't, it surely was school didn't require the teacher to shovel snow of bear, was very shaggy.) After the Palmers moved to their new house, Hildred went to school in a one-room school almost across the street from her fifty times; the new new had four different burning as neighbor^but teachers. Hildred vividly remembers her first encounter with an automobile. She had heard of horseless carriages neighbors who went to the city more often than she did had seen them and told her family about them. One summer day when she was about seven, she and her brother were walking along Blandford Road when they heard the most frightening sound she ever had heard. As they stared at each other in terror they realized that it was approaching them from over the hiU behind them. As soon as they got their breath and gathered their wits, they scrambled up the banking beside them, scrambled over and ran until they felt safely out of reach of the monster that went coughing and bucking down the highway, right where they had been standing. I asked her if the passengers — club attracted patrons who each other and willing to to did not continue for long. Later, Bill Hatton, Woronoco's long-time storekeeper, installed a package store there brawl, so that fires —Hildred's brother was paid cents a week to tend to those chores— even with such coddling, in one year Hildred home. She describes it as, "stuck in a sandbank, in such a small area it was hard to believe a school could be built there." Perhaps the area was chosen because that land had no value with the sand gone for use on the road past its door. When that school burned down, an attractive one-room cottage was built on a knoll farther east, down the road. (It was discontinued in 1929, and after Prohibition was repealed in 1933, became a country night club of sorts. The Russell Mountain area did not have a supply of musicians, so country dances were not part of their past were strangers or keep the ing Gran viUe did it -7- �smiled at them and waved. She laughed, remembering how those passengers looked. She said that there were four of them, two afternoon that he was going to drive into Westfield for something he needed right then, and she exclaimed, shocked: "Leave for Westfield at three o'clock in the afternoon?" men and two women. They were not smiling. They never saw her and her brother they were all looking grimly straight ahead, as if they were as afraid of where the car was going as she and her brother was of its very being. She tells a fascinating tale of how hearty country folk were then, and of how much they walked: The young people in the community were having a sleigh ride one evening and one of the boys was late arriving. That day he had moved a family from down in the gorge below the Knox Trail to Blandford, the — When Coming home for a to work in Florence. weekend was a four hour adventure by trolley. She worked until noon on Saturday and — began her trip home ^an occasion, not an every week occurrence by trolley from Florence to Northampton. Her jaunt required two more changes, with lots of waiting around, or rain, or Woronoco. (The trolley continued on to Huntington and ran until ten o'clock at night. But not often.) Her father met her with his horse in Woronoco. The house Hildred's father built for his family in 1909 had an iron sink in the kitchen, of which they were very proud. It had a for the ride to pump— indoors — the innovation in housekeeping no more going to the well and breaking ice in winter. She was married in 1919 to Robert Cortis and moved into his parent's house, and acquired her first Singer sewing machine. Seven years later her hus- — Huntington and there were no telephones. Doctors tried to keep track of their pregnant patients, often walking miles in bad weather the woman wind and snow. The second leg of her trip was from Northampton to Westfield, and then a change at Park Square in Westfield in it, — often in unpleasant weather: blistering sun, woman walking all the way beside the sleigh because there was not room for her on the sleigh along with her household goods. When they reached her new address, she sent him back for a box of buttons she had put down and left behind. When he returned with the buttons he was flabbergasted to discover that she had delivered a new baby, Hildred explained that except for broken bones, and appendicitis and such emergencies, families took care of their ov^m medical problems. The closest doctor when she was growing up lived to attend a delivery. Hildred finished school she went band When they didn't make installed an latest pump electric in the cellar so that she had faucets and an enameled sink Not much later, they had a kerosene heater installed for heating water when the wood stove, the center of comfort or her family or neighbors in the kitchen. managed on their own. Hildred was in her teens before she rode in a car. Sunday school was held in the school, and one day Mr. Moses dropped in to visit was not needed in the warmer months. Hildred and her husband lived for fifty years in the house where they went to live as bride and groom. There they raised five sons and two daughters, all worthy citizens. Three of their sons are veterans of World War II. Unfortunately, Robert Cortis died two weeks after their Fiftieth Wedding Celebration. She for generations, and drove all the children home. A year or two later her father bought a car and began to deliver the mail by car in good weather. He went to Woronoco for the mail, which came in on the Boston and Albany train, and didn't get back from his route, along all the mountain roads and into Blandford until evening. In winter, he often had to revert to his horse and buggy to complete his appointed rounds, and one winter when his horse couldn't get through the drifts to some mail boxes she and her brother did the honors. She remembers now lives in a pleasant, spacious and comhome of her son, fortable apartment in the Wallace, on Maple Street in Westfield. Now, instead of walking miles she makes beautiful by hand, piecing them of all new cloth. She has made quilts for all of her four daughters-in-law and last year for Christmas gave quilts with a delighted chuckle how in the twenties, husband got his first car, he said one after her -8- �each of her twenty-one grandchildren a pieced quilt, of a city, she has all the modem conveniences she can use and is within earshot of every kind of transportation. some of them queen-sized. She hopes to make one for each of her forty-three greatgrandchildren, too. Now, so close to the heart -9- �The Life of a House in Worthington by Joan Hastings Every old house has a story or more to tell. The Victorian Italianate house next to Albert Farms in Worthington "the Pease Place" is no exception. The land it was built on already had the and the manufacture of pianos with an uncle in New York City. He became a successful piano manufecturer in the Bronx, New York and returned to his native Worthington in the simraiers when he was about 40 years old, with small children. The town had become a fashionable summer community for people from New York City and Springfield. He — when, in 1881, Chauncey D. Pease first bought the 140 acre "John Adams Farm" from Joseph Preston for $2700. (This included what is now Ida Joslyn's house and most of Ben Albert's potato fields in the area.) Chauncey then bought a farmhouse, as part of the 130 acre Lewis Hollis farm for $1000 in 1887. That history of five farming families to tell probably stayed at the elegant Bartlett's Hotel at the Comers before buying property. Through the 1880's he lived with his wife Mary and teenage children, Nellie and Harry, in the Gothic house (now Ida Joslyn's). The people living at the Thrasher farm (now Denworth) ran a dairy business for him. Chaunce/s descendents, the FitzGeralds, are still in touch with the farmer's descendents. You can imagine these Pease children's pleasure playing in Watt's stream, riding horses at the farm down the road, and picking apples in the orchard across the street before returning by bus or train to school near their purchase included the 1854 schoolhouse still standing on the property. Chaimce/s property eventually also included the Thrasher property, now known as Denworth Farm. One wonders what life was like for the Peases about 100 years ago when f<unily prosperity was rising with the times. Chauncey was bom in Worthington in 1836 of a farming family. He left to study music -10- �Worthington year round. During the 60's, after Harry and Cora were dead, the sisters spent winters with children or friends,and continued to play pinochle and canasta on the piazza, frequently and drank iced drinks with friends. The ladies on the large piazza wore long dresses and enjoyed games of horses, played croquet, canasta. Their children also returned as adults. Laura married Holt Secor and brought her child to live with her parents in the summer. Helen married Ralph Bretzner and travelled the world, returning to Worthington after she htmg with Japanese lanterns, each summer. They looked forward to occasional visits from the FitzGerald boys and their families. By the 1970's Massachusetts prosperity began reaching westward again and young families built and restored houses in Worthington where land values were still affordable and good cars enabled them to commute to jobs in the valley. Helen lived alone by then, in charge of the family heirlooms. The vandals came in winter when she Son Chauncey lived near New York and came occasionally. Mary Pease married Archer FitzGerald. They travelled from the City to spend summers with their three children on the family farm down the road. Dairy farming was flourishing in the 1920's, and the family prospered, shipping dairy products to the city and managing a thriving piano business. Chaunce/s grandchildren grew up in the 1930's balancing on top of the stone walls, pitching horseshoes, playing tennis, golf, and bridge with summer folk and year-rounders alike. They hosted and attended numerous was divorced in the 1930's. wasn't around to stop them, carrying off valued pieces of furniture, pictures, and silver. After Helen died in 1979, the house The house gained a repuhaunted and attracted local teenagers to hold Halloween style parties in it. They never trashed it though as it apparfamily possessions. parties with a variety of people of many ages tation for being grew up and left the area. The depression, combined with the grow- before they ing popularity of the radio, created hard times ently piano manufacturing business. The Peases continued to come to Worthington, though the lack of disposable cash meant that no major repairs were done to for those in the the house from the 1930's on. two energetic people, Scott Heyl and Marie Burkart, interested in architectural restoration, "discovered" the house and bought it to save it. They both worked as city planners down in the valley and spent nights and weekends, often with the help of friends, working on the house and enjoying the view The summer the great pleasure of life to commanded considerable local respect. In 1984, community evaporated as the Lee-Lenox area became more popular with wealthy New Yorkers and the area reverted to the rhythms of rural was vacant while the estate was settled and thieves collaborated with nature to slowly diminish from the piazza over the potato fields to the hills beyond. They had the cellar pumped many down longtime residents. out, replaced the rotted house was the summer residence of Harry and Cora and their daughters, Laura, Mary and Helen. The trees began to grow up around them, ruining the tennis were undermining the foundations. Over three years they modernized its basic systems, heat, electricity and plumbing and painted it three shades of tan, In the 1940's, the court and covering the fields. trees They sold 40 acres for $1200 to Alberti Albert for his town. (Surveyed in 1987, it turned out to be 85 ics caused the New when family econom- York brownstone to cut the with a more peaceful quality to life. They loved the possibilities of this "white elephant^' as they wanted to grow food and flowers, acres!) 1950's, sills, roots appropriate to its era. In late 1986 they sold it to Wil and Joan Hastings who wanted to move from the Boston area, leave professional careers, and live new potato farm, the only growing industry in By the early whose be was necessary to install a hot-air heater so the family group of five could all live in work sold, i t free-lance, and a small community. -21- participate in the They also life wanted of to �share in the joys of upkeep for this historic house. household this year. Granddaughter Emily and her parents visit when possible. The cycle of decay and renewal continues in Worthington as elsewhere. One daughter, Claire, lived in the house with other students while attending Westfield State and gradually replastered and painted aU the rooms in the house. A greenhouse was SOURCES: have space available for a network of family friends to live with or visit them and tive and added to the kitchen. The group made their own maple syrup and ate the simimer's harvest. Claire became a member Hampshire County Registry of Deeds History of Worthington, 1983 Pease family Bible, courtesy of Archer FitzGerald Ida Joslyn's and Archer FitzGerald's memo- of the Worthington Planning Board. Now that the house is fully insulated and zone heated, it enters its next stage as a yearround home. Joanna Brown, a friend, has become a ries Clement Burr's diary Scott Heyl's interviews with local people resident in the Hastings collabora- l^ews Different Jke For SaLe tlials now in vkw stands wl)ere w/'/dpowers arew. Tie s^i^n iLw is wliere p'rst See lite I can ynarkd ScliooL Bu5 Sfop robm jlocked- tires, jxij)er5 and cans, recall clear, level land. Ihose /louses , coridos,allmarcw are w/iere cows grazed lon^a^o. Just ^^as, wliere tLt maiUox Mefarmers stands pasture land* The (^uiei />rook mytj hfteY'limd \jijas crijslal clear all tlie time. (^one are the cornstalks ar)dtre^% so tall replaced l>ij cm mar a Hasten wfiat's napj)ene<l 1 lis Pnoc.«H5S / rnalL C^eireal -22- I to asll, C^et oul cjfl\ej^asil �North Granby-Bedford or The Wedge by William S. Hart PREFACE The towns that lie around us, wherever we happen to live, have been called by the same names for several generations; however, many of them have changed from those given by the first settlers. Hartford was first called Newtown in 1635, Windsor was Dorchester, Wethersfield was Watertown, Avon was Northington or Nod, Bristol was started as Poland and later became New Cambridge. Winsted, Connecticut is an interesting example as it is the combination When the Industrial Revolution arrived, the people left the surutilize the water power of the Mad River to run their factories. As of the spellings of two towns. rounding hill farms to grew in population to form Winsted. it For of us it took the "win" from Winchester and the "sted" from Barkhamsted my purposes here, I am concentrating on North Granby, Connecticut which many know was previously called Salmon Brook Society and was a part of ancient Simsbury. I was looking through some old papers and found a 1929 letter written by George Seymour Godard who was the Connecticut he sold additional acres beyond the scope of deed which added present day Granville and Tolland, Massachusetts to the original his from 1900 to 1936. He said the portion of North Granby that pushes up against the Massachusetts state line and has State Librarian East Hartland to the the East listed was West and Southwick called Bedford (Fig. an index it. to others Indian necessary to take a brief look at New England. The English Crown, as early as 1620,^ recognized this distant place as a part of her empire and incor- and who care about our land heritage. known story of Bedford really territory with a deed from an fortieth and forty-eight delphia and Quebec, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. Eight years later in 1 628 this Council, by deed, hands of a sharp land speculator named Atherton Mather from SuJffield, Connecticut. Shortly after his acquiring it the area was curtailed by approximately fifty percent but, undaunted. fell between the degrees of North latitude from "sea to sea." This then was the land lying between Phila- named Toto who sold six miles square of land. This small piece it is porated a Council to manage its affairs. The Council set up a Patent, an instrument or grant of public lands, which included all the This put which I hope will be of interest in 1686 Bedford and also the adja- the colonization of This httle began back clarify this cent "jog" to He also a fascinating search of old deeds local histories To to the Connecticut Archives^ at the state library that related to me on 1). tract. into the made a grant of land for a settlement at MasThe several grantees involved obtain a Charter under which sachusetts Bay.^ were able -13- to �-14- �and Enfield in Massachusetts Bay Colony territory.^ The Colony of Connecticut was upset with the survey but, even though she made protests, did not strongly pursue them. Time went by and in 1662 she was granted a liberal Charter by King Charles n.* This established the East boundary as Narraganset Bay, North by the Massachusetts Bay Colony line. South by Long Island Sound and West by the Pacific Ocean (Fig. 2). Confusion still continued and in 1686 further complications came when King James II Governor John Winthrop sailed and began the Massachusetts Bay Colony by Boston in field 1630. same year Robert, Earl of Warwick, was President of the Council and it conveyed a grant to him. This was approved by a Royal Patent of land in New England and has since been referred to as the "Warwick Patent."* It was then believed the scope of land included all of todays Connecticut and extended to the Massachusetts Bay Colony line which they In the considered as being near Worcester.^ As can be imagined, problems were to develop as the Colony of Connecticut and the Province of Massachusetts Bay Colony apparently overlapped each other (Fig. 2). Even sent Sir Edmund Andros, Captain General of New England, to pick up both the Massachuand Connecticut charters and set up governments by the direct representatives of the English Crown. In the Colony of Con- setts Governor Winthrop felt Windsor was in the bounds of Massachusetts. This was honest disagreement; however, as shown by William Pynchon, of the Bay Colony, who had started a trading post at which he later moved Agawam necticut this led to her Charter supposedly being hidden in an Oak tree by Captain Wad- in 1636 sworth.' At this same time in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Sir Edmund Andros appointed James Cornish of Woronoco (Westfield) to be Clerk of the existing Court of Hampshire County.^" This James Cornish learned an Indian named Toto, a sachem or chief from the Poquonock tribe near Hartford, claimed the land West of Woronoco. James Cornish made a purchase from Toto on 6/28/1686, said to be for a "gun and sixteen buttons" for to the East side of the Connecticut River and called it Springfield. He thought it was part of Connecticut and even represented Springfield as a "Magistrate" to the Connecticut General Court in 1637. Shortly after, trade differences arose between Springfield and the lower Connecticut River settlements and she decided to become part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and was entered as such when the New England Confederation was organized in six miles square of land. The description in the deed says the six miles square is "bounded by the land granted by the said Toto unto William Leet Esqr. Southerly, and by the land granted by him 1643.* The Province of Massachusetts was unhappy with themany claims of property being made by the Connecticut settlers so hired two surveyors. Woodward and Saffery, who ran a boundary line in 1642 (Fig. 3). The Massachu- also unto John Williams of Windsor, Northerly and runs Westerly towards Housatunnk bounded by the mountains and Easterly by Charter of 1629 said the South border should run West from a point three miles South of the southernmost part of the Charles River. This point was established, and apparently to save the trouble of surveying cross setts the land belonging to Westfield or Spring- by the highway or road running from end of the Ponds unto Two Myle Brooke near Westfield on a straight line."" The foregoing description interprets into field the lower country, step by step. Woodward and Saffery went around Cape Cod, through Long Island Sound and up the Connecticut River to where they calculated to be the correct latitude. Time the "Housatunnik" being a tract of land just south. This incorrect location, just North of West of Westfield, Massachusetts, 'Two Myle Brooke" now called Great Brook near Southwick Center and the "Ponds" as Congamond Ponds. "Bounded by the mountains" in con- Windsor center by strued as the range running from East Hart- proved this point to be eight miles too Bissell's Ferry, far put Suf- -15- �-16- �land center down to Collinsville, ConnectiThis range was called "Poppotonuck Mountain" on a Map done by Blodget in 1791 This is quite ironic for in 1724 Suffield and Enfield petitioned Connecticut to be brought cut. The Connecticut General Assembly refused by saying the 1713 compromise should not be broken. This request came up again in 1749 and this time Connecticut changed her mind saying the 1713 decision had not been accepted by the English Crown and admitted Suffield and Enfield as well as Woodstock into the Colony into her jurisdiction. (Fig. 4). Figure 5 shows an approximation of where square should be. The Northern limit is tied down by the description in the 1 685 deed from Toto to John Williams which states "unto him the said John Williams one parcel of land being one full mile square and lyeth in a place this commonly known by the name of Two Myle of Connecticut. Brooks and abutteth on said brook marsh and on the commons on the East and to run the breadth half a mile each side the brook and from the Northeast comer to run a full mile towards the West on a due West line and from the Southeast comer to run due West a full English mile, makes the aforesaid tract a mile should be noted here that Simsbury and Windsor were also having serious taxation problems because of their questionable boundaries so they had a survey completed in 1711 by Goodrich Kimberly'^ which estab- square".'^ gave Atherton now put most of his "six miles square" in Connecticut and might restrict his holdings. He petitioned the Conmussion for the two colonies'' and they honored his claim to the land in the original Toto deed with the proviso he couldn't have title to any land which A search of many It lished the North line of Simsbury (Fig. records does not turn up the William Leet deed to pinpoint the Southem border; however, using six miles from the John Williams property gives an approximation of it. James Comish was also concerned where his property was located so to be safe he filed his deed in Connecticut in 1686 and then in Massachusetts in 1689. After James Comish died his heirs sold the land to a speculator, Atherton Mather, of within the boimds of Westfield or Suffield in Massachusetts, or in Windsor or Simsbury fell in Connecticut (Fig. 7). This mention of Windsor refers to the fact that Hartland, on 6/26/1713.'* As it tumed out just three weeks later a Commission, set up by and Enfield back in the Colony of The Commission recognized but indicated that since the towns had Suffield Connecticut. 105,793 acres of land as an "equivalent." This land bordered the East side of Hadley, Massa- Three years later Connecticut sold it Gurdon tumed over and several The money was Saltonstall others for 683 pounds.'* first called Hart- at that time Atherton Mather now went ahead and started selling acreage on a large scale to investors as far away as Boston who had never seen the area.^° A glance at Figure 8 will show how he completely ignored the "six miles square" wording and went some 15 miles from the Westfield West border to the Farmington River at Sandisfield and Northerly to where Blandford, Massachusetts is been started by the Province of Massachusetts Bay Colony and paid taxes there they should remain that way. They further said since the Colony of Connecticut has lost this territory they would have Massachusetts give at auction to was chants the Commission meant was Atherton Mather could not have the land to the West that was part of present day East Hartland. These curtailments reduced his "six miles square" or approximately 23,0(X) acres down to approximately 5,0(X) acres. both colonies to solve the border line disputes, agreed to a new survey line which corrected the old 1642 eight mile error.'^ Figure 6 shows the new colony line puts chusetts. which was owned by merfrom Hartford and Windsor." What fordland, Suffield this 7). new 1713 Colony line Mather much concern as it This along with the today.^' Incidentally, to Yale College. Lockwood, in his History of Westfield, claims Westfield -17- owned Bland- �CONK •TOTO DEED SIX MILES SQUARE* WILLIAM LEET I6S$ LOST DEED FIG. 5 EQUIVALENT LANDS • HOLlfOKE HAOLET N • • SPPINSFIELO ' MASS. CONN. IOS.79J ACRES 1713 SURVEY LINE FIG. MASS._ 1713 SURVEY CONN A/0 -18- FIG.7 �ford in 1732 and later sold it and partly within the Colony of Connecticut. Near to some part of Westfield Township and bordering upon some part of Simsbury To wn- to Christopher boundary disputes Westfield gave land to Suffield and the General Court appeased Westfield by granting her "6 miles square." This was called the Suffield Equivalent, later Glasgow and Lawton now of Suffield.^^ In settling ship."2* The several deeds following "in a place Blandford. A.M. Copeland's, Town of Blandford, and Summer Wood's, Ulster Scots and Blandford Scouts, differ with Lockwood by saying the General Court granted the land to Suffield on April 5, 1735 because Suffield had to give up some disputed land to Windsor and Simsbury In any event Christopher Lawton ended up with it. Getting back "lying in I freely told you thoughts, about your conduct, and the rules of charity and discretion violated in it. But I now again desire you to pay your debts unto me, without which I must be put into extreme trouble, to discharge mine to other men. If you refuse to do this; I have another proposal to make. Never till last night, had I any discourse with Mr. Oliver Noyes concerning you and your affaires. And now, I perceive that he has the same account of you, that I have had from every quarter. However, for your debt of an hundred pounds unto him, you have invested him in two thousand new Plantation. the name of Bedford," Bedford," "in relinquished the land within the East Hart- land bounds. This time they attached a survey which is represented in Figure 7. The General Assembly acted the same month and appointed James Wadsworth, Nathan Hanley, Esq. and Captain Thomas you deal no worse with me, than him, you can do no less than invest me in six hundred acres of as good land, in your Plantation, if it be not all acres of land, in your known by my Plantation called bounds of Bedford," etc. The several proprietors who invested in the area below the 1713 Colony Line in Connecticut became very worried about what Atherton Mather had done and whether or not they had clear title. Seven of them grouped together, among which were John Hunt, Belcher Noyes (son of Oliver Noyes) and Robert Breck. They drew up a memorial or petition and presented it to the Connecticut General Assembly in Hartford in May of 1733.^ They requested patent or title to 7000 acres which they described but for which they did not attach a survey. The Connecticut Archives show no further action on this memorial. It must be the memorialists learned about the restrictions put on Atherton Mather by the 1713 Commission, for one year later they submitted a new memorial for only 5000 acres.^*^ In this petition they acknowledged that 2000 of the aforesaid 7000 acres were "within the grant of the government to the towns of Hartford and Windsor" thus they to have many months ago, one the Atherton Mather, his unethical dealings are evidenced by excerpts from a 1715 letter'^ from a cousin which says "and now after all the wrong things that you have imposed on me, what is it that you design to do. my this first referred to the area as "in Bedford so called," If Wells to investigate the matter.^^ They reported back five months later and recommended the several memorialists be given clear title by saying "Said land as surveyed and bounded aforesaid can't be of any considerable advantage to this government if they should grant the same as free from all claims, the soil being generally poor." It was also suggested the memorialists pay fifty pounds to the Colony of Connecticut as there had never been an equivalent paid at the time of the Commission decision concerning Suf- disposed of." His final paragraph is "If you don't give me quickly to hear from you, I must put over my business, into the hands of our attorney, in your parts of the county." This Oliver Noyes referred to, a doctor from Boston, got the first deed from Atherton Mather in 1 71 5 for 2000 acres that was broken into three separate divisions "being partly within the Province of Massachusetts Bay field -19- and Enfield in 1713.^8 �FIG. 8 -20- �FIG.IO -21' �For some reason there was no further activity on this from 1734 until the General Assembly, in 1738, granted clear title but de- at the 1753 map (Fig. 9) we note the small triangular piece that should extend East from the lower comer is missing. This manded an equivalent of five hundred pounds contained instead of the previously suggested fifty this is in a Looking lots numbered 6, 7 and 8. Proof of deed to Benjamin Reed^ saying "in that part thereof called the wedge and contains 227 acres of land and is bounded North on a line formerly called the Westfield Line, South on a line formerly run and affixed by Goodrich Kimberly for the North bounds of Simsbury being the South bounds of said wedge before the name was annexed to pounds.^' It is interesting to discover some of the memorialists also had bought land in that part of Bedford in Massachusetts above the 1713 Colony Line. They had a survey made of and petitioned the General Court in Massachusetts in 1738 for 42,532 acres bounded South on the Colony Line, West by the Farmington River, North partly by Westfield, partly by "Suffield Equivalent," alias Glasgow, Easterly upon Westfield" (Fig. Simsbury." This wedge acreage was annexed to 8). away in incorporated as the Town of Granby. this area Salmon Brook Society and Simsbury in 1774. Later in 1786 Salmon Brook Society pulled The petition was granted, so it can be seen how At last the Bedford issue has been settled and attention can be turned to the South wick "jog." As Westfield was originally part of Springfield, so was Southwick part of Westfield.-'* Back in 1770 the people who the original Toto "six miles square" or 23,040 acres expanded into some 47,500 acres Connecticut and Massachusetts, thanks to the shrewd Mr. Atherton Mather. The land in Massachusetts was inhabited by settlers who stood by the name of Bedford and in 1751 petitioned the Massachusetts General Court as "Inhabitants of Bedford" to be incorporated as a district.^^ This was granted; however, the Court advised that in 1729 portions of the towns of Billerica and Concord had petitioned and been granted in lived in the outsettlement of Westfield broke away and called themselves Southwick. Four years later the people living in Southwick below the 1713 Colony Line petitioned the Connecticut General Assembly to become part of Connecticut. The Assembly immediately agreed to this request and as shown in Figure 10 resolved that those inhabitants below the Colony Line belong to Connecticut and further, those living West of Congamond Ponds should be annexed to Simsbury and Salmon Brook Society and those East annexed to incorporation as the Town of Bedford.^^ The "inhabitants" then had been forced to aban- don the name of Bedford. They then chose the name of Granville, later the Western section broke away and became the Town of Tolland, years went by after the several memorialists was not acceptable to the ProvMassachusetts; however, the year of ince of 1775 arrived and with it the beginnings of the Revolutionary War so the disagreement con- had been granted tinued. Suffield. This Massachusetts. Back in the Colony of Connecticut some clear title. In 1753 the shown on a map" dated 11/8/1753 (Fig. 9). it was now clear another town Bedford was in existence the new named deeds referred to the area as "the wedge." The description in one old deed says "lyes in Since the wedge so called and is was made and it was agreed the portion of Southwick West of the ponds should be part of Massachusetts and that portion East belong to Connecticut. Thus there is the "jog" in the state line (Fig. 11). The last state line survey of 1906 corrected minor discrepancies. various proprietors tried to bring some semblance of order to the old Bedford tract and divided it into 28 parcels of from 60 to 272 acres as In 1804 another attempt Bibliography 1 Conn. Archives, Towns and Lands, Vol. 7, documents 63, 64 part of lott no. 3" . etc.^ -22- �2. History of Conn. Norris Osbom, Vol. pages 40, 143 3. History of Conn. Norris Osbom, Vol. page 41 4. History of Conn. Norris Osbom, Vol. page 42 5. History of Conn. Norris Osbom, Vol. page 105 6. Connecticut, Van Duren, page 43 7. Connecticut, Van Ehiren, page 93 8. Connecticut, Van Duren, pages 67-70 9. Connecticut, Van Ehiren, page 87 10. History of Granville, A. Wilson, pages History of Simsbury, 1643-1888 by Lucius Barber, M.D. pages 128-129 18. History of Granville, A. Wilson, pages 1213 19. History of Hartland, S. Ransom, page 4 20. History of Granville, A. Wilson, page 14 21. History of Granville, A. Wilson, page 24 1, 1, 1, 1, WestfieldbyLockwood,Vol. 1,1669-1919, page 175 23. "American Classic" Vol. 2, page 403, A diary of Cotton Mather 24. Registry ofDeeds, Springfield, Mass., VoL C, pages 80-81 25. Conn. Archives, 5/18/1733 26. Conn. Archives, 5/19/1734 27. Conn. Archives, 5/1734 28. Conn. Archives, 10/1734 29. Conn. Archives, 5/1738 30. History of Granville, A. Wilson, page 22 31. History of Granville, A. Wilson, pages 4243 32. History of Granville, A. Wilson, page 51 33. Conn. Archives, Map, 11/8/1753 34. Granby Land Records, Book 1, page 248 35. Granby Land Records, Book 1, page 220 36. The Southwickjog by Rev. Edward Dodge (Southwick Bicentennial 1770-1970) 22. 3, 6 Registry of Deeds, Springfield, Mass., Book A, page III 11. 12. Conn. Historical Society, Blodget Map of Conn. 1791 13. Registry of Deeds, Springfield, Mass., Book B, pages 83-84 14. Registry of Deeds, Springfield, Mass., Book 1715-1721, page 79 15. Connecticut, Van Duren, page 94 16. Registry of Deeds, Springfield, Mass., Vol. 1715-1721, pages 139-140 17. Three Centuries of Simsbury, W. Vibert, page 51, also Simsbury Land Records Book 2 1/2, page 107, "A Record and Documentary -23- �Index for 1985—1989 by Ida Joslyn and Connie Dorrington Academy, SU84:29 Birds, SP85:20 Accidents, SP85:8; SP85:12 Agricultural Society, F86:9 Black Settlers, F89:4 Blandford /North Blandford, SP83:22; SU84:8; Allyn, Lewis SP85:2,24,29,33,34,37; F85:3,6,35,36; W85:10, B., SP84:12 Animals, SP84:8 29; F86:9; SP87:35; F87:5; F88:22,36,F89:17 Annual Report, F87:36 Blizzard of Apollo Acres, SP84:8 Arson Ring, W86:14; F87:12 Athenaeum, Westfield, SP84:3 Autobiography, Jeannie Joyal Cooper, W87:4 Samuel L. Campbell, SP88:16; SU88:2; F88:3; Blueberries, SU88:10 W88:2 Burdick, Hulda, F88:28 Autographs, SP85:5; SP89:20,36 Auction, SU87:29 Burleigh, Lucien, W88:19 SP88:10 Bookcase, SP88:14 Boys Qub, SP85:8 Brass, WesUe, SP86:22 Buell, Phineas Lyman, W86:6 Burma Shave, F87:20 Campbell, Samuel L., SP88:16; SU88:2; F88:3; Autumn, F85:20 W88:2 Barge Canal, SU84: 17 Bartlett, Mrs. Horace F., SP84:29 Becket, W88:7; F89:22 Beckley Blast Furnace, SU89:22 BeU House, F85:32 Canoeing, SU85:2; SP85:2 Capron, Milton, SP85:14 Cats, F86:21 Caves, SP83:32 Cemetary, SU87:18; W88:14 BeU (Murrayfield), SP86:25 Big '88, Pond SP85:8 Chandler, John, F87:22 -24- �Gardner, Charles M., F85:26 Gardner, Charles H., SP89:2; SU89:2 Geneology, SP83:35; SP84:36; SU84:1 6; F84:37; SP85:30; F85:37; W85:37; SP86:37; F87:35; W88:37; SU99:37; F88:37; W88:37; SU89:37; Cheese, SP88:22 Chester, F87:27; SP85:14; SP86:2; SU86:33; F86:18; SP;87:31; SU87:24; F87:22; SP88:16,21; SU88:2, 24; F88:3, 28; SU89:12,16,35; F89:4,27 Childs, A, W85:13 Childs, Lizzie DeU WaUace, W85:22; F89:16 SP86:6; Hannah W86:2; SP87:28; F87:18 SU86:22 Gibbs, Christmas, W85:20 Churches, W85:29, SU86:6,22; SU87:35 Civil War, SU85:36; W85:3; SP86:29; F86:22 Clocks, SP87:31 Cobble Mountain, SP88:2 Coles Opera House, SU87:7 Conductors, F84:25 Cooper, Sadie, SU88:17 Com, Planting Rhyme, SP85:29 Cousins, SP86:2 Cricket, F87:27 Cummington, F86:15 Dalton, Flintstone Farm, W85:16 Gibbs, Mari, W84:2; SU85:25; SP85:22; F85:10; A., SU88:19 W86:26 Gold Mine, SU84:8 Gordon Hall, SP87:13 Grandmother, F85:18; SU86:14 Gifts, Granville, F86:2; F88:24; SP89:32; F89:8 Grief, SP83:28 Grist Mill, SP89:8 Growing Up, SU84:6 Haiku, SU85:20 HaU, Gordon, SP87:13 Hall, Pamela Donovan, F86:12 HaUe/s Comet, SU86:37 Deane, Dr. Wallace, W85:34 Death of a Daughter, SP83:28 December, W86:20 Handwork, SP85:26 Harmony, SU86:13 Decline of Hilltowns, F86:16 Deer, W84:6 Hastings Family, F89:17 Hay, SU84:2 Hays, Capt. Samuel, W88:22 Hawk, SP86:34 Hayden, Doris Wyman, F85:3 Haynes, Lemuel, F84:32 High Pasture, SU86:16 DeWolf, Dr. Oscar C, SU87:24 DeWolf, DeWitt Clinton, SP88:21 Diaries, SP83:6; SP84:29; W84:2; SP85:22; SU85:25; W85:3; W86:2; SP86:29; F86:22; SU87:28; SU87:33, F87:18, W88:31; SP89:2; SU89:2 Dickinson FamUy, F89:8 High School, F84:10 Highways, SP85:10 Hilltown Happenings, F87:16 Diseases, F87:9 HUltown Dicie Flats, SP86:4 Statistics, SP85:31 Hinsdale, Harriet Marie, SU85:33 Doctors, W84:17; SU85:28; SP86:15 Donovan Home, W86:27 Horace Hatch Tavern, W87:9 Household Hints, SP86:16 Huffmire, John A. W84:17; SP85:28 Hummingbird, SU87:27 Duck, SP88:30 East Otis, SP85:8 , Emery Mine, F86:18 Fairs, F86:6, F88:14 Huntington, SP86:25; SP87:26; SU87:7, 11; SP88:23, 27; SU88:12; F88:36; W88:13; SU89:2; Family Reunion, SU86:12 Farm, W85:16; W86:31; SU87:14; W88:ll; SU89:30 Fifty Years Ago, SU85:2 Fire, SP84:27; F89:30 Huntington, Charles P., F89:30 Indian Village, SP84:30 SP87:26 Flintstone Farm, Industries, F85:6 W85:16 John Hood, Williamsburg, SP83:23 Hying Saucer, SP86:19 K3olin Road, F85:35 Knitting, SP85:26 Leaning Rock, SU84:31 Legends, SP83:32 Forests, SP87:17 Frisbie, Mary Harkins, Adams House, SU87:36 F86:2; W86:22; SP87:6 -25- �Letters, SP83:36; F84:18; F86:37; F87:19 W86:37; F88:30 Lightning, SP84:13 Railroad, Accident, F86:36 LittleviUe, SU87:2 Lucas, Dr. Herman Railroading, F84:12 S., Rausch, Ann, F87:28 Recipes, SP84:35 SU89:12 Maple Sugar, SP86:17; SP88:8 Marriage, SP87:20 Mason, Irene Merrill, SU87:29 Medicine, SP86:15 Meeting House Marker, SU85:34 Memories, F84:3, 35; F85:29; Religious Life, W85:18 Rememberance of the Past, SP83:15 Remedies, Kill or Cure, SP86: 1 Reunions, SU86:12 Revolutionary War, SP86:20 Rice Family (Worthington), F87:12 Roads, SP85:10, SU88:18 Robinson, Jane C., F87:5 Rural Social Gatherings, F85:22 Russell, F86:36; W88:35; SP89:22; SU89:27 Sampson, Orange Scott, SP88:23 Schools, W84:13; SP86:2 Shakers, SP85:17 Skunk, SP86:26 Sbves, W84:10 W86:19 Middlefield, SP83:2, F85:32; F86:6; SP89:12 Montgomery, F85:29; SU88:28; W88:35 Mormanism, F89:22 Movie Houses, F86:31 Moving Day, SP84:18 Murder, SP84:12; SP85:14; W87:18; F88:10 Murrayfield Bell, SP86:25; SU87:22 Music, SU84:33 Musical Instruments, W85:10 Mythical Monsters, SP84:6 Nanny, F85:18 Newburgh, SP86:20 Nooney, Frank S., SP87:2 Nooney, Prof. James, F85:28 North Blandford, SU85:29; W85:29; SU85:29; Snow, W84:16 SU88:19 North Granby, SP89:8 Statistics, Norwich HiU, SP88:27; F88:26; W88:14 One Hundred Years Ago, SP83:13; SU84:14; W84:8 Store, F89:2 Soisalo Family, F89:27 Spring, SP86:28 Squire, Capt. Sylvester, F87:32 Stanton, F85:6; One Hundred Sugar Maples, SP86:17 Sumner, Henry Jesse, W85:3; SP86:29; F86:22 Sunnmers, SU86:2 Superstitions, W85:17 Taggart, Charles, SU85:36 Forty Years Ago, SP86:17 Old Sayings, SU84:32 Olds Family, SP89:12 Telephones, SP84:20 Tolland, SP87:n Tree and Shrubs, SP87:17; W87:22 Turnpike, SU85:22 Tyler, O. B. Joyful, SU88:26 W87:18; F88:10 PaU, F84:16 Parks, RoUand, SU89:27 Pastures, SU86:16 MO, SU88:10 Union Agricultural Phelps, John, F88:24 Victory, W86:21 Phrenology, W86:6 Plainfield, SP89:5 Poor, SU89:35 Postmasters, Blandford, F85:36 Working, F86:20 Society, F86:6 Walrath, Ed, SP84:10 Washington, SP85:12 Water Falls, W87:19 Water Systems, SP84:22 Wesley Bass, Ballad of, SP86:22 West Cununington, F86:15 Western Mass., SP88:34 Westfield, SP84:3; SU84:29; W86:6 Proverbs and Sayings, SP83:19 Quarries, Granite, W87:3 Quotations, W85:13, 17 Rabbits, SU86:31 Strathmore, SP84:14 F86:15 Pease, L., Hilltown, SP85:32 Stonewalls, SP83:31; SP84:26 Old Folks Association (W. Cummington), Otis, Emroy W85:32 Raikoad, SP84:32; W86:37; SU86:33; F86:36; -26- �WUd Life,SP83:ll Wise, Gerald - Artist, W87:12 Wolves, SP85:13 Wood, Rev. Sumner G., SU85:18 WUliamsburg Woodpile, W84:9 Westfield River, SP85:2; W85:l West GranviUe, F89:2 (Flood), SP83:23 34; W88:14, 26 Worthington, SU86:14; F87:2;SU87:36; SP88:10 Wright, Grandma, SU86:14 Zenda, F84:9 Woronoco, SU88:27, WUliston Family, SP89:5 Wilson, Lavinia Rose, SP89:32 Wind, W85:14 Winn, Olive, SP89:22 Ohe purple l)Jdcknes5 ofa winter stream w/iirh avi eJiies ds lijlows a serpentine course kejore out of sf(jlit it^oe^ . Oj-^ times ^kie pecks oj constantly mminaat the stam/iliv^ on a bidden rocli^ jrof/i li sJiom w^i/e Unks encrusted snow. ^^/lere^Ren tree^ seems current splds/i^ ice sprmn^ upon rtsiTicj oj- cross lisJ^t/i to slow, t/ien LrJerincj tneir/en^t/is to ol^inwcj lie ikrouijii tlief^ijid, crijsial tUl en^ljroiJerij low^Jormzy)^ t/iem liitea )noon ^ives ojf its jloyii, trees surges over in ^ l>ranclies> mli loncj upon i/ie iow. air rnakna siUoueftes sljadows drow^ casting land to sew,ijet, t/ireaJinj a -27- a too intricate an liand<; vnovincj jpattern liJiked �William C. Whitney and the Whitney Estate by John Wright Crane a day and night set of workmen. The men were able to finish the lodge in time for the October wedding of Mr. Whitne/ s son, Harry Payne Whitney. The bridal party spent their honeymoon at the "Antlers Lodge" which gave a romantic interest to the lodge ever and the following years curiosity was greatly aroused in Washington as large and small farms were being bought up by some unknown party. The curiosity continued to increase as each year marked the gradual absorption of all the farms in an entire school district. The wholesale buying as far as Washington was concerned was confined to the land west of Washington Center and comprised the lands long known as "Washington West Woods." The farms bought began with the one near the Congregational Church and In 1895 after. The palmy days of the Whitney Lodge were before the very serious accident to Mrs. W. C. Whitney, from which she never recovered. Mrs. Whitney had intended to do a number of things which would have benefited the entire town particularly the church and schools. After her death, Mr. Whitney's interest in the estate changed perceptibly and the enthusiasm for the future growth of the place left him and the dispersion of his herds included the farms owned in the early days by Jasper Morgan, father of Edwin D. Morgan, the "war" governor of New York. In those days "The Pittsfield Sun" frequently had items from Washington alluding to this land buying as follows: "Land for a summer home can be bought very cheap. Three or four hundred dollars v^ll buy sufficient, several acres in fact, and one may have hill or vale for a location, near the village or remote. It is of wild animals soon afterwards began. days when Mr. Whitney was stocking up the estate on October mountain, carloads of deer were shipped from Wyoming. These were unable to withstand the cold In the winters of the Berkshires and then carloads were sent from Fraser River, British Colum- the "lone lands," between Becket and Lenox that the "mysterious millionaire" is making such extensive purchases through lawyer Post, a farm bought were the Black Tail deer and it was expected they would endure the winters betThey ter than those sent from Wyoming. bia; these week completing 6000 acres now acquired What aU this land is v^rith more to follow. bought for is as much a secret here as elsewhere, and as Mr. Post takes the title in his own name the person behind him is effeclast were the finest specimens known in captivity and the buffalo bull which, on the dispersion of the herds, York, was known was sent to Central Park, the largest animal New of his kind ever There were at one time on the estate a herd of Buffaloes, Moose, Elks, tively hidden." Soon after the public knew that W. C. Whitney Wcis the real owner of this vast domain he began to build the famous "Whitney Lodge," now known as "The Antlers." The work upon its erection was "speeded up" by bringing up an electrical plant to furnish lights so that the work could be carried on by in captivity. Black Tail Deer, Wyoming Deer; also game birds and English Pheasants. The animals had sheds where hay was provided for them during the winter and the game birds were fed when deep snow was on the ground. At its best the Whitney Estate has been -28- �assessed for 9.175 acres, 20 dwelling houses and 26 bams; 25 buffaloes, 59 elks, 84 deer (the black tail from British Columbia and the deer from Wyoming), 19 moose, 15 horses, 10 of color. It is said that an easier and better route is by way of Lenox Dale, but we find this cows, 100 sheep and 45 Angora goats. October Mountain, now so prominent and as seen from largely in the Whitney known under the Estate, name of route as comfortable as need be, and many sketches of glowing landscape delight the eye many sudden places of outlook. "Soon after crossing Roaring Brook evidence of extensive ownership begins. Signs on the roadside trees warn us against "Gunning, fishing or trespassing under penalty of was originally "Washington Mountain." Early in the 18th century a portion of it was known as "Monument Moun- gravestones were quarried out of tain," as and the name of Monument Road law," and these placards bear the signature of W. C. Whitney and are not to be trifled with. Some say they would chance the good nature it is still re- of Mr. tained as one of the roads starting by Lake Ashley and leading out into New Lenox after leaving the mountain. As has been told elsewhere, October game-keeper, with a blunderbus at his beck, galloping along the ways and lanes that cross and border the estate, cures any disposition to poach. He looks fierce enough to take a man's Mountain first came before the public by the pen of Herman Mellville, in the year 1850; but its real prominence began after the mountain practically became a part of the Whitney Estate. A sketch of this mountain and the Whitney place by James Hosding, Editor of the "Pittsfield Sun," in that paper of October 12, for the theft of a even, ger. "The Whitney Settlement is just over the of the mountain with a southern and eeistem exposure tho with northern view open to Greylock purplish blue in the distance. "You come to "forks" in the road at last where the plateau begins. The road to the right leads to the head quarters of the big game where Mr. Frank Chapel and family have watch and w«ird. From this little spot a vast stretch of brush and tree and brown hard hack pasture is in view. Down in the valley and on the Knolls and on Slopes are those 1899 has the following interesting descrip- crown "It is a drive of about eight miles from Whitney place on October Mountain. We went by New Lenox, the mountain climb beginning at the Hutchinson Pittsfield to the quite a pretentious building wdth dam and flume. The City's dam seems to be good piece of work and there was a good supply of water. It looked as the it might be an important auxiliary to the Lake Ashley supply and worth the cost. Roaring Brook is a much larger stream and tumbles musically down the hillside and along a ravine, now flashing and foaming in little sunlit a very strong figures on a Berkshire landscape, American deer, elk and buffaloes. Twentythree elks have been bom on the estate the current year and there are now fifty-nine head. The herd is increasing rapidly and the mountain will soon be as populous v^th this waterfalls. "The road is very good and not difficult. There are steep pitches of course but many restful "thank-you ma'ams," when your team fine may breathe while you get glimpses of "far countries," visible thru vistas as you climb up. An unceasing wonder is the vari-colored foliage. chipmunk and so partridges dust themselves in the highway and perch temptingly upon the branches, and no man unauthorized lifts gun or pulls triglife tion: savyrmill, Whitney for a few partridges or rabbits one glimpse of the burley in their season; but woods of the shooting secSome of the bucks have splen- as the did antlers and seem to be in fine health. All good condition, sleek and most as big as an ordinary horse. are in There are trees as green as June and with them the most brilliant scarlet and yellows. The dark pines and spruce and hemlocks, the russet elm and the flaming maples, the silver poplars, illimitable acres game tions of Maine. "There is fat and al- a very picturey majesty about the old bucks as they toss horns and heads up when they scent or see an intruder, and it would be quite a brave man who would and miles -29- �From the front of the house, confront them. "She is going to roar," she said view extends across the valley now autumnly gorgeous. Here and there are the little artificial lakes; beyond are the roofs of the cottages or other trembling with terror, but it was we who "roared," for the voice of the elk is a plaintive little cry like the call of a bird. And when Mr. Chapel whistled a score of the beasts came up to the fence, took some ground oats from the hand or pan, were petted and patted and then "She said, 'Why to shoot these would be like shooting cows." the buildings essential to the oversight of such a vast estate of more than ten thousand acres, and the ownership extends far and across this vale and over and over its slope until the red summits meet the sky at the horizon. Mr. Hosding has certainly given a charming glimpse of the life which was lived on the Whitney estate in its best days. "The buffaloes wander at will and seem fat and stupid. There are nine cows and four bulls. Two have been bom here and seem to thrive. They do not appeeir to be as domestic as the elk. They stood in the yard with heads down, sullen looking and sulky. It has been necessary to buy shed shelter for them in the winter and to feed them grain and hay. It gives one rather a queer feeling to remember WHITNEY'S OCTOBER MOUNTAIN The following appeared in the Pittsfield Sun, Feb. that in almost recent years these animals 4, 1904. roamed the plains in countless thousands and now there are in the country only such Reprinted from the fragmentary herds as these, the race practi- "Mr. Whitney was the largest property owner in Massachusetts. He owned ten thousand acres in Washington, Lee and Lenox, in the Berkshire hills where he had one of the largest game preserves in the East. Mr. Whit- cally exterminated. The elks are becoming acclimated and are breeding well, but there has been less prospect of success in breeding buffaloes, some having died and the increase as yet not being up to expectations. Dr. Kin- ber Mountain, one of the most sightly places back as 1895. So were the purchases made that it was not tiU buying had been going on for eight months that it became known that someone in the Berkshire Hills, as far year past and under his care the herd seems to be in better heart than when left to a "state of nature" and it is now thought the herd may be not only preserved but increased. I heard that the English pheasants have now made the anticipated increase and it is charged that the foxes are very destructive to the young birds. The other experiments in game birds and beasts have been moderately successful. quietly was attempting to acquire vast holdings. In 1896 an order was sent to his Lenox agent for the construction of a camp on the mountain. It was to be built and furnished in 30 days. With feverish excitement construction men were employed and by working day and "The Whitney residence stands in a sunny perhaps we should call it a lawn. A little way removed are the frames of a dozen little cottages, canvas covered upon an occasion and used as an annex to the big house when the company is larger than the mansion's capacity. The servants are here for Mr. Whitney has been making flying visits, and there is a report that Harry Payne Whitney, family and friends are soon to be here. There are horses in the stables, carriages from by the aid of calcium lights at night, a and expensive camp was completed in contract time. Then came the announcement from Nevkrport that Harry Payne Whitney and his bride Miss Gertmde Vanderbilt were to occupy the camp for their honeymoon. "The development of the mountain into a game preserve followed. From Jackson's Hole in Wyoming, carloads of elk and black tailed deer were shipped to Lenox. These were followed by buffalo, moose and Angora goats. A game and pheasant breeding farm was night, bit of field, large the little buggy to the great coach in the bams all the equipment for Tribune." ney's agents began buying property on Octo- new has been the veterinarian in charge for a and "New York mountain touring. -30- �the elk were shipped to the Adirondacks and for several seasons in the fall Mr. and Mrs. Harry Payne Whitney entertained shooting parties on the mountain. Lately Mr. Whitney has been distributing the big game which foimd an excellent and prolific breeding spot on the mountain. Most of established and and the buffalo Bronx Park. The Corbin preserve in New Hampshire acquired released on the public lands were sold or shipped to some of the best buffalo bulls. One was given to the Zoological Gardens at Cleveland, Ohio." -31- �The Deacon^s Son and The Parson^s Daughter 1935 by Dr. Howard A. Gibbs In olden time in Blandford town. The parson held place of great renown; A learned man of austere mien. Interpreter of things unseen. Guardian of morals, spokesman for God, With dignity the earth he trod. With powdered wig and head in cloud Above the level of the common crowd. His daughter, Mary, finely bred, lest she should wed Beneath her lofty place and sphere. Qosely guarded Was to the parson's heart most dear. Elijah was the deacon's son. Strong limbed and keen but quite homespun. His spurs had won in Freedom's fight; Between the two 'twas love at sight. The parson raved; he ahnost swore; He ordered Elijah from his door. But the youth who feared not British gun. Would scarce from a parson's anger run. Alas! not all the parson's pride Could build a wall with love outside. In spite of stem parental sway True love will have its own sweet way. One bright mom in the month of June, When lovers' thoughts are in nature's time. When it's just as easy for the heart to be true As for grass to be green and sky to be blue. The parson found ladder to window above. Open sesame for youthful love; Out of the window the bird had flown. With her grandmother's -32- gift of silver spoons. �In forest wild, four miles to the West, The young couple built their honeymoon nest A log cabin small in clearing new. As years went by to a cottage grew; The cottage became a mansion grand In wide expanse of well tilled land; Eleven children came to bless the pair. Stalwart sons and daughters fair. The parson's anger melted away As wealth and honor came to stay; Honored and respected far and wide. The runaway couple lived and died. Parson and wife in the churchyard lie; Elijah and Mary on the hill close by; Children and grandchildren bless the day. When true love had its own sweet way. -33- �Blandford Settlers Built Three Forts Article From the Westfield Valley Herald, February 14, 1935 Entitled: "Afoot With Camera In our Valley" by Robert L. Blandford Settlers Built Three Forts To Repel Indian Attacks Soule after the first settlement in the Mill. All But Four Families Fled From Hilltop first one being caught that weighed 13 pounds. (Woronoco once was the village of Salmon Falls on account of the salmon caught there.) — But Returned Within Year Did Dairying Business on Big Scale in Early 19th Century. in 1749, town, the was started, known as Bunnell's Salmon came up the river to Woronoco, grist mill During the Revolution Blandford was on The hardships which the early settlers of the town of Blandford experienced were perhaps unequalled in any other section of the direct route for transporting military stores from Boston west. It required 20 yoke of oxen and 80 men to convey a mortar over Blandford hill on its way to West Point. In 1791, Mr. Gibbs brought the first single wagon into town. Before that time people used to walk or the Westfield Valley, as mentioned in last week's In fact, so article. poor were those town that the Province of Massachusetts Bay gave 10 bushearly settlers of the Hilltop els of salt to be distributed ride horse back. among them. Had In 1749 the Indian tribes of this region began In 1807 town and all but four Westfield and Windsor, Suf- to harass the families fled to be used to repel Indian attacks. were erected in which all families gathered at night, and during the day the men worked in the fields under the protection of sentinels posted to be on the lookout for Indiflints to ing these people to By 1837 we Church They even carried their guns to church, so this country in the early days. The nearest grist mill was at Westfield, and some of the men would pack grain on their backs and walk to Westfield to get it ground, and then return home with the meal for bread and other baking. Others poimded the grain or to Bland- how to make find 1535 cheese. cows in town pro- At one time the limits of Blandford extended into Huntington. The school which stood near the common was controlled by three towns, Chester, Norwich, and Bland- in mortars. North Blandford was at that time a great hay section with most of the hay coming from there for the feeding of stock. came value of the cheese was $1 6,000, and the butter $3000. This industry employed 200 men and 300 women, and the capital investment was $60,000. Mr. Collins accumulated $23,000 on this investment. Later he was succeeded by Orrin Sage who was, during his 30 years in business, called the "Bank of Blandford". v^ld was com Collins ducing 230,000 pounds of butter a year. The ans. Guns Amos M. the farmers, going from house to house show- forts Carried Town He was a man of wealth, making most of his money in the store business. He became interested in dairying and induced the farmers to make butter and cheese. He even went into New York state to buy cattle and then distributed them among and Wethersfield, Conn, yet all returned vdthin the year. Six years later the Province of Massachusetts Bay gave the town a swivel gun and one-fourth barrel of powder with 100 in Cows ford from Connecticut. field Three 1535 ford. Owing to the unsatisfactory condition of such an arrangement the boundary lines were changed, but the town still survived. Twenty years -34- �A Visit to Aunt Hannah by Dr. Howard A. Gibbs Her doughnuts were of ancient mold. The body bigger than the hole; Her apple pie with maple sweet. To boyish taste a real treat. A gooseberry bush close to the door Aunt Hannah was a maiden. Was ne'er beguiled She Uved by men; in single blessedness three score years Till and ten, Romance had never touched Until, to her. Had shock the town. Grew biggest nuts Two little nephews had she. And I was one of them. For us her heart was tender, warm Aunt Hannah wore home made dress. Aunt Hannah passed, time long gone by To brighter realms beyond the sky; A cellar hole, a crumbling chimney base Is all I find to mark her place. and black. Of wool she'd carded, spun and wove off her own sheep's back. was to of Paris style. had a rugged grace. But when I reach the golden gate I'll say in childish manner Dear Saint Peter let me in, cut Its It Well fitted to her sturdy form. Her firm and day clock attic. We'd wind it up and strike it down With loud and awful racket; With rattle, bang, it pealed off time. To us it was music most sublime; The noise we made disturbed her none. Her ears were deaf as moss-grov^ stone. In checks of red From eight Stored in her dusty Aunt Hannah. a in all the land. Aunt Hannah had an Beneath her rugged face and form. We never had an ice-cream cone Nor yet a red banana. Our height of bliss and happiness visit to before; On old-time chestnuts near at hand She took the good old name of Clark the well known Brown. And dropped Was a known flavor never forceful face. I've -35- come to see Aunt Hannah. �Norwich Once Separate Town TTiis Article Appeared in the Westfield Valley Afoot With Camera In by Robert Norwich Once Separate Town, Had Thriving Settled in 1763, Herald of September 20, 1934 Our Valley T. Soule Industries 150 Years Ago Had Sawmills, Tannery, Bark Mill, Blacksmith Shop and Other Business in Early 1800's Time and space keep us from mentioning all the different families who came to settle the town of Norwich in the early year of 1763. before church and social activities centered in that part of town. Mountain Road Oldest John Kirkland, James Fairman, Zebulon FuUer, James Clark, Scimuel Knight, Cedeb Fobes, the Hannums and Probably the oldest road leading to the what we today call the "Mountain road." This was used by the people of the lower part of the valley and Norwich bridge section, while from the Knightville section were two roads which lead to the hill and were used by the people from that section and Worthington. Later a new road was built to the hill which we today call "The Pond Brook Road," and most of the travel today reaches others, elected to settle on the hill section of the hill is town and when the eastern part of Murrayfield decided to have a town of was well their own (1773) this section and fast becoming an important business and sodal center of the new established town. Located on the main road to Northampton most of the travel from the valley and this section towns north of Norwich passed through Norwich Hill on its way to the county seat, and these early settlers were quick to take advantage of this fact and stores and mills soon were in operation and it was not long Along the brook, which is the overflow from Norwich Lake, were mills and tanneries and today we find old dams, and lumber which were used in the construction of some -36- by this road. �About half-way up Pond Brook Road was a sawmill, operated by Lyman and Fairman and further up the road almost to the top, was another sawmill. Where the roadside stand is located today was the factory of Had Bark Grinding of the mills. the Hannums who made axes there for many years. When the railroad came up the valley they moved the factory down to Falle/s cross roads and continued there for more. many years Near the present roadside stand was a picture gallery operated by William Qapp of Northampton, where old and young came to have their pictures taken and were rewarded with their likeness on a piece of tin, called tintypes, and highly popular in those days. On the road to hall the lake just above North and on the same side of the road may be found the remains of another dam, where Knight & Knight had a sawmill, and a blacksmith shop stood nearby. Across the road was the old tannery. This building is still standing and is used as a dwelling house. Next to the tannery, Mill on the other side of the brook, was a grist niill owned by Whitman Knight. This mill was later used for the of whip-stocks and there was also a wheelwright shop there. Farther up the brook, near the outlet of the lake, we find that Seth Porter had a mill for grinding bark. This was back in 1830 and this mill supplied the bark used in the process of tanning leather. making Joel Searles came and located on the shore of Norwich Lake and a few years later he buUt the home which is still there today and up to a few years ago had remained in the Searles family for nearly 150 years. The first store on the hill is not recorded but Aaron Dimock had a store about 1850 on the lower end of the common about opposite where the parsonage now stands, and later Albert Knight had a store located across the road from the home of Leon Woods. The present store is located in the old Searles homestead near the lake and is the last remaining sign of industry in that once busy section. �When You Want Your Printing To Be Something To CROW ABOUT BRADFORD P. FISK Incorporated The Corners Grocery ^^^^^^^^^ Telephone: 413-238-5531 FOR ALL YOUR PRINTING NEEDS Worthington, Mass. 01098 PRINTING 592 College Highway Southwick, • MA (413) 569-0266 or 569-5325 NORTH ROAD ^FAMILY m Wolcott Realty WESTFIELD GATEWAY —AUTO PARTS— Specializing in Country Property "Mort Tian Just An Auta PirU Stert^ To We BUY have or many CALL SELL call us. ROUTE exclusive listings 20. HUNTINGTON. MA. 01050 562-4778 (413) 687-3101 38 Call Ttll Ftm 1-800-992-1054 �Raymah Westgate Russell H. Moore, Jr. WEST-MOORE INSURANCE AGENCY Main Street Chester, Massachusetts 0101 (413) 354-9688 Route 20 Russell, Massachusetts (413) Insurance For Your 862-4412 HOME • BUSINESS • Also Life, Accident FARM • AUTO and Health 'Your Local Hilltown Insurance Agency' Music For All Occasions We re Hill towns Working Together.. 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BricK. Cerarnic Tile Serving the people of Huntington for over 35 years Ferro-cement DARRYL FISK, BRUCE MASON Prop. Moss Russell, Hill Rd. MA. (413) 528-0673 WESTFIELD PHARMACY, Stanley FARM OVERDALE Candy & Other Wool Products Lucy Conant Johnson Hill Road. Box 324 Chester. MA Nowak, Reg. Pharm. "Posie Flower Supplies Convalescent Supplies — Cards Registered Romney Sheep Fleeces F. INC. Tel. 562-441 65 Franklin Street 01011 413 354 2226 40 — Gifts . Westfield, Mass. �— Editorial Board — Natalie Birrell Lucy Conant Connie Dorrington Helena Duris William S. Hart Ida Joslyn Lazarus Louise Mason Doris Wackerbarth Grace Wheeler Ellie — FRIENDS — Gerald Chapman Robert Pike Mr., Mrs. Ralpr Hiers Barabara Kupec Fred Mildren H. Newman Marsh Edith H. Phelon Harriet V. Fish James B. Nooney Shirley Bruso Arthur Bastion William Richard W. Gardner Vera M. Smith Judith S. Hart Jr. Adams Charles Blackman Eleanor Tortolani Elizabeth Fortune Harold N. Jones Barbara Brianerd Marian R. Sweeney Gordon E. Tinker Lucy H. Conant William French Bob & Karen Patenaude Ron Tremblay �What days of lonely toil he undertook! What years of iron labor! and for what? To yield the chipmunk one more nook, The gliding snake one more sequestered spot. The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests STONE WALLS NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE Box 85 PAID HUNTINGTON, MA Huntington, Massachusetts 01050 PERMIT Mrs. Dorothy M„ Miller 15 North Rd„ Westhanipton MA 01027 „ ^y'^^f / ^ #1 01050 � https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/19f5e1f1cb4f5e683f9bf44d74134442.pdf 4234a809706e2061ebcfc1cde10d9247 PDF Text Text - CONTENTS - 2 Diary of Charles H. Gardner - 1861 Continued from Spring of "89" 4 To Know The Indians 6 Hildred Palmer Cortes: Pam Hall Carol Laun "Memories of a Time That is Gone" Doris Wackerbarth 10 The Life of a House in Worthington 13 North Granby - Bedford or The Wedge 24 Index for 1985 - 1989 28 William C. Whitney and the Whitney Estate ]ohn Wright Crane 32 The Deacon's Son and The Parson's Daughter Dr. Howard A. Gibbs 34 Blandford Settlers Built Three Forts 35 A Visit to Aunt Hannah 36 Norwich Once Separate Town Joan Hastings William S. Hart Ida Joslyn and Connie Dorrington Robert L. Soule Dr. Howard A. Gibbs Robert T. Soule -1- � Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Text Any textual data included in the document. Stonewalls Magazine, Winter 1990 Original Format If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Magazine Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 2021-013 Title A name given to the resource Stonewalls magazine, Winter 1990 Subject The topic of the resource Other Description An account of the resource Winter 1990 issue of Stonewalls magazine, Lucy Conant editor. Full 40-page issue with ads. Included is "The Life of a House in Worthington" by Joan Hastings, a portrait of the Chauncey D. Pease house on Rte. 112 (then owned by Joan and Wil Hastings; now owned by Helen and David Pollard) as well as an index of the previous volume. 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Description An account of the resource Papers, publications, artifacts from Frederick Sargeant Huntington Library Rice (collection) Room related to Katherine McDowell Rice (1859-1945) and items related to other members of the Rice family including William Gorham Rice, James Clay Rice, Susan Tracy Rice and others Title A name given to the resource Rice family materials Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 2006-114 Title A name given to the resource Snapshot photographs from the Rice home, Alderbest - missionaries and other guests Subject The topic of the resource Houses and Barns Description An account of the resource Series of snapshots associated with missionary work of Susan Tracy Rice. 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Names mentioned: David Tyler, Raymond Coppinger Type The nature or genre of the resource Still Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource scan of newspaper article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Susan Wicker Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1971-10-07 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Daily Hampshire Gazette Date Available Date (often a range) that the resource became or will become available. 2025-09-23 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. digital archive Medium The material or physical carrier of the resource. Electronic Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Worthington - other unspecified Mediator An entity that mediates access to the resource and for whom the resource is intended or useful. In an educational context, a mediator might be a parent, teacher, teaching assistant, or care-giver. db/jd https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/1ecb9b323dc92fbc35c8c12951dfb092.tif 31cc78af6d2c1bc84e8ca188a0c4eea9 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials. Original Format If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Still Image - Black and White Photograph Physical Dimensions The actual physical size of the original image. 10.2 x 7.6 cm Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Has Part A related resource that is included either physically or logically in the described resource. Box 02 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 2006-040 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1866/1933 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 11.4 x 16.5 cm (4.5 x 6.5 in) Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource T. C. Martin Description An account of the resource Sepia tone photo taken by T. C. Martin on Indian Oven Road. This cave is said to be 500 years old. Sepia tone print scanned as black and white. Verify orientation. Lewis. Used in republication of 'Papers on the History of Worthington.' Mediator An entity that mediates access to the resource and for whom the resource is intended or useful. In an educational context, a mediator might be a parent, teacher, teaching assistant, or care-giver. bfs Date Available Date (often a range) that the resource became or will become available. 2008-03-08 Title A name given to the resource Indian Oven Subject The topic of the resource Landscape Type The nature or genre of the resource Still Image Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource T. C. Martin https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/016120be54e9ff9c8fe2e04414533a9b.pdf 2a2fbf0de489764dae66cae5f636b83b PDF Text Text � Physical Object Physical objects other than books, documents, photographs &c. Size Size (cm). Typically 3 dimensions given. 147 x 73 x 1 mm Predominant material Wood, Steel, Textile, Ceramic &c. Paper Weight Give the approximate weight in grams or kilograms. 10 gr Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 1997 Description An account of the resource This tag is contained in an envelope. On the tag is written: To: H. D. Pease VIA Trolley Express Notify Worthington Stage Coach From: T.M. Walker and Co., Painters Supplies, Springfield MA founded 1820 H. D.Pease is son of Chauncey Pease. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 14.7 x 7.3 cm (5.79 x 2.88 in) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 23-030 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Box 23 Provenance A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource. Joy Solarz, Postmaster, 1997 Title A name given to the resource Post Office - Shipping Tag Type The nature or genre of the resource Physical Object Subject The topic of the resource Businesses and Stores Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource T. M. Walker Co, Springfield, MA Date Available Date (often a range) that the resource became or will become available. 2021-11-04 Medium The material or physical carrier of the resource. Paper Mediator An entity that mediates access to the resource and for whom the resource is intended or useful. In an educational context, a mediator might be a parent, teacher, teaching assistant, or care-giver. el Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1900/1933 https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/746794d6514bbf3a6c16ddcb6c3c82fa.tif 14faaf2b766258f8d0efef1befe2407c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Burr family materials Subject The topic of the resource Burr family documents and photographs Description An account of the resource Photographs, letters, account books etc. associated with the Burr family. Many items part of a large donation from Andrus (Andy) Burr in 2007 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 2025-030 Title A name given to the resource F H Burr tailoring advertising blotter Subject The topic of the resource Businesses and Stores Description An account of the resource Lithographed advertisement featuring a fancily dressed woman with an eye for the well-dressed man. Advertisement for Taylor Clothes that were sold at the Burr store in Worthington Center. Type The nature or genre of the resource Physical Object Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2.5" x 8" Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Taylor Clothes Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource ca. 1910 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Burr family Date Available Date (often a range) that the resource became or will become available. 2025-02-15 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Box 4b Medium The material or physical carrier of the resource. Paper Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Worthington - Worthington Center Mediator An entity that mediates access to the resource and for whom the resource is intended or useful. In an educational context, a mediator might be a parent, teacher, teaching assistant, or care-giver. db Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 2004a-068 Description An account of the resource Ted Porter was very proud to present this paper as it verifiied his family lineage is the oldest in town. There is another copy as well. Abstract A summary of the resource. Publication - "First Census of the United States" Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Edward K. (Ted) Porter Date Available Date (often a range) that the resource became or will become available. 2004-05-07 Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 2007-03-25 Has Part A related resource that is included either physically or logically in the described resource. Box 29 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 21.6 x 27.9 cm (8.5 x 11 in) Mediator An entity that mediates access to the resource and for whom the resource is intended or useful. In an educational context, a mediator might be a parent, teacher, teaching assistant, or care-giver. bfs Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Worthington Historical Society Date Modified Date on which the resource was changed. 2012-12-04 Medium The material or physical carrier of the resource. Paper Type The nature or genre of the resource Document Title A name given to the resource Porter Family Lineage Subject The topic of the resource People Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ted Porter https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/70eba1ebfc48f4b582fcbdc7e627b383.tif 39b776e48438758907c7b4bf01d2d352 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 2004a-283 Description An account of the resource Two copies of "Bicentennial Concert, featuring 'The Schrade Family' Monday Evening, July 1, 1968, eight o'clock." The program has a photograph of Robert, Rolande and Robelyn Schrade. Contains 1 news clipping on the same subject; 1 news clipping by Lois Ashe Brown reporting a Schrade concert for the benefit of the South Worthington Church; 1 news clipping about a Times magazine article about the Sevenars Concerts showing Robert Schrade, Rolande Schrade, Randolph Schrade, David James, Rhonda Lee Schrade, Rorianne Schrade and Rolist Schrade.. Abstract A summary of the resource. Publication - Program, The Schrade Family Bicentennial Concert Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Helen Magargal Date Accepted Date of acceptance of the resource. Examples of resources to which a Date Accepted may be relevant are a thesis (accepted by a university department) or an article (accepted by a journal). 2007-03-27 Has Part A related resource that is included either physically or logically in the described resource. Box 31 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 14 x 21.6 cm (5.5 x 8.5 in) Mediator An entity that mediates access to the resource and for whom the resource is intended or useful. In an educational context, a mediator might be a parent, teacher, teaching assistant, or care-giver. swu, 2025-09-09 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1968-07-01, newspaper clipping from 1981-07-08 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Worthington Historical Society, Hampshire Gazette Date Modified Date on which the resource was changed. 2012-12-04 Medium The material or physical carrier of the resource. Paper Type The nature or genre of the resource Document Title A name given to the resource Shrade family newspaper articles plus Bicentennial Concert material Subject The topic of the resource People Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The 1981 news article is by Marietta Pritchard Date Available Date (often a range) that the resource became or will become available. 2025-09-09 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Digital archive Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Worthington - South Worthington https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/908dd327985fa0e9c179e960229c229b.tif c5efe8f728611c9318e6c89a5ff7d08d https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/b7827a208584a8dd4f75e5ecb99070ef.tif dd678ccdf0351beb00f6bd84341b7d37 https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/004f6981a986b68137d5ac95e886ce5f.tif be11f0989127c28cd29302ad0e11b894 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 2025-176 Title A name given to the resource Burial permits: Charles B. Pease, S. Georgia Robinson, Rosella C Chambers Subject The topic of the resource People Description An account of the resource Three burial permits from the 1930s and 40s Type The nature or genre of the resource Document Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 8.5" and 5.5" x 5.5" Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource circa 1930s-40s Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Date Available Date (often a range) that the resource became or will become available. 2025-12-31 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Box 30e Medium The material or physical carrier of the resource. Paper Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Worthington - other unspecified Mediator An entity that mediates access to the resource and for whom the resource is intended or useful. In an educational context, a mediator might be a parent, teacher, teaching assistant, or care-giver. jd https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/0d9ed636cebb49c286be3f403178e1df.tif 201a9d2a25c1d58a92cacdc3e33d91f7 https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/8e06fdd1ae250f3a20cc66b7f9bcae01.tif 14afd5d297609ba096db275116dd3f83 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials. Original Format If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Still Image - Black and White Postcard Physical Dimensions The actual physical size of the original image. 7.6 x 11.4 cm Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Description An account of the resource Black and white post card photographs with people standing in front of car across from town hall. Subject is a committee presenting community gift of car to the Reverend Barton - winter scene. His salary was not sufficient for him to replace his worn-out car with new one. Left to right: Warren Rausch, 'Chuck' Eddy, Ray Margargal, 'Bevo' Bartlett, Ken Osgood, and the Reverend Mr. Barton. Cross refer Ph101 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 7.6 x 11.4 cm (3 x 4.5 in) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Ph68a1 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Box 05 Title A name given to the resource Presentation of Car to Reverend Barton ca. 1950 Type The nature or genre of the resource Still Image Subject The topic of the resource People Date Available Date (often a range) that the resource became or will become available. 2007-07-07 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Community Committee Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource circa 1950 https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/659432affb7bb734faa0277121b3d9c7.pdf 474c772dbf2d6d68aaac7620a41c21ac PDF Text Text � Still Image A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials. Original Format If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Clipping Physical Dimensions The actual physical size of the original image. n.a. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 2024-069 Title A name given to the resource Worthington historical society plan for new park 1992 Subject The topic of the resource Other Description An account of the resource Newspaper article about plans for a permanent home for the historical society at Worthington Corners Type The nature or genre of the resource Still Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Scan of newspaper article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Country Journal Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1992-11-19 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Country Journal Date Available Date (often a range) that the resource became or will become available. 2024-05-31 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Digital archive Medium The material or physical carrier of the resource. Electronic Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Worthington - Worthington Corners Mediator An entity that mediates access to the resource and for whom the resource is intended or useful. In an educational context, a mediator might be a parent, teacher, teaching assistant, or care-giver. jd https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/765ae201d7b6bba369233f26a6b1138e.pdf f4065a570ae5d46703a0cc2f65086999 PDF Text Text � Still Image A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials. Original Format If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Clipping Physical Dimensions The actual physical size of the original image. n.a. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 2024-067 Title A name given to the resource Post office anniversary 1996 Subject The topic of the resource Historic Event Description An account of the resource Newspaper article about 200th anniversary of the Worthington post office Type The nature or genre of the resource Still Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Scan of newspaper article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Hampshire Gazette Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1996-10-10 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Hampshire Gazette Date Available Date (often a range) that the resource became or will become available. 2024-05-31 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Digital archive Medium The material or physical carrier of the resource. Electronic Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Worthington - Worthington Corners Mediator An entity that mediates access to the resource and for whom the resource is intended or useful. In an educational context, a mediator might be a parent, teacher, teaching assistant, or care-giver. jd https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/3d231e17fae81cac8de8d9197ce3d138.pdf 86da0dea957811894828ed4618178a53 PDF Text Text � https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/1b011e75d241809d85da0485dcbf2de7.pdf 5b6370fb118660a47023e870dd62ee74 PDF Text Text � Still Image A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials. Original Format If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Clipping Physical Dimensions The actual physical size of the original image. n.a. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 2024-068 Description An account of the resource Newspaper article about Worthington cemetery clean up Type The nature or genre of the resource Still Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Scan of newspaper article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Hampshire Gazette Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-08-15 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Hampshire Gazette Date Available Date (often a range) that the resource became or will become available. 2024-05-31 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Digital archive Medium The material or physical carrier of the resource. Electronic Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Worthington - other unspecified Mediator An entity that mediates access to the resource and for whom the resource is intended or useful. In an educational context, a mediator might be a parent, teacher, teaching assistant, or care-giver. jd https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/2a845757d2d908c20fb0a224ba9e2b7f.pdf 6f0a5190661015b6a55f1d8228a3f321 PDF Text Text � Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Text Any textual data included in the document. Harold "Browny" Brown obituary Original Format If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Clipping Physical Dimensions The actual physical size of the original image. n/a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 2024-144 Title A name given to the resource Harold "Browny" Brown obituary Subject The topic of the resource People Description An account of the resource Hampshire Gazette obituary of Harold "Browny" Brown (1919-2008) Type The nature or genre of the resource Document Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Hampshire Gazette Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 2008 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Hampshire Gazette Date Available Date (often a range) that the resource became or will become available. 2024-09-27 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. digital archive Medium The material or physical carrier of the resource. Electronic Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Worthington - Worthington Corners Mediator An entity that mediates access to the resource and for whom the resource is intended or useful. In an educational context, a mediator might be a parent, teacher, teaching assistant, or care-giver. jd https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/12cfd4f3fda15c310c7b7c610a3d2031.pdf abcd4916d2eecd68f0ac7f9adee39728 PDF Text Text � https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/cf341022343ae9008df104d083e6524f.pdf cae3da1b8f0c1d66a746676ab3cb6452 PDF Text Text � https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/6443c658de857904a3319247589367b1.pdf f075f40ae611aa78f113462c77dd0ca7 PDF Text Text � https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/5c0bea0053ba75fd57eab7f5b579c77f.pdf 5b0b7f5a30ef1d565a48786d484b3ee0 PDF Text Text � Still Image A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials. Original Format If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Clipping Physical Dimensions The actual physical size of the original image. n.a. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 2024-070 Title A name given to the resource Worthington historical society hosts apple pie contest Subject The topic of the resource Historic Event Type The nature or genre of the resource Still Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Scans of newspaper articles and advertisement Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Hampshire Gazette and The Country Journal Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1996-10-17 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Hampshire Gazette and The Country Journal Date Available Date (often a range) that the resource became or will become available. 2024-05-31 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Digital archive Medium The material or physical carrier of the resource. Electronic Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Worthington - Worthington Corners Mediator An entity that mediates access to the resource and for whom the resource is intended or useful. In an educational context, a mediator might be a parent, teacher, teaching assistant, or care-giver. jd https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/099befd7fa1e3d2c682b1f7f44e2975e.tif b810ef026569dc33665cd8fc9e78ae62 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GN004 Subject The topic of the resource People Type The nature or genre of the resource Still Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 12.3 x 9.7 cm Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Howes Brothers Date Available Date (often a range) that the resource became or will become available. 2011-11-22 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Box 17 Medium The material or physical carrier of the resource. Glass Mediator An entity that mediates access to the resource and for whom the resource is intended or useful. In an educational context, a mediator might be a parent, teacher, teaching assistant, or care-giver. AFT Provenance A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource. donated to the WHS by Arthur Cole in 1981 Title A name given to the resource Murray and Lucy Taylor Brown Description An account of the resource Murray and Lucy Taylor Brown. Many of these dryplate glass negative photographs are in The South Worthington Parish Book by Reverend George Reed Moody. Please see this book for further information. They were originally entered into the database with little identification. The photographs were taken between 1882 and 1907 by the Howes Brothers of Ashfield. The origin and purpose of the number often written on the binding tape of these dryplates are presently unknown. The slides were cleaned and catalogued by Marion Sweeney between 1982 and 1986. Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1882/1907 https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/3bab6dd77dd3229bb07f77d7d8481b7d.tif 9bff3705ceffcc8b6c440996e7b9294c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GN007 Title A name given to the resource Mr. B. Drake, Mr. Thrasher, Mrs. Thrasher, Mrs. Burke Subject The topic of the resource People Description An account of the resource Mr. B. Drake, Mr. Thrasher, Mrs. Thrasher, Mrs. Burke (Mary?) Many of these dryplate glass negative photographs are in The South Worthington Parish Book by Reverend George Reed Moody. Please see this book for further information. They were originally entered into the database with little identification. The photographs were taken between 1882 and 1907 by the Howes Brothers of Ashfield. The origin and purpose of the number often written on the binding tape of these dryplates are presently unknown. The slides were cleaned and catalogued by Marion Sweeney between 1982 and 1986. Type The nature or genre of the resource Still Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 17.5 x 12.5 cm Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Howes Brothers Date Available Date (often a range) that the resource became or will become available. 2021-11-22 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Box 17 Medium The material or physical carrier of the resource. Glass Mediator An entity that mediates access to the resource and for whom the resource is intended or useful. In an educational context, a mediator might be a parent, teacher, teaching assistant, or care-giver. AFT Provenance A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource. Donated to the WHS by Arthur Cole in 1981 Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1882/1907 https://worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/omeka/files/original/73ee18b543adbc6183d042753333588d.tif 87343dabc67382da8b3c3ee1a3f5ef98 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GN008 Title A name given to the resource Mr. B. Drake, Mr. Thrasher, Mrs. Thrasher, Mrs. Burke Subject The topic of the resource People Description An account of the resource Mr. B. Drake, Mr. Thrasher. Mrs. Thrasher, Mrs. Burke (Mary?). Many of these dryplate glass negative photographs are in The South Worthington Parish Book by Reverend George Reed Moody. Please see this book for further information. They were originally entered into the database with little identification. The photographs were taken between 1882 and 1907 by the Howes Brothers of Ashfield. The origin and purpose of the number often written on the binding tape of these dryplates are presently unknown. The slides were cleaned and catalogued by Marion Sweeney between 1982 and 1986. Type The nature or genre of the resource Still Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 17.5 x 12.5 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Howes Brothers Date Available Date (often a range) that the resource became or will become available. 2021-11-22 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Box 17 Medium The material or physical carrier of the resource. Glass Mediator An entity that mediates access to the resource and for whom the resource is intended or useful. In an educational context, a mediator might be a parent, teacher, teaching assistant, or care-giver. AFT Provenance A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource. Was donated to the WHS by Arthur Cole in 1981 Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1882/1907