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Gc 974.402 H187h 2056223
M. L.
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01105 3599
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Bine in covers
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EARLY
Hampden
its settlers and the homes they built
by CARL C. HOWLETT
EXPLANATION OF FRONT COVER
When we started this little history we wondered what type of illustration should be placed on the front cover to be most ex- pressive of Early Hampden. As soon, however, as Mrs. Charles H. Thomas of Chicopee Falls loaned us a panoramic picture of Hampden Village taken more than 60 years ago from the hillside back of the present home of Mrs. Beatrice (Tait) Henrich, we knew that our quest was at an end. This photo- graph seemed particularly appropriate as it showed the Scantic River, the encircling hills, a meeting house, certain industries, and even the Old Cemetery dating from 1755 in the distance.
In the center foreground may be seen the Baptist Church with its beautiful spire and the grocery store in the vestry. Across the road we notice Marcus Beebe's plough and wheel- barrow factory with the blacksmith shop in the rear building and the woodworking department in the one on Main Street. Continuing west we see the Soab House and Wool Storage House for the Lacousic Woolen Company (now the Ackerman house and barn). The mill pond where the youth of our town enjoyed skating in the winter is also shown. The location at the right where the Lacousic mill itself stood was not in the focus of the camera and we do not know whether it had burned before the picture was taken. The original photograph extend- ed east to include the belfry of the Congregational Church but the space on our front cover was not large enough to enable the entire picture to be shown.
EARLY
Hampden, Mas.
its settlers and the homes they built
by CARL C. HOWLETT
in collaboration with FRANCES STOCKTON JONES
published by the YOLA GUILD of the FEDERATED COMMUNITY CHURCH
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00 026
HAMPDEN, MASSACHUSETTS
1958
1 79 9975 5 \ '
a dedication
This book is respectfully dedicated to the memory of the following people:
REV. CHARLES BEMIS BLISS, PH.D., pastor of the Hampden Congre- gational Church from 1903-1913, whose addresses at anniversary obser- vances of the church and other data collected by him, have added to the value of this book.
JOHN B. ISKAM, who was for many years deacon, church school super- intendent, moderator, and director of this church, and whose friendly smile and warm handclasp are greatly missed.
MISS MARY E. ISHAM, who was for 40 years church historian, teacher in the church school for a long period, and who carried on the historical work started by Dr. Bliss, and whose many letters giving historical data to the writer during the last few years have been an inspiration.
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INDEX
Allen Street .
28
Ames Road
79
An 1820 Survey which included Main Street
119
Andrew Jackson Davis
39
Antique Furniture owned by Mrs. Gottsche
121
Bennett Road
Bumpstead Hill
Burt's Mills .
2056223 41
Determining the Age of a House
130
District of Wales
37
Early Shops near Center Bridge
118
East Longmeadow Road .
26
Edwin Marcus Chaffee
94
Glendale Road
72
Historical Background
4
How and Where Early Settlers Obtained Building Materials Howlett Hill .
69
Interesting Hampden Wills
126
Main Street - East
85
Main Street - West .
98
Mill Road
30 59
Mountain Road
North Road .
48
North Monson Road .
82
Old Account Books
127
Old Langdon Grandfather's Clock .
122
Other Quaint and Interesting Old Roads
121
Patrons of the Book .
133
Riverside Drive .
95
Scantic Road
62
Somers Road
7
South Road .
31
South Monson Road .
69
Stafford Road
71
Stony Hill Road .
30
Thresher Road
69
Wilbraham Road
17
3
83 69 67
Chapin Road
124
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
In the late 1600's the town of Springfield included what is now the city by the same name and 14 other towns in Massachusetts and Connecticut, including what is now the town of Hampden.
This territory was not all inhabited and part of it had not even been appropriated to the citizens of Springfield. This unappropriated land, a part of which lay on the east and a part on the west of the Connecticut River was known as the Outward Commons.
When Sir Edmund Andros, Royal Governor of Massachusetts, threatened to take away the charter of the colony, the inhabitants of Springfield voted at a town meeting in 1685 to make the said land the property of its 123 legal citizens so that these commons would not revert to the King of England.
A certain amount of land was reserved for the ministry and schools and the rest was divided into five sections with the head of each family receiving some part of all five sections, the proportion being reckoned according to the value of his estate and the number of his male children.
It was discovered sometime after Roger Newbury surveyed the Out- ward Commons in 1729 that only sixteen feet had been allowed to the rod so that on the south side of the 3rd Division there remained, unap- propriated, a strip of land 62 rods wide and four miles long. This received the name of the "overplus land."
What now comprises most of the town of Hampden consists of Lots 24 to 125 of the 3rd Division of the Outward Commons on the East Side of the Great (Connecticut) River, and the Overplus Land and the District of Wales, the latter being a strip bordering the Connecticut state line of which more will be written in a later paragraph.
The 125 lots (including one each for the Ministry and School) all started at the Monson Line and proceeded west four miles. The width of the lot varied according to the wealth of the person receiving it. The Col. Pynchon Lot was approximately 2200 feet wide, whereas the John Barber Lot was only about 11 feet wide. Obviously a farm 11 feet wide and 4 miles long was worthless for all practical purposes, as a man could not turn his ox cart around without trespassing on his neighbor's land, much less build a house. This is the reason for the many early land transfers.
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Many of our residents have enjoyed ascertaining the number of the lot on which their house was built and tracing ownership of their property back to the original grant made in accordance with that town meeting of 1685. The results of their labors have been incorporated in this text and we are grateful for their efforts.
We find from the "Land Abstracts from Early Records of Spring- field" in the basement of the Hampden County Registry of Deeds that three roads were accepted in 1740 which came down from the Old Bay Path near the Chicopee River in North Wilbraham through what is now Hampden and went south to the Connecticut line.
The West Road was our present Wilbraham-Somers Road on the west side of the mountain. The East Road was evidently what is now known as Glendale Road, Cross Road, Scantic Road and Rocky Dundee Road.
The Middle or Ridge Road followed the top of the mountain and probably came down the full length of our present North Road and went up South Road to the Connecticut line. However, as soon as settlers arrived in town they decided the section of North Road from the Melville to E. N. Davis properties was inconvenient and so in 1743 this section was discontinued and our present Mountain Road substituted "it being a more direct and shorter road" By looking at a map we notice that it would be a much nearer route to the old church on Wigwam Hill for residents of the South Parish than the one laid out in 1740, and this is probably why the change was made. Since both routes were called the Middle Road in some instances it has been hard when looking up old deeds at the Registry of Deeds to know which road was meant.
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SOMERS ROAD
Alton Gregory. Earlier writers of Hampden History have felt that when Stephen Stebbins in 1741 rode his horse out from Longmeadow to clear this beautiful spot beside the Scantic River the house that he built was the first building in the South Parish of Wilbraham. However, the late Atty. Charles S. Ballard during his many hours of pouring over the records in the Hampden County Registry of Deeds, discovered that there must have been at least two houses here when Mr. Stebbins arrived, one on Lot #81 on or near the Daniel Isham or Asa Isham farms and the other on what is now the Attleton Farm, both on Wilbraham Road. Lot #81 was sold by Edward Pynchon to William Pynchon on March 18, 1740 or 1741 with house and barn thereon. (The question of the date of 1740 or 1741 arises from the acceptance of the new Gregorian Calendar in New England in 1752). Mr. Ballard also found that the Hitchcock Family sold a house on what is now the Attleton Farm which must have been built previous to 1742. (We will learn more about these original houses on the Isham and Attleton properties in the section on Wilbraham Road.) It does seem strange, however, that Rev. Rufus P. Stebbins, who was born in a house standing on the present Gregory Lot made no mention of either of these residences when writing his History of Wil- braham in 1863 and called Stephen Stebbins, his ancestor, the first settler of Hampden.
The Stephen Stebbins house which was built on the site of the present Gregory house stood here until about 1772 when it was moved across the corner and used as a barn behind the house now owned by Arthur Barber on the Old Allen House property.
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Home of the Alton Gregory's as it looked in 1900 with Mrs. Grace (Pease) Carew on the porch.
Mrs. Robert S. Pease of Scantic Road, whose late husband was a direct descendant of Stephen Stebbins, has the original deed covering the transfer of this property from Mr. Stebbins' heirs to one of their brothers, Zadock Stebbins.
Some of the Stebbins family must have built a new house on the property after the old one was moved off, since Rev. Rufus P. Stebbins, D.D., Stephen's great-grandson, was born here in 1810. Dr. Stebbins was one of Hampden's most illustrious sons and became president of the American Unitarian Society and one of the founders of the Unitarian Church in this country. His first position was teaching in the old Robert Sessions District School which used to stand on Wilbraham Road near the Bliss Fruit Farm.
The Stebbins family placed a dam across the river east of Somers Road and built a saw mill and a grist mill which they operated until Milton Stebbins sold the property to Isaac Leach in 1851.
Next in line of ownership came Sam Hubbard who bought the house in 1859 and afterwards sold to Orville Pease. The farm then passed to the latter's son, Mortimer Pease, a Civil War veteran, whose diary of his experiences in that war is now in the Hampden Library. Orville Pease and Mortimer Pease operated a shoddy mill in the area at one time. Durrell O. Pease, son of Mortimer, was quite a noted inventor of machin- ery and lived in England for a period. Mrs. Grace (Pease) Carew was the last member of the family to own the house, which was acquired by Mr. Gregory in 1953.
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Peter Sicbaldi - The Hampden Nursery Co. The beautiful outside ines and large central chimney of this well-kept old home would indicate a building date of about 1800, but we have been unable to find the exact date. We do know that Josiah Leonard received the original grant of land and that in 1749 he sold it to Lewis Langdon, who in turn sold to Aaron Stebbins, in 1750. Aaron built one of the first houses in Hampden shortly after that date and members of the family lived here for over 100 years. Probably some later Stebbins built the present house. In 1861, a Rev. Gilbert Rockwood, retired minister, bought the property from John C. Stebbins, who in turn sold to Edward Wall in 1875.
Next came his son, Patrick E. Wall, who was Chairman of Select- men for a period and Superintendent of Lacousic Woolen Mills. Then the latter's daughter, Mrs. Mary (Wall) Haley and family lived here until the Sicbaldi family purchased it in 1936. In carrying on a nursery busi- ness, Mr. Sicbaldi has beautified the grounds and helped much to make the West Side an attractive place in which to live.
Arthur P. Barber - Old Allen House (Corner of Main Street). Some feel that perhaps this is one of the oldest houses in town, while others are of the opinion it is not the original. Lewis Langdon is supposed to have built a house here previous to 1750. He built the first saw mill in town in that year. Col. John McCray ran a tavern here in 1850 and the corner was then called McCray Corner and the school across the way was called the McCray Corner School. Afterwards, Pliny Allen conducted the tavern and called it the Allen House. Norman Canedy bought from the Allen's and owned the corner for many years. He sold to Clement Duchesne in 1942 who in turn sold to Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Melvin. The present owners bought the house from the Melvin family in 1952.
Helge Johnson - Walnut Grove Rest Home. About 1861, Judson and Anna Leonard built this house which was one of the show places of Hampden for many years. The Leonard family operated the large Scantic mill on the West Side and had considerable wealth, having given the Leonard Memorial Medical School to Shaw University, Raleigh, N. C. They were also large contributors to the local Baptist Church. Harry G. Stoddard, one of Worcester's most prominent business executives and his sister, Mrs. Charles H. Thomas of Chicopee Falls, were relatives of the Leonard family and spent a portion of their youth here. The property was sold to A. H. Newman in 1915 and to Helge Johnson in 1945. Both the Newman and Johnson families have conducted rest homes in this house.
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Mr. and Mrs. Peter Sicbaldi's home.
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The Allen House corner about 1900 showing the second West Side School on the left and the Allen House on the right.
The Walnut Grove Rest Home as it looked when Judson Leonard lived here.
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Walter Labodycz and Harold Harlow. When in 1685 the Outward Commons were divided among the residents of the town of Springfield, Henry Chapin drew Lot # 112. He was the son of Deacon Samuel Chapin whose world-famous monument known as the "Puritan" by Augustus St. Gaudens stands beside the Springfield Library. Henry left the lot to his grandson Abner and the latter settled here about 1747-48, building his house where the brick garage now stands. Abner afterwards bought half of Lots # 113 and # 114 and later part of Lots #110 and #111. By 1769 he had a good sized farm extending from the east end of the Inward Commons to the top of West Mountain, back of the Harlow house. The farm passed from Abner to his son, Samuel, in 1784. The latter built the barn which still stands behind the Harlow house and which is now the residence of Dr. Kenneth Winetrout who purchased it in 1956. A beam was found in this barn branded 1791 or 1799, the last number being indistinct.
When Samuel died in 1837, the farm was split between his two sons, Silas, who received the portion on the west side of Somers Road and Ralph Sumner, who inherited that on the east side. Silas built the present Labodycz house and lived therein until he died, when it fell to his son, the late George A. Chapin. In 1944, the latter sold his farm to Mr. Labodycz and retained the house at the corner of Somers and Mill Roads where his daughter now resides. Thus various members of the Chapin family have owned this corner continuously since 1685, when the Indians probably still paddled up and down the Scantic River in their canoes.
Ralph Sumner Chapin built the Harlow house, probably about 1840, as he was married that year and the factory-made nails used therein would seem to be of that period. In 1895, this portion of the farm passed from the Chapin family and William Leach, father of Mrs. D. L. McCray, owned this property in the early 1900's. The Charles F. Medicke family lived here for a considerable time selling to Lawrence Sullivan in 1946. The Harlows bought the property in 1950.
Mrs. George Chapin kindly loaned us one of the original deeds for this property covering transfer of a section of the present Labodycz Farm from Moses Burt and Caleb Stebbins to Abner Chapin. It was made out the "twentieth day of April anno Domini 1751 and in the twenty- fourth year of his majesty's reign." It carries the heading of "Town of Springfield, County of Hampshire, in the province of Massachusetts Bay in New England." One parcel started at the "Summers" line which was then farther north than it is now and the other made reference to the "Schantick" River as a boundry. This deed was made out while Hampden
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was still a part of the town of Springfield, before the United States of America existed. We belonged to the Province of Massachusetts Bay and were still a part of the county of Hampshire. Hampden County had not yet been established. The "His Majesty" referred to was King George II of England of the House of Hanover who reigned from 1727 to 1760. The document carries the signatures, as registrars of deeds, of William Pynchon and Edward Pynchon, descendants of the founder of Springfield. Perhaps the signature of this "Edward" is the signature of the man who built the first house in Hampden. (For further information relative there- to see the parapraphs on the Isham Farms on Wilbraham Road.)
Dall3People to whom thefe
Prefents fball come, Greeting. Zanom De, That fre Mojes thanh & Salade Hetens both of thingfite in the County
England "roman's
For and in Confileration of the Sum of Currant Money of the Province aforefand, to Led in Hand paid before the I ofealing hereof by abran Grafica of Springfield afredand Speroman,
the Receipt whereof fexE ... do hereby acknowledge Anddatade fally fatisfied, content , and paid, HAVE given, granto), hargained; foul, aliened. relrald, conveyed and confirmed, and by thele Prefents, do freely, sdearly, and pohdutely give, " grant, bargain, fell, aliene, release, convey and confirm unto Him the frid" Horen kapust, his
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for us arets Hire, Executors and Administrators the hereby Covenant, Pros de and Engage " the ix fore-granted Premifee with the Appartenances unto Him's the fall Cover Shakes (y againft the lawful Chitos of Demands BE in " Heirs and Affigns for ever to Warrant, Secure and Defend sk Benny Person or Persons wie In witness where of ise the faid Makes Bul bo Celet Stephens have It Down hand & lead the twentieth Day El anoque Domina 1751 and In the twenty Fourthe year of his Majeflies Regn.
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Deed for part of Chapin land dated 1/51.
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August Sundgren Block. This apartment building was built by the owners of the Scantic Woolen Mill, which used to stand somewhat to the east, to house some of their employees. The mill was erected in 1865 and the apartment house was built some time thereafter, when the mill was owned by Luther Sage or Judson Leonard. In 1877, the block was owned by Kenworthy Brothers, who operated a blanket factory in the mill. Later owners of the house have been: Eugene Redden, Fred J. Ken- worthy, Nelson E. Pease and Willie M. Pease, on whose death Mr. Sund- gren purchased the property in 1950.
Ben F. Libby. This house was built by Judson Leonard some time previous to 1870. It was occupied for a period by Mr. and Mrs. George Sheldon who were relatives of the Leonard family. The Robert Kenworthy family were the next owners and they probably sold to Mr. and Mrs. William E. Kendall who lived here in the early part of the century. The Libby family bought the house in 1922.
Clifford M. Hall. This fine old home is located on Lot # 119, the first lot owner of record being a Mr. Holyoke. The title subsequently passed to his son, John Holyoke, one of colonial Springfield's most prominent citizens and for whom both the City of Holyoke and Mt. Holyoke were named. In 1712 Mr. Holyoke sold the lot to Thomas Stebbins and in 1749 Hannah (Stebbins) Williston transferred the westerly half of the lot to John Bliss, who had already purchased Lots #115, #117 and # 118, and had inherited Lot # 116.
After acquiring Lot # 119 John Bliss built on it a small house with attached sheds. This original dwelling with its large fire place and brick oven is now the ell of the present house. In 1763 he sold the property to his son, John Bliss, 2nd, who later became Col. John Bliss, one of
Beautifully restored home of Mr. and Mrs. Clifford M. Hall.
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Hampden's most illustrious sons. In 1777 Col. Bliss sold a portion of the farm to Capt. Paul Langdon. Capt. Paul then built the main part of the house for his son who lived on the property and farmed the land for many years. The farm remained in the Langdon family until 1855 when Harlow Langdon sold it to Lathrop Chaffee.
Other owners of the property have been Luke Pease (1860-1898); Alpheus Peck (1898); John Fowler (1898-1932); August Enslin (1932- 37; Arthur F. Peaslee; and the Hall family who have lived here since 1938.
This beautifully restored home combines the best features of one of our earliest houses with all the modern conveniences which make for gracious living. The restoration work was done by an expert in the field.
Mrs. Hall spent many hours looking up the Langdon family and properties for us, including the elusive Pynchon House on Wilbraham Road in which Lieut. Paul Langdon first lived when he came to town. We are also indebted to her for the article in the rear of this book on the Langdon Grandfather's Clock.
The Lester Kibbe Farms - The Langdon Farms. In 1741 Lt. Paul Langdon came to Hampden from Upton and interesting details of the trip have been incorporated in the article on the Langdon Grandfather's Clock in the rear of this book. On September 17th of that year he bought the Pynchon Lot #81, about which additional data is given in the section on Wilbraham Road.
Mr. Langdon evidently lived in the house built by the Pynchon family but had his eye on the fertile fields of the overplus land, on Somers Road, part of which is now owned by Lester Kibbe. Between 1741 and 1743 he spent his time operating his farm on or near the present Isham property, building the ell of the Lester Kibbe house, and purchasing the overplus land from the 125 owners. The latter must have been a difficult task since the owners all lived in Springfield and their signatures had to be received and payment made for relinquishing their share. Would you care to buy a farm from 125 different people?
By 1743 Lieut. Langdon had succeeded in buying the Somers Road property and was living in his new house and that year he sold back to the Pynchon family Lot #81 on which he originally lived. Mr. Langdon kept a record book or journal and one of his entries in old style English reads as follows: "1745. What wheat has been thrached and yoused and sold this being a memorandum of wheat reased in ye year 1745 on my nue field (in Wilbraham) 1021/2 bushels." It is interesting to note that wheat was raised in our town in those early days.
The amount of wood consumed by the early inhabitants gave an
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Red brick home of Mr. and Mrs. Lester Kibbe. The ell of this house was built between 1741-43 and we believe it to be the oldest building in Hampden today.
overplus of ashes for home consumption and, therefore, Mr. Langdon manufactured potash and the name of Potash Hill for the hill upon which his house was built was derived from this source. Old residents still use the name.
Some time after 1805 the Langdon family sold the little house on the east side of Somers Road to Barton Bradway, great-grandfather of Mrs. L. O. Howlett and Mr. Bradway attached the brick front, making the bricks right on the property. Various members of the Bradway family lived here for a number of years. Rev. Fred Viggers, an Advent minister, was a later resident, and Walter Barlett, son-in-law of the minister and father of Mrs. Lester Kibbe lived here with his family in the early 1900's. We believe that the ell on this house, built between 1741 and 1743 is the oldest building still standing in Hampden.
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