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Gc 974.401 H17c v.I 1143079
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01103 8855
17c
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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
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"Our County and Its People"
Bur County and Its People"
A History of
HAMPDEN COUNTY
Massachusetts
Editor ALFRED MINOT COPELAND
President of Connecticut Valley Historical Society and President of Springfield Geological Club
FORT WAYNE
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY "
E
TS.
IN
COF
Volume One
THE CENTURY MEMORIAL PUBLISHING COMPANY
1902
COPYRIGHTED 1902 BY ALFRED MINOT COPELAND
1143079
To
MARCUS PERRIN KNOWLTON
ONE OF HAMPDEN COUNTY'S MOST HONORED SONS
This volume is respectfully Dedicated
1
Editor-in=Chief ALFRED M. COPELAND
President of the Connecticut Valley Historical Society & President of Springfield Geological Club
Authors
JAMES CARRUTHERS GREENOUGH, LL. D., WILLIAM ORR, JAMES L. BOWEN, MARSHAL CALKINS, A.M., M.D., ETHAN BROOKS, HENRY L. HINES, ALFRED M. COPELAND, LYMAN N. CLARK, CHARLES L. YOUNG, LEWIS C. ALDRICH, ORRIN P. ALLEN, GEORGE E. FULLER, M.D., JOHN H. CARMICHAEL, M.D. LOUIS TESSON
Editors
CHARLES L. GARDNER, EDWIN L. KIRTLAND FREDERICK W. CHAPIN, M.D. GEORGE S. STEBBINS, M.D., CHARLES P. HOOKER, M.D. THEODORE F. BRECK, M.D.
Preface
SEARCH of the catalogues and the shelves in the large public libraries of Boston discloses the fact that the eastern counties of Massachusetts are pro- vided with good separate histories, while our own Hamp- den County, as important from a commercial point of view and far more historic than many of those east of us, can- not boast anything of a general historical character worthy of mention.
In preparing this work it has been the chief aim to present to the citizens of this county a reliable and care- fully prepared historical record; a work that shall properly reflect the men and the times in all generations of the past ; a work that shall be free from the objectionable features that too often bring honest history into disrepute; and a work of which our people may feel proud rather than one for which we are called upon to apologize.
Feeling the actual need of such a work, I undertook to stand as chief controlling editor of a comprehensive three-volume history of Hampden county, to be called "Our County and Its People," and to this end have di- rected my best energies until the task is finally completed. The public will judge, and judge justly, if this work has been well done. It has been no easy task to find men in the different towns of the county properly qualified and willing to write the local town histories. To some extent we have found such men, and their work has been well done. It is extremely difficult to obtain every important fact touching the history of towns that within the last
X
PREFACE
fifty years have not only lost many of their most impor- tant citizens and with them valuable historic facts of which no records have been left, but whose places are now occu- pied by people not of their kin, and in no way interested in the town's former inhabitants. In preparing the present work we have earnestly endeavored to obtain all the im- portant local facts, and to make the histories of the differ- ent towns as complete as possible.
We made earnest effort, and with fairly good results, to obtain brief ancestral records of all families identified with the history and the development of Hampden county. There was, for the most part a generous response to our effort in this respect; and we present a reasonably full, but not so complete a record as was hoped.
A. M. C.
.
Contents
CHAPTER I
GEOLOGY OF HAMPDEN COUNTY 1
CHAPTER II
DISCOVERY AND OCCUPATION
Early European Discoveries in America-The French in Canada- The Dutch in New York-The English in Virginia-The Puri- tans in New England-Three European Powers Claim Sover- eignty over the Territory Comprising Massachusetts-Over- throw of the Dutch in the Netherlands-Struggle for Suprem- acy between the French and the English-End of the French Dominion
14
CHAPTER III
THE INDIANS
French and Jesuit Influence Among the Indians-The New England Missionaries-Location and Probable Origin of the New Eng- land Tribes-The Connecticut River Indians-Their Habits and Characteristics-Efforts to Establish Education and Christianity Among the Tribes-Dutch Settlers sell them Guns and Rum
20
CHAPTER IV COLONIZATION AND SETTLEMENT
English Colonization and Settlement in America-The Plymouth and London Companies-Landing of the Pilgrims-Distress in the Colony-Massasoit's Generosity-Accessions to the Colony -Plantations Founded in the Connecticut Valley-The Colony at Agawam-Springfield Founded-Independent Government for the Connecticut River Plantations-Springfield returns to Massachusetts Jurisdiction-Four Counties Incorporated- Springfield not Included.
27
xii
CONTENTS
CHAPTER V
STRUGGLES WITH THE INDIANS
Dissensions among the Colonists-Beginning of the Indian Troubles -The Pequot War-Narragansetts Allied to the English- Destruction of the Pequots-An Era of Peace and Prosperity- Militia Companies formed in the Valley-Construction of Forti- fied Houses-Fort Pynchon-Events preceding King Philip's War-The Outbreak-Nipmuck Treachery at Brookfield. The War in the Connecticut Valley-Burning of Springfield-West- field twice Attacked-The Affair at Longmeadow-Decisive Ac- tion by the Colonies-Indians Driven from the Valley-Death of King Philip-End of the War
38
CHAPTER VI COLONIAL WARS
From the close of King Phillip's War to the End of the French Dominion-Indians ask to be Restored to their Former Pos- sessions in the Connecticut Valley-King William's War- Indian Depredations of the Frontier-Queen Anne's War- Treaty of Utrecht-Trouble with the Abenaquis-Father Rasle and Woronoak-War again Declared Between England and France-Treaty of Aix-la-chapelle-War Resumed-The Hampshire County Regiment at Lake George-Troops Assem- bled at Springfield-End of the War-Treaty of Paris. .... 57
CHAPTER VII
WAR OF THE REVOLUTION . . 69
CHAPTER VIII
THE INSURRECTION OF 1786-7-THE SHAYS REBELLION . . 86
CHAPTER IX
THE WAR OF 1812-1815. ........ . 100
CHAPTER X
COUNTY ORGANIZATION
108
CHAPTER XI
HAMPDEN COUNTY CIVIL LIST 124
xiii
CONTENTS CHAPTER XII
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS 152
CHAPTER XIII
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS-RAILROADS. 175
CHAPTER XIV
CONNECTICUT RIVER NAVIGATION.
188
CHAPTER XV
HAMPDEN COUNTY IN THE WAR OF 1861-1865
198
CHAPTER XVI
EDUCATION IN HAMPDEN COUNTY
232
CHAPTER XVII
STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, WESTFIELD 264
CHAPTER XVIII
THE HAMPDEN BENCH AND BAR.
293
CHAPTER XIX
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION 338
CHAPTER
XX
THE DENTAL PROFESSION. .. ... 390
CHAPTER XXI
THE PRESS OF HAMPDEN COUNTY-ITS HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT 416
CHAPTER XXII
FREE MASONRY AND ODD FELLOWSHIP
464
CHAPTER XXIII
AGRICULTURE OF HAMPDEN COUNTY
499
Illustrations
FORT PYNCHON 42
A RELIC OF THE REVOLUTION 80
ENTRANCE TO U. S. ARMORY GROUNDS 82
UNITED STATES WATERSHOPS 84
OUTLINE MAP OF HAMPDEN COUNTY
107
THE FIRST COURT HOUSE
113
COURT SQUARE, SPRINGFIELD
118
THE SECOND COURT HOUSE
120
HAMPDEN COUNTY COURT HOUSE
122
BOSTON AND ALBANY STAGE COACH
160
OLD SOUTH HOLYOKE FERRY
162
THE OLD TOLL BRIDGE
167
CHICOPEE BRIDGE
169
WILLIMANSETT BRIDGE
172
OLD B. & A. CROSSING, LOOKING NORTH 176
OLD B. & A. CROSSING, LOOKING SOUTH 179
THE ARCH, B. & A. CROSSING 182
A CONNECTICUT RIVER VIEW 193
G. A. R. BUILDING, SPRINGFIELD 199 BRIG .- GEN. HORACE C. LEE, PORTRAIT 227
FIRST NORMAL SCHOOL BUILDING, 1846 276
NORMAL SCHOOL BUILDING, 1860 281
NORMAL SCHOOL BUILDING, 1869 284
PRESENT NORMAL SCHOOL BUILDING 287
CHIEF JUSTICE REUBEN ATWATER CHAPMAN, PORTRAIT 307
GEORGE ASHMUN, PORTRAIT 315
OLIVER B. MORRIS, PORTRAIT 317
WILLIAM B. CALHOUN, PORTRAIT 319
WILLIAM G. BATES, PORTRAIT 321
THE BOSTON STONE 153
xvi
ILLUSTRATIONS
COL. WILLIAM S. SHURTLEFF, PORTRAIT 326
Gov. GEORGE D. ROBINSON, PORTRAIT 330
DR. WILLIAM TULLY, PORTRAIT 353
DR. THADDEUS K. DEWOLF, PORTRAIT 366
DR. HENRY R. VAILLE, PORTRAIT 368
DR. GEORGE W. SWAZEY, PORTRAIT
383
FLAVIUS SEARLE, D. D. S., PORTRAIT
397
FIRST HOME OF SPRINGFIELD REPUBLICAN
426
SAMUEL BOWLES, PORTRAIT
429
JOSIAH GILBERT HOLLAND, PORTRAIT
431
CLARK W. BRYAN, PORTRAIT
436
HENRY M. BURT, PORTRAIT
440
PHINEAS L. BUELL, PORTRAIT
447
DANIEL REYNOLDS, PORTRAIT
478
GEORGE W. RAY, PORTRAIT
480
ELIPHALET TRASK, PORTRAIT
486
CHAPTER I
GEOLOGY OF HAMPDEN COUNTY
BY WILLIAM ORR
Any consideration of the geography of Hampden county must give a large place to the marked physiographic differences between the highland and lowland areas. In Hampden county the valley of the Connecticut has an average width of fifteen miles. The valley is bounded on east and west by steep escarp- ments, the boundaries of an upland plateau with an elevation of eight hundred to nine hundred feet above the valley floor and of twelve hundred feet above the sea.
Very striking are the contrasts between the highlands and the lowlands. In the valley there is formed a deep, rich, alluvial soil, which gives a basis for a prosperous farming industry. The ground is level and easily tilled. In some parts of the low- land there is an accumulation of sand and gravel, and on these tracts cultivation is restricted to pasturage and forest growth. The streams in the lowland are of slow current and meandering course. By reason of the large volume of water, these streams are important sources of power, where there is any fall in their channel. Communication is easy between the valley towns. As a result of these physiographic conditions, the important centers of commerce, manufactures, and, in a large measure, of agricul- ture, are found in the valley lowland. A survey of the history of Hampden county will show that Springfield, in the geographical center of the valley, was the first settlement, and next in order came the cluster of towns and cities that now surround Spring- field. The hill towns were settled at later dates.
The upland country may be described in general terms as a dissected plateau. On the west it extends from the border of the
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE
Connecticut valley to the hills of the Berkshires. The elevation is from one thousand to twelve hundred feet above the sea. Allu- vial soil is found occasionally in places, where the material car- ried down the hillsides by rain accumulates. Where the forest growth has prevailed for a long time there is formed a thick layer of vegetable mould, that constitutes a valuable soil. In the open country the soil is variable in quality, but does not as a rule approach the high grade alluvium of the valley. Unremit- ting industry and careful attention to detail are needed to win success in farming. The valleys are canyon-like in character, with steep sides and with slight development of river or flood plains. Bowlders, large and small, fill up the beds of the streams and mountain brooks and heighten the picturesque quality of the region. The channel slopes are steep, often abrupt, and valuable water powers abound. The main highways follow the larger valleys, while to reach the higher levels one must struggle up the hard and severe grades of the mountain roads.
A way for the principal railroad of the region, the Boston and Albany, has been provided by the valley of the Westfield river. It is by this valley that communication is established from the Connecticut river lowlands to the valley of the Housatonic. The drainage system has not been perfectly developed by reason of the comparative youth of the main rivers and their tributaries. As a result there are considerable areas of bogs and swamps on certain of the upland plateaus. But little connection can be traced between the character and structure of the rocks and the erosion of the region. The valleys are for the most part trans- verse and the general trend of the drainage is towards the south- east. A somewhat important longitudinal valley is that which extends northward from Huntington, but this is situated for the most part in Hampshire county.
The western highlands contain valuable deposits of minerals and extensive quarries of building stone. A most noted mineral is the emery found at Chester. Kaolin, quartz, felspar and soap- stone are found in Blandford. At Mundale in the town of West- field a quarry of a verd antique marble has been opened, and is yielding an ornamental stone of excellent quality.
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GEOLOGY
The pursuits of the people on the uplands are in the main agriculture, including grazing, lumbering and general farming. There are a number of small factories located on the streams where water power is found. The development of mineral re- sources is another industry of importance. In the summer time the hill country is a favorite resort for city people, by reason of the clear, cool air, pure water, and attractive scenery.
Eastward of the Connecticut valley is another plateau region that extends into Worcester county. This plateau is in most re- spects like that to the westward. The elevation is not so great and the plan of the valley systems is in some respects much simpler. The main drainage channel is the Chicopee river, which corre- sponds to the Westfield river in the western plateau. There is a finely developed longitudinal valley, which follows the course of Swift river and is continued through Palmer and Monson. An accumulation of glacial material at Palmer has caused a diversion of the Swift river to the west, but the valley opens southward to the waters of the Willimantic river.
Along the valley of the Chicopee river run the tracks of the Boston and Albany railway, and this road constitutes the main avenue of communication with the east. In the longitudinal valley of Palmer and Monson, way has been found for the New London Northern railroad. The eastern plateau is more accessi- ble and less rugged in character than the western, and settle- ments are larger and manufacturing developed on a more im- portant scale. There are several towns of large size, as Palmer and Monson. Many of the towns possess extensive water power and good railroad facilities. Farming suffers from the difficul- ties of a rocky country, where the ground abounds in stones and bowlders, and the soil is only moderately fertile. Extensive quarries are at Monson, where a high grade of building stone, known as Monson granite, is found.
It will be clear from this sketch of the general features of Hampden county that its physical geography and geology may be discussed in relation to three comparatively distinct districts ; the western highlands, the valley lowlands, and the eastern high- lands. This paper will deal with the present conditions and with
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE
the processes by which this development of the region has been attained.
The underlying rocks of the western highlands consist of ancient crystalline schists, quartzites, gneiss with beds of am- phibolite, serpentine, emery and magnetite. The older forma- tions are to the westward, where on the borders of the county there are found exposures of the Becket gneiss. This rock is now regarded as Lower Cambrian in age. In the township of Tolland the Becket gneiss is wrapped around a rock of still earlier age-the Washington gneiss. The latter formation is pre-Cambrian, or Algonkian.
The Washington gneiss is rusty in color, by reason of the de- composition of its iron bearing minerals, as hornblende and pyr- rhotite. It is composed in the main of quartz and biotite mica. Graphite is found in all the exposures and a blue quartz, which often gives the rock a beautiful color. In the town of Washing- ton there is a graphite mine in this rock. The rock may be studied to advantage on the line of the railroad from Becket east towards the Middlefield line. The change to the Becket gneiss may also be seen at this point. The Becket gneiss is light grey in color, fine grained and composed of but few minerals. The gray color is caused by the biotite mica, as the felspar and quartz are colorless. Some of the Becket gneiss is a coarse conglomer- ate, other exposures are thin-fissile, while again it is a fine grained granitoid-gneiss-a most excellent quarry stone. It is quarried at Middlefield and in Becket and is suitable for construction and monumental work. On the east side of the Connecticut river, the Monson gneiss is the correlative of the Becket gneiss.
The Lower Silurian rocks of the western uplands are the Hoosac schist, the Rowe schist, the Chester amphibolites with emery and serpentine, the Savoy schist and the Hawley schist, Exposures of all these rocks may be found in the western part of Chester. The oldest rock of these formations-the Hoosac schist -is hydrated and is greasy in feeling, and in some cases contains garnets. There are two kinds of mica, muscovite and biotite, and the quartz grains are often cemented by crystals of albite. It is technically known as an albitic-sericite schist.
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GEOLOGY
The Rowe schist may be seen to good advantage on the Ches- ter-Becket road westward from Chester. It is a coarse, sericitic schist, soft and greasy, and often is quartzose in character and of firm texture. Professor Emerson estimates that the thickness of this rock series is about seven thousand feet.
In connection with the valuable emery deposits at Chester there are found beds of amphibolite and of serpentine. The amphibolite is a dark green rock, and has on its eastern border extensive deposits of serpentine and soapstone or steatite. The emery and magnetite of Chester are closely associated with the hornblende schist or amphibolite, while in Blandford, Osborn's soapstone quarry is found in the same connection.
The Chester emery bed was first worked as a magnetite de- posit, but in 1864 it was found that emery occurred in connection with the magnetite, and since that time a great amount of the ore has been obtained. Emery is of great value in the mechanical arts, because of its hardness and abrasive qualities. The Chester emery is of excellent quality.
After the band of Chester amphibolite, there comes next in order the Savoy schist. In Chester this formation is from one to two miles wide, but in Blandford and Russell it reaches a breadth of seven miles. It is a muscovite schist, with hydrated mica. It is light grey in color, and is soapy in feeling. The Hawley schist-the uppermost member of the lower Silurian series, is scarcely represented in Hampden county. It is a sericitic schist and in the northern part of the state contains beds of iron and manganese ores.
Under the head of upper Silurian rocks, there are placed the Goshen and Conway schists. The Goshen schist is found in Chester and Russell. The rock is dark colored by reason of graphite, and contains garnets. The Conway schists are much corrugated, and are called spangled schists, from the fact that the crystals of biotite mica show shining cleavage surfaces on a section across the grain of the rock. Beds of this rock occur in the northeast part of the town of Montgomery. Along the east- ern border of the upland area there are found outcrops of an igneous rock of carboniferous age. It is known as the Williams-
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE
burg granite. This rock is a coarse muscovite-biotite granite. A great mushroom-like mass of this rock can be seen on Mount Tekoa in Montgomery. The rounded dome of granite can be seen in sharp contrast with the darker schists.
The Devonian period is not represented by any rocks in the area of Hampden county and there are no deposits of cretaceous age.
All the rocks of the western highlands are much altered by heat, pressure and chemical action from their original condition. The old layers have been either changed in direction by folding or else entirely destroyed and their place taken by a cleavage structure. The dip of the strata is nearly vertical, while the direction in which the strata run is approximately north and south. All the rocks of the highland country are of a much greater age than those of the valley lowland.
The eastern highlands present a similar succession of forma- tions as those just described for the western hill country. In some cases the rock characters are not exactly the same as in the corre- sponding formation on the west of the river. There is, more- over, a certain parallelism of strata that is worthy of note, and a close relation between erosion and the nature of the underlying rock. On the hillside above the village of Wilbraham there is found a good example of Conway schist. This formation ex- tends from the state line to a point about two miles north of the Chicopee river in Ludlow. The rock is coarse, light gray, and abounds in muscovite. As a result of the pressure along the eastern edge of the valley, the rock is crumpled and silicified. Along the crest of Wilbraham mountain there are found numer- ous bands of hornblende, of the same age as the Chester amphibo- lite. This hornblende is fissile and splits into thin layers. The surface shows a black, satiny appearance by reason of the inter- lacing needles of hornblende crystals. A small outcrop of Savoy schist is found in the south part of the town of Hampden. It is known as whetstone schist, and is a gray rock of granular struc- ture, abounding in quartzite. To the east of the schist of Wil- braham the country rock for a distance of six miles is composed of the Becket gneiss, locally known as the Monson granite.
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GEOLOGY
Then comes a succession of several formations, each repre- sented by long narrow outcrops. By reason of the upfolding of the rocks and subsequent erosion, the succession of strata from west to east is as follows: Chester amphibolite, Savoy schist, and Conway schist as the center of the series; then in reverse order, Savoy schist, Chester amphibolite and Rowe schist. The rock which constitutes the bottom and sides of the valley from Palmer through Monson is composed of the "Monson granite"-the equivalent of the Becket gneiss, and it is in this outcrop that the well known quarries are located. The stone found at this point is of excellent quality and has been used in the construction of many noted buildings. The traveller who goes eastward from the Monson rock passes in order over Chester amphibolite, the Brimfield schist, an equivalent of the Conway schist, the Savoy schist, and then over another series of out-crops of the Brimfield schist. In connection with the Monson granite there are several dikes of an intrusive black trap rock of igneous origin, while in Brimfield there is found the Coy's Hill granitite, a coarse porphyritic biotite granite. Another igneous rock of carboniferous age is the Belchertown tonalite, a great block of which is thrust over the boundary line of Ludlow and Palmer. Tonalite is a granitoid rock, containing quartz, plagio- clase, felspar and hornblende.
In character, dip, strike and structure, the rocks of the east- ern highlands bear a close resemblance to those of the west, and a close correlation has been established between the two. Both series have been subject to similar agencies, physical and chemi- cal, and the original rock materials have been subjected to like metamorphosis.
In the valley lowland, rocks of a much more recent formation than those of the hills are found. The layers are but little changed from a horizontal position, and the amount of folding and crushing has been very slight. All the rocks can be classified as sandstone, though there are differences in composition and structure that make possible rough distinctions. The rock on the eastern and western borders is known as the Sugar Loaf sand- stone. It is coarse in structure, and abounds in felspar, and is
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE
composed of angular granite debris cemented together. Outside of this deposit there occurs in Wilbraham and Hampden a por- tion of the Mt. Toby conglomerate, where the rock is composed of very coarse angular fragments of slate. Adjoining the area of Sugar Loaf sandstone, is found the Longmeadow sandstone, a reddish brown stone, very fine grained. This rock often shows the imprint of tracks of ancient animals, mud cracks, ripple marks and rain drops. The central part of the valley is occupied by the Chicopee shale, which is very fine grained, red and black in color, and composed of sand and clay.
As a result of earth movements the layers of sandstone have been slightly displaced. The tilting has given the formation a slight dip towards the east. This direction may be easily seen where the upper surfaces of ledges are exposed, as in the quarries at East Longmeadow and also on the banks of the Chicopee river. This sandstone extends from near the north line of the state to the shores of Long Island sound. It proves an excellent building stone, and there are extensive quarries at East Long- meadow. Data obtained from borings for artesian wells and from other sources indicate that the entire deposit of sandstone is from three thousand to ten thousand feet in thickness. In certain localities the layers of sandstone show interesting traces of the ancient life of the region. Slabs have been found with the imprints of the feet of animals that were probably akin to the reptiles and amphibians of the present day. In other cases there are the traces of insects, impressions by waves and ripples, mud cracks caused by the drying of the deposits, and rain drop im- pressions made by passing showers on the plastic material. Ed- ward Hitchcock, professor of geology in Amherst college, and afterwards president of that institution, made an extensive col- lection of those impressions and embodied the results of his investigation in his Report on Ichnology, published in 1858.
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