USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Hampden > Early Hampden, Mass., its settlers and the homes they built; > Part 8
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The original house has been gone for many years. In the early 1900's Rev. Charles B. Bliss and the young people of the town made a tennis court on the lot, which was popular since it was the only one in town. Nelson M. Carew built the present house, afterwards selling it to William J. Sessions. After the death of the latter, Mr. Carew bought the house back and Mrs. Carew still owned it at the time of her death. Mrs. Scheibler acquired the house in 1953.
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Tennis Rock. Another old Chaffee house used to stand here. Daniel Chaffee, brother of Jonathan, Jr., lived here. He was a tanner and shoe- maker. Later owners of the property were Stephen Newell (1845); Samuel Beebe (1847); Content Underwood (1854); Lathrop Chaffee and Nelson V. Chaffee. Nelson M. Carew and Mrs. Rock's father built the present house.
Town Pound. This used to be located at the bend in Riverside Drive opposite the home of Donald B. Howlett and there are still some residents in town who remember it. There was a stone wall around it with an entry gate. The pound keeper drove trespassing cattle therein and the owner had to pay a fee to remove his stock.
Donald B. Howlett. The first known owner of this house was Erasmus D. Chaffee (son of Jonathan, Jr.) who in 1850 sold it to Hiram Pease, his brother-in-law. In 1856 Lathrop V. Chaffee purchased the property from Mr. Pease and in 1865 deeded it to James McCarthy for $575. The purchase price would indicate that it was then a very small house.
Mr. McCarthy made considerable additions, including the section on the north side. He was one of the leading Catholic laymen of the town and one of the rooms in the new section of his home was added for the particular use of the Priest who came from Monson to conduct Mass. This was before St. Mary's Church was erected and Mass was celebrated in the house for a period. On some Sundays the congregation was so large that many of them had to stand outdoors during the services. Mr. McCarthy's son became a priest as did his grandson, Rev. James Casey, son of Mathias and Bridget (McCarthy) Casey, who recently retired as pastor of Holy Trinity Church in Greenfield. These were the only two Hampden sons to enter the priesthood up to the present time, 1957.
In 1910 Nelson M. Carew purchased the property from the McCarthy heirs and the same year sold to Cornelius J. Flynn, uncle of Mrs. Howlett.
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MAIN STREET-WEST
Conti's Store. Records indicate that there has been a store on this corner for more than 150 years. Sometime previous to 1807 Eneas and William Clark operated a store here and in that year they deeded the buildings to Jonathan Flynt and Edward Morris. Mr. Flynt must have bought out Mr. Morris' share since we find in 1809 he sold the property to his son Levi, who married Betsy, daughter of Robert Sessions. In 1821 Levi Flynt and Rufus Flynt sold the corner to Robert Sessions.
In 1821 Mr. Sessions leased the corner property to Dudley Post and Gordon Saxton. Mr. Post was Hampden's first postmaster and is supposed to have opened the first post office here in 1826. During the time that Mr. Saxton ran the store Mrs. Francis C. Sessions, daughter-in- law of Robert Sessions and her son, Francis Jr., occupied an apartment in the building. The latter became president of a Columbus, Ohio bank and gave to the old Congregational Church the beautifully toned bell which called worshippers to service each Sunday.
In 1834 Robert Sessions leased the store to Charles Lewis. Mr. Sessions still owned the buildings on the corner when he died since in his will, probated in 1837, he gave his daughter Betsy Flynt 1/3 of this real estate and another daughter, Hannah Miller, the other 2/3.
Mrs. Mina (Sessions) Gibson, a direct descendent of Robert Ses- sions, has recently forwarded for our examination the original deed from the Flynt family to him, as well as the original leases made to Dudley Post, Gordon Saxton, and Charles Lewis.
From here on for a period the line of ownership is not clear but William P. Spellman had a store in the building in 1855, while his brother had one directly opposite on Main Street. Charles I. Burleigh, Charles
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The post office and Hunt's Store in 1904. Note the milk cans and grain bags on the sleds. Mrs. Leroy Howlett's house in the distance. Conti's Store now stands on the spot.
Chaffee, Mathias Casey, and William S. Hunt were later proprietors of the store on the corner. Mr. Casey had the first telephone exchange in town in this building. The first toll call which came through on May 16, 1898 from New York City for the Ravine Mfg. Co., found Mr. Casey's daughter Nellie at the switchboard. She became so excited that she had to call to her neighbor, Mrs. E. P. Lyons to assist her in plugging in the wires for such an important conversation! Old "Matt" Casey himself was no slouch when it came to efficient report service: - "Never mind the number - I know the numbers !! Who d'ye want? Well, I'll not be ring- ing him for he's gone to the city and won't be home 'til milkin'."
Mr. Hunt built the present house to replace the previous building which burned in 1907. Dr. Harlan F. Curtis, Hampden's last resident physician, had an office in the new house for a short time. Albert G. Corey erected the present store, which was afterwards owned by Nelson M. Carew, whose widow sold both dwelling and store to Dominic Conti.
It is not known whether the store which burned in 1907 was the one that the Clark family sold in 1807 but it would seem from examina- tion of pictures that it would not have been old enough. Some are of the opinion that Robert Sessions built the latter building ..
Old Town Hall. This building with the Ionic pillars in front is an outstanding example of the Greek Revival Era in architecture which flourished in 1844 when a group of public spirited men started South Wilbraham Academy and erected it. Several other distinguishing features were lost when the building was struck by lightning about 45 years ago. George Brooks was the first principal while Alonzo B. Newell was the last teacher. Town meetings were held in this building until the new Town House was erected in 1932.
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The Congregational Church.
Town House - Library. One of the first houses in town was built by William King in 1744 on this corner, near the street. It was a lean-to house, the back running to the ground. It afterwards passed into the hands of Robert Sessions and his son, Capt. Charles Sessions, lived here. When the church was moved from the Village Green to this spot in 1838, the Sessions house was moved to where the Lyons house now stands. The Congregational Church stood on the spot until it burned in 1924.
Town House - Auditorium. S. Clark Spellman started a store here about 1844. It is not known who built the building, which was of the
The old Spellman block, used as a store from 1844 until it burned in 1918.
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Greek Revival Style, but it is assumed that he did. His son Charles C. Spellman, born in the house on the corner in 1843, was afterwards County Commissioner and the Masonic Lodge in East Longmeadow was named after him. The building later housed Hitchcock's Drugstore, the first one in town, Keith's Market, L. O. Howlett's Market, W. S. Hunt's Store, and A. G. Corey's Store. The building burned in 1918, when Mr. Corey had the store and post office therein. Arthur Jones later built a cement block building on the spot in which he conducted a store for a period. It was afterwards operated by A. H. Phillips who had a chain of stores in Springfield and later A. G. Corey who again had a post office on the lot. When the Town House was built Miss Elizabeth Sessions bought the building and had it torn down. The cement blocks were later used in building the present Fire House.
Miss Gertrude Lyons. As stated above, Capt. Charles Sessions moved the old William King house to this spot when the Congregational Church was moved from the Village Green to where the Town House is now located. It is not known how much of the upright part of the Lyons house (which portion burned in 1918) may have been built by Mr. King, but Rev. Edward A. Chase in his historical address made in 1885 indicated that he "supposed it was the old frame" In any event, Mr. Sessions must have re-built it as old deeds that we have seen call it the Capt. Sessions house rather than the King house.
Some time after the death of Mr. Sessions in 1842 the property
The Edward P. Lyons house was called in the early days the Capt. Charles Sessions house. If you can imagine the Spellman block to the right of this and the Congre- gational Church farther to the east you can envision the northwest corner of the Center at the turn of the century.
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passed to Marcus Beebe and his brothers and the new owners added an ell, which is the west portion of the present house. In 1866 the Beebe family sold the property to Amos Whitaker, one of the early stage drivers to Springfield. Mrs. Mary A. Bradway, Mr. Whitaker's daughter, sold the house to Edward P. Lyons in 1911. In 1918 the upright part was burned to the ground, leaving the ell built by the Beebe family. Mr. Lyons, father of Miss Gertrude Lyons afterwards added the main part of the present home to the old ell.
Mrs. Frances Garfield. Another old Chaffee house used to stand here. Lathrop V. Chaffee and his son Nelson V. Chaffee were early owners. Later Epaphro A. Day, referred to in the Bennett Road section, lived here. After the old house burned in 1923 Nelson M. Carew built the present one and lived therein. It afterwards passed to Mrs. Carew and then to the present owner in 1953.
Frederick Ross - The Dr. Ballard House. This is one of the few houses in town for which not only the exact building date is known but also the name of the carpenter. During recent renovations, Mr. Ross was surprised to find inside a door casing a 4" bottle, 1" in diameter, evidently made for a patent medicine called "Dr. J. Moore's Essence Life" since this name was stamped thereon. Inside the bottle was a small flat stick of wood on which had been printed: "Put here by a young carpenter. Walter Joel Wilson Dec. 27, 1875" No one living in town seems to remember Mr. Wilson and he may have been imported to do the work.
In 1871 Dr. George T. Ballard and his wife, the former Delia Spellman, had purchased the land from Solomon Spellman, who in turn had bought it from John R. West. Dr. Ballard, who had his office in the basement, was town physician for many years and there are still quite a few residents here at whose birth he officiated. He was the last doctor to stay any great length of time. Charles S. Ballard, a Springfield Attorney, was the son of Dr. and Mrs. Ballard and the authority on Hampden history to whom many references have been made in this text. This is the "Dr. Sessions" house in Mrs. Terhune's books. Nelson M. Carew bought the property from the Charles Ballard estate and owned it for a period. The present owner purchased it in 1953.
George W. Carter. This is the "Em" Turner House featured in Mrs. Terhune's books. It was moved from North Road to Main Street in 1931 when work on the Town House was started. More information about this house has been given in the section on North Road.
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Mrs. E. Norton Davis is calling on "Aunt Em Turner" when the latter's house stood on North Road. Note the attractive "summer house" at the right. The house is now on Main Street and owned by George W. Carter.
Parish House of Federated Community Church. The first deed found for this property was one dated in 1857 when Robert Oscar Sessions sold it to Bela M. Kent and John Ormsby, Jr. Since the deed read "with buildings thereon" we assume that the present house was then standing. We also find that a map of the town for 1855 shows a house on this spot. Later in 1857 Messrs. Kent and Ormsby sold the property to Servetus Leach, while on Aug. 5, 1858 Mr. Leach sold it to the trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church. On April 26, 1860 the trustees deeded the present parish house back to Robert O. Sessions, who in turn sold it to May A. Cone in 1864. Later owners have been Amos Hines (1873); Warner S. Chapin (1901); William D. McCray (1913); Harold Young (1921); Samuel Viggers (1929); Harold Green, Herbert L. Burnham, and Roy Sickles. The latter sold to the Federated Communuity Church, completing a circle, since the Methodist branch owned it nearly 100 years ago. Many changes have been made in the century, the main door having been moved from the west side to the front side, and dormer windows, piazza, and rooms added.
Federated Community Church - Formerly Methodist Episcopal
Church. The early history of the land on which this church stands is the same as for the parish house, the first known owners being Robert Oscar Sessions, Messrs. Kent and Ormsby, and Servetus Leach. This lot was sold to the church by Mr. Leach in 1858, at the same time he sold what is now the Parish House. The map of 1855 shows a house standing thereon, then owned by Robert O. Sessions, which must have been torn down or removed from the property.
We have learned from the chapter on North Road that the church
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The Methodist Church in 1900 showing the present parish house to the left and the horse sheds behind. This is the present Federated Community Church.
was erected there in 1832 and removed to this spot in 1859. What had been the rear side was now used for the front side and a spire added and seats turned to face in the opposite direction. If you will look at the south side when driving down Riverside Drive you will see how the front of the building looked when it was on North Road.
Albert Payson Terhune, the noted writer of dog stories, and Miss Anice Stockton of South Road were married in this church on Sept. 2, 1901 and Mrs. Terhune tells of the wedding in her book entitled "The Bert Terhune I Knew" For further information on this building see "Historical Sketch of the Protestant Churches of Hampden" written a few years ago.
Parsonage of Federated Community Church. Rev. Arthur San- ders, present pastor, (1958) had been endeavoring for some time to ascertain the date the parsonage was built, having been pouring over records at the Registry of Deeds and in the Wilbraham Assessor's Office. He was, therefore, thrilled when during recent renovations at the parson- age a mantel was removed, to find a scrap of lumber bearing the legend "John R. West, Carpenter and Joiner, South Wilbraham, Sept. 25, 1852" Mr. West was a prominent local builder and this was undoubtedly the date the mantel was placed. (Would that all prayers were as efficacious as those of a parson.)
More recently a deed has been found showing that on April 19, 1850 Robert O. Sessions deeded to the trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church the lot on which the parsonage now stands. The deed refers to "buildings thereon" This would lead one to believe that there must have
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been a house where the parsonage now stands which was torn down. Work on the new house was probably started in 1850 but the finishing wood may not have been put in position for two years.
Various Methodist and Federated Ministers have lived in this parsonage. In the early 1900's it was rented to Fred J. Kenworthy, veteran stage driver. Mrs. Kenworthy was the daughter of Rev. J. H. Bennett, a Methodist minister and had lived in the house as a girl.
Horse Sheds of Federated Community Church. Providing parking facilities is no prerogative of modern business for every proper church was equipped with a long row of horse sheds at the rear of the meeting house to shelter the faithful animals who patiently waited while their owners performed their Sabbath duties.
In 1859 the Methodist parish bought some land from Lathrop V. Chaffee south of the church for these sheds. Mr. Chaffee was given per- mission to pass with teams "west side of the meetinghouse" This was the beginning of the present Riverside Drive entrance from Main Street. When the parsonage was rented to Fred J. Kenworthy in the early 1900's the church sheds housed several stage coaches of ancient vintage which were used to transport passengers to and from the East Longmeadow Railroad Station.
Leslie F. Woods. This house was built by Joel Newcomb, he having bought the land from the Methodist Church in 1852. The next owner was evidently Sullivan Stanton who was postmaster from 1870-1882 and ran the post office in what is now Mrs. Woods' kitchen. The house next belonged to his son-in-law Andrew Beebe. Miss Etta C. Beebe, daughter of Andrew was a well-known school teacher in town for almost her entire adult life. There are several still living here who were her pupils. Mrs. Woods' father, William D. McCray, bought the house in 1938.
Harold D. Jones. In 1834 Lombard Hancock bought six acres of land from John Hancock for $100 and built this typical Greek Revival house. Three years later the five sons of Stuart and Sophia Beebe bought it for a home for their parents. Stuart was the son of Captain Steward Beebe who had built the Charles Melville house. The former practiced law here, and served for many years as justice of the peace. His son Decius who succeeded him in ownership was a selectman at the time the town sepa- rated from Wilbraham. The same family has owned the house since 1837 as Mrs. Jones is a direct descendant.
Marcus Beebe, Jr., grandson of Stuart, used to tell a story of "Lummy" Hancock who built the house. "Lummy" was a man who was
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wont to imbibe rather too freely even though the raucous temperance meetings of that day left him well aware of the warm reception he could expect in the hereafter. Marcus clearly remembered that when he was a small boy the old man warned him very sagely "Drink is a very evil thing - Now I am a drunkard - and I am going straight to Hell - But I don't want to see you there!"
Mrs. June Godfrey - (The Former Prickett House). The oldest deed located for this property was dated 1821 when David Stebbins, Jr., sold it to Amos Sikes with one acre of land and buildings thereon. In 1823 a mortgage for $600 was put on the property and that same year Mr. Sikes sold it to Edward Adams and John Hancock. The latter sold the property to Edward Adams in 1828, and upon his death it passed to his son, John Quincy Adams. Several Baptist ministers lived in the home at various times, including Rev. N. D. Parsons and Rev. D. H. Irving. Later owners were Mr. and Mrs. D. L. McCray, Miss Pamela Bickley, and Mrs. Lily Prickett.
Why does the front door face to the east rather than toward Main Street? Rumor has it that an old road used to go down past this house to the Sessions Mill on the river bank.
Adams Wheelwright Shop. Between the present Godfrey and Haynes houses used to stand the wheelwright shop of Edward and John Quincy Adams. We wonder if there are any wagons in Hampden today which were made by these two skilled workmen in this shop.
Francis Haynes. This house was built by John Q. Adams about 1872 when he married Delia Lee. Hampden's first library, established in 1891, was housed in the upper front room with Mrs. Adams as the first librarian. The property was sold to Mr. and Mrs. D. L. McCray in 1920 and the present owners purchased it from Mrs. McCray in 1954.
Miss Hazel Mansfield. The earliest deed found by Miss Mansfield was one that covered the transfer of the property from Charles Sessions to John Hancock in 1834. The present "ell" was evidently then on the lot. In 1834 Mr. Hancock sold the house to Alanson Bugbee and in 1839 the latter sold to David and John Ames. In 1840 the Ames family sold to Marcus Beebe and the property remained in the latter family for over 100 years. While Mr. Beebe was building the upright part of the house in 1844 he lived across the way in what is now Hatch's Store. This part of the house was patterned after the other Beebe house, next east, but made two stories instead of one and one-half.
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Miss Hazel Mansfield has returned the picket fence to the Marcus Beebe homestead.
Marcus Beebe built the plow and wheelbarrow shop which stood opposite "Green Valley" Here many farm implements were manufac- tured, including the famous plows to be drawn by slaves which he made to be sold in his brother's hardware store in New Orleans.
The Rev. Edward Everett Hale, D.D., famous Unitarian divine and perhaps best known as the author of the book, "The Man Without A Country" honored this house by coming here to officiate at the marriage of his friend Rev. Calvin Stebbins, D.D., to Miss Lucinda Beebe. The service was held in the white picketed front yard.
The story goes that the family, not wishing to neglect the resident pastor, had asked Dr. Hale to give the Rev. Mr. Whitehill some part in the service. The visitor arrived rather late and was hurriedly introduced to the assembled guests. The bride's father, Marcus Beebe, being tall and rather imposing was mistaken by Dr. Hale for the local minister and was asked what part he wished to take in the service. Mr. Beebe vehemently disclaimed any such desire, so consequently Dr. Hale per- formed the whole rite, thereby upsetting the home town minister no little.
When later the full story came out and Mr. Beebe was asked why he didn't realize that a mistake was being made, he said "I thought it was just some new Unitarian wrinkle!"
Years later the bride's brother, Marcus Beebe, Jr., met Dr. Hale and when he recalled the wedding to him, the theologian said, "Oh, yes! That's where I made that awful blunder!"
Hatch's Store. According to Stoddard Burt's day book, in 1828 he did carpenter work for William S. Burt, and we believe he was building this house, which Mr. Burt sold in 1842 to William S. Mosely. William Burt, Jr., one of the founders of the Boston and Albany Railroad, was probably born in the house. His sister Kate married Ginery Twitchell, who was
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also interested in the B & A in its earliest days.
In 1852 Mr. Mosely sold the property to Eliza Witt and the latter sold to James Mulroney in 1889. While the Witt family owned the house, Samuel Jilson and family lived therein. After the death of Mr. Mulroney the place was owned by D. L. McCray who sold to Harry Temple, who remodeled the house into a store. Mr. Temple sold to Homer L. Hatch in 1932.
Lester Grant. This house was originally Roper's Clover Cleaning Mill which once stood across Main Street on the river bank. Holes may still be seen in the cellar where the ropes and machinery came through the floor. After it was moved to the present location it was used as a mill boarding house by the owners, The Lacousic Woolen Company. John P. Cady and family lived here at one time. In the early 1900's Clark Goodwill operated a livery stable on the premises. The last hearse owned by the town used to be kept in one of the sheds. After the death of Mr. Goodwill his heirs sold the house to Henry Mitchell. Clifford Gunther was a later owner and he sold the property to Mr. Grant in 1956.
Harold Green. About where the present house stands was the Baptist Parsonage, which was destroyed by fire in 1890. Where Green's Drugstore is now located was the Baptist Church, which was built in 1854. This church had a beautiful spire, which could be seen all over the village. It was particularly noticeable as one entered the village below the dam at the old ice plant.
The Baptist Church in 1900. Far left stands the Bernard Ackerman home and in the center the late W. M. Pease house which burned.
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The Baptist Church was unusual, in that it also accommodated a large country store in the vestry. The entrance was on the west. As this meeting house was of the Baptist denomination the bottom of the baptismal font was clearly visible in the lowered ceiling of the store. Among proprietors of the establishment were: Horton Hendrick, a Mr. Scripter, W. P. Fuller (1877), Sumner Smith, Julius L. Gottsche, Willie M. Pease and Harry Temple. People were much intrigued when Mr. Scripter owned it, as there was then Scripter below and "The Scripture" above.
The church burned in 1932 and the Baptist Society built the Green residence as a combination chapel and parsonage. Rev. Roger Charbonneau, Rev. Barr, and Rev. John Cameron lived in the apartment at various times. Mr. Green erected the drug store in 1955.
Walter Ellsworth. The first person known to have lived in the old two family house which used to stand here was Horton Hendrick, who operated the store in the church vestry. Afterwards the Ashley family, Julius Gottsche, and Willie M. Pease lived here. The building burned in 1932 when the church was destroyed. The telephone exchange was located in the west side of the house at that time. Mr. Pease then built the present house which his heirs sold to the present owner.
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The W. M. Pease house. Notice the streetlight, and the sign pointing to Gottsche's Store in the church basement. When the church building and this house burned Hampden suffered a fourfold loss, namely the Baptist sanctuary, village store, town clerk's office and telephone exchange, the latter two being in the Pease house.
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