Gazetteer of Berkshire County, Mass., 1725-1885, Part 43

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Printed at the Journal Office
Number of Pages: 972

USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Gazetteer of Berkshire County, Mass., 1725-1885 > Part 43

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Josiah Roys, a Scotchman, one of the early settlers, obtained a grant of land in Sheffield, from the State, and settled upon the farm now owned by Peter Cassidy, on road 41, being the first of the name to locate in Sheffield. One of his sons, Abner, was a cooper and farmer, residing on the homestead with his father. He reared a family of five children, four sons and one daughter. One son, Levi, who always lived upon the homestead, married Thankful Curtis, who bore him eleven children. One son, Abner, resides on road 21, and another son lives on the Curtis Land Grant. Harvey married Hannah Curtis, and has had a family of four children all of whom are living, but only one, Emily, who married John Bacon, and lives on road 53, resides in Sheffield. Mr. Roys has been assessor for several years, and was a select- man from 1840 to '50. He, with his wife, celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage the fifteenth of February, 1884.

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TOWN OF SHEFFIELD.

John Scoville, M.D., was born in Cornwall, Conn., July 6, 1803. He re- ceived his early education in Cornwall academy, studied medicine with Dr. Samuel W. Gold, in the same place, attended two courses of lectures at the Pittsfield Medical college, after which he attended the medical department of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, graduating in 1826. After practicing one year in Wolcottville, Conn.,-now called Torrington, -he re- moved to New Marlboro, Mass., where he practiced eleven years, after which he returned to Cornwall, Conn., having received a very urgent invita- tion from his former acquaintances in his native place, and his parents still living there. He practiced there for about thirteen years, having, in Corn- wall and the surrounding country a very large practice, when, being about worn out, he left his practice and came to Sheffield, where, in company with Archibald Taft, he entered into the dry goods business. But, being so near New Marlboro, his former residence, he was often called into practice, until, at last, he left the store, and gave his time entirely to his profession. For the last five years he has practiced but little, except among a few of his old patients, who still cling to him. In 1850 Dr. Scoville was appointed postmaster, which office he held eight or ten years. He was justice of the peace for seven years, and has been a selectman. In 1860, he represented Sheffield in the legislature.

Levi Boardman removed from Wethersfield, Conn., in 1816, and settled in Sheffield, upon the farm now owned by Dwight and Levi Boardman, on road 7. Although a mechanic by trade, he was known in Sheffield as a farmer. He married Sally Callender of Sheffield, by whom he had eight children, Elizabeth, Sarah, Levi, Mary, Mary 2d, Emily, Dwight, and Ellen. Eliza- beth, who married Levi S. Parsons, lives in Sheffield village, and has had four children. Sarah, wife of Ralph Little, lives on road 14, and has had a family of six children. Levi has reared two children, of whom one, Levi H., is a farmer, on road 7. Mary died in infancy. Mary 2d, widow of Nelson Holmer, lives on road 14. Emily, wife of Daniel Rood, lives in Connecticut. Dwight resides upon the old homestead, and has reared a family of five chil- dren. Ellen, wife of George Wilcox, also lives in Connecticut.

Henry H. Smith, M. D., youngest child of Lyman A. Smith, was born in Salisbury, Conn., August 18, 1848. In his infancy the family removed to East Sheffield, now called Clayton, where the parents and two sisters now reside. Two sisters died in childhood. In boyhood the brothers, George and Henry, attended the village school of Clayton, and the high school of Canaan, Conn. In 1870 Henry entered Carter's Commercial college, in Pittsfield, and in 1871 he began the study of medicine with Richard Beebe, M. D., of Alford, and attended medical lectures during the winter of 1872-73, in Burlington, Vt., and at Albany through the winter of 1873-74, where he graduated in 1874. For a time after, he assisted Dr. Beebe in his prac- tice in North Egremont, and with Dr. Beebe's advice established an office in South Egremont. In the summer of 1875 he located in the adjoining town

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TOWN OF SHEFFIELD.

of Sheffield, where he has since practiced medicine with growing favor and success. He has taken students from time to time, six of whom have gradu- ated from the Medical college at Albany. Of these, his only brother, George F. Smith, M. D., graduated in 1878, practiced with marked success one year in Southfield and three in Stockport, N. Y., where he died of pneumonia, June 8, 1882, at the age of 38. H. Worth Wright, M. D., of 'South Egre- mont, graduated in 1880. He possessed talent in an 'unusual degree, but came to an untimely death March 20, 1881, at the age of twenty-three years. Harry M. Burtch, M. D., son of John D. Burtch, of Sheffield, graduated in 1881, and is practicing successfully in Salisbury, Conn. D. H. Strahan, M. D., at one time a merchant in South Egremont, graduated in 1882, and began practice in Grand Rapids, Mich. Edwin B. Karner, M. D., of South Egremont, graduated in 1882, and is practicing in Stottville, N. Y. Frank L. Smith, son of Eli Smith, of Sheffield, graduated in 1882, and has since practiced in Gaylordsville, Conn. At present Dr. Smith has three students. He is enthusiastic and earnest in his profession, devoting to it the best energies, time and talent of his life.

The Congregational church, located on Main street, in Sheffield village, was organized October 22, 1735. The first minister to preach in the town was Rev. Ebenezer Devotion, who is said to also have been the first to preach in the county. Rev. John Hubbard, however, was called as a settled minister, October 22, 1735, the day the church was organized. Until 1825 the town and the Congregational society were one and the same, in action, but in that year the society became a separate organization, and, by arrangement, man- ager of the ministry funds. At the second town meeting, held January 20, 1733, money was raised to build a meeting-house, 45x35 feet. This was erected about three-quarters of a mile north of the present edifice, and was occupied until 1761, when a new house was built 60x40 feet, which, though it has been moved, altered and improved, is now in use. It will seat 300 persons, and is valued, including grounds and other property, at $10,000.00. The society now has 114 members, with Rev. Hiram Eddy, pastor.

The Ashley Falls Methodist Episcopal church, located at Ashley Falls, was organized about 1840, with twenty-five members, the first pastor being Rev. John Crawford. Their church building was erected in 1842, a frame build- ing capable of seating 175 persons, and is now valued, including grounds, at $3,000.00. The society has now fifty-five members, with Rev. David Phillips, of the New York conference, pastor. When the church building was erected, in 1842, there were a few Universalist families living in the vicinity, who contributed towards the building, being accorded the privilege of holding services therein at such times as they could get preachers. The families rep- resenting this element, however, have long since passed away, by death or removals, and for the last thirty years the church has been exclusively under the care of the Methodist society, who have repaired and refitted it at least three times, the last in 1883, when they expended about $1,000.00.

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TOWN OF STOCKBRIDGE.

The Methodist Episcopal church, located at Sheffield village, was organized by its first pastor, Rev. John Crawford, in 1847. The church building was erected during that year. It will seat 300 persons and is valued, including grounds, at $10,000.00. The society now has 135 members, with Rev. Fields Hermance, pastor.

Christ Church, Protestant Episcopal, located at Sheffield village, was or- ganized by Major-General John G. Barnard, Joel H. Field, Oliver Peck and others, June 10, 1866, Rev. John C. Eccleston being the first rector. The church building, a handsome little structure capable of seating about 120 persons, was built in 1869, at a cost of $300,000.00. The society now has about 100 members, with Rev. Arthur H. Proffitt, rector.

The Sheffield Roman Catholic church was organized by the present pastor, Rev. John H. Murphy, in 1881, he being now assisted by Rev. Dennis T. Hurley. The society expects to build a church building during this winter (1884) and spring.

S TOCKBRIDGE lies in the western part of the county, in lat. 42° 18' and long. 3° 42', bounded north by Lenox, east by Lenox and Lee, south by Great Barrington and west by West Stockbridge. In order to tell the story of the grant and incorporation of the town, one must turn back "adown the shores of time," to a period when the charming territory revelled in its pristine beautious solitude, uncut and undefiled save by the paths of the red men.

At a session of the great and general court of the Province of Massa- chusetts Bay, begun at Boston on the last Wednesday of May, 1722, the petitions of Joseph Parsons and one hundred and fifteen others, and of Thomas Nash and sixty others, inhabitants of Hampshire county, were presented, asking for grants of two tracts of land on the Housatonic river. The report of the committee, to which these petitions were referred, was accepted by the general court, and received the approval of the governor on the 30th of June, granting to such of the petitioners, or others, as might be admitted by a committee for laying out and settling the lands, two tracts of land each to contain seven miles square, to be laid out on the Housatonic river, the first tract to adjoin southerly on the divisional line between Massachusetts Bay and Connecticut, the second to be laid northerly of and adjoining the first tract. This grant, as is well known, was styled that of "The Upper and Lower Housatonic Townships," comprising the territory now embraced in the towns of Sheffield, Great Barrington, Mount Washington, Egremont, the most of Alford, and much of Stockbridge, West Stockbridge, and Lee, being, however, much in excess of the territorial limits prescribed by the legislative act. On the 24th of April, 1724, Konkapot, sachem of the Stockbridge In- dians, with twenty of his tribe, met the commissioners at Westfield and relin-

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quished their right to the territory for the consideration of "£460 in money, three Barrels of Sider and thirty quarts of Rum."

In 1734 Rev. John Sergeant commenced the celebrated mission and school among the Indians, locating at Great Barrington. In order that the ends of the mission might be better attained, it was desirable that the Indians should concentrate in some particular locality. Accordingly, upon petition, in which the Indians heartily joined, the legislature, in 1735, granted a town- ship six miles square " lying north of the Upper Housatonic Township," but which the surveyor caused to overlap the said Township about 9,000 acres. This grant was given the name of Stockbridge, after Stockbridge in Hamp- shire county, England, and comprised the territory of which we write. As originally laid out in 1736, it was exactly six miles square, having 23,040 acres. In 1739 the town was incorporated, and retained its original area until 1774, when about 9,600 acres of the western part of the territory was severed to make the town of West Stockbridge. In 1824, February 12th, another part of Stockbridge was annexed to the newer town, and February 6, 1830, the boundary line between the two towns was again changed, so that the parent town now has an area of only 13,440 acres, or about what it had after the division in 1774.

Notwithstanding its limited territorial limits, however, "quaint old Stockbridge," whose every rood is classic ground "wreathed with storied lore," presents a gorgeousness of natural scenery that outvies that of the famous

"Land of the cypress and myrtle,"

whose somnolent beauty pales before the charm of the old town's exquisite curves and "delicious surprises." Its classic shades, too, have shadowed the homes of scholars, poets, novelists and statesmen, and of wealth and refine- ment. Bryant, in remarking on his first visit to this locality, in 1816, speaks as follows :-

" The woods were in all the glory of autumn, and I well remember, as I passed through Stockbridge, how much I was struck by the beauty of the smooth, green meadows, on the banks of that lovely river which winds near the Sedgwick family mansion : the Housatonic, whose gently flowing water was tinged with the golden crimson of the trees that overhung them. I admired no less the contrast between this soft scene and the steep, craggy hills that overlooked it, clothed with their many colored forests."

The whole surface of the town is diversified by mountain, hill, lakelet, stream and verdant meadow, uniting the picturesque and the sublime. Along the western border are found low foot-hills of the Taconic range ; in the eastern part rises Rattlesnake Peak-the Deowcook of the Indians- while Bear, Evergreen and Monument mountains rise in the southern part. The latter is famous in both story and song. It has an elevation of 500 feet above Stockbridge Plain, and attains an altitude of 1,260 feet above the sea. Its cliffs of bare, granular quartz rise perhaps 450 feet perpendicularly, or a little beetling at the top, with only a detached pinnacle, known as Pulpit

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TOWN OF STOCKBRIDGE.

Rock, together with a few other grotesquely shaped crags, to relieve the blank wall's uniformity. But Bryant has given a very vivid description of the pile, as follows :-.

" Here is a precipice

That seems a fragment of some mighty wall,

Built by the hand that fashioned the old world To separate its nations, and thrown down When the flood drowned them. To the north, a path Conducts you up the narrow battlement. Steep is the western side, shaggy and wild,

With mossy trees, and pinnacles of flint, And many a hanging crag. But, to the east,

Sheer to the vale, go down the bare old cliffs .-

Huge pillars that in middle heaven uprear Their weather-beaten capitals, here dark With the thick moss of centuries, and there

Of chalky whiteness where the thunderbolt hath Splintered them."

Bear Mountain has thrice been cleft by geological convulsions, the lowest fissure containing Icy Glen, one of the natural curiosities of the town. It is a deep, narrow gorge, the bottom of which, about an eighth of a mile in length, is thickly cumbered by enormous bowlders, and the great trunks of fallen trees, all moss-covered and slippery, in the dank air and gloomy shade. The second rise is known as Laura's Rest, upon which the Hon. D. D. Field has erected an observatory, he being the owner of the peak.

But to descend to the charming lakelets. Foremost is Lake Mahkeenac, or Stockbridge Bowl, lying in the northern part of the the town. It covers an area of about 500 acres, and in beauty is said to equal Lake Windermere in England, and Averill pond in Scotland. On its northern border, in a little red, scantily furnished cottage, Nathaniel Hawthorne lived when he wrote his House with Seven Gables, and the Blithedale Romance. Of this lake Mrs. Lydia H. Sigournay says, in verses composed in its honor and read at the Berkshire Jubilee :-

" The Stockbridge Bowl ! Hast ever seen How sweetly pure and bright, Its foot of stone and rim of green Attract the traveler's sight ; High set among the breezy hills Where spotless marble glows, It takes the tributes of the rills Distilled from mountain snows."

Lake Averic, covering about sixty acres, lies a little southwest of it, while Smith's pond, a small sheet, lies on the northern border of the town. Mohawk lake, about twenty acres in extent, lies in the western part of the town, about a mile northwest of Glendale; and Lake Agawam, a trifle larger than the lat- ter, lies near the southern line of the town. All of these drop their waters into the Housatonic, affording some excellent mill privileges. The Housa-

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TOWN OF STOCKBRIDGE.

tonic is well known, both for its beauty and utility. It enters the town from the east, about a mile north of the southern boundary, flows a serpentine course west and south, then turning at an abrupt angle just above Glendale, flows a southerly course into Great Barrington, leaving the town near its southwestern corner. Its current affords excellent water-power. Several streams of minor importance unite with its waters, making up the water-course of the town. Along the streams the soil is made up of rich alluvial deposits, while most parts of the town possess a warm and easily cultivated soil. The indigenous trees are those common to the western part of the county, though the town is particularly noted for its magnificent elms.

Geologically, the principal part of the town is underlaid by limestone, though in the western and southern parts are found beds of quartz, and talcose and mica-slate. Marble of a good quality has been quarried.

Stockbridge is noted as a resort for those seeking summer homes. Nearly fifty years ago Hon. Nathan Appleton, of Boston, desiring a summer resi- dence for himself and two daughters, bought the charming place in the bend of the Housatonic river, now owned and admirably improved by Mr. Southmaid. This was the beginning of summer emigration to these beautiful hills, and the ladies above mentioned came here yearly until they were married, one to a son of Sir James Mackintosh, of England, the other to Mr. Longfellow, the poet. West of this and the river is the charming manor of Mr. C. E. Butler, with its solid stone house looking as permanent as the hills. Near this residence Mr. Tuckerman, of New York, made a large and handsome house in the style of a French chateau, from which the views are superb. Mr. James Dwight erected a most attract- ive summer and winter house. Among the other residences of note are those of David Dudley Field, Henry Iverson, William S. Bullard, and Rev. Henry M. Field, of New York, and the cottage of Prof. Joy, of Columbia college, also that of William A. Tappan, upon whose grounds is located the Haw- thorne cottage ; Mrs. Sarah B. Cone, the Council Grove place ; Samuel G. Wood, Oakwood; Mrs. C. Tappan, Tanglewood ; and G. Higginson, Jr., Oakwood farm.

STOCKBRIDGE, the "Housatonnuc" of past generations, is possessed of more romantic beauty than any other village among the green hills of Berkshire-indeed, we doubt if any New England village can rival it in rare and fascinating aspects of rural beauty, in immediate sur- roundings of unwonted charms, in worthy and precious historical asso- ciations, and in the renown of noble sons and daughters. Nestled along the Housatonic in the southern part of the town, are houses and churches, its library and academy, its fountains and monuments-pretty mosaics set in the emerald of many wonderful elms. Its population of about 800 souls lends a generous life to the scene, while in summer the great cities send their representatives of fashion, of learning, literature and of business to its cool retreats and charming environs, where for a season they cast aside the

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TOWN OF STOCKBRIDGE.

depressing corses, rush and excitement so peculiar to " America's great bee- hives," to breath in, physically and intellectually, the healthful air of Stock- bridge. During these seasons, the brilliant apparel, dashing equipages and gay life imbue the scene with an additional charm, difficult to describe.

Among the ornaments the village points to with pride are the soldiers' monument, located on the square at the junction of Pine and Main streets ; the Edwards monument, at the junction of Church and Main streets; the In- dian monument, located on the site of the old Indian burial-ground ; and the beautiful chime of bells near the town-hall. The latter were a gift to the town from David Dudley Field. They are located in a stately stone tower, and night, morning and midday their sonorous peals float out upon the air like benificent orisons. Cyrus W. Field, a native of Stockbridge, has lately laid out a magnificent park on the hill about half a mile north of the Con- gregational church, which is also a decided ornament to the town.

GLENDALE is the poetic name given a bright little post village that skirts, the Housatonic a little over a mile west of Stockbridge village.

CURTISVILLE, another small post village, lying between Stockbridge Bowl and Lake Averic, is the metropolis of the northern part of the town.

The first manufacturing establishment erected in the town was a grist-mill, located upon the site now occupied by the mills of S. W. Comstock, built pre- vious to 1745. This mill served the wants of the settlers until 1762, when another was erected, by Joseph Woodbridge, just in the rear of what is now the residence of S. P. Lincoln. In 1781 another was erected, at Glendale, or Mill Hollow, as it was then called, and during the following year another was erected, at Curtisville.

The Glendale Woolen Mills .- In 1813 Lester Avery & Co. established at Glendale the manufacture of woolen goods, and half a mile further up the river a cotton-mill was built in 1815, both of which were operated by this firm for a number of years ; but it was finally abandoned, on account of the dam overflowing the meadows. Later, Hon. John Z. Goodrich became interested in the property, with Samuel G. Wheeler. In 1847 the Glendale Woolen Company was formed, by an act of the legislature, having purchased for $60,- 000.00 certain water-privileges of Lewis C. Beach and James S. Royce. Three times the mill was burned, and once or twice Mr. Goodrich failed ; but only to start again, with greater energy than before. During the war, especially in 1861, the company manufactured navy-blue cloth for the government, and also rented a mill at Lee for the same purpose. The company continued in business until 1871, when the property was leased, and in 1880, purchased by F. W. Adams, the present owner, who has made extensive repairs. He em- ploys 160 hands and turns out about $250,000.00 worth of goods per an- num, mostly fancy cassimeres.

Chaffee & Callender's paper-mill .- In 1849 F. Perry built a dam about a mile below Glendale. This was subsequently purchased by Renwe & Evans, who built thereon a paper-mill, manufacturing coarse paper. This firm was

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TOWN OF STOCKBRIDGE.

succeeded by The Hunter Paper Co., and finally, in 1872, the present firm came into posession of the works. They manufacture wrapping and bagging paper mostly, giving employment to forty hands, who turn out about 12,000 tons per annum.

M. Truesdell's Sons, of West Stockbridge, located on the outlet of Lakes Mahkeenac and Averic, are engaged in the manufacture of flocks, doing a business of about $30,000.00 per year, and giving employment to ten men.

A. S. Yale & Son's saw and grist-mills are located at Stockbridge village.

S. W. Comstock's saw, feed and planing-mills, located on Marsh brook, give employment to four men.

Hats, wrought nails and leather have been manufactured in different parts of the town, and for a number of years a smelting furnace was operated, near the southern line of the town. No enterprises of the kind are now conducted. The manufacture of hats, however, as mentioned above, was conducted in every community, the attendance of a hatter in small country towns being as necessary as that of a tailor.

Housatonic National Bank .- The Housatonic Bank, located at Stock- bridge village, was incorporated in 1825, with a capital of $100,000.00. This capital, however, was subsequently increased to $150,000.00, and finally to $200,000.00. In July, 1865, it was again re-organized as a national bank with a capital of $200,000.00. It now has a surplus fund of $160,000.00 and pays aunual dividends of ten per cent. Its officers are Daniel R. Will- iams, president ; Daniel A. Kimball, cashier ; and Wm. A. Seymour, teller.

Stockbridge Savings Bank .- This institution, located at the village, went into operation in 1871. It has 540 depositors, with an aggregate deposite of $180,000.00. Its officers are Mason VanDeusen, president ; Daniel B. Fenn, Jr., and H. S. Dean, vice-presidents ; and C. H. Willis, treasurer.

Educational .- Except the mission school established here among the Indians, which is mentioned on another page, there were no schools estab- lished in the town until 1760, when £6 6s. was voted by the town "for the establishment of an English school." The French war nearly put an end to the Indian school, in 1763, and during the following year, 1764, two school- houses were directed to be built, one on the hill and the other in the village, where F. J. Pratt's grounds are now located. Five years later, in 1769, the Curtisville district was established, and the East street district was erected in 1774, from which time a greater interest was manifested in educational pro- jects, an interest that has never since waned. In 1866 the plan of dividing the town into school districts was abolished, for the purpose of concentrating the public educational facilities at the three villages, resulting in the erection of fine school buildings-at Glendale, in 1868; at Curtisville, in 1870; and at the village in 1872-73, all of which are arranged on the graded plan. One of the old districts, however, is still retained, being too remote from either of the business centers for the inhabitants to attend those schools.

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Gazetteer of Berkshire County, Mass., 1725-1885, Part 43

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Printed at the Journal Office Number of Pages: 972

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Printed at the Journal Office
Number of Pages: 972