USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Gazetteer of Hampshire County, Mass., 1654-1887 > Part 38
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The war of 1812 was distasteful to the town, as it was to the dominant political party in New England. The town by vote declared the war inexpe- dient. Against this vote the following persons entered their protest : Mat- thew Smith, Esq., William Skinner, William Church, Green H. Church, War- ren Church, Lieut. Alexander Dickson and Dea. John Newton. Later, in
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TOWN OF MIDDLEFIELD.
1814, when Governor Strong called for troops, Major Mack (son of the early settler, and afterwards known as General Mack), Lieut. Matthew Smith, Capt. Solomon Root. Abel Cheeseman and Abraham Moffett went to the de- fence of Boston.
In the war to maintain the Union, Middlefield did well. The town was deeply in sympathy with the general sentiment of the North, and promptly responded to every demand of patriotism. Eighty-six men went forth at the summons of the town, to maintain on the battlefield the cause of the Union, -seven more than the aggregate of all requisitions. The war expenses paid by the town were at the rate of more than nineteen dollars for every inhabi- tant. And this does not include private contributions and the generous and thoughtful endeavors of the ladies to cheer on by their aid and friendly tokens their sons and brothers in the field. Two of those who went forth for mili- tary service were commissioned officers ; fifteen yielded up their lives in the service. Their names were Daniel Atwood, Charles W. Buck, Robert Burns, Howard Collier, Henry Dickson, Thomas Dooley, Calvin Noble, Henry Noble, Levi J. Olds, Charles W. Robbins, George K. Robbins, Michael Stan- ley, Seth Wait, John Waters, Thomas A. Wilson.
VILLAGES.
MIDDLEFIELD, or the " Center,"as it is locally designated, occupies about the geographical center of the town, and from the earliest times served as the town's metropolis. It was here the town-meetings were held, the church planted. The village has a delightful location, and is a pleasant summer resort. The postoffice was established here about 1811, and Edmund Kelso was the first postmaster. The present incumbent of the office is John T. Bryan,
BANCROFT, or Middlefield Station, as it is locally known, is a small village about the Boston & Albany railroad station, in the southern part of the town. Charles H. Fleming is the postmaster.
FACTORY VILLAGE, as its name indicates, is the small village that has gath- ered about the factories we mention below. It is located on Factory brook, in the western part of the town. It depends on the Center village for church and postal facilities.
MANUFACTURES.
The saw and the grist-mill and the tannery sprang up when everything was new, and considerable establishments for the manufacture of woolen cloths have existed from the beginning of the century. John Ford is said to have built the first saw-mill, in 1780, on the stream a mile below the Factory Vil- lage, where Leach's mill stood in later years. The Blushes, Amasa, suc- ceeded by his sons Oliver Blush and William D. Blush, and the Churches, Uriah, succeeded by the four Church brothers, have been the principal man- ufacturers in town.
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TOWN OF MIDDLEFIELD.
Church Brothers & Co. are manufacturers of woolen goods at Factory Vil- lage. They have two mills. Their power is furnished by water from Factory brook. A reservoir for holding water was washed out in 1874, causing great damage, carrying away and damaging many buildings, and causing a loss of many thousands of dollars. The reservoir has been re-built in a substantial manner. Uriah Church started business with carding machinery on the pres- ent site more than seventy years ago, and it has been carried on by his sons since that date, always manufacturing goods from wool. The present firm consists of Oliver Church and George W. Wilcox.
Buckley, Dunton & Co., r 37, manufacture paper with both water and steam power, employing twenty-five hands.
MORAL AND RELIGIOUS INTERESTS.
First Congregational Church of Middlefield .- The moral and religious in- terests of the town have been cared for by three religious societies. The first was coeval with the town-the Congregational. Of this society Rev. Jona- than Nash became the first pastor. The pastor's ordination, October 31, 1792, and the erection of the house of worship took place the same year. Mr. Nash's labors proved acceptable. and they extended over a period of forty years. He was a native of South Hadley, and a graduate of Dartmouth col- lege, in the class of 1789. He died August 31, 1834, aged seventy-four years. His successors in the pastorate have been Revs. Samuel Parker, who served but a single year ; John H. Bisbee, who was dismissed after some five years to accept a call to Worthington ; Edward Clark, who served the church thir- teen years ; Moody Harrington, whose term of service was somewhat over three years ; Lewis Bridgman, who served four years; John Dodge, who served two years ; Charles M. Peirce, who served thirteen years, and resigned on account of failing health; Samuel E. Evans, who served one year ; A. G. Beebe, who served two years; John A. Woodhull, the present pastor, who commenced his labors in September of the present year, 1886. The first dea- cons were Malachi Loveland'and Daniel Chapman. Others who served in this capacity are David Mack, Job Robbins, Zachariah Field, William W. Leon- ard, George W. McElwain, Abner Wing, Alexander Ingham, Erastus J. Ing- ham, Amasa Graves, Ambrose Meacham, Harry Meacham, Hiram Taylor and Jonathan McElwain. The church and society have been prosperous, and many seasons of religious awakening and enlargement have marked the church's history. One of these seasons was during 1801-02; another in 1820-21. The period from"1826 to 1832 seems to have been one of more than usual prosperity. Another season of much interest mentioned is 1842- 43. The same of 1857-58, and of 1866 and 1877. Not less than three hun- dred members were received into the church in connection with these seasons of special interest. The present house of worship is the first meeting-house, erected in 1790, but re-modeled and tastefully fitted up with modern appoint- ments.
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TOWN OF MIDDLEFIELD.
Baptist church .- The first house of worship erected by the Baptists in Middlefield stood east of the Center, not far from the residence of Mr. Friend. It was built in 1818. The church was constituted in 1817, con- sisting of twenty-nine members. To those, thirty were added during the next two years. There had been Baptists in Middlefield almost from the begin- ning. For many years they were connected with the Baptist church in Hins- dale, the Hinsdale pastor holding regular services in Middlefield a definite portion of the time until the erection of the meeting house in Hinsdale in 1816. Then by mutual agreement the members in Middlefield became an independent church, and were recognized by a council July 21, 1817. Rev. Isaac Child was the first pastor, and continued in service ten years. He died
at Goshen in 1842. The second minister settled was Erastus Andrews. The next was Cullen Townsend. Other ministers have been Thomas Archibald, Orson Spencer, Foronda Bestor, Volney Church, Homer Clark, Orlando Cunningham, John B. Burke, Lewis Holmes and Joseph M. Rock- wood, the present pastor. Mr. Spencer and Mr. Clark did not long retain their connection with the denomination. The ministry of Mr. An- drews, though brief, was fruitful, as was that of Mr. Townsend and Mr. Archibald. Messrs. Bestor, Cunningham and Holmes continued their pas- toral work some five or six years each, and were much blessed in their labors. The present pastor commenced his services in May, 1865. Years noted as seasons of religious awakening and increase in the history of the church have been 1818, '29, '31, '33, '38, '42, '50, '58, '70, '76. The first deacon was John Newton, who died at the advanced age of ninety-five. The names of those who have succeeded him are Clark Martin, David Ballou, Moses Gamwell, William W. Leonard, Solomon Root, Oliver Smith, Ebenezer Smith, Eldridge Pease, Solomon F. Root, Morgan Pease and Harlow Loveland. The present house of worship was built in 1846, succeeding the first, built in 1818.
Methodist church .- A Methodist class was formed in town as early as 1802. This was in the southeastern part of the town. It is thought to have consisted of Thomas Ward and wife, Daniel Falley and wife, David Cross and wife, Samuel Brown and wife, Jesse Brown and wife, the Gilberts, Rhodeses, Talcotts, Mrs. Elijah Churchill, and others. Thomas Ward was the class-leader. A few years later a church was organized and constituted a part of Pittsfield circuit. Subsequently it was connected respectively with the Dalton, the Hinsdale, and the Middlefield and Washington circuit. In 1827 a house of worship was erected, near the present residence of George W. Howe. There was wide spread religious interest in connection with this church, extending through a number of years. The audiences that assem- bled were said to be as large as those of any society in town. Among the preachers whose labors were most effective appear the names of Peter C. Oakley, Bradley Selleck and Cyrus Prindle. In 1853 the society removed its house of worship to the center of the town; but the result of the change
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CITY OF NORTHAMPTON.
was not as favorable as had been hoped. In 1861-62 the society was very much weakened by a large number of deaths and removals occurring not far from the same time. The members left were too few to continue the services successfully ; the society was dissolved and the house of worship sold to the Congregational church for a chapel, the families remaining finding in the growing liberality of modern times pleasant association with other churches.
Temperance .- There have been several temperance organizations in town which have contributed to the increase and prevalence of the temperance sentiment. Among these may be mentioned that of the Good Templars, which commenced its work in 1871. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union has also exerted useful influence for a number of years.
N ORTHAMPTON occupies a location in the geographical center of the county, and is bounded north by Williamsburg and Hatfield, east by the Connecticut river, south by Easthampton and a small section of the county line, west by Westhampton. Within the bounds thus roughly stated is enclosed a small inland city, which presents a striking example of what may be accomplished by the full and free exercise of moral and mental agencies in attaining a high degree of civilization, intelligence, refinement and comfort ; affluent in charitable, benevolent and educational institutions, possessing an unequaled natural beauty and satisfactory material prosperity, the " Meadow City " has secured an enviable reputation. Her sons and daughters may be found throughout the republic, diffusing in society a benign and salutary in- fluence, seeming ever to bear before them the legend of the city's great seal : " Charitas, Justitia, Educatio."
In the opening chapters of this work, devoted to the general history of the county, we have detailed the causes which led to the petition for and grant of the fertile Nonotuck in 1653-54 ; told of the settlement begun thereon at the present city in 1654, the establishment of the new settlement as a half-shire town and subsequent county seat ; detailed the history of its county buildings and the courts of justice which are held therein, its railroads and its press. At this point, then, it is our purpose only to briefly sketch the subsequent growth of that early settlement, record its final erection into one of the mu- nicipalities of the commonwealth, and record its appearance and resources of to-day. For over two hundred years the city constituted one of the town- ships of Hampshire county, when it was incorporated, September 5, 1883, and organized, January 7, 1884,* as the county's only incorporated city or village.t
* At its organization Benjamin E. Cook, Jr., was elected mayor, who held the office un- til Arthur G. Hill was elected as his successor, in December, 1886. The city is divided into seven wards. A list of its officers is given on another page.
+ In the Directory portion of the work we shall consider the ' City " as the " Township of Northampton," in order that our system of road-numbering and the references to the several postoffices within the city's limits may not prove perplexing to the stranger who seeks its aid.
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CITY OF NORTHAMPTON.
The city, comprising the old township of Northampton, consists of two disjointed tracts of land. When Easthampton was incorporated her territory was inserted like a wedge to the river, completely severing the former into two unequal portions. The smallest, a long, narrow strip of land, bearing the local name of South Farms, extends from the crest of Mount Nonotuck to the river, and from Easthampton on the north to Holyoke on the south. Easthampton was one of the three towns that have been lopped off from the old one. Southampton was organized as a town by the general court in 1753; Westhampton in 1778; and Easthampton as a district in 1785, with all the rights and privileges of a town with the exception of sending a repre- sentative to the general court.
PHYSICAL FEATURES.
The city seems to nestle quietly in a deep depression among the hills and mountains which surround it in every direction, on the margin of the fairest river in New England. In fact it occupies a central portion in what Presi- dent Dwight, of Yale college, whose familiarity with the valley excelled that of any other man in his time, was in the habit of terming in his writings the val- ley's third great expansion. At this point the valley is probably not less than twenty miles in width, and abounds in the richest and most gorgeous natural beauty. Mountains, some of them attaining an altitude of nearly fifteen hundred feet above the level of the sea, encircle this expansion. On the east, beyond Amherst, which clusters upon the summit and along the gentle slopes of a beautifully rounded eminence, are seen the dark and lofty Pelham hills ; in the foreground is Mount Holyoke, unique and picturesque, from whose top a picture of rural loveliness meets the vision, unsurpassed even in a region where the choicest gifts of nature have been scattered with a lavish hand. On the north are the Montague mountains and the conical outline of Sugar Loaf, on the west the outlying spurs of the Green Mountain range, and on the southwest and south the elevations known as Pomeroy and Mt. Tom range.
The surface of the whilom township is uneven and undulating. Between the compact part of the city and the river, which here flows in the form of a semi- circle, are the intervals or meadows, comprising several thousand acres of level and fertile land. A succession of terraces of a few feet in height lead from the meadows to the uneven and more elevated parts of the city on the west, where plains, knolls and hills are curiously and irregularly mingled. Round Hill has obtained a wide celebrity for its unrivaled beauty. Its slope is so gentle that nearly every part of it can be utilized for the erection of residences for citizens of taste and wealth. while the view from its sides and summit is simply magnificent. It was on Round Hill that George Ban- croft, the historian, and Joseph G. Coggeshall established their famous school which attained such an enviable reputation that it found patrons in the most distant states of the Union. This institution was at the zenith of its prosper-
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CITY OF NORTHAMPTON.
ity some half century ago. But Mr. Bancroft had a natural aptitude for the discussion of political questions, and an irrepressible desire to participate in the political movements of the day. The school was eventually closed. Mr. Bancroft's career is well known to the school children of the land. His as- sociate, Mr. Coggeshall retired to the tranquility and repose of literary pur- suits. Since that event Round Hill has been devoted mostly to private resi- dences. Occasionally it has been honored with a water-cure establishment and a hotel. But these are things of the past, and such public institutions as shall hereafter grace its picturesque declivities will probably be of a benevo- lent and charitable character, and designed to alleviate human suffering.
In saying this of that charming locality, it must not be supposed that other parts of the old town are devoid of attractions as homes for the people. The inequalities of the township are such that the varying fancy of individuals finds ample resources for the selection of eligible sites for the erection of homes combining the elements of taste and elegance. Gentlemen of culture and refinement have discovered that the landscape of Northampton possesses many pleasing features, and are now embellishing the terraces and the mini- ature hills and vales with edifices of which any town or city may well be proud. Especially do the educational facilities of the city tend to this result, as they allure to it the best elements in American society, who hasten to avail them- selves of the benefits conferred by the superior excellence of its schools and other institutions of learning. As an example of this the case of the eminent Southern writer, George W. Cable, whose brilliant imagination is equaled by his conspicuous philanthropy, may be cited as worthy of imitation, who finds a delightful home within the romantic precincts of " Paradise."
The principal inland stream is Mill river, which enters the town from Will- iamsburg in the extreme northwest corner, and flows into the Connecticut in the southeast. Its waters are utilized for manufacturing purposes, and several flourishing villages-Leeds, Florence and Bay State-have arisen upon its banks. Roberts Meadow brook is the source of the city's water supply, and a branch of Manhan river, which crosses the southwestern boundary at Loud- ville, affording some motive power.
Geologically, new red sandstone is the prominent feature in the eastern part of the city, and the primary or granitic rock in the western, where boul- ders of varying sizes are thickly strewn by elementary actions upon the sur- face. In many sections of the town these stones and rocks are being removed and the land fitted for cultivation.
SOIL AND AGRICULTURE.
The soil varies greatly in character and quality. There are several thou- sand acres of interval or meadow land of unsurpassed beauty and fertility, the stony, loamy uplands, and some level tracts of a sandy nature. Interspersed with these are fields in which clay predominates. A large proportion is culti-
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CITY OF NORTHAMPTON.
vable. At the first settlement of the town, and for a long period thereafter, cultivation seems to have been mostly confined to the intervals, and with some unimportant alterations and modifications they remain very much as when Holyoke and Pynchon were fascinated with their dense and prolific vegetation. There has been much speculation as to the origin of these bot- tom lands, and the opinion has been expressed by those who have investigated the matter, that originally they were mounds or islands in the body of the stream, which by the constant accretion of fine, silty particles borne by the waters of the river from the regions far to the north. gradually expanded until the mass became consolidated and attached to the adjacent upland. But whatever may have been their origin they constitute a large tract of valuable land in Northampton. The soil is a fine, deep, rich, unctuous 'mold, and when first cultivated must have been surpassingly fertile. Much of its inher- ent productiveness is maintained by the abundant sediment deposited on the surface by the annual overflow of the river, though other enriching matters are used, and perhaps required, in the growing of maximum crops. When it is considered that these lands have been in cultivation for more than two hundred years, in each one of which they have produced prolific harvests, the inference is conclusive as to their great strength and durability. It is an in- disputable fact that in the first years of the settlement and for a century after- wards, the meadows were found well adapted to the growth of wheat and pro- duced luxuriant crops of that invaluable cereal. The province tax was paid in wheat in Boston, and the transportation of the grain, which was invested with all the properties of a circulating medium, was a matter of no small im- portance. To accomplish this object a road was constructed, with infinite labor and expense, through the forest to the settlements in Connecticut, and the golden grain was conveyed in ox carts to Hartford, and loaded on sloops that made the perilous voyage round Cape Cod to the capital of the Province.
About a century ago there were indications that something was the matter with the meadows ; the wheat crop frequently failed, and its cultivation was reluctantly relinquished. A writer of that era, and a native of the town, in- vestigated the causes of the failure, and came to the conclusion that it was owing to the exhaustion of the fine vegetable mold or humas in the soil ; and he reasoned that wheat would again grow if the original conditions were re- stored. And to do this he argued that it would be necessary to grow such crops as would fill the surface soil with an abundance of vegetable fibres. He had ascertained in the course of his investigations that lands in the Middle States which had manifested the same symptoms as the meadows, had been restored to their prestine fertility by plowing down a rank growth of clover, and again produced good crops of wheat. This, it should be remembered, was one hundred years ago. It is not known that his recommendation was tested to such an extent as to establish its utility. At all events the meadows were generally devoted to other crops, and new land was cleared for wheat, which struggled for a few years to maintain a precarious existence until com-
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CITY OF NORTHAMPTON.
pelled to yield to the assaults of the midge, smut and rust. In late years there have been occasional instances of immense crops of wheat on this discription of land after a crop of tobacco. For the last half century the meadows have been devoted to the growth of broom corn, oats, corn, grass and tobacco.
RENOVATING THE SOIL.
The Hon. William Clark was an intelligent agriculturist of Northampton during the first half of the present century. Besides a due proportion of meadow land, he was the proprietor of an extensive tract of plain land of a light, sandy soil. Mr. Clark undertook the improvement of this light land with commendable enthusiasm, and was measurably successful in his efforts. It was his principal object to obtain a good, thick sod ; this accomplished, a satisfactory grain crop was certain to follow. In his experinients no animal manure was used, his entire dependence being upon sod and gypsum, or plas- ter. It was his practice to sow red-top and clover seed, and fill the soil as frequently as possible with grass and clover roots. By this system there was a gradual and perceptible improvement in the producing capacity of the land, and Mr. Clark became fully sensible of the enriching properties of sod or turf, which has been found so efficacious in other sections of the country in preserving the fertility of the soil. Another method in the treatment of sandy land has been practiced to some extent in Northampton, and measuredly re- sults are worthy of imitation elsewhere. It is to mingle clay with the surface soil. The adhesive properties of the clay impart adhesion to the mass, im- proves its texture and converts it into a friable loam. In most clays there is a considerable amount of fertilizing matter, and it has been found by ex- perience that clayed lands are tolerably retentive of animal manures.
Contemporary with Mr. Clark was David Lee Child, better known, per- haps, as the husband of that charming writer, Lydia Maria Child. Mr. Child was originally a Boston lawyer. He filled the office of consul in one of the cities of Europe for several years, and became deeply interested in the culti- vation of the sugar beet. On his return to this country he located in North- ampton near the village of Florence, and essayed to turn his knowledge of beet culture to practical account. But he appears to have been unfortunate in the selection of a suitable and congenial soil in which to pursue his ex- periments. Some of it was a deep, black muck, probably imperfectly drained, better adapted to the grass than the root crop, and incapable of producing other than stinted vegetables of inferior quality, while other portions were too thin and light to pay the expense of cultivation. It was not from lack of zeal, but from lack of judgment that Mr. Child failed in his undertaking, and the practicability of the beet culture is still an unsolved problem in Northamp- ton, at least so far as its conversion into sugar is concerned.
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