USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Hampden county, 1636-1936, Volume I > Part 29
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42
There are many believers in the significance of dreams and they can give plenty of instances in their own experience and that of others
378
HAMPDEN COUNTY-1636-1936
to show a good foundation for their faith. The moon, too, is seri- ously given credit for a good many things. Yet how its phases could affect the weather, or the crops, or the pork of hogs that are killed probably no one can explain. Luck and snakes and charms have believers as well as quoters. Love signs are repeated and futures forecast usually for the humor of the thing, though there are those who find even these oracular.
At the old-time apple-paring bees a favorite stunt was to take an apple and pare it round and round so the skin would come off in one continuous piece. Swing the paring around your head three times and then throw it over your shoulder. Where it falls it will take the form of some letter of the alphabet, or it ought to. That letter will be the initial of your beau's last name. On account of the curliness of the paring the rounded letters, and particularly S, occur oftenest. However, an imaginative person can usually make something satisfac- tory out of the paring.
Nowhere in the enlightened world have ghost stories been related so historically and believed so implicitly as in New England. Even in sensible Springfield a desirable piece of real estate, not far from Mill River, lost its market value for years because it was supposed to be inhabited by the ghost of a murdered man.
The following story has a local setting: "My father," said the narrator, "worked for a man in Longmeadow who was a doctor there. One day the doctor said he guessed he'd send some rye to mill, but the wind didn't blow none so't they could winnow it. In them times they used to have to shake it outdoors somewhere so't the wind'd blow the chaff away. There warn't a mite of wind stirrin' that mornin', and so the doctor, he and my father, sot there in the kitchen a talkin', and guessin' they'd have to let it go till next day. While they was a-doin' o' this in comes the doctor's wife, and says the wind was beginnin' to blow up a little. And sure enough! when they come to go out the wind was blowin' considerable, and my father went right to cleanin' up the rye. There might not be nothin' in it but my father always thought that woman was a witch. 'Twarn't nateral the wind should come up sudden that way, without no help. That woman she wanted the flour, and so she just went out and made the wind blow up the way it did."
A clergyman named Hooker was traveling on horseback, when one evening night overtook him at Springfield and he sought an inn.
379
SOME INTERESTING ITEMS
Other travelers were before him and the landlord informed the rev- erend that he had only a single vacant room left and, unfortunately, that room was haunted. The clergyman said he did not mind that, and took the room. He had retired and everything was still when twelve o'clock came, and with it the witches. In they flocked through keyholes and cracks until they filled the room. The visitors brought with them many shining dishes of gold and silver and pre- pared for a feast. When everything was ready they invited the clergyman to partake. Although he knew very well that if he ate with the witches he would become one, he accepted the invitation. "But," he said, "it is my habit to ask a blessing before eating," and at once began it. The witches couldn't stand blessings and fled helter-skelter, leaving feast and plate in possession of the preacher. Whether or not he ate the whole feast himself is not related, but Mr. Hooker secured the gold and silver dishes. The next morning, while continuing his jour- ney, a crow flapping along overhead shouted to him: "You are Hooker by name and Hooker by nature, and you've hooked it all."
Once in a while there is a rare person who is said to be endowed by nature with the power to discover where it is best to dig a spring or a well. This person, if you employ him, walks about your premises with a branch of witch hazel in his hand. At such spots as water can be struck without deep digging the hazel branch droops downward, even if the medium attempts to prevent its doing so. By the way the twig twists and turns can be determined the exact spot where it will be best for you to dig. A witch hazel crotch is the favorite instru- ment of the water-finders, but there is a variation in preference. Some claim it doesn't matter what sort of a tree the crotch comes from. One man used an apple tree crotch. He demonstrated he could locate water pipes at the farm where he worked with no previous knowledge of where they were. Every time he passed over a pipe the crotch bent downward. He was able to tell just where the pipes were in spite of their crooked curves. He was a reliable worker and not to be suspected of sleight-of-hand. He said he couldn't prevent the down- ward inclination of the crotch if he tried to, but had no explanation to offer of the queer performance of the twig in his hand.
A water-finder who used an elm crotch said anyone can find water in this way who has warm hands. This man was something of a pro- fessional, and his charge was three dollars for each time he was
380
HAMPDEN COUNTY-1636-1936
employed. He says he has never failed but once in his water searching and that was when the man didn't dig where he told him to.
Many a child when ill in the past was dosed with queer remedies or wore a bag of sulphur or asafetida to ward off disease. A red string around the neck was guaranteed to prevent rheumatism, and a cotton string tied around the ankle would prevent cramps. The croupy child was put to bed with a piece of salt pork bound round his neck with red flannel, or a hot bag of onions on his chest. But, oh how stiff that pork was in the morning, and how cold and clammy the onions ! Mud was used to cure bee stings and cobwebs, no matter how dirty, were laid on a cut to stop bleeding. Having the ears bored as if for earrings was believed to make one's eyes stronger. Every properly brought up child was told that eating its crusts of bread would make its hair curl.
Soon after the Civil War it was discovered by a physician that certain rays from the sun possessed marked curative qualities. The blue rays, in particular, were supposed to have great virtue. This gave rise to what was known as the "blue glass craze." For a few months a great deal was published in the papers on the subject, and it was a common topic of conversation. People had blue panes of glass put into their windows, or covered some window panes with blue tissue for the light to fall through. Some had glass summer houses made all in blue and lived in them much of their time. Many marvelous cures were affected, but the interest in the "blue glass" passed away as quickly as does a summer shower.
Among the superstitions of Springfield is remembered the belief that a consumptive would find relief by the burning of the remains of a relative who died of the same disease. In 1814 the remains of a woman named Butterfield were dug up from the old cemetery. It was four in the afternoon and school being out all the boys were present. The vitals were carried down to the river bank and burned. The ashes were not applied to the person, but perhaps a whiff of the smoke helped the cure. It was believed that "white swellings" in the knee could be cured by passing the hand of a dead man over the affected part, and it was often tried. Ministers usually discounte- nanced such practices, but belief in grave medicines and tombstone tonics lingered long.
381
SOME INTERESTING ITEMS
When clocks were scarce the length of a person's shadow helped to indicate the time of day and in haying time the man in the field knew it was noon if he could "step on his shadow," that is, on the shadow of his head. When the cuckoo called, or the bob white said "more wet, more wet," or you heard the tree-toad croak, or the cat ate grass, it was a sign of rain. If the sun shines while it is raining "the devil is whipping his wife." The severeness of the coming win- ter was foretold by the thickness of the corn husks, or the duck's feathers, and six weeks from the song of the first katydid frost was expected.
Springfield Is Made a City
CHAPTER XXIII
Springfield Is Made a City
Springfield was organized a town in 1636, and it became a city in 1852. On the latter occasion the government was vested in a mayor, eight aldermen and eighteen common councilmen. No member of either board received compensation for his services, but the mayor was accorded .a salary of "four hundred dollars, and no more." However, if the city council were to appoint him commissioner of highways they might "allow him a suitable compensation therefor."
A fire department was established and provision was made for a police court "to consist of one learned, able, and discreet person, appointed by the Governor." It was further decreed that the appointee should "take notice of all crimes, offences, and misde- meanors committed within the city."
A court was to be held by the justice at some suitable and con- venient place provided at the expense of the city on two days of each week, at nine of the clock in the forenoon, and as much oftener as necessary. The justice was to keep a fair record of all proceedings in said court, and annually, in the month of January, exhibit to the mayor and aldermen a true and faithful account of all moneys received by him.
"The annual town meeting, which by law is to be held in March or April, is hereby suspended, and all town officers now in office shall hold their places until their successors are chosen and qualified.
"All officers of the town of Springfield having the care and cus- tody of any records, papers, or property belonging to the town, shall deliver the same to the city clerk within one week after his entering on the duties of his office."
Thus, as indicated in condensed form, Springfield the town became Springfield the city, and elected for its first mayor Caleb Rice. At his
Hampden-25
386
HAMPDEN COUNTY-1636-1936
inaugural he reminded the aldermen and common council that the first organization of the town occurred "216 years ago this day."
Barber, the artist and historian, writing of Springfield in 1861, says :
"It is one of the most beautiful and important inland towns of New England. Population about 15,000. The main street runs parallel with the Connecticut, extending upward of two miles. The houses are well built, and many are elegant. Springfield is the center of a large inland and river commerce, and is nearly equally distant from Boston and Albany, on the line of the Western Railroad, and at the intersection of the great route north and south through the Connecticut Valley. The United States Armory, at Springfield, is the Nation's most valued arsenal, and its establishment here gave an impulse to the enterprise and prosperity of the vicinity. The principal armory buildings are on the elevated table land east of the main street, called the 'Hill,' and are arranged in a handsome manner around a square. From 12,000 to 15,000 muskets are manufactured at Springfield annually, and about 200,000 are stored in the arsenal of the establishment. Springfield was selected at an early period of the Revolution as a suitable place for making the various munitions of war and for a depot for military stores, because it was out of the reach of any sudden invasion of the enemy."
In 1852, when Springfield became a city, it had 14,000 inhabi- tants, and was often called "the Infant City." It was, in fact, made up of several almost distinct villages, with Court Square for its cen- ter. The armory grounds on the hill was one locality, and Uncle Sam's upper watershops on Mill River was another. The "river- bankers" bounded the city on the westward and multiplied exceed- ingly. The Springfield Armory was the "lion" of the town and was shown to all strangers. At times it was a very busy industrial center and brought much money in through support of the skilled workmen. To be an armorer in those days was to be one of the noted men of the community.
"Barnes' Lot," a large open space where circuses blossomed annually, had a prominent place about midway with the Town Brook.
387
SPRINGFIELD IS MADE A CITY
The young city grew slowly but steadily and became pretentious only by degrees. With the coming of the Civil War, Springfield had a boom and workmen were called from all quarters. Gunmaking machinery was built or bought as best it might be, old buildings were enlarged, and new ones erected on the grounds, until the armory was able to equip a full regiment with arms in a single day. This fact made Springfield famous and gave much occasion for its name and
LEUE
ENTRANCE TO UNITED STATES ARMORY ON STATE STREET, SPRINGFIELD
locality to be constantly before the eyes of the people, not only of our own land, but of the world at large.
Over three thousand men were working at making guns early in the war; whereas just before its breaking out, scarcely two hundred and fifty could be counted. The city limits had hardly room to con- tain all the newcomers who had been so suddenly gathered into the National Armory. From sheer necessity many of these swarmed into the outlying regions in search of temporary homes. The cars brought to the city each morning scores of workmen from Chicopee, Holyoke and other places; while hastily improvised vehicles came loaded from
388
HAMPDEN COUNTY-1636-1936
intervening farmhouses, and when night arrived the weary workers returned with empty dinner pails. Every house in the city was stowed full of humanity from basement to attic; and boarding houses sprang up like Jonah's gourd in a night, and were ready to take "boarders" in the morning. Prosperity reigned on all sides.
When the war ended, and the occasion for more arms had passed, many of the armory workers found means for becoming permanent residents, and the building of houses, stores, and blocks, the improving of streets, and the successful development of industrial interests, have been almost constant since that time.
Three or four years before the outbreak of the Rebellion the manufacture of the Smith and Wesson pistol was begun in hired apartments on Market Street and prospered marvelously, finally over- shadowing the armory, both in amount and value of its productions. It made great wealth for its projectors and secured to the city a remarkably prosperous industry.
Springfield was noted for being the home of one of the earliest and most successful paper mills of the country. The name of the firm was D. and J. Ames, and their works were on Mill River. As for their product-it went to every city and village of our civilized coun- try, and their name and fame were spread all over the world. For many years in the long ago it was difficult to find a sheet of foolscap or letter paper-which were the only kinds of writing paper made in those days -- that did not have the stamp of "D. and J. Ames" on it.
Springfield was fortunate in being one of the first railroad centers of note in the country. The Western, Hartford and Springfield, and the Connecticut River railroads all ran regular trains either through or into the Springfield depot several years before the town became a city. The Western, now the Boston and Albany, was opened for travel and traffic from Worcester to Springfield on the first day of October, 1839. The Hartford and Springfield Railroad, now the New York, New Haven and Hartford, preceded it by only a few months.
During the Civil War, and when photograph albums were in the height of fashion, Springfield had the largest album manufactory in the country, and it had a similar experience when paper collars were first introduced as wearing apparel. Springfield men were early in the field and at one time four large and profitable paper collar fac-
389
SPRINGFIELD IS MADE A CITY
tories were in the full tide of success; but these by means of combina- tion reduced the number in the "survival of the fittest" process until only one remained, and when fashion changed, that one finally faded away.
Springfield put a handsome feather in its cap of notoriety the first year after its incorporation by originating the "Simon-pure horse show business." Mammoth three-sheet posters, with two spirited horses' heads for illustrations, were sent out far and wide, and attracted large crowds to the first horse show ever known. Hampden Park had its origin in that horse show; and although Henry Ward Beecher, at its first public opening dedicated the park to horse shows, it has since often been crowded with people who came to see bicycle races, circuses and ball games. In 1936 the city council voted to change the name of this historic old park to Pynchon Park in honor of the founder of Springfield, and the tercentenary pageant was held there in May, 1936.
At least seventy-five clubs which once were active in the city of Springfield have gone out of existence, but their names impart a sense of the times in which they flourished. The Young Girls' Sewing Club and the Young Men's Literary Club suggest a discreet and cultural atmosphere with sober and worthy pursuits. The Atlanta Boat Club conjures out of the imagination mustached men in striped blazer jer- seys ready to step into their boats on the river and row for dear life and glory, when boating was a popular Springfield sport. In the archives of the Connecticut Valley Historical Society there are admis- sion cards to the social and dance of the Coachman's Aid Society, pictures of the Kamp Komfort's cakewalks, records of the doings of the Volcanic Research Society, of the Amabelish Fishing Society, and the Society for the Protection of the Ashes of the Dead.
As the need for these clubs lessened with the changing of the times, they disappeared one by one, and more modern ones came in. The old Hampden County Horticultural Society, for example, turned its tables and vases over to the Garden Club, and donated what remaining funds it had to beautify the grounds of the Shriners' Hos- pital for Crippled Children. The last meeting of this "lost" society took place in March of 1935, and it officially passed out of existence at the Natural Science Museum. There were only two members present when Joseph Aumer, of Walnut Sreet, called the last meeting
390
HAMPDEN COUNTY-1636-1936
by paid advertisement of this old society, which was organized in 1861.
A club that recalls to many old men days of keen sport was the Rod and Gun Club. Organized in 1874, it had a membership of prominent citizens in Springfield, and enjoyed an enviable reputation as a sportsman's club, sponsoring every kind of popular sports activi- ties. The Rod and Gun Club is credited with organizing the third sporting dog show held in the United States. It existed for eleven years until it was organized into what is now the Winthrop Club.
The old Rod and Gun Club in a way was really symbolic of the Springfield of that day, for this city enjoyed a fine reputation as a center of sporting activity, as did West Springfield. The first trotting horse program in connection with a fair took place in 1853 on the grounds of the Springfield Armory, and at that time the public was made aware of the first formal horse show in the United States. P. T. Barnum was the judge and there were a number of witty and eloquent orators of the day who spoke on this occasion.
In the same vein of sport, Springfield lays claims as the home of the famous "Morgan" strain of horses. Justin Morgan was born in 1747 "in or near Springfield," and later located in West Spring- field. His horse known as "Justin Morgan" after his master, was foaled in that town. Within fifty years after the death of that horse his descendants were found in practically every state of the Union, and at that time over half the light harness horses could be traced to him, either through dam or through sire. Many of the leading trotters of today show in their pedigrees that they carry a far- removed trace of Morgan blood.
A society of interest was the Springfield Society for the Protection of the Ashes of the Dead, organized in 1828. To the resident of modern Springfield the very name itself would suggest something facetious or perhaps a burlesque of some kind, but in those days it was a recognized organization of worthy men with a practical object. There really were grave-robbers and scavengers then, and they stole valuable jewelry and dissected limbs from the dead, although the tales have probably been distorted into fantastic legends as they came down through the years. The constitution of this "lost" society stated that its purpose was "to use every exertion to detect and appre- hend all persons suspected of violating the sanctuary of the grave for the purpose of obtaining subjects for surgical dissection, and shall
391
SPRINGFIELD IS MADE A CITY
have the disposal of the funds of the society for that purpose. Also, it shall offer a reward of $5 to be paid to any person who shall make it certain that any grave has been robbed, provided the offenders are detected and brought to justice."
A milestone of progress was indicated by the formation of the Benevolent Society for the Propagation of Cremation among a num- ber of Springfield German citizens. This club was of fairly recent origin, being organized in September, 1906, in the old Turner Hall on West State Street. The organization immediately sponsored a series of lectures and some amount of literature to show how crema- tion was so much more hygienic and natural than burial. There was, as is the case with any radically new idea, a great deal of opposition, and the club considered that at last it had reached the peak of success when the Springfield Crematory was opened in 1910 and one of the deceased members cremated there.
As a strictly religious organization with a serious purpose, there was none stronger than the Hampden County Temperance Society, which was organized about 1832. Its second annual report, published by G. and C. Merriam, leaves no question in the reader's mind as to the "pernicious" effect of "ardent spirits," and in the appendix are two examples outlining the society's views, the first maintaining that cholera was due to the demon rum, and the second exploiting the herculean strength and fine bodily health of a man of ninety who never drank of spirits. The pledge of the society reads: "Every member of this society hereby engages to abstain from the use of ardent spirits, except when rendered necessary as an article of medi- cine; also to use his influence to restrain others from a habit so pernicious."
Up to 1873 there were no women's clubs in Springfield and at that time there was but one woman's club in Boston, which had grown up from the days of the Abolition movement, and which later was called the Saturday Morning Club of Boston. In that year "The Club," or The Dorcas, as it was called, was founded, the only woman's club in this part of the State. Its membership was composed of worthy young women who met afternoons every fortnight to make and repair clothing for the deserving poor, at the same time to chat to their hearts' content. It was later that one of the members felt that the time was wasted in mere gossip, and set about to organize a literary
392
HAMPDEN COUNTY-1636-1936
club for the purpose of reading original essays and selections from accepted authors. Today, many other women's clubs of every descrip- tion have followed in the wake of these pioneers.
These clubs are "lost" perhaps as far as present existence is con- cerned, but their influence has never really disappeared. Most of them did much good in their day, and the good was perpetuated in many of the modern clubs of Springfield which now serve worthy purposes. They have contributed, too, in great measure to history, furnishing perhaps in better style than any other record a clear cross- section picture of the life and tempo of their period.
In September, 1892, groups of business men headed by Reuben Currier asked a Salvation Army captain, Julius Cummings, who had formerly been in Springfield, but at that time was doing splendid social service work in Lynn, to return to Springfield and open a social agency. Captain Cummings agreed, and the Springfield Rescue Mis- sion was born.
Captain Cummings had few educational advantages, but was an intelligent man and an ardent churchman. He had a real vision of helping his fellowmen, and it is due mainly to his efforts that the mis- sion became such a worthy institution. The mission's first home was in a single room over a laundry on Sanford Street. This room contained only a few broken settees and an old stove, but it was a warm shelter and a place where a helpless man could get hot soup and friendly treatment. Under Captain Cummings' fine leadership the work grew, and the agency moved to Elm Street, where an old French boarding house was torn down and a new refuge built on the site. With the expansion of the street, the Elm Street place had to be sold by right of eminent domain, and the mission built a place on Court Square, where the Department of Welfare now stands. In 1909 it bought the land at the corner of Cross and Willow streets, and built the red brick building which has been its quarters since that time.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.