USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Hampden county, 1636-1936, Volume II > Part 38
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 | Part 43 | Part 44
1040
HAMPDEN COUNTY-1636-1936
When the "Great Western Railroad" (now the Boston and Albany ) was built in 1839, a station was established in Wilbraham. Elisha Fuller's tavern stood a few rods to the north and both were moved in 185 1 on a Sunday by the railroad on four platform cars, two on each track, and the tavern was set on its new foundation with- out even disturbing a glass of water, full to the brim, standing on a shelf in the dining room. On December 24, 1841, trains began run- ning between Boston and Albany, on the longest continuous line of railway then in operation in the United States.
About 1855 the Wilbraham Aqueduct Company was formed for the purpose of supplying the village with water and a reservoir was made about half way up the mountain. An aqueduct of pine logs was laid to the Main Street and the boring was done with a long auger run by steam, in a lot near the academy. The logs were required to be eight inches in diameter at the small end and a four-inch hole was bored, leaving at best only two inches of sappy green wood around the hole. When the water was turned on the logs began to burst and the system was a great expense for repairs. Later it was all bought by Wilbraham Academy and an iron pipe pushed through the hole in the old logs part of the way.
After the removal of the Baptist Church at Colton Hollow to South Wilbraham, in 1854, there was no stated place for religious services in that portion of the town, but services were held quite regu- larly in private houses and the schoolhouse. It is said that a colored man who had been a slave preached there for a time. A Methodist class was later formed and led by Lorenzo Kibbe, who was a large, portly man fond of singing and with a voice like a trumpet. He lived on Main Street and walked to and from the meetings. As he descended the mountains on his homeward journey in the evening he would break into song and his voice could be heard on Main Street.
There were persistent stories in some New England towns about "Captain Kidd's gold" which had been buried here and there. Some Wilbraham men dug for several nights in and around an old cellar hole on top of the mountain. They dug in silence for the superstition was that if a word were spoken the buried treasure would disappear even deeper into the earth. A boy of ten learned of the plans of the men and followed them at a safe distance one night and later related the story.
1041
WILBRAHAM AND ITS ACADEMY
The raising of tobacco was considerable of an industry from about 1850 until the decline in this region in favor of a light tobacco grown elsewhere. The farmers brought their milk to a cheese factory for a few years and later the milk went to the Springfield markets. The business of raising sheep and the production of wool came and went. The newest industry is the raising of peaches, and thousands of trees have been set out so that "Wilbraham peaches" are known far and wide. Many rocky pastures and neglected fields have become beauty spots and produce a substantial revenue. 191I was the peak year for peaches and over 40,000 baskets were sold.
Mt. Marcy, named for Dr. Oliver Marcy, a famous geologist, now has an airplane beacon. In 1908 the first chestnut blight noticed in Massachusetts was discovered in Wilbraham on the Glendale Road. By 1913 not an unaffected tree was to be found and soon all chestnut timber disappeared. Besides the "Mile Tree" on the green there is the "Merrick Elm" near Woodland Dell Cemetery, "Mile Oak" between the two villages, "Rindge Oak" and "Baldwin" maple, per- haps one of the finest of its kind in this section.
Dr. Stebbins Foskit and Wesleyan Academy built a private tele- phone line about 1880 and four years later Dr. H. G. Webber joined the line. The charge at first was $30 per year, raised in 1886 to $100 per year. The public line was built in 1903 and now has about three hundred subscribers.
The Grange Hall was built in 1900 as a memorial to Dr. Foskit by his widow. The library building was dedicated in June, 1913, as part of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary celebration, a gift of Henry Cutler. Receipts dated as far back as 1781 are held by descendants of persons who had purchased shares in the "Library Company."
In 1872 the Collins Manufacturing Company at North Wilbra- ham was incorporated as the Collins Paper Company. The plant now forms a part of the Whitney system of papermaking and has been the largest factor in the growth and development of the northern part of the town.
The grain and milling business now conducted at North Wil- braham was established at Ashland in 1844 by Henry Cutler. It was one of the first concerns in New England to grind western corn.
Hampden --- 6€
1042
HAMPDEN COUNTY-1636-1936
With the building of the Western Railroad in 1839 came the earliest Irish residents. The first houses erected by the Ludlow Asso- ciates in the 'eighties in the western part of the town were peopled mainly by Scotch and French Canadians. Shortly after 1900 the same association began building near the Stony Hill Road and here the first Polish people made their homes. About 1917 building began in the Plain section. It is now estimated that about one-third of the town's population is of Polish extraction.
Fifty-eight men from Wilbraham served in the World War and three gave their lives to the same.
In 1912 the Wilbraham State Game Farm was started and the money from fishing and hunting licenses helps to keep it going. At first wild turkeys, ducks, quails, pheasants and ruffled grouse were raised with the sitting hen, but since 1916 incubators and brooders have been used with encouraging results, and in 1935 the product was 8,200 birds. The farm covers one hundred and sixty acres and has a superintendent's house and a large farm barn as well as pens and houses for the birds.
New England has been the source of much theoretical and prac- tical wisdom utilized in other parts of America. Here was the cradle of liberty. Here was invented the town. Here originated the system of popular education. Here, too, were established the academy and the college as complementary of the popular system. For a long time New England stood alone in her enthusiasm for education. The Royal Governor of Virginia congratulated himself and his people that the Colony was without a common school or a printing press. The educational temper and methods of New England have done much to elevate her people and to make her influential in the affairs and councils of the Nation.
The Methodists came late to New England and their evangelistic work at first took all of their attention, but soon the question of advanced education was raised. Children of Methodist families were obliged to enter institutions controlled by the orthodox church and this was objectionable in various ways. The antagonism between the groups was such as we now find it hard to realize.
In 1815 the preachers at the New England Conference proposed to proceed at once with the formation of an advanced school of their own. They were meeting at Newmarket, New Hampshire, which
1043
WILBRAHAM AND ITS ACADEMY
seemed to them an ideal place to locate. Some subscriptions were secured in the town, but the preachers themselves gave a large part of the $755 secured for a start. A two-story wooden building with a bell tower was erected. The lower story contained a single room with desks and seats, and the upper floor was divided into two rooms, one reserved for storage. The building was completed in midsummer and the school opened on September 1, 1817, with ten students, five of each sex, an innovation in educational circles. The Methodists broke with the past and elevated woman to an equal place with man.
WILBRAHAM ACADEMY
Moses White, the first principal was extremely careful of the moral and religious instruction of the pupils. Intemperance was prevalent and he set his face against the evil. In the absence of a boarding-house, students were taken into families at one dollar and twenty-five cents per week, an arrangement agreeable to both citizens and students.
1044
HAMPDEN COUNTY-1636-1936
The trustees adopted sixteen brief but excellent rules for gov- erning the students, such as forbidding scuffling and wrestling; attend- ance on public worship; to avoid going into the water on any day but Saturday; against the purchase of spirituous liquors; and no absence from lodgings after nine o'clock.
Reverend Martin Ruter was elected the next principal and threw himself into the work. He was a clear, forceful and eloquent preacher and never failed to draw crowds. Under his inspiration a branch academy was established at Kingston, about ten miles away, but it was not a success.
The religious condition of the academy during Ruter's stay was very encouraging, and many were converted. Theatrical exhibitions were discouraged and tragedies and comedies alike were under the ban. Regulation of the sexes was a problem and courtships were forbidden while attending the school.
The tide of prosperity at the Newmarket Academy took a turn after Dr. Ruter left and Wilbur Fisk, a young graduate of Brown University, was asked for aid in raising funds. He declined to do so unless the academy was moved from its unfavorable location and finally the Newmarket property was sold. Applications for the relo- cation of the academy came from Rochester, New Hampshire; Lynn, Massachusetts ; Ellington, Connecticut ; and finally, from Wilbraham. News that the board of trustees was to meet in Boston on Wednesday reached Wilbraham the Friday previous. Definite proposals would have to be made if Wilbraham wanted to get the institution, and Calvin Brewer and the Reverend Phineas Peck, temporary preacher, made a quick canvass for funds and a substantial sum was promised. But the result must get to the trustees in Boston, so early Monday morning Mr. Peck hitched his fine driving horse to Mr. Brewer's light sulky and reached Boston, a distance of ninety miles, at noon the next day. To his surprise the board was already in session and he presented his case and it was received with favor. There was great joy in Wilbra- ham when the news came to them and the pledges of money were raised to $2,693, a generous amount for the times. Later, John Lind- say scoured New England for more subscriptions and sums from one dollar up were gathered in.
Many sites were offered for the new institution and finally three acres were bought on the east side of the road and a two-story brick building started which was to have one large and two small rooms
1045
WILBRAHAM AND ITS ACADEMY
below and one large hall and four "drawing-rooms" above. The building was completed without a cupola, though ordered in the plan. It was simply forgotten by the builders and was not added until the following spring, the old Newmarket bell in the meantime being supported on a cross-beam set in two crotched posts and rung by means of a string. Two sets of high steps led up to the first story, the "gentlemen" using the south ones and the "ladies" the north.
Though Mr. Fisk had been selected as principal he did not come to Wilbraham at once and Mr. Dunn, a teacher and graduate of Bowdoin, served in his place. The school opened in November for a short term, with seven students, all residents of the town, but during the year one hundred and four students were in attendance. They came exclusively from Methodist families and for the serious purpose of study. Those who lived in town boarded at home and the others found lodgings about the town. To an unusual extent the people of the village participated in the joyous life of the institution. When Mr. Fisk came he allowed large liberty to the pupils and in order to accustom them to society held gatherings on Wednesday evenings where teachers and trustees with their families mingled with the students.
For the punishment of obstinate students, a penitentiary and a dungeon, located in the basement, were provided. The former was a small enclosure with a gleam of light and a seat for culprits who might be cast into this dismal place. The latter, for the more incorrigible, was about eight feet square and without seat or light. The culprit received his food through a small slide, and one trial of this punish- ment was quite sufficient.
The principal was usually equal to whatever he undertook, but in one instance a student was too much for him. The lad had offended and was ordered to prepare for a flogging the next morning in the presence of the school. After the reading of the Bible and a speech on the necessity of maintaining order at any cost, Mr. Fisk took his well prepared birch and while the "ladies" shed tears or hid their faces, brought it down on the back of the offender. The blow seemed to have little effect and as the principal continued a hollow sound made him suspicious. The boy was ordered to shed his coat and then vest after vest until finally a large Atlas shaped book was revealed and fell on the floor amid roars of laughter from the school. The master then discovered several pairs of pants thrust into large bor-
1046
HAMPDEN COUNTY-1636-1936
rowed boots and realizing how ridiculous was the situation he joined in the merriment. The culprit had indeed "prepared" for the flogging as he had been told. Afterward he became a minister.
Students flocked to the school, even from distant places. A resi- dent of Berkshire offered to take a load of students from his own town to Wilbraham and had eight passengers with their innumerable boxes and bundles. A boarding hall now seeemed necessary to care for the many pupils and after numerous plans for building were made the village hotel was bought in 1825 and an addition was added. This rid the vicinity of a place where drinks were served and where frequent convivial parties were held. On one occasion it was said the revellers had ridden their horses in at the large front door, through the hall, and out the back way.
The east room in the second story of the academy came to be used as a dormitory for the small boys under the charge of a proctor. who often found it no easy matter to keep them in order and take them in to prayers before daylight. The first to occupy this position was Selah Stocking. Often on rising his slippers, stockings and even his pants would be missing. On one occasion as he sprang from his couch to strike a light he was hurled full length on the floor with one foot fast in the bed, which prevented him from extricating himself. One lad finally assisted him and it was found that strong cord ran about the room fastened to the great toe of each sleeper.
The second proctor was Joseph J. Brooks, a good scholar and a favorite with the faculty, but the boys made his life as difficult as pos- sible. One night a Spanish fly was attached to his leg, leaving a blister in the morning.
One of the local trustees was Hon. Abel Bliss, and he was strongly in favor of total abstinence at a time when, in most families, liquor was on the sideboard and furnished to guests. As a trustee of the academy he exerted his utmost influence to banish temptation from the vicinity.
A devoted teacher, Isaac Goodnow, as a student walked sixty miles with two other young men to reach the school, where he remained for over twenty years.
The year 1856 brought a new trouble to the school when fire broke out in a second-story room of the boarding house which held over a hundred students. The rooms were heated with small wood stoves and one student had stored his supply of fuel close back of the stove
1047
WILBRAHAM AND ITS ACADEMY
and then had gone off leaving dampers wide open. The wood caught fire and soon flames went through the roof. There was no adequate fire apparatus in Wilbraham and the engine from Springfield arrived too late to be of use. Bedding and furniture were thrown out of the windows and one man after casting several washbowls and pitchers out took a box-stove in his arms and carefully carried it to the road- side. One of the professors who had lectured to his class on self- control and calmness, left fifteen hundred dollars' worth of valuables to burn in his room, while he ran up and down the street flourishing all he saved-a pair of red top boots.
Property to the value of $12,000 was soon a mass of glowing embers, but the courage of the principal was unshaken and he made immediate plans to draw in more funds in order to build. Somewhat over a year later a fifty thousand dollar structure was completed for the flourishing school.
In the flush days just after the Civil War attendance at Wilbra- ham Academy reached a new high mark, but by 1867 a slow decline had started. The semi-centennial celebration of the founding at New- market came the year following. Russell Conwell, an alumnus of the institution, delivered the oration when a similar celebration of the removal to Wilbraham took place. Many trustees and principals struggled with the debt which hung over the academy for years, but it was finally wiped out in 1887 and then began the work of building up an endowment fund. Attendance again increased and Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham continued its important work until1911, when it was closed as a co-educational school.
The next year it was opened to boys alone, under the name of Wil- braham Academy, and at the present time the thirteen or fourteen large buildings house one hundred and fifteen students and the usual corps of teachers and employees. The alumni have recently given to the school a cabin on Wilbraham Mountain and the Corbin Field House for the promotion of athletics. A wooden track for outdoor winter sports will probably be the next gift of the alumni. Emphasis in athletics is placed on general development of students rather than on winning teams. An increasingly useful program of vocational guidance is being developed and hobby groups are encouraged. The social life is rounded out with clubs and dances, and an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect prevails, such as is suited to this old religious institution.
Index
INDEX
By Edwin W. Wheat
Abbott, Jacob, 374. Abolition, see Slavery. Abrams, Abram, 482.
Acadia, "New France," 393. Account book of Stephen Cross, 936-940. Adams, Charles, 757.
Adams, J. W., and Company, 757.
Adams, John, 262, 339.
Adams, John B., 352. Adams, John Quincy, 333, 338, 565.
Adams, Mr., 736.
Adams, Samuel, 929.
Adams, Walter, .757.
Africa, 134, 277, 549.
Agassiz, Louis, 419.
Agawam, Hampden Co., Mass .. 4, 10, 24, 25, 31, 55, 63, 146, 329, 481, 536, 590, 598, 601, 606, 612, 613, 669, 999, 1001, 1012.
Agawam bank, 510. Agawam Canal Company, 923, 10II. Agawam Center, Agawam, 778, 783. Agawam Indians, 25, 31, 125, 137, 138, 146, 706, 883. Agawam Meadow, IOII.
Agawam, the mother of Springfield planta- tion, 777-784. Agawam Paper Company, 970. Agawam plantation, 35-51. Agawam, population, 781. "Agawam pork," 265.
Agawam River, 24-27. 65. 105, 198, 279, 329, 604, 777, 780-782. Agawam Woolen Company. 783. Agricultural machinery, 638, 815, 868, 919, 921, 960, 993. Agriculture, see Cattle; Cheese manufac- ture; Fences; Flax; Grains; Hemp; Horses; Husking; Milk marketing; Mills, grain; Peat bogs; Poultry; Sheep; Sugar making; Swine; Tobacco; Tur- keys; Vegetables. Ahlquist, L. P., 500. Ahmed, Redjeb, 504. Air races, 598, 599. Aircraft factory, 598.
Airports, 598, 754, 755, 782, 1041. Alabama, 858. Albano, John, 478.
Albany, N. Y., 97, 158, 164-166, 170, 250, 252, 286, 326, 352, 446, 508, 509, 739, 744, 787, 816, 834, 1040. Albrecht, Paul. 559. Alcott, Amos Bronson, 582.
Alden ( Reed) house, 765. Aldenville, Chicopee, 657-659
Alder Brook, 536.
Alexis, Grand Duke, 495.
Allegheny River, 352.
Allen, Chauncey, 756.
Allen, Edmund, 313.
Allen, Frank G., 771.
Allen Guest House, 904.
Allen, Pilot, 287, 288.
Allen, "Soapy," 407.
Allen, Thomas W., 352.
Allen, W. D., Mrs., 945.
Allentown, Pa, 924.
Alline, John, 36.
Allyn, David, 943.
Allyn family, 701.
Allyn, H. D., 711.
Allyn, Lewis B., 754.
Alpert, Louis, 482.
Alsace-Lorraine, 559.
Alton, Ill., 511.
Alum Pond, 803, 805.
Alvord, Elijah, 231. Alvord, Noah, 1024.
"Ambulance chasers," 438. American Bosch Corporation, 525.
American Cycle Company, 753.
American International College, 468. 557.
American News Company, Inc., 320.
American Pad Company, 71I.
American Whip Company, 750.
American Writing Paper Company, 708- 710, 718, 723. Ames, D. and J., 388.
Ames, David, 266, 313, 314, 319, 388.
Ames, Fisher, 263, 264.
Ames, Galen, 314.
Ames, James T., 314, 315.
Ames, John, 314, 388.
Ames Manufacturing Company, 315, 361, 362, 635, 656, 659, 660.
Ames, Nathan P., 315, 344, 635.
Ames Paper Mill, 314.
Ames, William, 315, 344.
Amherst, Jeffrey, 739, 1006.
Amherst, Hampshire Co., Mass., 220.
Amherst College, 10, 325, 327, 413, 560, 769, 770, 985. Amostown, in West Springfield, 1007, 1009.
Anderson, Engineer, 345. Anderson, Luther, 502. Andersonville, Ga., 686.
Andover, Essex Co., Mass., 924.
1052
HAMPDEN COUNTY-1636-1936
André, John, 331.
Andros, Edmund, 170, 844, 1023.
Angers, Pierre, 458.
Animals, see Bears; Beavers; Cattle:
Crows; Deer; Fauna; Foxes; Horses: Lions; Muskrats; Panthers; Pigeons; Poultry; Raccoons; Sheep; Skunks ; Snakes; Swine; Turkeys; Whale; Wild- cats; Wolves; Woodchucks.
Animals, prehistoric, 11, 704, 799, 985. Annibal, John, 918.
Anniversary, 300th, see Tercentenary of Springfield.
"Appleseed, Johnny," see Chapman, Jona- than.
Appleton, Captain, 147, 149, 163.
Appleton Street School, 692.
Arabia, and Arabs, 502.
Architects, see Builders and architects.
Arkansas, 475.
Armenia and Armenians, 451-453. Armistice of Nov. 11, 1918, 596.
Armory, United States, 225, 259, 271, 276,
278, 283, 285, 287, 296, 313, 319, 321,
334, 335, 343, 347, 374, 386, 387, 390, 404, 420, 426, 461, 473, 477, 481, 499, 507, 508, 543, 577, 591, 595, 597, 606, 754, 847, 931, 1012, 1014.
Arms and ammunition manufacture, 283, 313, 315, 321, 361, 495, 499, 511, 563, 591, 632, 635, 656, 891, 907, 920, 944, 978.
Also sce Armory, U. S .; Arsenal, U. S. Armstrong, Missionary, 341.
Army, United States, see War.
Arnold, Benedict, 331.
Aronson, M. J., 484.
Arsenal, United States, 218, 224, 299, 300. 303, 347, 386, 508, 568, 578, 746, 956, 1007, 1034.
Artists and art collections, 332, 565-567, 584-586, 590, 755, 870, 945.
Ashfield, Franklin Co., Mass., 249.
Ashland, Middlesex Co., Mass., 1041.
Ashland, Ohio, 356.
Ashley, Elisha, 669.
Ashley, John, 1003.
Ashley, Joseph, 206.
Ashley, Moses, 1011.
Ashley, Noah, 741.
Ashley Ponds, 668, 692.
Ashley, Robert, 84, 90.
Ashleyville, in West Springfield, 1009.
Ashmun, George, 311-313, 970. Ashmun, Justus, 791.
Asia, 660. Asia Minor, 451, 464, 585.
Assessments, see Taxes.
Associated Press, the, 320, 610.
Association of Wool Growers, 358.
Athletics, 409, 501, 512, 557, 561, 598, 702, 705, 716, 924, 1047; also see Gymnasi-
ums; Societies, clubs, and organizations; Sports.
Atkins, Zenas, 749.
Atkinson Tavern, 1019.
"Atlantis," Greek newspaper, 467.
Attorneys, see Lawyers.
Atwater, Frank, 761.
Atwater, Noah, 745, 746, 858.
Atwell, George, 844, 845.
Auctions, or vendues, 222, 632, 820, 825, 930, 953, 990.
Aumer, Joseph, 389.
Austin Brook, 839.
Australia, 329, 559.
Austria, 492, 1010.
Authors, Springfield, 92, 581, 582.
Automobile manufacture and sale, 523-526, 598, 660, 662, 936, 1016; also see Rubber manufacture.
Avery, Ephraim, 943.
Avery, Mayor, 713.
Avery, Nathan P., 695, xv.
Ayres, Sergeant, 164.
Baab, Otto, 463.
Babcock, Horace H., 352.
Bach, Frederick, 694.
Bachelor's Brook, 233.
Back, Harding Gates, 875.
Back, Judah, 875.
Bacon, Bishop, 472.
Bacon family, 341, 902.
Bacon, George A., 899.
"Baconsfield," house, 899.
Bacopoulos, George, 467.
Bad-luck Mountain, 856.
Bagg, Aaron C., 694.
Bagg, Ernest Newton, 552, 583.
Bagg, John, 1003.
Bailey, John, 961.
Bailey, Winthrop, 296.
Baird, James, 789.
Baird, John, 794.
Baird Tavern, 797.
Baker, A. G., xv.
Baker, Thomas, 197.
Bakeries, 154, 160, 297, 484, 534.
Bald Mountain, 856, 869.
Baldwin family, 853.
Ball, Benjamin, 667.
Ball, George, 283.
Ball, Lebbeus, 855.
Ball, Samuel, 107, 167.
"Ballad of Springfield Mountain," 1029- 1031. Ballantine, John, 742, 743, 794, 944.
Ballantine. William Gay, 560, xv.
Ballard, Sherebiah, 874.
Balliet, Thomas M., 559.
Bancroft, George, 316, 581.
Bancroft, John, 743.
Bancroft, Jonathan, 853.
1053
INDEX
Bancroft, Samuel, 853. Bangor, Maine, 944. Banks, see Financial affairs.
Banks, Nathaniel Prentiss, 421. Bannon, James, 474.
Bannon, Robert Emmet, 474.
Baptist Road, 844. "Baptist Settlement," 844. "Baptist Village," 668, 669, 684, 685. Barbados, 20, 113, 179. Barber, David, 317-319.
Barber family, 967.
Barber, John Warner, 386.
Barbout, J. B., Sons, 924.
Bardelli, Joseph, 477, 481.
Barker, Ezra, 1029. Barker, J. F., 543, 1012, 1014-1016. Barley, 1026.
Barnard, Henry, 932.
Barnes' Airport, 755.
Barnes, Mr., 282, 386, 517.
Barnes, Stephen G., 901.
Barnes, Vincent E., 754.
Barney, Everett Hosmer, 477, 511-513, 540, 541.
Barney and Berry Company, 511, 512. Barnum, Phineas Taylor, 390, 648.
Barrett, Daniel, 943.
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.