USA > Massachusetts > Historical collections, being a general collection of interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, &c., relating to the history and antiquities of every town in Massachusetts, with geographical descriptions > Part 39
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AMHERST.
he got out of sight of them, he saw one mount the same horse which was afterwards found, and ride him up the hill into the woods, while the other stood with a new cud- gel in his hand leaning upon the wall. The same persons, according to the descrip- tion, were soon after observed travelling in great haste towards Springfield. We are happy to learn that his excellency Governor Strong issued a proclamation offering a reward of five hundred dollars for the detection of the villains, and that the high sheriff of Hampshire county greatly interested himself in taking measures to detect them, which we learn have proved effectual, and the murderers are both committed to gaol in Northampton. (See Northampton.)
HAMPSHIRE COUNTY.
HAMPSHIRE COUNTY Was incorporated in 1662, and embraced at that time the three counties of the state which are centrally intersected by Connecticut river. Before its division it was the largest county in the state, and Northampton, being in the central part, was a shire town. The county was divided into three by the legislature of 1811 and '12. Franklin county was formed from the northern section, Hampden the southern; Hampshire, the central part, re- tained the original name. The surface of Hampshire is generally hilly, and in some parts mountainous. The land in the western part of the county gradually rises, and its western border lies on the summits of the Green Mountain range. The Lyme and Mount Tom ranges of mountains begin in this county, and continue to the ocean, on the southern shore of Connecticut. The soil is of very unequal quality, being best in the center, and growing less and less fertile towards the eastern and western extremities. There are, however, fine interval lands on the banks of the Connec- ticut, being some of the best lands in the state.
The following is a list of the towns, which are 23 in number.
Amherst,
Granby,
Northampton,
Southampton,
Belchertown, Goshen,
Norwich, Ware,
Chesterfield,
Greenwich,
Pelham, Westhampton,
Cummington, Hadley, Plainfield, Williamsburg,
Easthampton,
Hatfield,
Prescott, Worthington.
Enfield,
Middlefield,
South Hadley,
In 1820, the population of this county was 26,447; in 1830, it was 30,210; in 1837, it was 30,413.
AMHERST.
THIS town was originally a precinct of Hadley, called " Hadley East or Third Precinct." It was incorporated as a town in 1759. The first church was organized, and Rev. David Parsons, the first minister, was settled Nov. 7th, 1739; he died in 1781, and was succeeded by his son, Rev. David Parsons, D. D., who was or- dained in 1782. "The ministers who belonged to the council which ordained Dr. Parsons, were the Rev. Messrs. Robert Breck,
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AMHERST.
of Springfield, Joseph Ashley, of Sunderland, John Hubbard, of Northfield, Samuel Hopkins, D. D., of Hadley, Roger Newton, D. D. of Greenfield, Simon Backus, of Granby, and Josiah Dana, of Barre." Dr. Parsons died suddenly at Wethersfield, Con., where his remains were interred. He was succeeded by Rev. Daniel A. Clark, who was settled in 1820, and continued here in the ministry till Aug., 1824. Rev. Royal Washburn next suc- ceeded, and continued his labors here five and a half years, and died in 1833. Rev. Micaiah T. Adam succeeded Mr. Washburn. He is a native of England, and passed a number of years a mission- ary of the London Missionary Society at Benares, in Hindoostan. Rev. Josiah Bent succeeded Mr. Adam, in 1837.
North-western view of Amherst College.
The Second Parish in Amherst was incorporated in 1783. The church was organized the year previous, and their first minister, Rev. Ichabod Draper, was ordained in 1785. He was succeeded by Rev. Nathan Perkins in 1810. The South Parish was incor- porated in 1824. The church was organized in 1824, and Rev. Horace B. Chapin, the first minister, was ordained the following year, The North Parish was incorporated in 1826, and Rev. Wil- liam W. Hunt was settled as pastor of the church the next year.
The above is a north-western view of the Amherst College build- ings, which are four in number, constructed of brick. Three are occupied by students ; the one surmounted with a tower is occupied as a chapel, library, and for lecture-rooms. These buildings stand on a commanding eminence, and overlook the valley of the Con- necticut to a great extent. "This institution was established in 1821. Its resources were comparatively limited at first, and its success, by some, considered doubtful ; but it is now in a highly prosperous state. It has a fund of $50,000, made up of the contributions of individuals. This fund is under the direction of five trustees, chosen by the subscribers; and the interest is annually appropri- ated towards the support of the college. There are 7 or S pro-
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fessors, including the president, 3 or 4 tutors, besides other officers ; and from 150 to 200 students. The yearly expenses of a student are from 90 to 118 dollars, including college bills and board. There are three vacations per annum; the first for four weeks from commencement, which takes place the fourth Wednesday in August, the second for six weeks from the fourth Wednes- day in December, the third for three weeks from the third Wednes- day in May. The number of volumes in the library is 7,000 and upwards, and the terms of admission, and the courses of study, are similar to those of Yale college, Con. The numerous diffi- culties which Amherst college encountered in its infancy are fresh in the recollection of many persons, as well as the violent opposi- tion which was raised against the application of the trustees for a charter from the general court."-American Magazine, 1835.
The venerable Noah Webster, LL. D., the author of the Ameri- can Dictionary of the English Language, was for a time a resi- dent of this town, and was one of the presidents of the board of the Amherst academy. He inaugurated the first president, and deli- vered an address on the occasion, standing on the north-west corner-stone of the south college. Besides the college, there is - in the place an academy, and a seminary, called the " Mount Pleasant Institution." There are 9 or 10 instructers, and it has acquired celebrity throughout the state.
The village in the vicinity of the college consists of about 75 well-built dwelling-houses, a bank, and other public buildings. Distance, 6} miles to Northampton, 108 from Dartmouth col- lege, N. H., 46 from Hartford, and 82 miles west of Boston. Popu- lation, 2,602. In 1837, there were in this town 2 woollen mills, 4 sets of woollen machinery ; wool consumed, 39,000 lbs .; cloth manufactured, 62,195 yards, valued at $40,337; males employed, 22; females, 30; capital invested, $30,000. Two hat manufacto- ries ; value of hats manufactured, $3,600 ; palm-leaf hats manu- factured, 60,000, valued at $12,000; value of carriages manufac- tured, $100,000; hands employed, 100; capital invested, $30,000; value of joiners' planes manufactured, $8,000. There were 2 pa- per mills; stock manufactured, 42 tons ; value of paper, $7,000.
The following inscriptions are copied from monuments in the grave-yard in this place :
In memory of the Revd. Mr. David Parsons, first pastor of the church at Amherst, who died Jan. 1, 1781, in the 69 year of his age, and 41st of his ministry. A man of God and faithful servant of Jesus Christ. Rev. 14, 13. Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord ; yea, saith the Spirit, their works do follow them.
Rev. ROYAL WASHBURN, born at Royalton, Vt., Dec. 6, 1797, graduated at Vermont University, 1820, and at the Andover Theological Seminary, 1824, settled as pastor of the first church and parish, Amherst, Jan. 4, 1826, died Jan. 1, 1833. Honored & be- loved in the church, having a good report of them without; seeming blameless as the steward of God ; in doctrine showing sincerity and sound speech, in practice a pattern of good works ; yet lowly of heart, & ascribing all to the grace of God through Christ ; his ministry short, but blessed with joyous fruit ; his life as becometh saints ; his death full of peace. Multum diuque desiderahimus .*
* Much and long shall we lament for him.
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BELCHERTOWN.
Hic jacet corpus sepultum Reverendi ZEPHANIE SWIFT MOORE, S. T. D., Collegii Amherstiæ Præsidis. Ille homo ingenioque scientia, atque pietate sincera, præclarus ; ac mentis gravitate quoque insigni quum se demittens. Animo et consilio certus, sed tamen mitissimus semperque facilitate permagna, modestus, placabilis, misericordia et fructibus bonis plenus. Non dijudicans, non simulator ; discipulis suis veneratus quasi illis pater dilectusque. Maximo omnium desiderio mortem obiit, die XXX Jun., Anno Domini MDCCCXXIII. Atatis sua LIII. Hanoveria gradum Artium Baccalaurei admissus, anno Domini MDCCXCIII. Ecclesia Logecestriensis Pastor annos XIV, Collegii Dartmuthensis linguarum Professor IV, Collegii Gulielmi Præses II. Cura- tores Collegii Amherstiæ hoc saxum ponendum curavere.
[Here lies buried the body of the Reverend Zephaniah Swift Moore, D. D., President of the College at Amherst. He was a man pre-eminent for genius, and science, and sincere piety, as well as greatness of mind and humility. He was firm in his pur- poses, and yet very mild, easy to be entreated, modest, placable, full of mercy and good works. He was not censorious, and no dissembler. By his pupils he was loved and venerated as a father. To the great grief of all, he died on the 30th of June, in the year of our Lord 1823, and in the 53d year of his age. He received the degree of Bachelor of Arts at Hanover in 1793; he was pastor of the church at Leicester 14 years, Professor of languages at Dartmouth College 4 years, President of Williams Col- lege 2 years. The trustees of the college at Amherst have ordered this stone to be erected.]
BELCHERTOWN .*
THE towns of Belchertown, Ware, and Pelham, were originally included in one tract, and styled the Equivalent Lands, from the following circumstance. The towns of Woodstock, Somers, En- field, and Suffield, in Connecticut, were formerly supposed to be- long to the province of Massachusetts, and were for many years under her jurisdiction; and though it afterwards appeared that they were included within the boundaries of Connecticut, the pro- vince of Massachusetts still claimed jurisdiction over them. It was, therefore, agreed between the two governments, that an equal extent of territory should be given to Connecticut as an equiva- lent. This, and the adjacent towns above mentioned, were inclu- ded in that territory, and were thence denominated the Equivalent Lands. Connecticut afterwards sold a considerable portion of this township to six individuals, in and near Boston, one of whom was the Hon. Jonathan Belcher, who was for many years afterwards the governor of Massachusetts colony. About the year 1740, the towns in Connecticut above mentioned threw off the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, and have since been incorporated with that state.
The grant made to these proprietors was first laid out in 1727. Another grant, comprising about 14,000 acres, adjoining this, on the north, was subsequently made to several inhabitants of North- ampton, of whom Pemberton, Vance, Saltonstall, and the reverend and venerable Jonathan Edwards, were the principal proprietors. This tract was laid out into lots of 100 acres each, about the year 1760, and the whole became a town corporate by an act of the gene- ral court in 1761. The remaining section of the equivalent lands was sold to Col. Stoddard, of Northampton.
* The author is indebted for the history of this town principally to a communication from the Hon. Mark Doolittle of this town. It was published in the Hampshire Centinel, a newspaper printed in this town, in 1827.
40
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BELCHERTOWN.
This tract of country, from Shutesbury to Chicopee river, it ap- pears, was formerly distinguished as the best hunting-ground in this vicinity for deer and other wild game. The hunters were ac- customed to encircle a large tract of land by a line of fires, which, burning in every direction, gradually encompassed the game in a circle so narrow, that they became an easy prey to their pursuers; and in process of time our native forests were destroyed, and, in a great measure, consumed by the hunters' fires. But these lands which had been thus burnt were soon covered with a species of wild grass, affording excellent pasturage for cattle ; and for many years great numbers of cattle and horses were annually sent out from Northampton and Hadley to graze upon these hills during the summer season. The practice of burning over these lands also continued a considerable time after the first settlement of the place.
This town was first known by the name of Cold Spring. It took its name from a noted cold spring in the eastern part of the town, near the path that was formerly travelled from Northamp- ton to Brookfield and Boston. After leaving Hadley, there was, for many years, no house nearer than Brookfield; and this spring, lying midway between the two towns, afforded a convenient place for refreshment to the traveler in his solitary journey through the wilderness. As the communications between the towns upon the river and the eastern section of the state became more frequent, the spring became a celebrated watering-place for travellers, and finally gave name to the township. In honor of Governor Belcher, one of its original proprietors, it was, however, in the act of its in- corporation, called Belcher's Town ; which, by common usage, has passed into the name of Belchertown. The town is now about twelve miles in length, with an average breadth of about five miles, and is estimated to contain about 34,000 acres of land. The first settlement of the town was made about 1732, by two or three fami- lies. The first permanent inhabitant was Dea. Aaron Lyman, who settled in the east part of the town, near the celebrated spring above mentioned. His son, the late Major Lyman, was the first male child born in the town. The next settlement that was made was by Col. Timothy Dwight, who established himself near the middle of the town. He was originally the sole proprietor of the lands in the central part of the town, a valuable portion of which remains to this day in the possession of his descendants. The set- tlements were gradually increased by successive emigrants from Northampton and Hatfield.
The following view was taken from near the public house, situated at the south end of the wide street or common, in the central part of Belchertown. It shows the two Congregational churches, and in the distance, at the north end of the common, is seen "the Belchertown Classical School." It was incorporated in 1836. This institution is one of much promise ; it is in a flourishing state, and has at present about sixty pupils of both sexes. The village is situated on a hill, and consists of about forty dwelling-houses, three
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BELCHERTOWN.
Southern vien in Belchertown.
churches, 2 Congregational and 1 Baptist, a number of mercan- tile stores and mechanic shops. Distance, 15 miles from North- ampton, 18 from Springfield, 28 from Greenfield, 10 from Ware vil- lage, 9 from Amherst college, 38 from Worcester, and 77 from Boston. Population, 2,598. In 1837, there were 3,000 sheep in this town; wool produced, 9,000 lbs., valued at $5,400. About 600 one-horse wagons were manufactured, the value of which was estimated at $24,000.
It appears probable, from some imperfect town records, that the first minister, the Rev. Edward Billings, was ordained. here in 1739. Mr. Billings left no church records, and the names and number of the first members cannot be ascertained ; it appears, however, at this period, that the entire population of the town consisted only of twenty families. Mr. Billings continued pastor about twelve years, when he was dismissed on account of a difference of senti- ment between him and his church respecting the admission of members. He was afterwards installed over the church at Green- field, and died in a few years. The next pastor was Rev. Justus Forward, who was ordained Feb. 25, 1756. The population had then increased to 55 or 60 families, comprising about 300 souls, and the church at that time consisted of 69 members. The following is a list of the male members, viz. :
Dea. John Smith, Dea. Aaron Lyman, Abner Smith, Daniel Smith,
Joseph Smith, Elijah Smith, Jonathan Graves,
Ebenezer Bridgman, Eliakim Phelps, Joseph Phelps,
Joseph Bridgman,
Benjamin Stebbins, Walter Fairfield, Stephen Fairfield, Samuel Hannum, Moses Hannum, Aaron Hannum, Gideon Hannum,
Nathan Parsons, Moses Warner, Ebenezer Warner, Nathaniel Dwight, Hezekiah Root, Thomas Brown, Thomas Chapin, Benjamin Morgan, Nathaniel Cowles,
Israel Cowles, Ebenezer Stearns, Thomas Graves, John Graves,
Benjamin Billings, Joseph Bardwell.
Mr. Forward continued in the ministry more than fifty-eight
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CHESTERFIELD.
years, and died March 8th, 1814, in the 84th year of his age. Rev. Experience Porter, the next minister, was installed pastor in 1814; he resigned in 1825, and was succeeded by Rev. Lyman Coleman the same year: Rev. Jared Reid, the next pastor, was installed in 1833. The Brainerd church was organized in 1834.
The following inscriptions are copied from monuments in the grave-yard, about a mile eastward of the village :
Sacred to the memory of Rev. Justus Forward, pastor of the church in Belcherstown, who, skilled in Evangelical Doctrine, exemplary in christian duty, prudent in council, valiant for the truth, faithful and successful in labours, after a long and useful minis- try, in which with reputation to himself, and to the spiritual benefit of his flock, he served God, and his generation, fell asleep March 8, A. D. 1814, in the 84th year of his age, and the 59th of his ministry. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.
In memory of Capt. Nathaniel Dwight, who died March 30th, 1784, in the 72d year of his age. He was one of the first settlers of this town, & was esteemed & em- ployed in public business in town and county thro' his whole life.
Come honest sexton with your spade, And let my grave be quickly made ; On Heaven's decree I waiting lie, And all my wishes are to die.
--
Tho' I must die and turn to dust, V
I hope to rise among the just. Jesus my body will refine, I shall with him in glory shine.
CHESTERFIELD
THIS town was incorporated in 1762. The Congregational church in this town was formed in 1764, and the Rev. Benjamin Mills was ordained pastor the same year. He resigned in 1774, and died in 1785. Rev. Joseph Kilbourn was settled in 1780, and died within one year; his successor was Rev. Timothy Allen, who was settled in 1785, and continued pastor about ten years. Rev. Isaiah Waters was settled in 1796, and was pastor till 1831; his successor was Rev. Israel G. Rose.
This town is watered by the north branch of Westfield river. The channel of this river in the western part of the town may be regarded as a curiosity. "It is worn into the solid rock in places nearly thirty feet in depth, and may be traced from the bridge nearly sixty rods, appearing as if cut out by human hands." This town is situated on one of the eastern ridges of the Green moun- tains. Beryl and emeralds have been found in the town. In 1837, there was in the town one woollen mill; cloth manufactured, 4,500 yards, valued at $5,600. There were 1,000 Saxony, 5,000 merino, and 1,100 other kinds of sheep; Saxony wool produced, 2,500 lbs. ; merino, 15,000 lbs. ; other kinds of wool, 3,300 lbs. ; average weight of fleece, two and three fourths pounds; value of wool, $12,480 ; capital invested, $106,500. Population, 1,158. Distance, 12 miles from Northampton, 27 from Pittsfield, and 105 from Boston.
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CUMMINGTON.
CUMMINGTON.
THIS town was sold by the general court to Col. John Cum- mings, of Concord, in 1762. The first meeting of the proprietors was held at Concord, in December, of the same year, and the first meeting held at Cummington was in June, 1771. The first per- son who resided within the present limits of the town was a Scotchman, by the name of McIntire, who, with his family, began a settlement here in 1770. Many of the early settlers came from Bridgewater and Abington. The town was incorpo- rated by the legislature in 1779.
The precise time when the church was gathered here was not known, though previously to the settlement of their first pastor, Rev. James Briggs, which was in 1779. He was a graduate of Yale college, in 1755, and he began to preach in Cummington in 1771. The town voted to give him 200 acres of good land, and £60 for settlement, to be estimated by rye, at 3s. 4d. per bushel, beef, 2d. a lb., and flax, 8d. a lb. Mr. Briggs was a very useful and respectable minister. He died in 1825; and the same year Rev. Roswell Hawkes was installed.
Cummington is situated on a range of the Green mountains. A branch of the Westfield passes through the town, and affords good water power for mills and manufactories. There are two villages, the East and the West. The east village contains two churches, 1 Baptist and 1 Congregational, and about 30 dwelling-houses; about 18 miles from Northampton. In 1837, there were in this town 2 cotton mills ; cotton spindles, 1,168; cot- ton consumed, 23,000 lbs .; 124,000 yards of cotton goods were manufactured, valued at $8,060. There were 4 woollen mills ; wool consumed, 18,000 lbs .; 74,000 yards of satinet were manu- factured, valued at $31,000; eleven males and twenty females were employed; capital invested, $14,000. Twenty thousand scythe-snaiths were manufactured, valued at $12,000. Palm-leaf hats manufactured, 7,200, valued at $1,500; value of leather tanned and curried, $45,445 93. There were 4,162 merino sheep, which produced 12,486 lbs. of wool, valued at $7,491 60.
It is stated that at the first settlement of the town deer were very plenty, and that a large number of them made their head- quarters on Deer hill, in this town ; but that they were extirpated by the hunters of those times. "It is stated that a large one was taken by some hunters, at a time when the snow in the woods would not bear him up, and one of the party, taking a fancy to ride him, he was tied on by the feet, and a bridle being put into the animal's mouth, he galloped off with his rider in full speed. On coming, however, to a cleared spot, the crust was so hard as to bear up both the deer and his rider; so that, owing to the intracta- ble disposition of the beast, and the rapidity and eccentricity of his movements, his ride was any thing but agreeable. It is said that he was dismounted without any serious hurt."
William Cullen Bryant, one of our best American poets, is a
1
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EASTHAMPTON.
native of this town. He is the son of Dr. Peter Bryant, and was born Nov. 3d, 1794. The following notice of Mr. Bryant is from Kettell's Specimens of American Poetry, vol. 3d.
At ten years, he felt an inclination for poetry, and wrote various pieces in verse, one of which was published in the Hampshire Gazette, at Northampton. In 1810, he entered Williams college, where he studied a year or two, and obtained a dismissal on his own application : he turned his attention to the law. After completing the usual studies, he was admitted to the bar at Plymouth, in 1815. He removed to New York in 1820, and was one of the editors of the United States Review and Literary Gazette. In 1828, he became associate editor of the New York Evening Post.
Mr. Bryant published, in 1808, at Boston, a volume of poems, with the title of " The Embargo, or Sketches of the Times." Although the author was but fourteen years of age, the book was so well received, that it was reprinted the next year. In 1821, appeared the volume containing The Ages, Thanatopsis, and other pieces. He also furnished many of the poetical articles in the United States Literary Gazette.
As a poet, he is entitled to rank with the most eminent among us for originality, and finished, chaste execution. He does not offend us by abruptness and inequality. He presents us with here and there a bold image, but the tenor of his poetry is even and sustained. He shows good judgment, and a careful study of the materials of his verse. He does not aim with an over-daring attempt at those lofty and bewildering flights, which too often fill the poet's pages with cloudy and confused representations. His delineations are clear and distinct, and without any indications of an endeavor to be startling and brilliant by strange metaphors, or unlicensed boldness of phraseology. His writings are marked by correct sentiment and propriety of diction.'
Mr. Bryant stands high in the general estimation, and his works have been the sub- ject of frequent notice. The pages of our periodical criticism show the manner in which he is appreciated by the highest literary authorities.
EASTHAMPTON.
THIS town was originally included in the limits of Northampton. It was incorporated into a district in 1785, by the name of East Hampton, and in 1809 was incorporated into a town. The first minister, Rev. Payson Williston, was settled here in 1789, and resigned in 1833, and was succeeded the same year by Rev. William Bement. In 1837, there was in this town 1 woollen mill; cloth manufactured, 15,000 yards, valued at $14,000. The value of lasting buttons manufactured in 1837 was $40,000 ; males em- ployed, 2; females, 125 ; capital invested, $12,000. Population, 793. Distance, 5 miles from Northampton, and 90 from Boston. On the borders of this town lies Mount Tom, the highest land in the valley of Connecticut, and is the head of a ridge of mountains, to which it gives the name of Mount Tom range, and which ex- tends into the state of Connecticut, on the west bank of the river. . The first settlement in this town was at the foot of Mount Tom, at a place called Paskhomuck; this was about the year 1700. The following account of the attack of the Indians upon the settlement is from Williams' Historical Discourse respecting Northampton. "On the 13th of May, 1704, old style, the Indians attacked the village of Paskhomuck. The inhabitants had been settled there only two or three years, the town having granted them their home lots in 1699. The Indians had been to Merrimac .
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