USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Leyden > History of Leyden, Massachusetts, 1676-1959 > Part 12
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HISTORY OF LEYDEN
in Leyden, a doctor would starve to death there if he did not have at least one other trade!
1871 - The Beers Map: During the post-war years, follow- ing the purchase of Alaska and the opening of the trans- continental railway, the population of most hill towns in New England continued on a downward trend. Leyden was no ex- ception. By 1871 the population was less than half that of 1800. The John Beers map, reproduced here speaks for itself. One may note some changes of residents on the old homesites, but most of them are the same as in the 1858 Wallings census. Perhaps the chief change during the 1860's was the complete shifting of the town center from the west to the east.
A unique feature of the Beers map is the location of Ley- den's "Cheese Factory." About the year 1870, so the story goes, a group of Leyden citizens organized a company to operate the town's only known factory. Similar factories had been opened in nearby towns. The movement was popular at first as it gave farmers an opportunity to deliver milk to a central location and sell it at a good price.
Shares at $100. each were offered by the cheese factory organization; a building was quickly erected and men were hired to process the cheese. Due to outside competition, how- ever, the factory did not flourish, and after two years of opera- tion, Leyden's lone factory was converted into a tenement, with a blacksmith shop downstairs and a select school for ladies upstairs!
The Greenfield Aqueduct Company: New on the Leyden map of 1871 is the "Greenfield Aqueduct Company" shown at the head of Glen Brook. Here a high dam had been constructed at a point where the brook had worn a passage through the rocks 15 feet in width and 30 to 50 feet in depth. The sparkling pure water, thus captured, supplied the nearby town of Green- field.
Tragedy and comedy are associated with the well-known Leyden Glen, described by historians as a wildly romantic spot and a delightful retreat for tourists before the incursions of the aqueduct company.
As far back as 1757, Indians on the lookout for white captives, espied from Leyden Glen a party of workers in the Greenfield Meadows below. Creeping up on the unsuspecting colonists, the red men suddenly swooped down on the unarmed workers, killed several of them and captured among others, one
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Daniel Graves. Because he was lame and would have been an incumbrance on the long trek to Canada, he was despatched at the foot of Leyden Glen. Nearly one hundred years later, Benjamin Bullock, Leyden mill owner, was instantly killed in the wheel pit of the Glen Mill.
Before the days of aqueducts and bridges at the Glen, it was a popular Sunday afternoon rendezvous for adventurous boys and girls. At the brook crossing, the boys made basket chairs on which they carried their lady friends. Before making the crossing, it was arranged which boy would collect the "toll." Sometimes, in mid stream, a particularly pretty miss would be lowered gently toward the foaming cold water until "toll" was collected by both carriers.
The first pure water from Leyden Glen reached Greenfield's streets in October, 1870. Previous to this, Greenfield had de- pended on springs and ponds for its water. Some of this was conducted to the houses in wooden logs of three inch bore.
According to Judge Thompson of Greenfield, the dam at the head of Leyden Glen - a solid structure of stone laid in con- crete - was 35 feet high and 130 feet in length. The cost of the dam and the four and three quarter mile conduit of 8-inch cast iron pipe, was $70,000. It was completed on October 21, 1870. Major William Keith of Greenfield was credited with the idea of bringing the Leyden water to Greenfield. "It was as im- portant a move as ever was made to forward the prosperity of Greenfield," one business man proclaimed.
By the year 1905, a second reservoir was constructed above the first. It held 44 million gallons. To complete this dam an excavation 42 feet below the water level was necessary to reach bed rock. The two dams were connected by a 30 inch cast iron pipe and had a capacity of 66 million gallons. In dry times, water was pumped from Green River by means of a loco- motive type engine. During peak loads, Leyden Glen furnished Greenfield with 800,000 gallons of water daily.
The Greenfield water commissioner reports the quality of Leyden water as excellent. It is of moderate hardness, colorless, and contains no objectionable amounts of iron. In 1937-38, a modern filtration plant was built in southeast Leyden. It was designed to eliminate turbidity, and through aeration, filtered out ammonia, and possible objectionable gases. The Glen water is also chlorinated at this plant to eliminate harmful bacteria, if any.
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Rounding out the 1871 picture when Ulysses S. Grant was President, we find that despite difficult times, Leyden con- tinued to maintain its identity. Numbers of stock raisers, fruit growers, dairymen and mechanics were well in evidence. At this time, Simon Keet, a thriving miller, advertised himself as "a dealer in grain, lumber, lath and broom handles." U. T. Darling, storekeeper, was listed as a dealer in dry goods, groceries, nails, flour, shoes and crockery.
Drifting along to the year 1884 when the telephone, electric light and phonograph were appearing, or were about to appear on the city scene, we find Leyden not only building a brand new Town Hall, but stepping out with a "modern invention" of its own in the form of a miniature public water supply system. It was fed from no other source than historic Brandy Brook spring!
M. Dayton Miner and Milton. M. Mowry, two of Leyden's leading citizens, initiated this spirited venture by laying a mile or so of quarter inch lead pipe from the bubbling source to a dozen or so eager outlets. These included the Parsonage, the Academy, Village Store and the homes of Cyrus Miner, Milton Mowry, Patrick Johnson, Dayton Miner and the home of the aged daughter-in-law of that colorful character, William Dorril. The main line of this water system ran from the spring into the cellar of the Miner homestead where all the outlets to "cus- tomers'" homes were controlled. The modest charge for the water from Brandy Brook spring was only $5.00 per annum in 1871, but today the seven or eight families still on the line pay over double the original fee.
There is an old legend, told by the late John H. Newcomb, which explains the origin of the name, Brandy Brook. It seems there was once a distillery at the foot of the hill below Brandy Brook spring. One day a man named Dave Peck, when going up the road from the still with a large barrel of brandy, lost his load on a steep pitch. In fact, the barrel rolled into the nearby brook, and with a loud explosion, mixed its contents with the bubbling water. A Yankee rhyme, commemorating this incident runs:
Hoop blew up And Barrel bust: Dave went home In a Thunder gust!
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HISTORY OF LEYDEN
The Years 1886-1895: On June 10, 1886, the southeast corner of Leyden, containing over 200 acres, was signed over to the town of Bernardston. This move was beneficial to both towns concerned: It relieved Leyden of road maintenance in a difficult area and gave Bernardston the rich, historic strip of land which originally belonged to the early Hessian settlers.
In 1888, the year of the great blizzard, tales of huge snow drifts, twenty feet high, were common in Leyden. John Herron, who lived on the old Asahel Newton place on Hunt Hill, was marooned for nearly a day on East Hill before he was able to battle his way homeward. It's told that another Leyden resident had to climb in the upper ventilating window of his barn "to get to milking."
Rolling on into the "Gay Ninety" period, we find Leyden quietly going her way - celebrating with neighboring towns the centennial of George Washington's inaugural, and taking note of the country's progress since that inaugural. It was a time of peace and plenty, and though the Leyden population did not multiply, descendants of the Pilgrim stock were still much in evidence.
The Leyden Town Report of 1892 reveals that such pioneer families as Newcomb, Frizzell, Severance, Budington, Denison, Davenport, Miner, Mowry and Dorril made up the greater part of Leyden's population at this time. There were three families of Scotch-Irish stock listed. These were: Black, Strange and Herron - attracted to Leyden no doubt by the similarity of ter- rain which was much like that of Northern Ireland and Scotland from whence they came. No immigrants from continental Europe, other than the Hessian contingent, had yet appeared in Leyden.
The 1892 report also reveals that Leyden had at this time only two mills on Keet's Brook. In West Leyden, the grist and saw mills had been replaced by the Lynde Brothers Box Shop where a flourishing business in wooden boxes was carried on until the advent of the cardboard container.
As an example of an average Leyden farm in 1892, we list the complete taxed holdings of George H. Denison. These were: 2 oxen, $100; 2 horses, $150; 4 cows, $120; 5 farrow cattle, $100; 2 two-year olds, $40; 3 yearlings, $45; 1 house, $350; 2 barns, $442; 1 Sugar House, $23; mowing, 30 a, $600; tillage, 5 a, $137; pasture, 70 a, $600; wood, 20a, $486; unimproved land, 50 a, $100. Total value $3293. Total Tax, $55.35!
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Greate Concerte !
Ye Old Folkes of Leyden invite all ye lovers of good musick to meet at ye
TOWNE HALL in said TOWNE OF LEYDEN ON YE
2IST DAY OF FEBRUARY
Anno Domini 1894, at 30 minutes past seven in ye afternoon,
To listen to a Concerte of Sacred and Worldly Musick, to be given by ye
Greate Choir, consisting of Treble Counter, Tenor and Bass Singers. Also solos by Dame Clark of New York City, Mistress Severance and Good menne Gates, Campbell and others.
After ye Concerte ye Good menne will escort their Dames and the young menne will invite ye maidens of their choice to Partake of Supper in ye Dining Hall below, consisting of old fashioned viands served on dishes of ye olden time.
One English Shilling will admit One Person to ye Concerte and two York Shillings will be ye fee for ye Supper.
Ye young menne will be at hand to care for ye beasts and chaises free of charge.
From Stetson's Printing House in ye Settlement of Greenfield.
"Gay Nineties" Concert Poster
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HISTORY OF LEYDEN
Other interesting features of the 1892 report reveal that Leyden widows were allowed a $500 exemption from assessed tax valuations. Instead of one "road man" as as present, there were 14 highway districts in 1892, and each district had a separate supervisor!
It was during the 1890 period that a number of outstanding Leyden citizens were coming of age. These residents, each of whom will be included in the genealogical section farther on in this book, were: Miss Ellen Brown, niece of H. K. Brown, later to become prominent in the nursing profession; Robert Allyn Bud- ington, a future zoologist of note; Charles M. Davenport, future trustee of Williams College, and Frank B. Carpenter, later to be- come known as "the dean of Richmond, Virginia, chemists." These and other prominent citizens, including the historian and musician, Chester W. Severance, made up Leyden's "1890" nota- bles.
Typical of the kind of entertainment popular in the 1890's, the "Great Concerte" poster reproduced here reflects the humor and gaiety of the times.
The Year 1895 - Leyden's Rocks Studied: Though Edward Hitchcock, the pioneer geologist of this area, had made a survey of the overall rock structure in Leyden as early as 1850, it was not till 1895 that President Emerson of Amherst College made a systematic study of the Leyden rocks.
The history of any town, actually should begin with its rocks, because nine tenths of our history is "written" in the stones which lie underfoot. Since this would involve much technical ex- planation, we will limit the rock story to the following brief ana- lysis from the Hitchcock and Emerson surveys.
Within the borders of Leyden and near its boundaries are three distinct types of underlying rocks, formed during wide- spread intervals of prehistoric time. On the eastern borders of the town is a small outcrop known as Devonian strata formed in the Devonian Sea many millions of years ago. Here is found the magnetite iron ore mined during the Revolution. West of this area, in Eastern Leyden, there is an older type of rock of Silurian age. This is known as Leyden Argillite and was named for the - town because of the abundance of this soft, slaty stone in east Leyden. Farther west, there is a division of the Silurian-age rock, It becomes harder, contains bright mica garnets and outcrops of a brownish limestone. This is known as Conway Schist.
Other interesting Leyden rock features, to be fully described
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HISTORY OF LEYDEN
in the nature section, include: 325-million-year-old fossils of coral and crinoid stems; an outcrop of copper and gold; a curious tip- tipping rock; Meetinghouse Rock; and "Sweetheart's Chair."
The Years 1897-1899: The first telephones in Leyden were in- stalled about 1897. The pioneer line, known as the Nelson Tele- phone Line, came in from the east, with wires strung on trees along the Keet Brook Road. The route covered Beaver Meadow, Frizzell Hill and the valley east of the Center. In open country, chestnut poles were furnished by residents using the service. Among the subscribers on the Nelson Line were: Simon Keet, Horace Newton, Fayette Potter, Messrs. Longwell and Mcintyre, Alfred and Wiliam Black, Herbert Frizzell, Leon Severance, Will Barber, Stephen Budington, Albert Wright and Frank Foster.
This line covered the eastern and east-central parts of town. Charges were $1 to $1.50 per month. Bills were collected in per- son by Mrs. Nelson who set out each pay day in horse and buggy, taking no chances on mail collections!
From the west, a second telephone circuit entered Leyden via Heath and Colrain where a "magneto exchange" had been opened as early as 1884. There were sixty parties on the Heath Line near the turn of the Century. Rates were $1. a month. Both the West Leyden and East Leyden telephone circuits were com- pletely controlled by the New England Telephone & Telegraph Company by 1932. It is interesting to note, that while it took only 15 or 20 years for the telephone to reach the Leyden hills, it was fifty years after their invention before electric lights brightened the Leyden homesteads.
Leyden in the Spanish-American War: As a result of that memorable February 15, 1898 when the Battleship Maine was blown sky-high in Havana Harbor, we have the following record from the Adjutant General's Office in Boston: "Fred Severance of Leyden, enlisted Worcester, October 12, 1899, Company I, 43rd Regiment, U. S. Volunteer Infantry. Discharged March 2, 1901, at Manila, Philippine Islands, with the rank of Corporal." Though other Leyden enlistees doubtless joined in the fight, the aggregate representation, like that of other New England hill towns, was not large, due to the unpopularity of the conflict.
Leyden at the Turn of the Century-1900: At this happy period in the country's history as the bells of the 19th Century rang in the 20th Century, and the tunes of "Sweet Rosy O'Grady" and "Bicycle Built for Two" tinkled from every parlor piano, Leyden is described in glowing terms in a special metropolitan
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HISTORY OF LEYDEN
news article. The "Mayflower" town is pictured as a beautiful village in the hills "where good health, pure water, clean air and plain, wholesome food abound; where there are no doctors because there is little sickness; where there are no hotels or liquor stores; where one may live comfortably on $300 a year!"
The article goes on to point out that though there are few luxuries in Leyden and homes are lighted by kerosene lamps, telephones "have recently been installed," and while the nearest railroad is ten miles distant, two R. F. D. deliveries serve the town. "There are no manufacturings in Leyden," the writer adds, "but one man is said to be worth $700,000, nearly all in gilt edge."
"The women tend flower gardens in the summer and have flower pots in the winter," the writer continues. "The town pastor officiates at the little white church for the modest sum of $500. annually."
The article concludes: Many of the people of these hills are modest philosophers. They see something more than the everlasting bread and butter problem. They are quaint of speech and plainly garbed, but the milk of human kindness of these Pilgrim descendants is in them to a marked degree. Let trouble come and how gentle is the sympathy, not alone in words, but in deeds. "Live plainly," they say. "Be contented have plenty of sleep; work regularly, but with moderation; think and read and remember there are but few essentials; have innocent pleasures; avoid excitement; worship God, and be kind."
Early in the new century, the first residents from Continental Europe began to settle in Leyden. Czechoslovakia was represent- ed by Stephen Muka; Poland, by Andrew Koshinsky; Germany, by John Glabach and Conrad Croutworst.
The Year 1906: It was at this time that the old water wheels on Keet's Brook made their final turns. Simon Keet had passed away, and with his passing, the stone grain grinding mill, the saw mill, and the turning mill became silent. These were the last of Leyden's mills. In fact, at this time, many small New England mills were closing down because of competition from large ur- ban concerns.
As Leyden's Centennial approached, the townsmen began as early as 1906 to prepare for the great event, and in August of that year dedicated a new church bell which had been erect-
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HISTORY OF LEYDEN
ed in the belfry of the Methodist Meeting House. People came from all directions to participate in the celebration.
"At 12 noon," the story goes, "the bell was rung to announce dinner, and after the physical man had been fed, the bell was rung again to call the people together for mental and spiritual nourishment." The bell was to be used, the donors stipulated, "without regard to sect or denomination."
The dedication of this bell in Leyden, U. S. A. reminds us of the story of the first bells installed in the Pilgrim sanctuary of Lei- den, Holland. It is said that the Leiden bells rang with a high, sweet note as the English Pilgrims entered Leiden; and there- after, whenever God's pattern was being worked out.
1909-The Leyden Centennial: On August 15th of this year, the Franklin Gazette, leading weekly of the area, carried a five- column spread covering Leyden's Centennial celebrations. Typ- ical of such occasions in New England's hill towns, people flocked from hither and yon to participate in the festivities. "It was a rare midsummer day," one enthusiastic newsman re- ported, "with the purest of breezes blowing over the hills. It brought 500 persons to observe an extremely interesting cele- bration. At 10 o'clock, a parade that was unique if not expensive proceeded from the Town Common to the village store and from there to Miner's Grove behind the church where the exercises were held."
At the head of the procession rode the Reverend E. G. Hoop- er and Frank R. Foster mounted on white horses. Following came the colorful Pocumtuck Band from old Deerfield. The town fathers, E. P. Howes, F. A. Wilder and S. B. Budington came next with Chester W. Severance, choir leader, in their wake. The old- est citizen, C. C. Severance, then 97 years of age, followed in a carriage; the youngest citizens represented by two baby girls were wheeled in a 100-year-old perambulator. Nine veterans of the Civil War marched in the line which was complimented by three horse women in costume and three horsemen: Thurman Keet, Guy Severance and Harry Larabee.
In his Centennial address, Chester W. Severance reviewed the early days of Leyden. He said that Leyden's first pastor, the Elder Joseph Green, came from Rhode Island in 1775 and settled on the Old County Road south of the H. K. Brown birthplace. Severance reviewed Leyden's early postal history and the his- tory of the taverns. He revealed that Leyden had produced 11 preachers, 4 lawyers, 12 doctors and given 32 soldiers in the Civil
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HISTORY OF LEYDEN
War, seven of whom never returned. He told of a terrible tornado which swept over the Leyden Hills, leveling barns and carrying small buildings over hill and dale; and of the nine bridges over Green River which were swept down current in the "great fresh- et." Unique places of note in Leyden he listed as Daniel's Peak, Jacob's Well, the great Rolling Stone, Meeting House Rock and Rattlesnake's Den.
On August 22, 1909, the Boston Sunday Post ran a feature story covering eight, 4 generation families of Leyden. The lead of this article read: "Bay State Town Lays Claim to Discovery of the Secret of Longevity." The Combined Ages of 32 persons rep- resenting differeni generations in each family reached the stu- pendous figure of 1415 years! The article went on to reveal that several Leyden citizens were near the century mark, and that Leyden had the youngest great-grandmother in New England- a lady only 67 years of age. The writer claimed that Leydenites lived at least 20 years longer than "ordinary people."
The eight, 4-generation families listed in the Post were (1) Mrs. B. C. Baker; her daughter, Mrs. Budington; her daughter, Mrs. Baines-Griffith; her daughter, Ruth. (2) Ezra Wright 87; Al- bert L. Wright; Fred Wright, and daughter, Dorothy. (3) Mrs. N. J. Vining; her daughter; her granddaughter, Gratia (Mrs. W. A. Campbell); and her great-grandson, Harold Vining Campbell. (4) Headed by Cephas Severance, aged 97. (5) Headed by Mrs. G. A. Howe, aged 85. (6) Headed by Mrs. Laura Park, aged 73. (7) Headed by Mrs. Elizabeth Strange, aged 80. The 8th four generation family included great-grandmother Mrs. A. J. Frary, aged 67; Henriette Park, aged 52; Mrs. Houghton, 36, and her daughter, aged 15. At one time Mrs. Frary was a great-great- grandmother.
During the Leyden Centennial, a canvass of the older resi- dents was made. It was found over half the villagers had been born and brought up in town; that a score were over 70; 15 were over 80; and nine others were within ten years of the century mark. In years past, one man had reached the ripe old age of 115!
Many genealogical puzzles resulted from the interrelation- ships of the eight 4-generation families which made up a large part of the town's population in 1909. Mrs. Laura Park, for in- stance, while the mother of one family, was also the mother of the husband of the grandmother of another family!
The Centennial which attracted visitors from as far away
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==
Robertson Memorial Library - Edith M. Howes, Librarian
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HISTORY OF LEYDEN
as Chicago, wound up with a stirring verse by the village poet, Henry A. Budington, and a rousing "Stars and Stripes Forever" by the brass band. Though not officially mentioned in the records, it is more than likely that Will Barber and Edward Howes, first Leyden owners of automobiles, proudly demon- strated the speed of their vehicles by racing past the awed spectators at the dizzy rate of 25 miles an hour!
The Year 1910: Mr. Frank Tilden, at one time a Rocky Moun- tain prospector, moved to West Leyden early in the 20th Century and built himself a log cabin in one of the wildest sections of the town. In 1910, while roaming the woods west of his home, he located a rich mineral vein in ledge outcrop.
The late Bert Whitney of West Leyden recounted that he worked with Tilden opening this mine and that samples of the ore contained a high percentage of copper. Due to the in- accessibility of the strike, however, no extensive operations were carried out by Tilden.
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