USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Hawley > History of the town of Hawley, Franklin County, Massachusetts, 1771-1951, with genealogies > Part 7
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School No. 3, summer term taught by Mary B. Scott, had 14 pupils. Not ab. or t. : Georgianna Braman, Carrie I. Doane, Nellie E. Holden, Minnie B. Holden Willie Doane, Delia S. Doane. Fall term, taught by Julia P. Leonard of Bernardston, had 25 pupils. Not ab. or t. : Carrie Doane, Delia Doané, Henry Warriner, Freddie W. Doane, Willie Doane.
School No. 4, summer term taught by Alice A. Nims of Shelburne, had 27 pupils. Not ab. or t. : Walter Clark, Wilbur Scott. Fall term taught by Edwin C. Ward of Buckland, had 28 pupils. Not ab. or t. : Bertha A. Eldridge, Kate A. Eldridge, Herbert Clark, Walter Clark, Wilbur Scott.
School No. 5, both terms taught by Carrie B. Holden, had 11 pupils in the summer, 16 in the fall. Not ab. or t. : Russell Hunt. George Hunt.
School No. 6, summer term taught by Jennie M. Clark of Buckland had 15 pupils, fall term taught by Alice B. Rice of Charlemont, had 17 pupils. Not ab. or t. : Minnie Hunt and Jennie Hunt.
School No. 7, Summer term taught by Mrs. H. S. Barton, had 28 pupils. Not ab. or t. : Etta Fuller, Clarence Fuller. Fall term taught by Florence E. Taylor, had 26 pupils, not ab. or t. : Ida Brackett.
School No. 8, summer term taught by Leila A. Hawks of Charlemont, had 4 pupils. Not ab. or t. : Addie L. Dodge. Fall term, taught by Mary B. Scott, had-5 pupils. Not ab. or t. : Clara Taylor and Addie Dodge.
During this year Mrs. H. S. Barton was Supt. of Schools and the School
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Committee consisted of: Charles Crittenden, Mrs. H. S. Barton and J. W. Doane.
In the school year 1880-1881 there were 148 pupils attending the schools. The amount expended for teachers' wages, board and fuel was $922. 29. In 1950 there were 33 pupils attending schools. There were two schools in session, East and Pudding Hollow. The teachers at East School were: Harriet Smith, salary $712. 50. Hazel Richmond, $450. 00. Grace Ray- mond, $24.00 Leo Vigneault, $512.00. Jessie B. Hosley, $301.00. Teacher of Pudding Hollow school was Phyllis Volland, salary $1938. 00. Supt. of Schools was Thomas L. Warren, salary and travel expenses amounted to $764. 47. School Committee consisted of: Helen M. Stiles, Gertrude L. Ogden.
The Dodge Corner school house have been in three locations, The first was located 1/2 mile north from the Parriseault or Gifford Farm on the road to the Shawfarm. The second stood 14 mile down the hill on the left -hand side of the road to the Clinton Hawkes farm. The thira was on the road from the Shaw farm to the Dodge farm.
In 1883 a new school house was built in Bozrah, costing $521. 84.
In 1930 there were 5 schools in session, in 1934, 4 schools, and in 1939, 3 schools. With an enrollment of 50 children: in 1950 there were 2 schools, with an entire enrollment of 33 pupils.
A complete record of the school from. 1877 to 1951 is in the possession of Mrs. Herbert A. Holden. This record includes teachers, school com- nittees, annual expenditures, records of the buildings, and much addi- tional information. The author regrets that limited space prevents the inclusion of these records in their entirety in this History.
HIGHWAYS
The following is taken from Atkins' History of Hawley:
"Highways were early deemed a necessity, and it is evident that roads were in operation before the incorporation of the town, as a vote passed that spring appropriated L100 to repair highways. (May 7, 1792. ) The ap- propriations for roads and bridges have uniformly been in excell of those made for any other matter. The first settlers located their roads over the rugged hills, tradition saying that they considered the hills less in- cumbered by muddy roads than the valleys, also that they wanted to be in a position to see the smoke from each others' houses. But as the valleys became more settled and the surrounding to wns made through travel more of a necessity, more feasible routes were utilized.
"The transactions of the town furnish copious records relative to high- ways, many transcripts having been made during its entire history, and many old roads have been discontinued and superseded by new ones.
"The old 'Potash Hill' road was originally the main avenue from Pud-
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ding Hollow, West Hill, and Forge Hollow, for all their church-going, town and mercantile business; and that steepest of all highways is dis- continued, and there is a new road from the town house to the Theophilus Crosby place. Formerly the road from Forge Hollow to Pudding Hollow was over Forge Hill, but for many years a road down the valley of Chick- ley's river, although a greater distance, has been a more feasible route . A portion of the road from the town farm to Savoy line has recently been discontinued, and one built of a much easier grade.
"Many similar changes have from time to time been made, as changes in business interests demanded. In some cases these changes have left once prosperous homesteads isolated from travel, and many have been deserted in consequence. In 1795 L200 were appropriated for roads, and later for a score of years the appropriation was $1200.00.
"The highway districts have highway surveyors chosen annually, hav- ing charge of their respective localities, the tax-payers usually 'working out' their tax, the price allowed per hour being stipulated by the select- men. The road on the banks of Chickley's river has often suffered by destructive floods. Oct. 4, 1869 all the bridges on the stream were car- ried away, also several wash-outs.
"May 6, 1799 the town voted to accept a road from Camp rock to Savoy line. This started near the Theophilus Crosby place and probably is an old road running by the Graves place, the Thomas King, afterward the Ezra King place, the John Hadlock place, the Elijah Marsh place, the Warriner King place, now the town farm, the Jonathan Fuller place to the Daniel Rice place, on the Savoy line. This road was about three miles long, and a portion of the middle of its route has long been discon- tinuèd. "
Today the town has good roads, each year a strip of state road being added to the main thoroughfares. In the Town Report for 1950, $265. 00 was appropriated for general maintenance of highways, maintained by the town alone. The majority of the roads today are State roads, the State paying a portion of the expense of building and maintenance.
The town has no railroad, but is afforded sufficient shipping facilities at Charlemont.
At the first town meeting, in 1792, Oliver Edgarton, George Eddy, Amos King, Ebenezer Burroughs, Arthur Hitchcock, Josiah Willard, David Parker, A. Rogers and John Taylor were appointed surveyors of roads.
The following was copied from the History of Ashfield:
'The Crossway' road beyond the Sullivan Place was then a very wet and swampy ravine, and the whole distance through it had to be built of logs laid crosswise and covered with brush and earth. The job of building was let to Ezra Williams in 1826. He was a famous road builder and a man of pluck and energy. Uncle Ezra hired a gang of men at $8. 00 per month,
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had a small movable house in which to board and lodge his help, and put his road throughon time. The road was considered so great an improve- ment that the stage route from Boston to Albany which previously ran through Spruce Corner was changed to this road, passing Uncle Ezra's tavern in the northwest part of the town, and through Hawley.
POST OFFICES
In 1825 there was a mail route from Greenfield through Shelburne, Buckland, Hawley, Ashfield, Conway, Deerfield, and back to Greenfield. There have been three Post Offices in town, two of which have been dis- continued. The West Hawley Post Office is still in operation. The Post Office at Hawley was continuously conducted by the Longley family, repre- senting four generations, covering a period of about 80 years. Edwin Scott was a member of the family by marriage.
The first mail was a weekly mail between Hawley and Northampton, including mail service to several intervening towns. Later, a tri-weekly mail route included Plainfield, Hawley and Shelburne Falls. Among the carriers were William J. Shattuck, William M. Cleveland and J. F. Gurney. In 1887, a daily mail connected with the railroad at Charlemont, carriedby H. S. Packard. The first mails at West Hawley were received semi-weekly from Charlemont, the people sometimes taking turns in carrying it, the receipts not paying'expenses to the Gov. Dept. In 1887 a tri-weekly mail through Hawley from Charlemont to Adams was carried. It was a common practice for carriers to receive and distribute mail matter to families on their route, for which a stipulated sum was paid by the parties annually.
Following is a record of Postmasters. The date of appointment of the first Postmaster in each location is the date of the establishment of that Office.
Hawley
Joshua Longley, appointed Dec. 29, 1817.
William F. Longley, Mar. 3, 1838.
Calvin S. Longley, July 1, 1841.
Eliza Longley, - April 22, 1858.
Edwin Scott, Sept. 25,1862. - Feb. 20,1897.
Florence (Scott) Bissell, his dau., 1897-1903.
W.O. Parmenter - app. Oct. 1, 1903.
J.R. Smith - 1904.
Morris Brown - 1910.
Herbert A. Holden Feb. 1,1911. P.O. was
maved to his house across the street from the site of first post office.
Post Office discontinued Nov. 30, 1930.
South Hawley.
Noah Joy appointed May 26, 1832.
Nelson Joy June 29, 1853.
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF HAWLEY
Levi Holden Jr.
Mar. 31, 1854.
Matthew E. Hyde
May 27, 1857.
Henry Clark
April 9, 1860.
Discontinued Jan. 15, 1866. West Hawley.
Theodore S. Allen app. Oct. 7,1850.
Henry Howes =
May 13, 1852.
Elson B. Legate
April 27, 1854.
Stephen K. Hitchcock "
Sept. 11,1854.
Aaron G. Ayres
July 2, 1867.
Mark H. Vincent
May 22, 1868
Willis Vincent
Apr. 11,1878.
Ambrose K. Sears
Jan. 17, 1882.
(In an old cash book it seems that Joshua King must have been the next Postmaster and the Office was moved up where Mr. F. Deane Carter now lives. )
Joshua King 1887-1894.
Bertha I. Maynard 1894-1897.
Henry A. White
1897-1902
Clarence C. Fuller
1902-1906.
Francis D. Carter
1906-1925.
Bertha I. Maynard
1925-1941. P.O. moved to home of Mrs. Bertha Maynard, Jan. 19,1925.
Iva. L. Maynard 1941-
P.O. moved (to present) location, home of Mrs. Iva Maynard, Aug. 1, 1941.
The following item of interest has been copied from the History of Ash- field: "A private weekly post, to carry papers between Northampton and Hawley via Ashfield and Charlemont, was established in 1789. The first post-rider was Andrew Wood of Hawley, from 1789 to 1791.
"The stage on the mail and passenger line from Boston to Albany started from Greenfield at 3:00 A. M., reaching Ashfield via Conway be- tween five and six in the morning. It was a lively scene when in the early dawn, with the bugles blasts, the four-horse coach rolled into the street from the East with its eight or ten passengers, pulled up at the hotel to change horses, while Esq. Cook hurried to change the mail. Then on through Spruce Corner and Plainfield (later via "Uncle Ezra's and Joy's taverns in Hawley) to Bowker's in Savoy, to Adams. and on to Albany, where they arrived the next morning at three. "
Newspapers -- From 1830 to about 1835 many people did not take a paper. Many who did, took with a neighbor. Four men took together once, read it in rotation, the last man being permitted to retain the paper, to pay him for waiting.
About 1805 the mail was carried on horseback in a saddle-bag, from Greenfield through Shelburne, Buckland, Charlemont, Hawley, Ashfield
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF HAWLEY
and Conway. Later a horse and wagon were used to deliver the Greenfield paper. Warning was given of the approach of the mail by blowing a horn.
MEDICAL RECORDS
Four physicians have resided in Hawley, Drs. Moses Smith, Forbes, George Hill and Charles Knowlton. There has been no physician located here in recent years. Dr. Charles Knowlton was b. in 1800 at Templeton, Mass. , married in 1821 and graduated at Hanover Medical College in 1824. He began practice in Hawley at "Poverty Square" and moved to Ashfield in the early '30s. He was a 'free thinker' and was outspoken against the theology of the day. He is said to have had the following lines printed on his medicine case:
"God and the doctor alike we adore, Just on the brink of danger, not before, The danger past, both alike aquitted, God is forgotten, the doctor slighted."
Dr. George R. Fessenden, who resided in Ashfield, for many years prior to his death, was the family doctor of many Hawley families. It is reported that he went into twelve towns occasionally and eight of these he covered regularly. In those times children were born in the home. In the 45 years of his practice there, Dr. Fessenden never lost an obstetric case, it is reported.
Dr. Charles L. Knowlton, Son of Dr. Charles Knowlton, was a prac- ticing physician at Northampton.
It has been recorded that when Hawley was first settled, Zebedee Wood and his wife Esther were the only doctor and nurse in town for several years.
After 1800 a Dr. Forbes (Fobes) located as a physician in town, living on the place later occupied by J. W. Doane. After his death his widow married Dr. Moses King, who was a practicing physician in Hawley from 1820 till 1849.
In the same period Drs. George Hill and Charles Knowlton were also practitioners. Since 1850 there has been no resident physician.
STORES AND HOTELS
Zebedee Wood is believed to have kept a small stock of goods before 1790 at his house, and Joseph Hubbard is said to have opened the first regular store. This stand was soon after occupied by Joshua, Wm. F. and Calvin S. Longley in the order named. William Sanford opened an opposition store near by, and Gen. Thomas Longley kept a store there at one time, which was later one of the two buildings left standing on the 'Square'. In addition to his store, William Sanford had a tavern, both across the vay from the Longley place, where was also kept a tavern. At
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF HAWLEY
that time there were several mechanic shops at the 'Square and the place had a promising future. This came to a sudden termination when the churches were located elsewhere.
At East Hawley merchandising was begun about 1833 by Whitney Hitch- cock and Jonas Jones. They were succeeded by Lucius L. Clark and he by William Longley and Leonard Campbell. Calvin S. Longley becoming the proprietor, closed his business at the old stand and moved into the building with the Hawley Post Office, near the present church, where he remained until his death. The store was later kept by his son-in-law, Edwin Scott.
At West Hawley stores were kept by James Mantor, Harvey Baker, T. S. Allen, Aaron Ayers, Clark Fuller, Foster King and Manly Stetson, The two latter were still in business in 1887. About 1850 a Union store was started at West Hawley, being No 497 of the New England Protective Union, which prospered for several years. One year the divedend paid to the stockholders was 42%, but by some coincidence the stock became be- low par at a later date and the business closed.
At Hallockville, Leavitt Hallock conducted a store during the time of his business operations there.
Noah Joy built and opened a hotel at South Hawley in 1830, which he kept until his death in 1843. It was afterward in charge of Nelson Joy, Levi Holden and Henry Clark, who kept it until 1865 when it burned. In those days South Hawley was a prosperous part of the town. The Boston to Albany stagecoach stopped there to change horses. Clark Fuller had a small business in that line in connection with his other business at Fullerville.
Ezra Williams had a tavern in the northeast part of town for about 25 years, which was quite a popular resort. The buildings were last owned by Mr. T. P. Smith, and burned in 1896. T. P. Smith was father of J. R. Smith. Long rows of maple trees by the roadside were set out by Ezra Williams.
INDUSTRIES
It is evident that the erection of mills, particularly sawmills and grist- mills, engaged the attention of the earliest inhabitants. One of the oldest records was furnished by Mr. Geo. D. Crittenden of Shelburne Falls. It is a record m ade by his great-grandfather, Zebedee Wood, at a meeting of the inhabitants of No. 7, held Feb. 24, 1778 at the house of Samuel Hitchcock. Thomas King was Moderator of this meeting. The record reads, 'Voted Thomas King to go and talk with the proprietors, and see what they will do about building mills and getting on the rest of the settlers .*
Before 1790 Moses Rogers operated a gristmill on Chickley's River, near the center of town. While making repairs on his dam, in 1808 he
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF HAWLEY
was drowned. Clothing works were carried on at this point later by Har- vey Barker, Ebenezer Dickinson and others.
Sometime about 1790 Capt. Simeon Crittenden started in the extreme south part of the present limits of the town, and operated a sawmill and gristmill. He afterwards sold to Joel Rice, who came from Conway, He paid 2000 silver dollars for the property. He conveyed it to his sons, Luther and Daniel, who operated it until 1826, when it was bought by Leavitt Hallock, who built a large tannery in 1827, also built other saw- mills, and established a large and flourishing business which continued until the tannery was burned, Feb. 11, 1846. It was rebuilt in 1848, but never was operated as a tannery. "A sawmill was afterward operated in the building by Homan Hallock, Half a mile down the stream, Alonzo F. Turner built a sawmill and shop for various forms of manufacturing, about 1855. This sawmill was in operation for a number of years.
A little further down, Warriner King and Jonathan Fuller built a saw- mill in the early part of the 19th century, which was afterwards burned. Mr. King rebuilt, added a shop, in whichthe made broom handles. This mill was later operated by A. G. Ayres, Wm. A. Turner, A. F. Turner, and Geo. K. Starks, Just below this point, Horace and David Thayer built a turning shop about 1847, which was later occupied by Geo. K. Starks as a grist mill. At Fullerville a sawmill and other wood-working machinery were in operation for a considerable number of years. Half a mile from this point up the Savoy branch, John Miller built a mill about 1850. This was sold later to Edward Peck, who added machinery for mak- ing butter boxes and various kinds of handles. The disastrous flood which visited all the northern States on Oct. 4, 1869, swept away the dam and buildings, leaving only bare rocks where once was heard the busy hum of industry.
'Forge Hollow', later called West Hawley, received its name from being the site of a forge where iron was made in the early part of the 19th century, the ore being received from 'Forge Hill', on the old road lead- ing from West Hawley to Pudding Hollow. Elias Goodspeed was one of the operators. The buildings were burned in 1825 and the forge abandoned. They were rebuilt and used for various kinds of manufacturing. Willis Vincent purchased the buildings in 1857 and used the facilities for mak .. ing broom handles, rakes, etc., and for a time ran a gristmill in con- nection with his other business.
In 1835 Austin Pease built a tannery which he operated for a time and later sold to Howes & Sears, which they operated until 1855, when it was abandoned. At the next water power above, Clark Fuller, A. Sears and others had saw mills and turning shops. Chester Upton once operated a shop for making handles near the residence of William Wait. Jonathan Brackett built a sawmill about 1847, just below Isaac C. Vincent's, later owned by Clark Sears, abandoned before 1887. About '1836 John and Phineas Starks built a sawmill on Fuller brook which they ran. It was
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF HAWLEY
destroyed by a' freshet and never rebuilt.
The first mill proprietor in the east part of the town is believed to have been a Mr. White: Dea. Levi Eldridge built a sawmill about 1812 which was later operated by his sons. Joshua Vincent and Healy Newton once owned a mill towards the Buckland line. This mill was known as 'Little David's Mill. " On the Bozrah brook small powers were used to operate clothing works and shops, and Charles Crittenden owned a sawmill there for some time. An abandoned mill-site was once improved by Abraham Parker near the old meeting house. Soon after 1800, Elisha Hunt and Zenas Taylor built a sawmill where Theophilus Crosby had formerly lived, a little east of where Chester F. Hunt later lived. After being used a few years it was burned one fall about Thanksgiving time. The neighbors drew and hewed timber, employed John Hadlock as carpenter, and put up another mill during the winter, and had it running the next spring. This was used for a term of years before being abandoned. A small tannery was built at one time near where Atherton Hunt lived, which was operated by horse power and hand power.
On Clesson's River, at the upper end of the Eldridge pond, later owned by Dr. Cox, there is an old dam. Water from this pond furnished power for a turning shop where broom handles were turned out. Levi Eldridge, great-grandfather of Arthur and Dean Eldridge, operated this turning shop at one time, probably about 1844. There was also a brick yard near the pond of Dr. Cox. The kiln where the bricks were baked was north of the pond and east of the traveled road. Below this another pond supplied water for the over-shot water wheel to a mill on the Buckland road. This water - wheel furnished power to run an up-and-down saw. This mill turned out broom handles which were sold in North Hadley. Later on a turbine was installed and whip butts were made and sold in Westfield. About 1890 in the same building, Thomas Eldridge operated a grist mill, He operated this mill until the time of his death, 1910. This was the only mill in the vicinity which manufactured stone boat planks.
The mill of Elijah Scott was located on the Scott brook south of the main road from Hawley to Plainfield. A history of this mill has been written by Mrs. Clara Scott Lesure and is as follows:
'This mill was built by Phineas Scott between the dates of 1782 and 1790. It stood just off the Hawley-Plainfield Stage road in the southwest corner of the town. The original mill contained an old up-and-down saw driven by power from an under-shot water-wheel. Over-shot wheels were much more common than under-shot wheels. For the sake of clarity let me quote the definitions of the two types:
"An over-shot wheel is a waterwheel having a series of buckets around its circumference, so arranged that the stream of water falls on the wheel just above its center. The weight, as well as the inertia of the moving water sets the wheel into rotation. When the full buckets reach the bot- tom the water flows out. The ascending buckets are thus empty, while those descending are filled. An under-shot wheel is a water wheel so set
.
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF HAWLEY
up that the current of flowing water strikes against the buckets or paddles of the wheel at the bottom. This wheel uses only the momentum of the flowing water."
'So one of the noteworthy points about this mill was that the water ran under the mill through a gully or trough to the wheel. Another noteworthy point was that it was a very busy place. In the original part of the mill, logs were sawed, and the lumber used for turning broom handles which were drawn by wagon to Hadley, where brooms were made at that time. In the early 1860's the mill was rebuilt and a modern circular sawmill was installed with a turbine for power.
'In 1886 or 1887 Elijah Scott, son of Reuben Scott, with the help of his sons, Erwin and Walter, and of his brother, Edwin, added a two-story wood working shop to the old or original building witl. a smaller turbine for power. Here they made whip butts, which were sold in Westfield. Later a planer was added, also turning lathes with the necessary equip- ment, which consisted of sandpapering and polishing lathes. Valve hand- les and bit brace heads and handles were manufactured. They were all made from hard wood such as beech, birch and maple, which was sawed and stuck up in the spring and left to dry out through the summer. Then it was taken into the mill, stripped and kiln dried ready for turning. The owners continued to do custom sawing in the spring by water power.
'Several dry summers occured in the years prior to 1891. Because of the inadequate water supply, a small steam boiler was put in the mill. In 1898 the mill was sold to Thayer and Lewis. Their operation of the mill was short-lived, for it was only two or three years later that a fire, caused by the steam boiler, completely destroyed the mill. "
On April 1, 1898, Willis D. Thayer and William Lewis purchased from Erwin Scott, his farm, wood turning shop and sawmill. At the shop they made whip butts, bit-brace heads and handles, valve wheels, and did costom sawing. In Oct. Mr. Lewis died of typhoid fever. On June 6, 1899, the shop burned and in July Mr. Thayer left Hawley to reside in Ashfield.
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