USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Middlefield > History of the town of Middlefield, Massachusetts > Part 20
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ROAD TO BANCROFT RAILROAD ARCH OVER FACTORY BROOK
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HISTORY OF MIDDLEFIELD
ing things in order is worthy of the best Middlefield traditions. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Mulcay render an important service to the community by keeping the store and post office in their house, the John L. Bell place, which Rev. Francis A. Fate of Glaston- bury, Connecticut, formerly owned.
Of the houses at the Center now owned by summer residents, Mrs. Bottum's house was bought by the late H. A. Abbe of Springfield. The Geer house, purchased by Professor Herbert A. Youtz of Oberlin, Ohio, is now owned by Mrs. May Youtz of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last owner of the store build- ing and the neighboring house was A. G. Hatch. The former Baptist parsonage, until recently owned by Mrs. Gertrude Pease, is now the summer home of the Griffin family of Shelton, Con- necticut. The Orrin Pease house was finely restored by William A. Birnie, of Springfield, whose lamented death has brought his brother, Judge Birnie, into possession. South of the Center the David Mack homestead has been restored by Rev. John Brittan Clark of Washington, D. C. The Milton Smith farm on the op- posite side of the road has been unoccupied since the regretted removal of John T. Bryan, who was one of the leaders in the community.
With the burning of the Congregational meetinghouse and town hall in 1900 Middlefield was confronted at the very begin- ning of the century with the task of erecting new public build- ings. After differing views on the style of the new church had delayed rebuilding it until 1903, it was decided to use ma- terials nearest at hand and reconstruct them as well as available funds would permit. The result was the purchase of the Baptist Church and its removal to the site of the burned meetinghouse. The cupola was removed and the windows altered into something considered in 1903 more ecclesiastical than the original ones. An elaborate window was inserted in the bare pediment. The interior was also altered, the original plastering covered with sheathing, hiding the chilly panelled wall paper, and the gallery removed, while the pews were arranged in amphitheater style. An ornamental metal ceiling, the gift of Mr. Asher Pease, was also installed. To this remodelled Baptist meetinghouse an ell was added composed of the former Methodist meetinghouse. which was not greatly altered inside, although one gable of its
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roof was changed to a hip, to agree with the slope of the main part. This ell was to serve as a Sunday School and lecture room. To complete the structure a new tower was built in a subdued "renaissance" style, in the angle between the main part and the lecture room. There was no steeple to the new tower, a belfry slightly suggesting the Spanish-American style, taking its place.
One sees in the arrangement the inspiration of the English village Gothic, with its church tower in the angle, but as a whole one must admit that the structure does not represent any co- herent method of building or ornamentation. While with the advice of a competent architect it might have been possible to restore to the Center a church with genuinely New England aspect, using the Baptist Church as a nucleus, criticism should not be levelled against the building committee, for the public opinion in America as a whole was in a perfectly chaotic state at that time, and the professional architects were among the worst leaders of the blind. On the whole, considering the kind of houses and public buildings that were being put up in those days, the Middlefield community is to be congratulated on having made no more violent departure from the old traditions. The church might easily have been a "Queen Anne affair,' with gable and shingles and eccentric porches, or perhaps some sort of an imitation of the commercial romanesque with heavy arches of stone or even of wood. From this fate which many country communities and cities have not escaped, Middlefield was for- tunately protected.
The replacement of the town hall was a simpler problem. A building quite similar to the burned one was erected on the same foundation, though the higher pitch of the roof makes the build- ing appear narrower, and there is less ornamentation. The in- terior arrangements, however, embodied some improvements. On the ground floor a side room was provided for the town library. Upstairs a hardwood floor anticipated the days of com- munity dances. The small boxed-in platform of the old hall was improved upon by a wider stage extending across the end of the hall, greatly facilitating the presentation of theatricals as well as public business. A later addition provided a woodshed down- stairs, and a dressing-room back of the stage upstairs con- veniently reached by an outside staircase. Electric lights were installed in 1922.
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Other new buildings at the Center have been built as a result of the increasing interest in Middlefield as a summer resort. One of the first efforts to provide for summer visitors was that of the Youtz brothers who converted the dwelling adjacent to the Mack store into "The Middlefield Inn" in the summers of 1903 and 1904, carrying on the store and the stage line also. After two years G. E. Cook continued this enterprise by constructing "The Golden Glow,"-now known as "The Wayside Lodge,"- using as a nucleus the classic farmhouse of the late Hiram Tay- lor. One ell was built on the west end and another on the north, the timbers of the latter coming from the old wool-drying shop and horse shed of the Church Brothers in Blush Hollow. A large piazza extends nearly around the building. While archi- tectural ambitions are almost wholly lacking in this building, it is by no means unsuccessful in its exterior, which suggests with much truth its actual character,-that of an inn in a small country village. Here through the passing years Mrs. A. H. McClure and Mrs. Thomas Mulcay have entertained many out- of-town guests and also provided excellent meals for other sum- mer residents of the community.
A little south of the Wayside Lodge on the opposite side of the village street is the large summer residence built by Thomas and Sophia (Smith) Martin, of Hartford. This house is of a type familiar along New England seacoasts, the solid, hip- roofed, "piazzaed" summer home, built to stand weather and to shelter an ample family with guests. Thoroughly home-like and plain, this house is not without a certain dignity of line, though quite different from the Oliver Church mansion across the way. But it is not especially characteristic of the hill-town in which it is placed. It is now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Newton C. Smith of West Medford, Mrs. Smith being a daughter of John Henry Smith, of the Matthew Smith branch of this large family.
A more interesting house is that built during the last decade by Mrs. George Roberts, of Hartford, south of the village near the old Mack house. Here is a very strong effort made to build a comfortable summer house, large in scale and thoroughly mod- ern inside, which should at the same time be fully in the spirit of the houses of a century and a quarter earlier. As the picture shows, the architect has reproduced with great fidelity some of
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HOUSE OF MRS. GEORGE ROBERTS
HOUSE OF THOMAS MARTIN
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the most characteristic elements of the oldest houses: the large central chimneys, the plain surface, the absence of cornice, the proportions and arrangement of windows, the absence of piazzas from the sides visible from the road. On the whole, while no- body would confuse the twentieth century house with one of the settlers', its prevailing harmony with the old farmhouse in spirit and line is unmistakeable. The effort thus made is one well worthy of imitation and the style thus set in this extensive house might well be further developed in smaller buildings which could be made no less comfortable and at the same time still more closely in keeping with the century old buildings still standing on the country roads.
Of the small summer houses about the Center the first to be built was the cottage of J. K. Upham, of Brooklyn, New York, located near the Parsonage Lot, and now owned by Mrs. George Roberts. The bungalows of David C. Coe and of Charles W. Shaw, of Springfield, situated near the Town Hall and the Wayside Lodge respectively, are not only of pleasing design but are constructed of native field stone, a material most appro- priate to the rugged environment. The former is now owned by Dr. Amber A. Starbuck, also of Springfield. The most recent bungalow, that of Professor Herbert A. Youtz, occupies a sightly position on the slope south of the Cattleshow Grounds.
To note the changes east of the Center, Richard Sweeney and his family have occupied the "Squire" Matthew Smith farm for many years, steadily improving both the land and the build- ings. With commendable enterprise Mr. Sweeney's sons have built an attractive bungalow on the site of the old Combs place in anticipation of the demand for summer residences. Richard Sweeney, Jr., is also owner of the old Cottrell place on Ridgepole Road. Further north on this road at the James Ingham place is Samuel Willard whose mechanical skill is often of service to his fellow townsmen. On the Howard Smith farm the Teffts family have modernized the house with porches and a stone chimney. and have developed a large peach orchard. In Smith Hollow James N. Cone owns the productive Oliver Smith farm, and "Colonel" James Anderson, of Springfield, occupies the Orrin Smith place as a summer home. North of the Center are the Gardners at the old James Church farm, and Victor Hoskeer
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on the Deacon Harry Meacham place and Mr. Russell at the David Hamilton house just beyond.
In the Pease District another summer colony has been grad- ually developing, largely as the result of the hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur D. Pease, who have taken in many summer guests. The old gambrel-roofed Metcalf house near by, now owned by Mrs. W. A. Pearson of Springfield, has been merged into a larger structure of modern design, but the interior of the older portion has been preserved. In similar fashion the Harlow Loveland house has been utilized as an ell for a large three-story boarding house, known as "The Berkshire House," by the Hes- pelt family. In the Den region the original Churchill homestead has been restored with large stone chimney and fireplaces by Herbert Knox Smith, Esq., of Hartford, who was Commissioner of Corporations under President Roosevelt. On the slope north of the cross-road from Arthur D. Pease's to the Chester Road is the log bungalow built by the late Rev. George H. Ferris, of Philadelphia, and until recently owned by Rev. Lewis T. Reed of Brooklyn, New York. A short distance north of the Pease farm is the snug cottage of E. A. Evans, of New Haven, Connecticut. New houses have been built by permanent residents. Henry S. Pease has replaced his house and barn which were destroyed by fire a few years ago. The house is a comfortable, unpre- tentious and solidly built dwelling, not without sturdy square- ness which suggests the original house built by Morgan Pease. The old Andrew Meacham farm on the road to the Alderman farm, long abandoned, is now owned by George Millot who has erected a house and barn near the site of the old house. Another old farm, that of Daniel Root in the railroad valley, is being worked again by Herbert Cross, with new buildings in the process of construction. Other new families during this period are the Prews at the Howe place in the Den, the Dyers at the Timothy Root place on the Chester Road and the Pierces at the Elbert Pease farm.
West of the Center, Frank Johnson until recently carried on the Dolman farm, formerly the Deacon Leonard place. Jesse Pelkey has followed his father, the late Nelson Pelkey, at the John Smith farm near the foot of Town Hill, where his son Irving and wife also live. The burning of the Lyman Church
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house just below removed a familiar landmark from this region. The Uriah Church homestead with the old "Company Barn" and the surrounding land are now known as "Rock Maples Farm," the present occupant of which is Frank Stevens. ,The old red house opposite the Blush Hollow schoolhouse was reno- vated for a dwelling by Fred L. Boyer, who took over the saw- mill business of Frank Curtiss. His services as a skillful builder, previous to his physical incapacity, are gratefully re- membered by the community. Joseph Pelkey lives near by in one of the houses built by Frank Curtiss. Two new buildings have brought a modern touch to this valley. On the wooded hill-side opposite the Sumner Church house Alfred S. Crane, of Springfield, has constructed a bungalow of solid maple logs and cement, well suited to the woods out of which its low roof seems to grow. On the site of the old white boarding-house in the lower village is the substantial and attractive concrete bunga- low built by Peter Boyer, whose removal from town took away an accomplished artisan. It is now occupied permanently by Miss Elizabeth Evans, who formerly lived at the John Williams house on the road to Harry Pease's farm. Near by on the opposite side of the road is the tiny cottage of Marshall Boyer. Further south the old Mary Leach house is owned by Miss Fannie Stebbins of Springfield.
At "The Switch" the destruction of the paper mill by fire has occasioned a reduction in the number of permanent residents on the Middlefield side of the river. Thomas H. Fleming has kept the store which houses the Bancroft post office for many years. His son, Bernard, is the station agent. Mr. Fallon is section foreman on the railroad. Misses Clara and Mari Tracy live opposite the paper mill property. Jerry Romano lives in the white house above the railroad arch bridge. On West Hill, Edward and John Savery have steadily improved the farm and buildings of the old Ely place. The Ferris farm and homestead have been rejuvenated by the Drozd family. The ancient William Taylor place once owned by the Bardin family, is occupied in the summer by the Edens of Springfield.
The record of changes in the life of the town must be corrected and balanced by some account of certain permanent factors. An outstanding characteristic of the Middlefield people is their
BUNGALOW OF REV. HERBERT A. YOUTZ BUNGALOW OF MR. ALFRED S. CRANE BUNGALOW OF MR. CHARLES W. SHAW
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loyalty to the old hill-town. This loyalty is illustrated first by the number of descendants of the old stock, who bravely facing the none too easy economic conditions, still reside in Middlefield. It is illustrated also in a marked degree by the return each summer of the loyal descendants now located in other parts of the country. Every summer witnesses a reunion of the scattered families. This is fostered by the annual Field Day, and by two days of Cattle Show, which for two generations have served as an annual Homecoming time.
A recent expression of the spirit of Middlefield was the action of its citizens when a disastrous fire wiped out in one night the home of one of its leading citizens in 1919. Facing the loss of his home and barn, Henry S. Pease, town treasurer and clerk, wavered before the task of rebuilding the old homestead. In recognition of his services to the town and as a protest against losing him from the community, his neighbors, almost to a man, rose in spontaneous co-operation with Mr. Pease, help- ing to feed his cattle, furnishing a home, and in other ways assisting the family through the winter. One of the assets of the town too is the spirit of determination and devotion with which Mr. Pease undertook the work of reconstruction. The whole community joined in an old fashioned "barn raising" with sixty-five men present. This is but the same spirit of co- operation and brotherly kindness which was shown in the '70's when Rev. Alexander Dickson raised a considerable fund to help Milton Smith when his home had been destroyed by light- ning; and again just a few years ago when the citizens collected all sorts of household goods as well as money for the family of George Millot, whose home with its contents went up in flames. In 1923 the same cheerful helpfulness enabled Arthur Pease to rebuild his barn which had been destroyed by fire. There are many instances of sturdy, persevering grit and self-sacrifice written into the history of the old town. It is good to give these modern instances of a great spirit that continues. Unquestionably the hardship of wresting a living out of the stern conditions imposed by Nature has been a large factor in producing a hardy race whom their descendants delight to honor and whose strong individuality and heroic deeds are the subject of many familiar and quaint traditions, some of which are preserved in this volume.
AN ABANDONED FARM HOUSE OF HENRY S. PEASE
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It would be easy to give many illustrations of the loyalty and love than bind the sons and daughters of Middlefield to the hills. Myron L. Crane of Pasadena, California, occasionally revisits the old scenes which his mother, Amanda (Pease) Crane, loved, and gives generously every year to the church to which she was devoted. Bless the memories of these fathers and mothers who are still stimulating their descendants to practical support of the old institutions. Mr. Crane presented both the Highland Agricultural Society and the church with flags during the war period, and gave a Liberty Bond to the church. By loyal help of this practical nature an effective co-operation is still kept up between the reduced population and their scattered relatives. The support of the church from year to year by absent friends as well as by resident members illustrates the strength of the tie that binds the absent ones to those who remain to wrestle for a livelihood on the old homesteads.
Middlefield has always had its citizens of great good sense and force who have qualified for leadership not only in town affairs, but in the larger corporate life. The sturdy enterprise of Mr. and Mrs. G. E. Cook in building up a hotel plant is an instance of this in which the community is the gainer. One is reminded of the persistent efforts of Arthur D. Pease to solve the problem of a water supply. Perhaps the village itself may imitate his successful enterprise. The long career of George W. Cottrell as selectman is evidence that Middlefield trusts those who serve her interests well. Henry S. Pease conducts the combined offices of town clerk and town treasurer so successfully that the com- munity has come to regard him as its leading business man. The quiet, conscientious work of Edwin H. Alderman as school com- mitteeman is well known. Wesley Chipman is a prosperous farmer and active in town leadership. The community finds in Wesley A. Olds a man whose devotion and judgement make him a natural leader. The time would fail us to give honor to all to whom honor is due. It might be pointed out here that the problem of good roads is always a live issue in a town situated on hill sides, as is Middlefield. The question of the best methods of maintaining roads has been the subject of many debates in town meeting, at the store and wherever citizens meet. It is doubtful whether anyone ever permanently held a reputation
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as a wise road-builder. Heavy rains and frosts have destroyed reputations. The energetic way in which Middlefield has secured the co-operation of the state promises a first-class highway to Pittsfield in the near future.
The town meeting has flourished and functioned in the life of the community even down to the present. In these latter years the school question and the question of roads and other community utilities have been debated with much wit and sense. Undoubtedly this forum of New England origin has been a mighty force in shaping the life of the town and the independent habits of thought of its citizens. It is gratifying to chronicle here that the chairmanship of the Board of Selectmen was recently exercised ably for two years by the first woman in the state to be so chosen, Mrs. Helen (Wright) Cook, descendant of the Macks and of Matthew Smith, VI.
If justice could be done to all the forces that have shaped Middlefield's history, there should be a chapter devoted to the character and activities of the Middlefield women. Devotion and efficiency have been evident each year as the women organize entertainments, church suppers, and above all the annual church fair, which has come to be a really notable institution for a small village. The teachers of the town schools have in several instances been the daughters of the community and the product of the very schools which they afterward served as teachers. Instances during the last twenty-five years are, Maude Pease, Helen Cook, Addie and Sadie Cottrell, Ida Bell, Nellie and Bridget Cody, Hazel Boyer, Delia Fleming, and Florence Cook. To Miss Nellie Cody of Montclair, New Jersey, has come profes- sional recognition as a teacher which is a matter of pride to the town. The service of Mrs. E. H. Alderman in her devotion to the Sunday School interests of the children of the neighborhood is an instance of the teacher's faithfulness that bears fruit and deserves record. To Miss Ida Bell (Mrs. W. O. Eames) must be given the credit for musical training that has come through the years to the pupils in the homes of the town. For the past ten years the dramatic leadership given to the young people during successive summers by Mrs. Herbert A. Youtz has been a real contribution to the educational forces of the town. Miss Alice B. Church too has been a vigorous friend of all community improvement projects.
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MIDDLEFIELD CENTER-1883 MIDDLEFIELD CENTER-1923
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MIDDLEFIELD IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
The year 1897 marked the beginning of the complete union of the churches of the town, the Baptists first uniting in worship with the Congregational Society and ultimately identifying themselves with that society in a neighborhood church. Middle- field owes much to the liberal spirit inculcated under such pastoral leadership as that of Rev. Joseph M. Rockwood, long pastor of the Baptist flock. A tolerant spirit has obviated any semblance of a church wrangle, and the village church of to-day, nominally Congregational, lives quite as much by the spiritual fruits and vital character bred under Baptist influence. Here the immense service of such men as Metcalf J. Smith and Jonathan McElwain as advisors and harmonizers, can never be adequately recorded.
The pastoral leadership of this period was exercised by Her- bert A. Youtz, 1896-98; Henry M. Bowden, 1899-1902; Seelye Bryant, 1902-7; Francis A. Fate, 1907; William A. Estabrook, 1908-13; William T. Bartley, 1913-17; Albert D. Sterns, 1917-18; A. Avery Gates, 1918-19; R. Barclay Simmons, 1920-22. Rev. J. G. Robertson is the present much-loved and efficient pastor.
Of the other cultural influences, the schools of the town and the library have had unusual development for a small town. An intelligent interest in education, inherited from the past, has been a chief influence here. For more than a generation the influence of that rare educator, Metcalf J. Smith, has been felt both in his own constructive work and through his pupils whom he trained and inspired to become teachers. One con- sequence of this is the comparatively large number of boys and girls who have attended colleges and other educational institu- tions. Through this fact, Middlefield has kept in living touch with the best leadership of the times during the past fifty years. The literacy of the town has ranked high. The library, too, has been pronounced to be the best selected and largest collection of books with the largest circulation, owned by any town of similar size. Certainly the reading interest of the town is unusual as a result of the cultivation of its taste for these things. Mrs. Lucy (Smith) Newton, Metcalf J. Smith, Miss Kate W. Smith, Mrs. Gertrude L. Pease and Grace Cook have been successively librarians. It may not be out of place here to say that an adequate fire-proof building for the library and for a museum
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of Middlefield relics would be a noble and serviceable monument to perpetuate the memory as well as the substance of the old order that is changing.
A series of organizations has successively expressed and shaped the spiritual ideals of the community. The instruction of the children in sobriety and good citizenship was for several years carried on in Company D, Hampshire Division of the Massa- chusetts Loyal Temperance Legion, ably led by Miss Susie Rock- wood, Mrs. William E. Morse, and Miss Kate W. Smith. The Middlefield Progressive Club was a literary and debating society that flourished in the early '90's. This promoted the social and literary activities of the young people, organized straw- rides and held an annual literary, dramatic and musical enter- tainment of much merit. Members of the younger generations in the Combs, Alderman, Smith, Pease and Wright families are remembered among the leaders in those days. We should not omit mention of the Middlefield Choral Club, which, under the direction of Rev. Herbert A. Youtz and Professor Gerald B. Smith, for three years, at least, presented cantatas and concerts in several of the neighboring villages as well as in the home town. Under the Palms, Ruth, the Moabitess, and The Hay- makers, which they staged in Worthington, Huntington, Becket, Chester and Hinsdale, were the more elaborate and successful of these productions. The club's excellent male quartet later carried off first honors at a musical contest held in Worthington.
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