USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Holyoke > Holyoke, past and present, 1745-1895. > Part 4
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triumph, were swept off in an instant, and naught but the huge wreck that remains is left to tell of the mightiest struc- ture of the character, that was ever built in this country." Those who saw it say that the front of the rushing waters was a wall, high at the start, but becoming less as the released water went down stream. At Chicopee it was still two feet high. There was a ferry some distance below the dam and when the ferry-boat was struck by the water it was like an egg-shell upon its bosom. The boat was carried three or four miles and stranded on the shore. A farmer who had invested some money in the stock of the company was heard to remark, as he saw some of the timbers float down stream, after the main part of the dam had gone out of sight : "Well, some of that property was mine, but it was worth all the money I put into it to see it go."
Regarding the construction of the dam, this memoranda from E. C. White, who worked on the dam, and which is kindly furnished by Lawyer R. O. Dwight, of South Hadley Falls, may be of interest. Said Mr. White : "The coffer dam was begun in the fall of 1847 on both sides of the river. Cribs were filled with stone so as to begin work in the spring. Pulled up the paper mill wing dam, which extended out from the present site of the Glasgow Company, in the spring CREST OF DAM. of 1848. The coffer dam was built by load- ing cribs with stone, gravel, etc., and sinking them about four rods above the line of the great dam. The bed-piece was formed of four stretchers. The sills were very large timbers, forty or more feet long, which were intended to be bolted to the bed-rock, but there was a good deal of blocking up under some of them. In some places it was neces- sary to blast rock out under them, in others it was necessary to put blocks under and use longer bolts. The sills were six feet apart from center to center. The posts were framed into the sill and into the stretcher, and each sec- tion was raised on its sill like the side of a house or barn. The roof of the dam was covered with four inch hemlock planks. All timber and planks were hemlock. The over-fall was twelve feet long, of one foot timbers, and covered
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with plank same as the other side of the dam. The crest of the dam was covered with boiler iron in strips six to eight feet long.
" Hervey Rice, Levi Dickinson, Isaac Hadley, Ely Loomis, of West Springfield, E. C. White, with six or eight others, were in a large flat-boat trying to fill a leak in the dam. Old Amos Ferry, of Granby, an avaricious man, was picking up scraps of iron from the river bed and had a narrow escape. Norman Smith, brother of William Smith, had just got home to Granby from watching the dam, and heard the noise of the giving away of the dam and supposed it was the water falling over."
Jones S. Davis, who was interested in the company and a leading spirit in those days, telegraphed to some of the owners in Boston. His dispatches were on this order, the last one being verbatim : "10 A. M., the gates were just closed and the water is filling behind the dam." "12 M., the dam is leaking badly." "2 P. M., the stones of the bulk- head are giving way to the pressure." "3.20 P. M., your old dam has gone to hell by way of Willimansett." The fail- ure of the dam was a triumph to those who had no faith in the principle of its construction
Something less than fifty-five years ago, when the railroad was still a novelty in the Connecticut valley, a party of capitalists came to view the water power along the " Long " river at the point called Great Rapids or Falls of South Hadley, which had a fall of sixty feet extending over a mile and a half. The gauging of the water power showed it had a power equal to 30,000 horse-power. In 1847 the Legislature was petitioned by Thomas H. Perkins, Geo. H. Lyman, Edmund Dwight and others for an act of incorporation as the Hadley Falls Company, " for the purpose of constructing and maintaining a dam across the Connecticut river, and one or more locks and canals in connection with said dam ; and for creating a water power to be used by said corporation for manufacturing articles from cotton, wood, iron, wool and other materials, and to be sold to other persons and corporations to be used for manufacturing or mechanical purposes and also for the purpose of navigation." The capital stock was fixed at $4,000,000. The Hadley Falls Company purchased the property and franchise of the South Hadley Falls Lock and Canal Company and extinguished the fishing rights existing above the location of the dam.
In 1847 this territory embraced by the river curve had fourteen houses, a grist mill and one little shop ; also one cotton mill. The farming districts lying along the old "street" or highway from Northampton to Springfield show in one division all that Holyoke, the modern city, can boast of in the way of history or reminders of a past generation. Negotiations were opened with the farmers living along the river bend and on the land the company wished to own. Mr. Geo. C. Ewing was the company's agent, and one after another the land owners yielded to persuasion and gold
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and sold some part of their pleasant farms. All except Samuel Ely, who lived on what is now known as Depot Hill, the exact location of the house being where the Church of the Rosary now stands. Mr. Ely had been approached many times on the matter of selling his land, but refused all overtures looking to this end, and on one occasion was so indignant when a party of men appeared whom he thought wanted to approach him on the same old topic or survey the land, that he climbed the stairs and pointed his old fowling piece at the intruders, accompanied by threats of vengeance. Hereafter he was left in quiet possession, until twenty years later, he sold his sandy tract, now become a valuable posses- sion, to Messrs. Bowers and Mosher, who surveyed and sold it in building lots. Mr. Ely died in 1879 and retained his old family homestead, which boasted a remarkable antiquity.
The discouragement at the loss of the dam was so short- lived that it was difficult to say that such a sentiment had ever existed. The experience had in it the elements of suc- SAM ELY PLACE. cess, they had learned how not to do it, and with better knowledge and more reliable hopes the work was started. Philander Anderson, who received his first training at West Point, felt confident that certain principles applied to the work would bring success, and the current of the mighty river could be controlled. The wreck of the old dam was cleared away, and in 1849 preparations began for the second dam. In April of that year two cof- fer dams were built, one on each side of the river, and each extending 200 feet from the bank into the stream. They were completed in May. The water was pumped out of these coffer dams and the rock was excavated to a depth of six feet. The construction of the main dam was then begun by laying down three 15-inch square sticks length- wise across the river. The dam was started in sections, six feet from center to center, and, as the river is 1,017 feet wide at that place, there were 170 sections. These sections were connected or tied to each other by 12-inch square sticks running across the river The structure above the foundation sticks was made up of alternate courses of these ties and rafters, also 12-inch square. Between the rafters, in the same course with the ties, short blocks were intro-
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duced to stiffen or prevent the bending of the rafters. At the splicings of the rafter long pieces were put in and tree- nailed to the rafter with eight two-inch treenails of oak. The foot of each rafter was scribed and bolted to the rock with one and a quarter inch iron bolts. The structure was thus reared to its full height and its up-stream surface covered with six-inch plank with the exception of a space of 16 feet, which was left temporarily open. The toe of the dam was secured by placing a second covering of plank at right angles to the first with the lower end scribed and bolted to the rock. Except the space left temporarily open, it was filled solid with gravel. The crest of the dam, four feet on the upstream side, was covered with boiler iron three-eighths of an inch thick to protect the top from the blows of drift wood and ice.
In this manner 400 feet of the dam were completed, 200 feet on each side of the river. As the summer ad- vanced and the water became lower the coffer dams were extended 200 feet farther out each side, crowding the water into a space 217 feet in width in the middle of the stream. This work was continued through the extended coffer dam, then only the central portion of 2 17 feet remained to be finished. To dispose of the water it became necessary to re- move the coffer dams previously constructed, and let the water on to the portions of the main dam already completed. A strong coffer SECTIONAL VIEW OF THE DAM. dam was then thrown across the gap, four feet higher than the first ones, raising the water and turning it through the openings left in the main dam. This accomplished and the water pumped out of the coffer dam, the last piece of the structure was rapidly pressed forward to completion. The coffer dam in the center was removed and the dam was complete except the opening in the planking through which the whole breadth of the river was running. This opening was closed by building gates on doors of the width of the opening, 16 feet, and each 18 feet long. These were hung by five strong hinges to the planking already spiked down. In all this work nearly 4,000,000 feet of lumber were used. All open spaces were filled and closely packed with stone, as well as gravel, to a height of ten feet,
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and the planking of the upper portion of the dam was doubled to a thickness of eighteen inches of solid timber. The bed of the river was graveled 70 feet above the dam, and this graveling was continued over 30 feet or more of its sloping surface, which was 92 feet in width from the foot to the crest. The masonry of the abutments, bulkhead and waste-weir immediately below, was made of heavy ashlar work, built on a solid ledge and massive enough to withstand the heavy pressure to which it is subjected. The bulkhead, 140 feet long and 46 feet wide, is now surmounted by an extensive gate house.
It had been intended to close the openings in the dam on October 23, 1849, but recent rains had already be- gun to raise the river, and the engineers made haste to test the dam before the stream should be too high. So on Monday, October 22, says the Hampden Freeman of October 27, a newspaper then published in Holyoke and from which the present Transcript evolved, " orders were given to shut off the water. The gates had been previously pre- pared, and were placed parallel with the water and each was supported by a mere prop. At 12 o'clock and 35 minutes, the men were all stationed along the top of the dam, and the signal was given by Mr. Anderson, the chief en- gineer. In an instant each alternate gate fell, with a heavy splash, into the water, and all was silent ;- then another signal, and the remaining gates buried themselves in the eddying floods. The waves, hitherto foaming, restless, checked by the huge breastwork, appeared like a restive horse curbed by a strong hand. The cheers of the multititudes on the western banks, were echoed ORIGINAL CUT OF DAM. by cheers from apparently an equal number on the eastern shore, and the waters began to accumulate and to fill the pond. The note of preparation had been sounded along the wires to Hartford and to Boston, and many strangers arrived in town during the afternoon. The banks on either shore were lined with spectators during the day, and the estimated number of persons present was six thousand. The most in- teresting question was, 'How long will it take to fill?' and it was not definitely answered until about 10 o'clock in the evening, when the cheers of the crowd on the South Hadley side indicated that the water had commenced to flow over upon that side, and in less than ten minutes it was flowing over the whole length of the dam. At 11 o'clock the water, having acquired a full head, fell in one unbroken sheet, and by the light of fires built upon either shore pre- sented a beautiful spectacle." The next day the village was crowded by people from far and near to see the famous dam.
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RAPIDS, BELOW THE DAM.
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After the spring freshet of 1868, bad leaks discovered in the dam led to investigations which were some- what perilous to undertake. It was found that the force of heavy logs and huge ice cakes brought down by the floods had worn away the front timbers, to the length of twenty feet in some instances, and taken out large pieces of the rock foundation, some of them weighing twenty tons, leav- ing great holes in the front of the dam. To check this wearing action it was decided to strengthen the dam by building a front extension, similar in form to the original structure, in such a way that the dam should have a sloping front, giving the dam the form of a roof and making it capable to stand any pressure that might be put upon it.
In 1884 the Holyoke Water Power Company determined to put the dam in better shape than ever before. A plan of repairs was devised by Mr. Clemens Herschel, the hydraulic engineer of the Holyoke Water Power Company, conspicuous for originality and for the most thorough protection of the dam against leaks, nothing of the kind having ever been attempted before. Mr. Herschel's plan was to over- haul the dam in 100-feet sections, keeping the water SCENE ON THE RIVER. back with coffers, rip off the covering twenty feet wide from the crest, and puddle gravel into all the spaces between the timbers, having first made a water tight plank sheet piling, and puddling the gravel on both sides of the same. By this plan Mr. Herschel succeeded in preserving one of the best dams in the world for many years to come.
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THE TOWN OF HOLYOKE.
HE evolution from an agricultural interest to industrial was rapid and is not exceeded by any city in the East. Before the dam was completed people began to appreciate the situation, though few realized the possibilities before them, or the wonderful effect of the magnificent water-power soon to be developed. As the work progressed and the community began to have greater faith in the success of the dam, energetic talking was done about having the section which is now Holyoke set off from West Springfield. Up to this time it had been known as "Hampden City," "Ireland Depot" and "New City," but the promising prospects warranted the people in desiring an individual existence. December 24, 1849, a meeting was held in the village to consider the subject and it RP ORA was decided to ask the next legislature to divide the town and call this division 1850 C ATED NI Hampden. March 14, 1850, the legislature incorporated the town and called it MAR "Holyoke," in honor of the mountain of the same name a few miles up the river CH which had been named in honor of Elizur Holyoke, one of the early and prominent IND ET SA S TTS settlers of the Connecticut Valley. A notable man was this Holyoke. He was of a committee selected to explore the country and discover the section then under the COPIA name of Springfield which extended to Northampton and Hadley. Mary Pynchon, TOWN SEAL. the tradition of whose loveliness and grace gives a flavor of romance to those early days, married Holyoke in 1640, and is referred to in Dr. J. G. Holland's melodious verses on the naming of Mt. Holyoke, or the " Mountain Christening." The legend runs :
"On a beautiful morning in June, they say,
Two hundred and twenty years ago,"
Captain Holyoke and Captain Thomas, with a sturdy following, started out to survey the country. A journey of this sort was part of every day life, and was undertaken with the enthusiasm which characterized the pioneer days, and the energetic men whose deeds gave the flavor of daring to those days.
"Holyoke, the gentle and daring, stood On the eastern bank, with his trusty four, And Rowland Thomas, the gallant and good, Headed the band on the other shore.
" The women were weeping to bid them good-bye, And sweet Mary Pynchon was there (I guess), With a sigh in her throat, and a tear in her eye, As Holyoke marched into the wilderness."
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After the description of the journey up the valley and the night camp, where
" The great falls roared in their ears all night, And the sturgeon splashed and the wild-cat screamed, And they did not wake till the morning light, Red through the willowy branches streamed."
The christening of the mountain follows :
" The morning dawned on the double group, Facing each other on opposite shores, Where years ago with a mighty swoop, The waters parted the mountain doors.
"' Let us christen the mountain,' said Holyoke, in glee. ' Let us christen the mountain,' said Thomas again,
" This mountain for you and that mountain for me.' And their trusty fellows responded, 'Amen.'
" Then Holyoke buried his hand in the stream And tossed the pure spray toward the mountain's brow,
And said, while it shone in the sun's fierce beams:
' Fair mountain, thou art Mt. Holyoke now.' "
During the building of the dam and the canals, contractors for the Hadley Falls Co. were making a reservoir on the hill, 1200 feet distant from the river and 67 feet above the top of the dam, and capable of holding about 3,000,000 gallons of water. In the construction of this reservoir 500 men were at one time employed. The walls were made 15 feet high and 40 feet thick. Water from the river was forced into the reservoir through a 13-inch pipe by two pumps located above the dam. The first water was pumped into it on October 19, 1849, and the whole work pertaining to it was completed in the following November. Pipes connecting with the water in this reservoir were laid through the town, which received its water from this source until 1872, when the growth of the town made a new supply requisite.
The system of canals as first constructed differed materially from the present system. There was an upper level canal taking water from the bulkhead at the dam and extending nearly south for about half a mile. It was 140 feet wide at the upper end and gradually narrowed at the lower end to a width of 80 feet, and was from 15 to 20 feet deep, with substantial walls nine feet thick at the base. Parallel to this canal was a raceway canal on a lower level 400 feet distant from the upper canal. Between the canal and the raceway were many passages for water which was sufficient in each instance to turn a powerful water wheel. The raceway received the water from these passages and conveyed it back toward the dam, where it was discharged into a second canal, leading in a southerly direction, from
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which the water was distributed to mills on the lower side and then discharged into the river. Locks for the pas- sage of boats connected lall these canals with the river. The survey of these canals began on July 8, 1847.
The present system of canals is laid out on a grand scale, commensurate with the volume of water to be distributed. Twelve huge gates, each 15 feet long by nine feet wide and weighing more than four tons, and two others of half that width and II feet in length, all operated by a water- wheel in the abutment which actu- ates the powerful gate machinery, admit the water to the upper level canal. This main artery of the sys- tem, starting with a width of 140 feet, and a water depth of 22 feet, extends eastward past the great waste-weir about a thousand feet and then sweeps southward in a right line for a distance of more than one mile, to supply the upper tier of mills, the width gradually lessening at the rate of one foot in every hundred. To trace the still longer course of the second level canal, we begin at its south- erly end and follow it northerly for a mile and more, parallel with the first described canal, and 400 feet THE ELY HOMESTEAD, INGLESIDE. easterly from it, this portion serving as a raceway for the upper level, and also as a canal for the supply of mills below ; and thence we follow it easterly and southerly for half a mile more, at a distance of about 400 feet from the river, this marginal portion of the second level affording mill-sites along its whole length, from which the water used passes
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directly into the river. For 2,000 feet this canal has a width of 140 feet, and thence the sides gradually converge, to a width of 100 feet, which is continued to either end, the average depth of water being 10 feet. These two canals,
EASTHAMPTON ROAD NORTH OF CRAFTS' TAVERN.
extending in broad, parallel water-courses through the central portion of the city, and spanned by iron bridges from any one of which the eye takes in the whole long stretch of water, make a unique and pleasant feature of the place.
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The third level canal, 100 feet wide and 10 feet deep, is also a marginal canal, with mill sites along its entire length, and, beginning at the southerly end of the second level, extends easterly and northerly three-quarters of a mile. The mills on the upper level have a head and fall of 20 feet, and the difference between the second and third levels is 12 feet, while that be- tween the marginal canals and the river varies from 23 to 28 feet. The upper canal throughout its entire length and large portions of the others are walled with substantial stone work to the height of three feet above the water level. Each furnishes an ample head of water for all practical purposes, and provision is made for supplying the lower levels from the upper as required. The keepers are carefully trained and vigilant men who have charge of the gates at all hours, and the water level is not permitted to vary, a consideration of most importance to mill owners, and which affects the prosperity of the city largely. The water distributed through these arteries is equal to 450 mill powers, or 30,000 water power gross, and ON INGLESIDE ROADWAY. will doubtless be sufficient for all purposes for many years to come, though it may be indefinitely increased in the future.
The great prosperity of the new town had a disastrous effect on that division of the old turnpike road, and the
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houses clustered about it, known as the Baptist Village. The "boom" of Holyoke attracted people from what was then quite a business and social centre. It had two stores, a tavern, a sash and blind manufactory, a shoe-maker, two doctors, a wheelwright, a blacksmith, a painter, tailor and two churches. The Baptist Church alone remains, and until the present arrangements were made for the immersion of converts, the faithful gathered on the river bank down below the Day place, and when that be- came too frequented, they went out to Ashley Ponds. It was during Rev. Mr. Evans' pastorate that an effort was made to utilize the small brook which crosses the " street " at Ball's corner, for religious pur- poses. A dam was constructed across the depression in the lot, corner of Beech and Northampton streets, and the devotees worked hard to get a fair sized pond. But the construction proved as faulty as that of the first dam over the river, and after one immersion this place was given up. The line of the hymn used on such occasions about the " clear stream" was not fitly illustrated by the facts of the case or by the color of the water when the dam was in its ineffectual operation.
THE FARNUM PLACE.
Though the " Baptist Village " from this time lost prestige as an active centre, it acquired a reputation for peace and quiet until now it is a most delightful suburb of a thriving city.
In the spring of 1850, a census taken showed a population of 3,245, half of that number being workmen. A factory had been built and another was in process of erection. The Hadley Falls Co. had erected tenement houses, the streets were being graded and gotten into shape by gangs of men with teams, many substantial houses and stores
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were being built by private individuals. Business and professional men were coming in, and as early as the summer of 1850, there were in the town thirteen persons and corporations, each paying taxes on over $10,000. In the fall of that year the Holyoke House was opened to the public with great eclat and has maintained its lead ever since.
March 30 of the same year, the first water wheel, run by water from the great dam, was set in motion, and on April 23, the first work was done in factory No. I of the Hadley Falls Co. This company was well equipped, having a black- smith's shop, a machine shop and an office, beside the mill that had been built, and a fire engine for the service of the town had been bought by the same company. The organization of the Lyman Mills was under discussion, fifty-nine lots of land had been sold by the company, individual enter- prise was on the alert. In 1851, the Hadley Falls Co. had two factories, each containing 18,000 spindles, machine, blacksmith and pattern shops, a foundry, offices and several boarding blocks. Gas works were completed by the company in September, 1852, and gas mains were laid through- out the village.
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