USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Springfield > King's handbook of Springfield, Massachusetts : a series of monographs, historical and descriptive > Part 10
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The Other Family Ho- tels include the Mansion House, between Bliss and State Streets, and the Pyn- chon House, once a some- what famous hotel, near the depot : both deserve men- tion.
Restaurants. - That Springfield is a "city of homes," precludes the pos- sibility of supporting many noteworthy restaurants, cafés, or public dining-halls. There is, however, one first- The Evans House, Main and Hillman Streets. class restaurant. Edwin C. Barr came to Springfield in 1858, from California, where he had spent a few years after giving up the bakery-business in Clinton, Mass. He opened a bakery down town, and kept a lunch-counter. His ice-cream soon created a great demand, and led to a patronage which enabled him to move into his present quarters at No. 384 Main Street, on the west side near Vernon Street. Here, during 18 years, by shrewd management he has built up a large business, amounting to $75,000 a year. His fancy baking is still carried on, and in connection with it is a restaurant and a salesroom for fruit and confec- tions. In the latter department is found the largest and choicest stock of fine confectionery in the city, with all sorts of fancy and staple fruits. The main dining-hall on the ground floor, 75 feet deep, is elegantly finished and richly furnished. A toilet alcove opens from the left of the entrance, opposite the cashier's desk. There are three private dining-rooms cosily located above stairs, seating altogether 50 people. A large sum is expended every year or two in new and fashionable decorations, $3,000 being laid out in this way last season. In connection with the industries mentioned as carried on harmoniously under this roof, is one of the largest and best
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catering establishments in the State outside Boston. Any thing in this line, which customers will pay for, can be furnished in creditable shape. The kitchen, besides the ordinary modern conveniences provided for culinary purposes, is equipped with the novel contrivances for cooking by steam. Steam-power is used in the bakery and for freezing ices. Mr. Barr gives personal oversight to the work in all the departments, and has associated with him his eldest son, George E. Barr. Not content with even this large business, two branches have been for some time successfully run, one in Holyoke, and the other in Northampton. Both are in charge of sons of the senior Mr. Barr; Edward E. Barr taking charge of the former, and Jesse
Barr's Dining-Rooms, 384 Main Street.
C. Barr the latter. The pay-roll of the three restaurants shows from 65 to 75 employees.
Although there is nothing seasonable in "flesh, fish, or fowl," that can- not be had at Barr's, yet there has for years been one place where game has abounded. In this connection the middle-aged and older residents remem- ber the basement resort kept by " Uncle " Aaron Howe. Uncle Aaron came from Worcester County, and had two or three locations in town before he reached the well-known place under the Adams Express Company's office. There was no game-law in those days, and Uncle Aaron used to furnish his tables with game of all sorts the year round ; for, besides being a good cook, he was a tolerable hunter, and used to scour the woods with Moses Cooley, Joe Blair, George Ashmun, and Chester Harding.
Among other old-time victuallers were Amasa B. Parsons (who is still living), Aleck Pease, and Charley Jefts. But the legitimate successor of
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KING'S HANDBOOK OF SPRINGFIELD.
Uncle Aaron is Maurice Conrad, familiarly called " Dutchie." He has been in the business 20 years, the major part of the time in the basement at the corner of Main and Sanford Streets, the stand which Parsons had for nearly 30 years.
JAMES BEEBE SMITH.
III
KING'S HANDBOOK OF SPRINGFIELD.
Public Buildings and Government.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS, FIRE, WATER, SEWER, POLICE, JUDICIAL, POST- OFFICE, AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS.
T HE resident of Springfield has the advantage of living in a city large enough for him to enjoy all that variety and activity of life which easy communication with the rest of the world, good newspapers at home, and the best educational and social opportunities, are able to give; and a city, at the same time, so moderate in size, that with the public institutions, local government, and the movements of civic life, he feels a personal interest, both because he knows the chief actors, and because, as an individual, he knows that his vote and influence count for more than if he were part of a much larger municipal body. He also has a share in those valuable tradi- tions, which imperceptibly influence for good such of the old New-England towns and cities as have had the fortune to develop slowly, and have merely absorbed the immigration from other lands without having their native char- acteristics destroyed by it. The government of the city is conservative of what is best in the experience of the past, and progressive wherever the changing circumstances of the day demand progress. Spacious school- houses, ample water-supply, good drainage, and efficient fire-service, bespeak the ambition to make the city as good to live in as any other; while a low tax-rate, moderate salaries, and absence of all suspicion of "jobs " in the construction of public works, indicate that the control of civil affairs is in the hands of men who realize that public place is not for the subserving of private interest. The disposition to retain faithful officers when once secured, and thus to place the public interests above the spoils of party, is seen in the long tenures of a number of the public servants. The tax-col- lector, Francis Norton, has been in office twenty-four years; the city clerk and treasurer, Albert T. Folsom, twenty-one years ; the chief engineer of the fire-department, Abner P. Leshure, ten years; and the terms of most of the county officers, in whose election the citizens of Springfield have no small influence, seem to be practically during good behavior.
In this chapter we shall give some account of how the city is governed by the differently constituted bodies that represent its citizens; and of buildings devoted to public uses, - local, county, state, and national.
The City Government is vested in a mayor, a board of aldermen, and a common council, all annually elected, and serving without pay, except the
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KING'S HANDBOOK OF SPRINGFIELD.
mayor, who receives a compensation of $1,200. The number of aldermen (8) corresponds with the number of wards ; but there may be, and occasion- ally are, 2 aldermen from one ward. The members of the common coun- cil represent the wards, and the number in each ward is proportioned to the population of the ward. The other departments of administration are the board of overseers of the poor, the board of public works, the board of water-commissioners, the board of health, the board of park-commissioners, and the school-committee. Besides these, there are the board on claims, and the board of supervisors of highways and bridges, each composed entirely of members of the city council. The board of overseers of the poor have charge of the almshouse and the city farm, and employ an agent at a salary of $1,400, an important part of whose duties consists in looking after neglected children, and placing them in comfortable homes. The board of public works is composed of 3 able and discreet citizens, whose duties are to investigate and report upon such matters pertaining to streets, sidewalks, sewers, and drains, as may be committed to them by the city coun- cil. They receive a compensation of $3 per day. The city engineer is the clerk of the board. The board of water-commissioners have entire charge of the aqueducts and other works for the supply of water to the city. They are three in number, one of whom is the mayor. The board of health is composed of the mayor, one alderman, and the city physician, who is the clerk. They have a general supervision of sanitary affairs, and are a court of appeal from the decisions of the inspector of provisions. The board of park-commissioners consists of 5 citizens, appointed by the mayor with the consent of the city council, after the city had accepted the provisions of the act of 1882, providing for the establishment of parks in cities and towns. The school-committee is composed of 9 members, besides the mayor who is chairman ex officio. Their representative in the oversight of the schools is the superintendent of schools, who has a salary of $3,000 per year. The present superintendent is Admiral P. Stone. Those of the foregoing offi- cers who are voted for directly by the people are elected on the Tuesday following the first Monday in December.
The City Hall is situated near to what is generally reckoned the centre of the city ; that is, the vicinity of Court Square. Near this spot was the first church of the village, and the first schoolhouse, as also the court-house which was besieged by the insurgents at the time of the Shays Rebellion.
The old town-hall building, now standing on the corner of State and Market Streets, was constructed in 1828, and dedicated with an address by the Hon. George Bliss, whose historical sketch delivered on this occasion is the reservoir of facts connected with the early history of the town. In the construction and ownership of this building, the town united with some indi- viduals and the Masonic organizations; and the city continues to own the
KING'S HANDBOOK OF SPRINGFIELD.
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second floor, the lower floor being owned by individuals, and the third floor by the Masons. For many years after the new City Hall was built, the old town-hall was used as an armory by the local military companies.
The present City Hall was built in 1854. It is of brick, with trimmings
13 AM - BRECK
P.M. RICHARD 8 .
I.W. GILDE RT.
FISH
Copeland.
The Old Town-Hall, State Street, corner of Market.
of sandstone from the neighboring quarries of Longmeadow, and Roman- esque in its architecture. In the basement are the police-station and the lockup. On the first floor are the rooms of the mayor, aldermen, the com- mon council, the school-committee, and the superintendent of schools, at the right of the entrance ; and on the left, are seen the rooms of the city clerk, treasurer, the city marshal (salary $1,400), the overseers of the poor, the city auditor (salary $400), and the assessors and tax-collector. The upper floor
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KING'S HANDBOOK OF SPRINGFIELD.
is almost entirely occupied by the large audience-hall capable of seating 2,300 persons. In this hall, whose acoustic properties are not good, has been held many a mass-meeting, caucus, and fair, that had much to do with the political and social life of the city for the time being. At the dedication, Dr. J. G. Holland delivered the address ; and, eleven years after, a crowded and sad- dened multitude gathered to hear his eulogy on the death of Lincoln. Here John B. Gough has drawn full houses, especially when, in a notable series of temperance lectures in 1862, he aroused an unusual public interest on that subject. On the rostra, Charles Sumner and Wendell Phillips have spoken stirring words. With the unexpended proceeds of the last Soldiers' Fair, held here near the close of the war of the Rebellion, the soldiers' monument in the cemetery was purchased. A photograph taken at that time, and now treasured as of great local value, contains likenesses of nearly all the lead- ing citizens in attendance at the fair, and is an accurate representation of the interior of the hall. The clock in the tower used to be kept at Boston time, which was nearly five minutes earlier than the true time, but for convenience was generally used throughout the city; but on Nov. 20, 1883, the new standard time was adopted. Not till a few years since was the old custom abandoned of ringing the bell at the hour of nine in the evening, and on such momentous occasions as the straying of a child away from its mother. The bell is the heaviest in the city, its weight being 4,400 pounds. Its use is now confined to the announcing the hour of day and the occurrence of a fire, in accordance with the following mottoes cast upon its surface : -
HOMO ! ECCE HORÆ PROCLAMO TIBI. SIC TRANSIT GLORIA VITÆE. IGNE FURENTE POPULUM CONCLAMO.
(Behold, O man ! I proclaim the hours to thee. So passeth away the glory of life. When the fire rages, I summon the people.)
The Water-Department consists of a board of commissioners com- posed of the mayor and two citizens elected by the council. They are assisted by a clerk and superintendent. The office of the board is a com- modious building on Bridge Street, where also is the office of the city engineer, George A. Ellis. In this building each day's flow and pressure of water is automatically recorded for every minute of the day, and the results filed for future comparisons. The city is supplied with water through 68 miles of pipe, - most of which is of wrought iron, cement-lined, - connecting with 4 different reservoirs, 3 of which are north of the Boston and Albany Railroad, at a distance of less than two miles from the City Hall; but the last-built and main reservoir is situated in the town of Ludlow, nine miles from the city. The capacity of the three old reser-
THE SPRINGFIELD CITY HALL IN 1883.
In Court Square.
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KING'S HANDBOOK OF SPRINGFIELD.
voirs is 110,570,000 gallons; of the new one, 2,132,817,000 gallons. The aqueduct from the Ludlow reservoir is brought across the Chicopee at Indian Leap, on an iron bridge, the two chords of which serve also as water-mains. The parts of the city below Spring and School Streets are supplied with water for domestic purposes from the old reservoirs, at a low pressure of 40 pounds to the square inch; and the rest of the city, including all that region known as the " Hill," has only the Ludlow water, whose pressure is 65 pounds to the square inch. The pipes of the two systems can be connected, and the fire-hydrants made to discharge the water of the new reservoir at the rate of 150 to 250 gallons per minute, through an ordinary nozzle. The entire cost of the water-works, up to 1883, has been $1,258,752; and the receipts for rates for 1882 were $77,407, having nearly doubled since 1875. The water from the main reservoir is, during the winter months, pure in taste and color, but, during a part of the summer, becomes less clear and somewhat unpalatable. A view of the reservoir itself, during the warm season, reveals a green scum on the surface at the lee side of the pond, whose growth was commented on, in 1875, by Professor Nichols the consulting chemist, and said to be a peculiar alga belonging to the nostoc family. It at first caused no serious alarm, but with the lapse of years it has begun to be feared that its effects upon the water would need to be counteracted by the use of a filtering gallery. Upon an examination made of this vegetable growth by Dr. George Dimmock, the biologist, he pro- nounced it to be parasitic; and specimens of the numerous fish that every year are found dead on the shore of the reservoir were found by him to have been fastened and fed upon by this vegetable parasite, until their life had been literally eaten away. The evil caused by this pernicious nostoc has been less of late years ; and it is hoped will eventually disappear, though the large amount of shallow water in the reservoir is conducive to its growth. Deleterious influences have not generally been attributed by the local physicians to the Ludlow water; and, even at its worst, it may be said to be, like a singed cat, better than it looks. The advantages of a boun- tiful water-supply are seen all over the city, in the 400 fire-hydrants, the trim, well-watered lawns, and streets free from dust.
Of the earlier history of water-supply, it may be said, that, prior to 1843, the city was supplied mainly by private wells; and, in June of that year, the Hon. Charles Stearns built a reservoir on the site of the present Lom- bard Reservoir, and laid about eight miles of log pipes through various streets. In June, 1848, the Springfield Aqueduct Company was chartered; and on Sept. 10, 1860, the City Aqueduct Company was organized. The Aqueduct Company's works comprised the Lombard Reservoir, lying north- east of the Armory, in Ward I ; and the two Van Horn reservoirs, north of the Armory, in the same ward, and divided, or split, by Armory Road. In
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KING'S HANDBOOK OF SPRINGFIELD.
1873 the city bought all these works, retaining them for a low-service supply, and, proceeding to construct the high-service reservoir in Cherry Valley, in the town of Ludlow, completed it in 1875.
The Fire-Department is well equipped and manned, and under the charge of a chief-engineer, Abner P. Leshure, of ability and lifelong experi- ence ; who is also the building commissioner, and as such has an oversight of the construction of buildings within the fire-district. There are 4 assist- ant engineers, 8 foremen, and 93 men connected with the force, besides a superintendent of the hose - company in paratus in the steam fire-
fire - alarm. There is also a Indian Orchard. The ap- service consists of 4 engines (3 of which were built by the Amoskeag Man- ufacturing Com- pany), 2 hook-
Fire-Department Headquarters, on Pynchon Street.
and-ladder trucks, and 10 hose-carriages. There are 3 bell-strikers con- nected with the fire-alarm, and located at the City Hall, the Bond-street engine-house, and the Walnut-street hose-tower. Fourteen horses, and 13,000 feet of hose, are in use. The signal-boxes of the fire-alarm are 33 in number. Upon this department the city spends annually upwards of $35,- 000, and receives its return in a sense of real security against disastrous fires. As an aid to the city fire-department, when needed, the "Waterspout " engine belonging to the United-States Government, and kept at the Armory, is sometimes called out. The work of the engines in subduing the flames
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KING'S HANDBOOK OF SPRINGFIELD.
is supplemented, and often made unnecessary, by the 400 hydrants located in all sections of the city, and each affording a supply of 250 gallons of water per minute, at the pressure of 125 pounds. The principal engine-house is on the south side of Pynchon Street, about midway between Main and Water Streets, and will repay a visit. The careful preparations to save every second at the outbreak of a fire, the appearance of order and neatness pre- vailing, and the substantial character of all the equipments, -impress the beholders, and suggest a comparison with the old system ; when the general populace turned out at the sound of the alarm, rushed pell-mell along the sidewalks with the shaky old hand-engine, and often celebrated the extin- guishment of a fire with scenes of drunkenness and riot. Firemen's musters in those times were days of much fun, but of much disgraceful disorder. They are now simply the exhibition days of the department in its dress-clothes, -but a department in which every man is required to be strictly temperate and orderly, whether on or off duty. At the Pynchon- street engine-house, the visitor will be shown the well-oiled engine, with water always warm in its boiler ; the harnesses fastened to the pole, and hang- ing from overhead, ready to drop upon the backs of the horses at a touch, when, as the alarm is struck, as if by magic the gas in the building, by a change in the electric circuit, immediately springs into brilliancy, the horses are automatically set free, and take of their own accord their places before the wheels ; and the men, aroused from their numerous cot-beds in all parts of the building, jump into their clothes, slide down to the lower floor on a brass-bar, without waiting even to run down the stairs, and are out into the dark street, with the thunderous machine, in from 15 to 20 seconds from the moment when the first blow of the alarm was sounded. Such are the changes since, in 1810, a fire at the Dwight House (page 209) was extin- guished by buckets passed from hand to hand from the "town-brook."
The first known local fire-company was organized on Jan. 17, 1794. By its articles of association, each member was required to keep "two fire-bags and buckets, with his name thereon, hung up by the front door of his house," and to repair with them to fires, at which the members exercised supreme authority. The town, however, owned a fire-engine a few years previous to the formation of the company just mentioned. It was built in Philadelphia, in 1792. The firemen of those days carried brass-tipped staves. The pres- ent fire-department was organized in 1830 by Elijah Blake.
The firemen have formed among themselves two associations for the relief of each other, - one called the Firemen's Mutual-Relief Association, which pays a sum weekly to any of its members that are injured at a fire, or suffer from exposure thereat; and the Fireman's Aid Association, which relieves in cases of sickness from other causes. The last, and indeed the only, great fire from which Springfield has suffered, occurred in 1875, when
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KING'S HANDBOOK OF SPRINGFIELD.
nearly $400,000 of property between Main, Vernon, and Worthington Streets was destroyed; but, as the buildings were mostly of wood, they have since been replaced, to the great advantage of the city.
The Police-Department is not a separate branch of the government inasmuch as its administration is entirely vested in the mayor and aldermen ; who annually, in the month of January, make appointments to the offices of city marshal, assistant marshal, captain of the watch, and night and day watchmen. The office of marshal is so intimately connected with the administrative policy of the mayor for the time being, that the incumbent of this office is frequently changed, and a new mayor generally appoints a new marshal. Public praise or criticism of this functionary turns mostly on his vigor or laxity in enforcing the liquor-law. 96 licenses were granted for the year 1883. The popular vote then in favor of granting licenses was 2, 128, against 1,044 opposed to this policy; but in December the vote was against granting licenses for 1884. The city marshal the present year is Robert J. Hamilton : he receives a salary of $1,400. The night and day watchmen are 26 in number. The justice of the Police Court is Gideon Wells. There is a criminal term of this court held daily except Sundays, and civil causes are tried on Mondays. An important official in attendance on this court is the probation-officer. His duty is to investigate the character and offence of every person arrested for crime, with the purpose of ascertaining whether he may reasonably be expected to reform without punishment. If he sees reason to hope for reformation, he so advises the court; and, if the justice places him upon probation, it is on such terms as the court pleases, and the officer follows up the career of the released person, makes a record of the same, and reports the results of each case to the commissioners of prisons and to the county commissioners. The statistics of this officer, Rev. Joseph Scott, for the year ending Sept. 30, 1883, are as follows : -
Number placed on probation (all but 9 ar- rested for drunkenness) . 164
Number who have kept the conditions of their probation, the term of probation having ended 32
Number who have violated the conditions of probation, and have been returned for
sentence .
23
Number still on probation
109
Total number of arrests examined (about) . 1,600
The Sewer-Department embraces over 33 miles of sewers, which have cost, up to Dec. 31, 1882, the sum of $423,000. The key to the system of sewerage is readily seen when it is considered that a large portion of the city is situated on land sloping directly to the Connecticut River, and that the highest point of the lowlands is near the corner of Main and Worth- ington Streets, whence the land slopes north and south. The great trunk sewers through Main Street run north and south from the last-named point ; one discharging its sewage into the river above Hampden Park, and the other at the foot of York Street. It is at this corner that Garden Brook,
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KING'S HANDBOOK OF SPRINGFIELD.
which takes its rise east of the Armory, divides, and enters the river by two natural channels, one running south under Main Street to Mill River, and the other north through the meadows east of Main Street to the Connecti- cut north of Hampden Park. This brook has naturally been made a part of the sewerage-system, and one of the mains running to the hill follows in part the course of this stream. The other main sewers draining the hill are laid through State, Union, and Mill Streets. The branch of Garden Brook south of Worthington Street is called the "Town Brook," though now covered for most of its course. The superintendent of the department is Henry D. Foss.
The first effort at drainage was a sewer constructed through Elm Street in 1842, for the purpose of draining the marshy fen east of Main Street; which resulted in making that previously impassable swamp dry and usable, several streets having since been laid out over it without difficulty. The next sewer was placed in Worthington Street, in 1863. The next in order was through Ferry and Cypress Streets, in 1866. Then followed Union Street in 1868, Garden-brook sewer in 1873, and Locust Street in 1874; and, lastly, the great sewer from Lyman Street, down Main to York, and thence through York, to the Connecticut River.
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