USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Springfield > King's handbook of Springfield, Massachusetts : a series of monographs, historical and descriptive > Part 17
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The cathedral building, completed in 1860, and consecrated in 1867, is on State Street, at the corner of Elliott Street. It is of brick, with stone
KING'S HANDBOOK OF SPRINGFIELD. 193
trimmings. Its length is 175 feet, and its width is 105 feet at the transepts, and the height of its spire is 190 feet above the street. The interior is elaborately and costly finished. On the ceiling are four large circles fres -. coed with scenes representing the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, - I. The
CHI +
St. Michael's Cathedral, State Street.
Espousal; 2. The Annunciation ; 3. The Nativity ; and, 4. The Flight into Egypt, - and two large panels, one over each transept gallery, represent our Lord blessing little children, and the expulsion of rebellious angels from
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heaven. The high altar is of pure marble ; the tabernacle is a fine piece of workmanship; and in the panels back of the main altar are five oil paintings, -" The Agony in the Garden," "Carrying the Cross," " The Crucifixion," " The Resurrection," and "The Ascension." The altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary is richly carved, and above it is a statue of the Virgin; and in a canopy above are represented Virtue, Humility, Charity, and Mercy ; and above all is a large painting of the Holy Family. The other altar is similar, and is dedicated to St. Joseph, a statue of whom is above it, and over which is a fresco of Christ healing the ruler's daughter. The semicircular ceiling over the organ has a picture of David playing the harp. The organ was built by E. & G. G. Hook (now Hook & Hastings), the celebrated church- organ builders of Boston. The church contains 380 pews, with seats for about 2,000 persons. In a niche on the outside of the tower is a life-size statue of St. Michael, a spear in hand, and the dragon at his feet.
The Evangelical Religious Society of Indian Orchard is the later out- growth of what, March 23, 1848, was organized, with 15 members, as " The First Congregational Society of Indian Orchard," and whose first pastor was L. H. Cone, who served until 1855, and who is mentioned elsewhere as the pastor of Olivet Congregational Church. The Ward Manufacturing Com- pany, in 1856, deeded to the First Society two lots on the north side of Main Street, corner of Oak ; and in 1863 a church building was completed. Soon after this the society became disorganized, and the building passed first into the hands of Harvey Butler, and from him to the Indian Orchard Mill Company, who own it now. Feb. 10, 1865, a meeting was called by II persons, to organize a church ; and a week later they, joined by members of the former First Church, formed the existing society, and chose Mr. Rice as their first pastor ; and, after several changes, F. M. Sprague became, on Dec. 1, 1879, the pastor, and has remained there since. The church has an average attendance of 150 members, and a Sunday school of 125 pupils.
The North Congregational Church, at the corner of Salem Street and Salem Avenue, is one of the newest and most attractive of the local church edifices. It was designed by the architects of Trinity Church in Boston, and also of the South Congregational Church in Springfield. The material is freestone ; the style is Norman, and the shape is cruciform, with a massive tower in the angle between the nave and south transept. West of the tower, on the south side of the nave, is a cloister; on the north side, is a chapel seating 150 persons. The pulpit is in a chancel : above and behind it is the organ-loft, with the gallery for the choir. The nave is 100 feet long by 44 feet wide. The chapel is 56 by 18 feet. The tower is 150 feet high. The cost of the building, including the chapel, was $53,398; and of the land, $26,000. The last was bought in 1871, and the new church dedicated on Sept. 18, 1873, the sermon being preached by the Rev. Dr. Joseph Parker of London.
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The society dates back to 1846, and is practically the fifth Congregational church of Springfield. The first minister was Robert H. Conklin of War- saw, N.Y. The first pastor was Raymond H. Seeley of Bristol, Conn., who was installed March 1, 1849, and dismissed Jan. 26, 1858, to take charge of
North Congregational Church, Salem Street and Salem Avenue.
the American Chapel in Paris, France. His successors here have been James Drummond of Lewiston, Me., June 16, 1858, to December, 1861 ; L. Clark Seelye of Amherst, Jan. 20, 1863, to May 31, 1865; Richard G. Greene of Brooklyn, N.Y., May 13, 1866, to October, 1874; Washington Gladden of Brooklyn, Jan. 2, 1875, to May, 1883 ; C. Van Norden of St. Albans, Vt., who was installed May 31, 1883, is now the pastor. At first, public services
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were held in Frost's Hall, the third story of a building on the corner of Main and Sanford Streets. In October, 1847, the society hired for the winter the edifice known as the " Free Church " in Sanford Street. In Sep- tember, 1847, a lot on the south-east corner of Main and Worthington Streets had been bought on which to erect a chapel; but two months later it was decided to sell this lot, and buy a site on the west side of Main Street, north of Bridge Street. Here the society's first building was dedicated March I, 1849, on the day that its first pastor was installed. In 1871 this property was sold for $46,000, and the site of the present church, above described, was bought. The society began with a membership of 22: in 1883 it has a membership of about 450. The Sunday school was organized in 1846, with George H. White as superintendent. It is still successfully conducted, with an average attendance of 200, superintended by W. F. Ferry.
The Spiritualists' Union holds its meetings at II and 7 P.M., on Sundays, from Oct. I to May I of each year, at Gill's Hall, on Main Street, corner of Bridge Street. Some of the phenomena of Spiritualism are shown at these meetings, and its philosophy is discussed from the platform. The attend- ance is said at times to reach 500.
The president of the society writes as follows: "The society has no written creed. Morality, honesty, temperance, chastity, and help for the afflicted, are among the cardinal principles of its members. They think it is better to love humanity than to love God. They believe in the revela- tions of science rather than in the 'so-called ' revelations of the Christian Bible. In frequent converse with their friends who have 'passed on,' they do not fear death, but greet the change as a great blessing, when the spirit can no longer hold itself in the dissolving body. Their last hours are often made bright by visions of their waiting angel friends."
The society had its beginning about the year 1850, and is now managed by a stock-company, organized under the General Statutes of Massachusetts. The officers for 1883-84 are : H. A. Budington, president; James Lewis, vice-president ; John S. Hart, clerk ; James U. Johnson, treasurer. These, with a board of managers and committees, attend to the details of the meet- ings. The society is in a prosperous condition, and is constantly receiving many additions.
The New-Jerusalem Church. - The Springfield Society of the New Jerusalem - more commonly known as the Swedenborgian - was instituted March 27, 1853 (seventeen persons uniting to form it), for this use : -
"The worship of our Lord Jesus Christ in his divine humanity, the only God of heaven and earth, and other than whom there is no Saviour. The study of his word, that we may in verity shun all evils as sins against him, and may obey his commands, in his strength, thus enabling him to build us up in true spiritual manhood, - the only image and likeness of himself in
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which he creates us, and in which we can work with and for him, either on the earth or in the heavens."
This society has had 40 members. They met at each other's homes, and in the " Studio " on Chestnut Street, till March 3, 1869, when they dedicated
NEWJERUSAL CHAPEL
New-Jerusalem Church, Maple Street.
the chapel on the east side of Maple Street, near the corner of State, which they now occupy, with sittings for over 100. The average attendance, how- ever, is much below that number. They have never had a settled minister. The services, which are conducted by different clergymen or students, and to which all are cordially welcomed, are sustained wholly by voluntary offerings.
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The Second Advent Church was organized in 1860; built a house of worship on Vernon Street in 1867; was burned out in 1875; and now holds regular Sunday services in Franklin Hall (formerly the Pynchon-street Methodist-Episcopal Church), on Pynchon Street. The congregation num- bers about 300, and the Sunday school 100. Its present pastor is Elder George H. Wallace, formerly of Castleton, Vt .; and its Sunday-school super- intendent, T. R. Weaver. Its pastors have been Elders Joseph O. Curry, Randolph E. Ladd, F. H. Burbank, William N. Pine, H. E. King, and George W. Sederquest.
St. Matthew's Roman-Catholic Church at Indian Orchard, at the corner of Worcester and Pine Streets, was organized in 1863, under Father William Blenkensop. The next year Bishop O'Reilly officiated at the laying of the corner-stone. Father Patrick Healy then took charge, and during his term the church was completed. The successive pastors have been P. D. Stone, D. F. McGrath, James Fitzgerald, and John Kenney. The parish now numbers about 900.
The State-street Baptist Church was organized Aug. 17, 1864, with 131 members, all but ten of whom were dismissed from the First Baptist Church of this city. This church originated not in a quarrel with the parent church, but from necessity. At the sale of pews in the First Baptist Church, in April, 1864, a large number of families were unable to obtain sittings for themselves ; and on the Ioth of the same month, a meeting of the society was called to consider the situation, and to provide for those without church privileges. This meeting was called to order by the pastor, the late Dr. George B. Ide, and Deacon J. E. Taylor was made chairman. The meeting, with great unanimity, voted to permit such members as desired, to hold separate meeting and obtain preaching in some suitable hall, under the name of " The Colony of the First Baptist Church." This arrangement continued, and the "Colony " as such prospered till its organization as a church. The pulpit was supplied by various individuals, without any set- tled pastor, till Jan. 1, 1865, when A. K. Potter of South Berwick, Me., began his pastorate of this people, which lasted till Feb. 18, 1883. This church has been vigorous from the start, and has had a prosperous career, both as to numbers in its congregations and members of its church, as well also as in its pecuniary success. Just after the settlement of a pastor, a lot was secured, money raised for a church edifice, which was completed and dedicated in December, 1867. The building, with the site, cost $60,000, upon which was a debt at the time of its dedication of $12,500, but which has since been paid. This church employs the weekly payment by envelopes to defray its current expenses, and by this means has met all its bills, and has had not less than $200 surplus at the close of each year. During the 20 years of its existence, it has dismissed some 75 of its members to form
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the First Baptist Church of West Springfield; and has also assisted them to the amount of some $4,000, in building their house of worship. The State-street Baptist Church has its roll, about one-half of whom
Rev. W. H. P. Faunce, a young ise, in the latter part of 1883 ac- come their pastor, and is to enter
The Hope Congregational mission Sunday school started of the South Congregational Sunday afternoon, they stopped a colored woman, on Quincy religious services were held in to open a Sunday school. Mrs.
had nearly 1,450 members upon still retain their membership. man of marked ability and prom- cepted a unanimous call to be- upon his labors in June, 1884. Church is the outgrowth of a by two young men, members Church. Walking out one at the house of a Mrs. Brown, Street ; and, learning that no the vicinity, it was proposed Brown tendering the use of
illa
State-street Baptist Church.
a room in her house, a school was opened, and the first session held in January, 1865, with an attendance of 16 scholars. The attendance increased, so that it became necessary to provide larger quarters; and a barn was
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KING'S HANDBOOK OF SPRINGFIELD.
bought and fitted up on Union Street. This soon proved to be too small ; and the friends of the enterprise, who had become numerous, soon raised the means for the erection of a comfortable building on Union Street, which they named Hope Chapel, and dedicated it in July, 1870. In addition to the Sunday school, weekly prayer-meetings had been sustained; and, after opening the chapel, Sunday-evening services were held, with preaching by local pastors and others. In 1875 Charles L. Morgan, who had preached occasionally, was engaged to preach for one year; and, before the year closed, it became evident that a church organization could be sustained ; and in March, 1876, a council was called, a church organized, and Mr. Morgan ordained as pastor. He remained till Nov. 1, 1880, when he ac- cepted a call from Green Bay, Wis. Rev. David Allen Reed, then at Auburn Theological Seminary, accepted a unanimous call ; and June 7, 1881, was ordained, and entered at once upon the duties of pastor. In 1877 the chapel was removed to the corner of State and Winchester Streets. It had been enlarged at times; and still being too small to accommodate the numbers who desired to worship here, and the Sunday school being excessively crowded, it was decided to make an effort to build a church on the site of the chapel. On Sunday, March 19, 1882, the pastor preached a sermon, giving a brief history of the past, and the needs of the church and Sunday school. In response to his appeal for subscriptions, $13,000 was raised on the spot, which was largely increased by gifts from friends. Plans were secured, and the preliminaries settled; and on the 24th of Sep- tember, 1882, the corner-stone of the new church was laid, and the new church became ready for occupancy in October, 1883. As the result of an effort to free the church from debt, $15,000 was raised at this time, and the whole debt removed. The new building is of brick and wood, in the low rambling style of English architecture, and cost about $26,000. The architects were Francis R. Richmond and B. Hammett Seabury. A mission- school under the auspices of this church is successfully sustained in White Street, numbering about 100 (noticed later in this chapter). The member- ship of the church is over 400; and, of the Sunday school, 700.
The Memorial Church, so called in love to the memory of the deceased ministers of New England, was organized Oct. 29, 1865, as a union evan- gelical church. The church was recognized by an ecclesiastical council of neighboring churches. The Rev. Mark Trafton supplied the pulpit for one year as acting pastor. The Gothic stone edifice on Round Hill, at the junction of Main and Plainfield Streets, was built at the cost of $100,000; and the parish is free from indebtedness. It was opened for the worship of God, March, 1869. The present pastor, W. T. Eustis, was installed June 3, 1869, in the presence of an ecclesiastical council representing the evan- gelical churches of the county, and also of churches in other States. The principles of the church are expressed in the following resolutions : -
€
1
1
THE HOPE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
State and Winchester Streets,
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ADOPTED OCT. 29, 1866.
RESOLVED, That the Memorial Church of Springfield, having declared in its creed its belief in the Holy Catholic Church, welcomes to its membership and communion all who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity and truth, and who agree with it concerning the essential doctrines of the Christian religion, by whatever name they may be called.
ADOPTED OCT. 27, 1867.
WHEREAS, The Memorial Church, in its plan of organization, declares that it will seek the relations of Christian fellowship with other evangelical churches by the mutual transfer of members, by minis- terial exchanges, by sacramental communion, by mutual councils, and by all suitable modes of co- operation;
RESOLVED, That, in its action in pursuance of these principles, it does not intend to merge itself in any denominational organization.
The church at present has a membership of 350, a large and growing congregation, and a Sunday school with over 400 scholars.
Grace Methodist-Episcopal Church. - In the autumn of 1866 the ques- tion of forming a Methodist church, to be located on Main Street south of State Street, -there being no Methodist church in that section of the city, - was agitated. As a result, on Jan. 1, 1867, 29 members of the then Pynchon-street - now Trinity - Methodist-Episcopal Church were organ- ized as a society to be known as the Central Methodist-Episcopal Church. Edw. Cooke, D.D., principal of the Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham, Mass., was their first minister ; and the first service was held on the first Sunday of January, 1867, in Union Hall. The same day a Sunday school was organized. In April, 1867, the Rev. C. A. Merrill became their pastor. At this time several of the original members, discouraged by the slow growth, proposed to give up the organization, and decided to withdraw. Those who remained, believing that a church was needed in that part of the city, again engaged the Rev. Dr. Edw. Cooke to supply the pulpit for a year. Jan. 1, 1869, the society changed its place of worship to Institute Hall, and in the following June rented the old Universalist Church. In April, 1870, the Rev. C. T. Johnson became pastor ; but, his health failing, he was obliged to resign in October, 1871. J. R. Tiddy was his successor, and served till his death, Nov. 2, 1872. John A. Cass followed as pastor, in December, 1872, which position he filled till April, 1876. During his pas- torate the present fine house of worship, situated at the corner of Main and Winthrop Streets, was built, and the name of the society was changed to the Grace Methodist-Episcopal Church. The building is Norman in its architecture, of brick, with stone trimmings, and is one of the finest church edifices in the city. Its seating capacity is 900; and cost, with furnishings and organ, $72,000. It was dedicated Jan. 20, 1875, by Bishop Thomas Bowman, D.D. The other pastors have been E. A. Smith, J. O. Knowles, S. B. Sweetser, and the present incumbent, T. W. Bishop. The present membership is 192. The Sunday school has 30 teachers and 300 scholars.
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This is the last formed of the local Methodist-Episcopal churches. The building is one of the most attractive; and its erection is due largely to the generous gifts of the late David Smith and his son William H. Smith, and Elijah Nichols.
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Memorial Church, on North Main Street.
The Third Baptist Church (colored), of which Thomas Henson is pastor, worship in the old Town Hall, corner of Market and State Streets. It was organized in 1871 as the Pilgrim Baptist, with 16 members ; and re-organized under its present name February, 1881. It has a membership of about 120,
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a sabbath school of 130, and a congregation of over 200. Its pastors, up to the present incumbent, have been Spencer Harris, Peter Smith, Moses Mathews; its various places of worship, Institute Hall, South Church Chapel, Union Hall, and Town Hall. There is at present a growing in- terest in its membership.
The Church of the Sacred Heart was formerly included in the parish of St. Michael's ; but in 1873 the parishioners had so greatly increased that one church no longer sufficed ; accordingly the bishop divided it, and decreed that all Catholics living north of the Boston and Albany Railroad - now numbering about 4,000 - should form the parish of the Sacred Heart. Rev. J. J. McDermott has had charge of it since its organization, assisted by Rev. James F. Fitzgerald until his death, Nov. 24, 1880; then by Rev. James Boyle until June, 1881, since which time Rev. M. J. Howard has been the assistant. The parish at present holds services in a hall in the brick Catholic-school building known as the Notre Dame Convent, on Everett Street, which was dedicated as a church by the Right Rev. P. T. O'Reilly, June 14, 1874, the first services being held Easter Sunday, April 5, 1874. The church has bought land on Chestnut and Linden Streets, on which it hopes, in the course of the next two or three years, to erect a church-edifice.
St. Aloysius Church at Indian Orchard was organized March 3, 1873, with a membership of 180 French Roman-Catholic families. The first services were held in the hall of the Indian Orchard Mills Company, who later, through the efforts of their agent, C. J. Goodwin, presented to the society the piece of property on Main Street, where the church now stands. The erection of the church, 95 feet long and 55 feet wide, was immediately begun, and the corner-stone laid Aug. 5, 1873, with appropriate ceremonies ; Bishop Fabre of Montreal officiating. Services were first held there Dec. 25, 1873. Rev. L. G. Gagnier had charge until Jan. 5, 1876, when the pres- ent pastor, H. Landry, assumed the care of the parish, which now claims about 2,000 persons, including French Catholics at Jenksville. His assist- ant is A. J. Charland. In 1877 a commodious parsonage was built, adjoining the church.
St. Joseph's Church was organized for French Roman Catholics in March, 1873, with a membership of 240 families, under the direction of the present pastor, Rev. L. G. Gagnier. Two months later, May 5, the society purchased a building-lot and a house on Howard Street, near Water; and July 7 the foundations of the church were laid. The basement was roofed in, and occupied for divine worship from November, 1873, until July, 1877, when the erection of the whole structure was successfully completed. It is built of brick, in a simple but imposing style of architecture. The dimen- sions of the building are 144 feet by 65 feet, including the tower. The base-
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ment is 14 feet high, and the side walls of the main building are 21 feet high, with a clear-story that gives a central aisle of 52 feet from floor to ceiling. The tower and steeple- are 172 feet high. The net cost of the property as it now stands is about $60,000. The member- ship is over 400 families. A pa- rochial school, under the direc- tion of the Sisters of St. Joseph, is soon to be in operation.
St. Joseph's Church, Howard Street.
Brightwood Chapel, on the corner of Birnie and Wason Avenues, is an attractive little structure, built in 1879, by subscription, to meet the local wants of 30 to 40 families at Brightwood. Any who accept the essential doctrines of the Christian religion are in accord with this church. Preach- ing is for the most part gratuitously supplied by ministers of different
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denominations in the vicinity. Its Sunday school ranges from 50 to 75, and Mrs. Albert F. Blodgett is the superintendent.
Faith Chapel, on Long Hill, at the junction of Fort Pleasant and Sum- ner Avenues, is two miles from the City Hall, a convenient and tasteful structure, that cost $7,000. It is one of the South-Church mission enter- prises, like Hope Chapel (which has now become Hope Church), and was designed to provide for the sparse population of that part of the city, until a church shall be required there. A Sunday school is sustained, and re- ligious meetings. And when the growth of the city reaches that hill, as it is likely to do, this chapel will be found well located for its purposes, and capable of supplying the religious wants of that community for a consid- erable time. Some of the views from that hill, particularly from the " Storrs lot," and from a point farther north, opposite the " Burbank cottage," are among the finest in the city.
The Carlisle Mission owes its beginning to Miss Mary Worthington, formerly a teacher in the schoolhouse at the corner of the Boston road and Benton Street. It was opened Sept. 20, 1868. Laborers from the First Baptist Church have never been wanting to assist in the work. The super- intendents have been George A. Lawrence, O. S. Greenleaf, S. F. Merritt, A. J. Rand, H. H. Bowman, and F. M. Tinkham who has charge in 1883. The Sunday school now numbers 60 scholars, and its average attendance is 35. It has a small library. In 1881 Alden Warner gave land for a chapel on Benton Street; and the mission building was built at a cost of $1,600, mostly private gifts.
The Women's Christian Association was first formed as an auxiliary to the Young Men's Christian Association. After two or three years of united labor, this became an independent organization in February, 1870, for the improvement of the religious, intellectual, social, and temporal welfare of women in this city, especially of young women. On May 3, 1875, the building containing the Association rooms was burned. Oct. 22, 1878, a Boarding Home for Young Women was opened, where young women em- ployed in the city, in the varied avocations, should find a boarding-place under Christian influences, and have the advantages of a pleasant, attractive, and well-regulated Christian home. It progressed so favorably, as mani- fested in the demand for more commodious quarters, that in 1879 a hand- some new boarding-house at 27 Vernon Street was erected. With its attractive parlors, its piano, - which was to be free for the use of all the boarders, - books, daily and weekly papers and periodicals (furnished by kind friends); with its pleasant social gatherings, and the daily evening assembling of the family for their devotional exercises, consisting of read- ing the Scripture, prayer, and singing, - it was hoped that no young woman could long be an inmate of the Home, and be indifferent to its kind and
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