USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Springfield > King's handbook of Springfield, Massachusetts : a series of monographs, historical and descriptive > Part 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35
In 1696 the settlers on the west side of the river were incorporated into a new parish, and not long afterwards the southerly part of Springfield was incorporated as the parish of Longmeadow.
In 1723 a court-house was built, and the town contributed largely toward the expense. The money was in part raised by the sale of some of the common lands belonging to the town. It was a plain two-story wooden structure, its front projecting some distance into Main Street. It was for years the only public building in the town, and near by stood the whipping- post. It was a quaint little building ; and "it would seem that our venerable ancestors, who arranged the room, attempted to indicate, in the different grades of the floor (of which there were at least half a dozen), the relative rank and importance of the occupants of the place, from judge and jury down to prisoner and public." In those times the judges appeared in the old English style, attired in robes and wigs.
During the French and Indian wars, covering the period from 1744 to 1760, in which New England bore so prominent a part, Springfield men served in the army, and many of them perished. In the year 1745, at the siege and capture of Louisburg, 18 soldiers from this town lost their lives.
In 1774 that part of Springfield lying westerly of the Connecticut River was incorporated as a town, by the name of West Springfield.
The difficulties between England and her American Colonies were now drawing to a head. The colonists everywhere were taking sides. It soon became apparent at Springfield, that, while a respectable and influential
19
KING'S HANDBOOK OF SPRINGFIELD.
minority clung closely to their relation with the mother country, the large majority of the people were determined to resist oppression, and looked forward to a possible separation from England in no distant future.
At a town-meeting held on the 27th of June, 1774, certain letters which had been received from the town of Boston were referred to a committee of 9 persons; viz., Deacon Nathaniel Brewer, Capt. George Pynchon, Dr. Charles Pynchon, Capt. Simeon Colton, Moses Field, Jonathan Hale, jun., Ensign Phineas Chapin, James Sikes, and Deacon Daniel Harris.
First Court-house just before its Demolition in 1871.
July 12, 1774, this committee reported several resolutions, condemning taxation without representation ; denouncing the Boston Port Bill as a meas- ure that "ought to alarm us, and fill us with deep concern." They add : " Impressed with just concern for our privileges, and at the same time gov- erned by sentiments of loyalty to our sovereign, and with warm affection for our mother country, we ardently wish that all the Colonies, and every indi- vidual in them, may unite in some prudent, peaceful, and constitutional measure for the redress of our grievances, the security of our liberties, and the restoration of union and mutual confidence between Great Britain and
1
.
20
KING'S HANDBOOK OF SPRINGFIELD.
the Colonies." Another resolution expressed disapprobation of all meas- ures unnecessarily affrontive of the Parliament, and all tumults and riots. These resolutions were adopted, in town-meeting, by a large majority. At an adjourned meeting, July 26, it was voted that the resolutions should be sent to the town-clerk of Boston.
Sept. 20, 1774, the town appointed a committee to devise a plan of asso- ciated action, and suggested the calling of a county congress, to which it elected three provisional delegates. It also appointed a committee to procure necessaries for the subsistence of the industrious poor in Boston, and a committee to correspond with neighboring towns.
In January, 1775, various other resolves were voted by the town, and William Pynchon, jun., was chosen a delegate to the Provincial Congress to meet in February. Jan. 10 the town appropriated £25 to procure a town stock of ammunition. July 12, 1775, John Hale and William Pynchon, jun., were chosen delegates to the General Court to meet at Watertown, July 19. Nov. 14, 1775, a committee was chosen to consider the subject of providing for the soldiers and minute-men. Nov. 20, 1775, the town granted £52 14s. 2d. for this object. March 5, 1776, nine persons were appointed a committee of safety.
While a very large majority of the people of Springfield were preparing to throw off their allegiance to Great Britain, there were some of its most prominent and influential men who shrunk from the dissolution of the ties that bound them to the mother country, and clung to the hope of an adjust- ment of the existing difficulties without a resort to arms. One noteworthy instance was Col. John Worthington, a native of Springfield, born Nov. 24, 1719, a graduate of Yale in 1740, and afterwards a tutor there. He prac- tised his profession of the law extensively in the old county of Hampshire, and the county of Worcester, and was regarded as a very able advocate. He was popular among his own townsmen, courtly in his manners, and was thought to stand high in favor with the provincial government. He was king's attorney in Hampshire County, and could have been attorney-general for the whole State if he had chosen to accept the office. His relations to the government, and his association with its officers, kept him from sympa- thy with the popular cause ; and from 1774 to the time of his death in April, 1800, he lived a retired life.
During the Revolutionary War, Springfield was a recruiting-post, and a depot for military stores. Works for repairing arms were carried on here, which led ultimately to the establishment of the national armory.
After the war, -and as a result of the expenses incurred in the war, the heavy taxation, and the depreciation of paper money, -came on those dis- orders, with which Springfield was intimately associated, commonly called Shays' Rebellion. One of the earliest actors in fomenting this rebellion
2I
KING'S HANDBOOK OF SPRINGFIELD.
was one Samuel Ely, a pretended minister, who had preached at Somers, Conn. He instigated a mob, which obstructed the holding of a court at Northampton. For this he was indicted, and sentenced to imprisonment in the jail at Springfield. Taking advantage of the absence of a large number of people from the town, a mob assembled, and rescued him.
From this time onward, until the year 1787, there was a series of dis- orders, more or less violent, which pervaded the Commonwealth. The ses- sions of the courts were obstructed by mob violence, and the law was defied. Springfield was the scene of some of these outbreaks. In May, 1782, a mob collected here, to prevent the session of the Court of Common Pleas, but was dispersed by the action of the orderly citizens. In the year 1786, the insurrection had reached its highest point. The Supreme Court was to hold a session at Springfield on the fourth Tuesday of September. About 1,200 rebels, variously armed, assembled to prevent the transaction of the regular business. Under the protection of about 600 militia-men and volunteers, commanded by Gen. Shepard, the court was in session about three days ; but, for want of a grand jury, the proper business of the session was left undone. The most prominent leaders of the rebellion were Daniel Shays of Pelham, and Luke Day of West Springfield, both of whom had been officers in the Revolutionary army. The town of Springfield was loyal, and passed votes instructing its representative in the General Court of a decidedly conservative tendency. To protect the courts, and suppress the rebellion, the government issued orders to raise an army of 4,400 men under the command of Gen. Benjamin Lincoln. Of this number, 1,200 were raised by the county of Hampshire. They were under the command of Gen. Shepard, and ordered to rendezvous at Springfield.
On the 25th of January, 1787, Shays approached Springfield from the east with a large force, intending to seize the Arsenal. Shepard was pre- pared to meet him, and notified him that if he persisted in advancing he would be received with a discharge of cannon. Shays disregarded this warning, and continued to advance, notwithstanding shots were directed on either side and over the heads of his men. Shepard then ordered a shot to be discharged at the centre of the column. Upon this the rebels raised an outcry of murder, and fled. This was virtually the end of the rebellion.
Oct. 21, 1789, Gen. Washington arrived in Springfield on his visit to New England. He lodged at the tavern there kept by Zenas Parsons, which stood on what is now Court Square. The large old elm near the south-easterly corner of the square was directly in front of the principal entrance to the house. In his diary, Washington mentions that "Col. Worthington, Col. Williams, adjutant-general of the State of Massachu- setts, Gen. Shepard, Mr. Lyman and many other gentlemen, sat an hour or two with me in the evening at Parsons tavern where I lodged, and which is
THE OLD TAVERN WHERE WASHINGTON LODGED, AS IT IS IN 1883.
In Court Square.
23
KING'S HANDBOOK OF SPRINGFIELD.
a good house." This building now stands on Court Street, near Water Street.
By an Act of the Legislature passed on the twenty-sixth day of February, 1794, all the courts of the county of Hampshire were directed to be held at Northampton, which was made the shire town of the county. The rea- son assigned for making this change was stated to be, that Northampton, on account of its central situation, was the most suitable place for holding the courts of the county, and most likely to give general satisfaction. What- ever force there may have been in this reason in 1794, later years have shown that the centre of population and business is to be found nearer Springfield. Until the passage of this Act, Springfield had always been a shire town; and a session of the court had been held here from the first settlement. This change probably had an unfavorable effect upon Spring- field, from which it was not entirely relieved until this creation of the new county of Hampden in 1812.
Although Springfield became an important military post and a depot for military stores during the Revolution, it was not until April, 1794, that Con- gress established the National Armory here. This was followed in June, 1798, by an Act of the Legislature of Massachusetts, consenting to the pur- chase by the United States of 640 acres of land here for military purposes.
With the war of 1812-15, Springfield had but little immediate connection. When, near its close, British cruisers were hovering off the coast of New England, and threatening the safety of our ports, the Governor of Massa- chusetts ordered a draft from the militia of the State to march to Boston to repel a threatened invasion : two regiments of infantry and one of artillery went from the old county of Hampshire. The principal officers from Springfield were Brig .- Gen. Jacob Bliss, Major Solomon Warriner, and Capt. Quartus Stebbins. The troops from this vicinity were stationed at Commercial Point in Dorchester, and remained in camp about forty days, when they were dismissed.
In the summer of 1812 the southerly part of the old county was formed into a new county, by the name of Hampden, of which Springfield was made the shire town, This made necessary the erection of a new court- house. To provide a suitable location for this, a tract of land in the central part of the town was purchased by individuals, and conveyed to the county. The buildings previously upon it were removed, and a new court-house erected in 1821, fronting upon this common, now known as Court Square.
March 2, 1824, one of the principal workshops of the United-States Armory in Springfield was destroyed by fire. The scene was pictured by a West-Point graduate, and shows the method of dealing with fires, when fire-engines were worked by hand, and supplied with water by a line of men passing buckets from hand to hand.
24
KING'S HANDBOOK OF SPRINGFIELD.
March 24, 1828, the first town-hall here, which had been finished the month previous, was formally opened with an historical address delivered by George Bliss at the request of the town.
In 1831 the brick dwelling-house built by John Pynchon in 1660, a structure intimately associated with the early history of Springfield as the scene of many interesting events, was demolished, and its site occupied by a modern dwelling.
Oct. 1, 1839, the Western Railroad was opened to travel from Worcester to Springfield; and soon afterwards trains for transporting merchandise began to run.
Sept. 5, 1841, the large and beautiful ground of the Springfield Cemetery was consecrated, and an address delivered by Rev. William B. O. Peabody.
April 29, 1848, the northerly part of Springfield was set off and incorpo- rated as a new town by the name of Chicopee. The effect of this division was to defeat for the time a movement that had been started, in the central part of the town, for a city charter. It deprived the town of about half its territory and two-fifths of its population.
In 1852 the population of the town had increased so much that a new application of the town for a charter was successful, and on the 12th of April the city of Springfield was incorporated.
The organization of the city government was completed by the election of officers, and Caleb Rice was chosen mayor.
The need of a city-hall was soon felt, and the erection of such a building determined upon. On the Fourth of July, 1854, the corner-stone was laid with a few simple ceremonials. The hall was finished in 1855, and on the first day of January, 1856, was dedicated. On that occasion, Dr. J. G. Holland delivered an address, which was published by order of the city council.
The Rebellion of 1861-65 caused as great excitement in Springfield as elsewhere in New England. The raising of soldiers and other war meas- ures were prosecuted vigorously. Public meetings were presided over by the mayor, at which patriotic speeches were made and volunteers enlisted. The Tenth, Twenty-seventh, and Forty-sixth Regiments were encamped here before going to the seat of war. Companies for several other regi- ments were raised here.
In 1871 the county commissioners decided to erect a new court-house on the south side of Elm Street. It was built of Monson granite, and finished in 1874, at a cost of $289,785.30, exclusive of the furniture with which it was fitted up. This carried the whole expense up to $304, 543.29. The house was dedicated April 28, 1874, when an address was delivered by William G. Bates of Westfield.
On Sunday, May 30, 1875, a disastrous fire broke out on Taylor Street,
Conflagration of part of the U.S. Armory. Springfield Mass. March 2 4 1824.
From an old Pict800000
1
15
SKETCH OF THE FIRE AT THE UNITED-STATES ARMORY IN 1824. - From a Painting at the City Library.
25
26
KING'S HANDBOOK OF SPRINGFIELD.
and soon raged with such fury that many buildings on Worthington Street, Wights Avenue, Main, Vernon, and Water Streets, were in flames.
While Springfield from the first had the advantage over the other Massa- chusetts towns in the Connecticut Valley, of being the oldest settlement and the seat of justice, and the residence of the magistrates and other leading men, it shared with Northampton, a later-settled town, the advantage of an attractive site upon the river. Very early a rivalry sprang up between the two towns, that lasted nearly a century and a half. For the greater part of this time, each of them was a half shire town. In 1794 the courts were all removed to Northampton, and Springfield lost the prestige it had derived from them in the time of the Pynchons. . At the time of this change neither of these towns could boast a large population. By the census of 1790, Northampton had a population of 1,628, while Springfield had only 1,574. The census of 1800 gave Springfield an excess of 222 over Northampton. From that time Springfield gained steadily over its competitor, until by the United-States census of 1880 it had a population of 33,340 against one of 12,172 at Northampton. All rivalry in respect of numbers has long since ceased. Each still claims the advantage of a beautiful location and charm- ing scenery. Northampton rejoices in the excellence of its educational and charitable institutions. Springfield feels a just pride in the success of the various commercial and manufacturing enterprises which have distinguished its past history, and which promise so much for its future.
- HENRY MORRIS.
27
KING'S HANDBOOK OF SPRINGFIELD.
r
Geology and Geography.
PROMINENT FEATURES OF THE GEOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY OF THE REGION ABOUT SPRINGFIELD.
THE topography of a country is the key to its history, so we should first notice the general geographical features of this district. The Con- necticut Valley, from the northern border of Massachusetts to the sea, is not an ordinary river-channel : it is, in fact, a wide trough between two sys- tems of mountains. On the west lie the worn-down remnants of the once lofty Berkshire Mountains; on the east, the yet more degraded ridges that constitute what we may call the Eastern Massachusetts set of mountain ridges. These worn-down old mountains were elevated at different times. That on the east was probably the first to begin its upward movement, in very ancient days. The elevation of the Berkshire chain probably began at a little later date. As these mountain chains grew, they left between them a broad trough, from ten to thirty miles wide, extending from the sea to some distance north of Springfield. This trough probably assumed something like its present form just after the close of the coal-measures was formed, but it was begun ages before that time. During the coal-mak- ing time this valley was probably the seat of the forests of those ages, and may have had coal-beds deposited within it: if so, they were soon worn away; for, shortly after the coal-time, the thick and extensive beds of the new red or triassic sandstone were laid down directly upon the surface of the old crystalline rocks which then, as now, formed the sides and floor of the valley.
During this triassic time the Connecticut Valley formed a shallow arm of the sea, extending nearly as far up as where the Vermont line now lies. It probably received a number of considerable streams rising in the hills to the east and west, and at its head was the delta of the upper Connecticut. This_ period of the New Red Sandstone, or trias, occupied a long portion in the earth's history, and saw many great changes of climate. Once, at least, during this time, it is likely that this region was the seat of extensive glaciers, that discharged a great deal of pebbly sediment into their Connecticut basin. These pebbles were sorted and arranged in strata, and now appear in the extensive reddish-colored pudding-stone beds that abound in the valley. But the greater part of the time seems to have been one of moderate climate, as is shown by the animal and plant life that then existed in this part of the world.
28
KING'S HANDBOOK OF SPRINGFIELD.
Of the plant-life of the Connecticut, the fossils left then give us little information ; but of the animals we have some very remarkable remains, -remains that give to these rocks a singular, indeed we may say an un- equalled, interest among all formed in this period of the earth's history. These fossils do not give us the forms of the creatures themselves, for hardly any thing that entered into their structures has come down to us : they consist of the footprints made by the ancient creatures on the shores of the bay, when they were left bare by the retreating tide. These foot- prints have been found in various parts of the new red sandstone beds in the Connecticut Valley ; but they are best known in the shaly sandstones found at Turner's Falls, a few miles above Greenfield. At that point they have been extensively quarried for flagging, and as a source of supply of speci- mens for natural-history museums. The best collection of these specimens is that brought together by the late Dr. Hitchcock, contained in the museum of natural history at Amherst College ; another of nearly if not equal value is at Yale College.
Examining either of these collections, we see large slabs of stone, some- times ripple-marked, oftener covered with the obscure mud-flow lines so common along the soft beaches that form in brackish water-bays of our coast ; exactly such beaches as are now to be seen left bare along the banks of the Hudson when the fresh water sent down by the river is lifted and lowered by the tide. These fossil mud-flats are stamped over with the foot- prints of many different species of animals, varying in size from a robin to a creature that must have weighed some hundreds of pounds. When these footprints were first studied, it was supposed that they were the tracks of bird-like animals; and at first sight their general shape, and the fact that each animal appears ordinarily to have walked on two feet, support this idea. But a more careful inquiry has shown that these creatures are very far away from the birds. Looking closely at the footprints, we see that many of the animals, though walking for most of the time on two legs as a kangaroo does, had two other, shorter legs, which they occasionally applied to the ground : moreover, in many cases there is trace of a tail, indicated by a furrow where it dragged on the mud as the animal walked along.
So far, though acres of these ancient sea-shores have been closely scru- tinized, we have not found a single bone or other fossil remain, that can confidently be asserted to have belonged to these creatures. At this point, they have left us nothing but these footprints on the sands. From the fossils of other regions, we conclude that they were creatures in many ways more closely akin to our frogs and toads than to any other living creatures. They were hatched in the water from eggs, lived for a while in a tadpole state, and then passed through a change in which lungs took the place of gills, and legs sprouted in their places, as in our living amphibians. In
29
KING'S HANDBOOK OF SPRINGFIELD.
their perfect state, these creatures were often of great size, weighing several hundred pounds. It is almost certain they were cold-blooded ; and, as their large bodies could not during the winter have found shelter under ground as our living amphibians do, their existence is good proof that the winter season in their day, in this region, could not have been any thing like as cold as it is at present.
The physical history of this triassic time was as curious as its organic life. While for long ages these red sandstones and shales were making in the Connecticut Bay, the volcanic forces were very active in this region : from time to time crevices opened in this shallow sea-floor, and great sheets of lava were poured out upon its surface, or forced between the beds of rock that had been already formed. These trappean rocks, being harder than the sandstones amid which they lie, now form many sharp hills and moun- tains in the valley, lending it much of its picturesque beauty. Mount Tom, Mount Holyoke, and many other hills, are in part composed of them.
After the period of the trias we have little record of the changes in the Connecticut Valley, until the time of the last glacial period. One important series of events happened in this long interval. The rock beds of the triassic period were squeezed together, folded and tilted by the mountain-building forces, until they were built into many ridges and furrows, most of which have been planed away by glacial action. This mountain-building was probably connected with the further elevation of the old ridges of the Berk- shire mountains and those of Eastern Massachusetts. Some of the lava outflows of the Connecticut Valley may have occurred while this dislocat- ing was going on.
It is likely, that, during the ages from the trias to the last glacial period, this region was continually above the level of the sea: this is shown by the fact that there are no deposits formed during this interval within the limits of the valley.
With the beginning of the last glacial period, we come again to records of the geological history of this region. This is one of the most interesting chapters of the great stone book : though much of its print is scarcely legi- ble, we can decipher enough to make a most interesting story, were it not necessary to give it in mere outline.
The conditions in this district just before the coming of the last glacial period are not known to us, for the reason that the erosion of the surface which took place at that time destroyed the rocks which were formed in this district just before the ice-period commenced. Enough is known of other regions, however, to make it pretty certain, that, at the outset of the glacial period, there was a climate here not very different from that now prevailing in this region : many large animals existed then that are no longer found in this country, including the large form of elephant called the mammoth,
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.