USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Northampton > Northampton, the meadow city > Part 4
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romance, their loveliness, their legends, their traditions, or their poetry.
37
THE MEADOW CITY.
ST. JOHNS EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Two Americans, one a gifted son and the other a gifted daughter of song, have paid our valley the tribute of their genius. Edmund Clarence Stedman seems to have sent his melodious greeting from High Ridge in Williamsburg.
"How many years have made their flights, Northampton, over thee and me Since last I scaled the purple heights That guard thy pathway to the sea ; Or climbed, as now, the topmost crown Ot western ridges whence again 1 see, far miles beyond the town, That sunlit stream divide the plain !
There still the giant warders stand And watch the currents downward flow, And westward still, with steady hand, The river bends her silver bow.
1 see the hazy lowlands meet The sky, and count each shining spire
From those wbich sparkle at my feet To distant steeples tipped with fire ! For still, old town, thou art the same : The red-breasts sing their choral tune Within thy mantling elms a-flame, As in that other dearer June, In yonder shaded Academe :- The rippling waters flow to-day, But other boys, at sunset, dream Of love and laurels far away.
Sigh not, ye hreezy elms, but give The murmur of my sweetheart's vows, When life was something worth to give, And love was young beneath your boughs!"
F
INTERIOR OF EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Lydia H. Sigourney's salutation floats with even wings from Mt. Tom.
"Fair River, not unknown to Classic From where the arms of stretching Nilus Song, shine
Which still in varying beauty creep'st along
Where first thy infant fount is faintly seen,
A line of silver 'mid a fringe of green, Or where, near towering rocks, thy bolder tide
To win the giant-guarded pass doth glide,
Or where, in azure mantle, pure and free,
Thou giv'st thy cool hand to the waiting sea,-
Though broader streams our sister realms may boast,
Herculean cities or a prouder coast. Yet from the bound where hoarse St. Lawrence roars
To where La Plata shakes resounding shores,
To the blue waters of the rushing Rhine,
No brighter skies the eye of day may see Nor soil more verdant, or a race more free.
See where among their cultured hills they stand,
The generous offspring of a simple land, Too rough for flattery, and all fear above, King, priest and prophet 'mid the homes they love,
On equal laws their anchored hopes are stayed,
By all interpreted, and all obeyed. The slave they pity and the despot hate, And rise firm columns of a happy state. To them content is bliss, and labor health, And knowledge power, and pure Relig- ion wealth."
F. D. HUNTINGTON.
THE EDWARDS CHURCH - CONGREGATIONAL
RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES
Northampton contains twelve religious socie- ties. There are three Congregational, three Catholic, one Unitarian, one Baptist, two Methodists, one Episcopalian, and one Free Congregational church. All of them have commodious and elegant houses of worship, many of which are shown in these pages. The church edifice of the Edwards society was burned in 1870, and that of the First Church in 1876. Since that time six new and elegant meeting- houses have been built. Seven churches are situated on Main and Elm streets, within the limits of half a mile. Four others are at
38
NORTHAMPTON,
Florence, and one on King street. One of the newest as well as the handsomest and most expensive, is the stone church of the Episcopal soci- ety, on Elm street, built and presented to the parish by Mr. George Bliss of Brook- lyn, N. Y., a native of Northampton.
GIFTS TO NORTHAMPTON
Few towns or cities in this or any other state have been the recipients of so many munificent donations for charitable, religious, literary and educational purposes as our own. Among them are gifts for the founding of important institutions for the especial benefit of this city as well as those to be shared by other communities.
SMITH CHARITIES. - First and most important is the comprehensive system of charities, named from its donor the "Smith Charities," the benefits of which are enjoyed by Northampton in connection with seven other towns in Hampshire and Franklin counties. Oliver Smith of Hatfield, died in 1845, and bequeathed his estate, inventoried at $370,000 to found a system of far-reaching charity.
The will was contested by the heirs-at-law, and the case came before the Supreme Judicial Court in that town, July 4, 1847. Rufus Choate appeared for the contestants and Daniel Webster for the defendants. Objection to the will was based upon the allegation that Theophilus Par- sons Phelps, one of the witnesses was incompe- tent on account of insanity. The jury brought in a verdict sustaining the will.
The administration of the trust was devolved upon a board of three Trustees. Each of the eight towns chooses annually one person, called an Elector, who acting collectively, name the Trustees. The bequest, after the accumulations had reached a certain sum, was to be divided into several funds. One was for the establishment of an Agricultural School in Northampton, sixty years after the death of the testator. The income of another was to be applied for the benefit of indigent boys, who were to be bound out to
SMITH CHARITIES
some calling, and when twenty-one years of age were to receive $500 on interest for five years, to become a gift at the end of that time ; for indigent female children who were to be indentured, and when eighteen years of age, to receive marriage portions of $300 ; for indigent young women, who were to receive $50 as marriage portions ; and for indigent widows who were to be paid not more than $50 per year. A third fund of $10,000 was to be paid to the American Colonization Society. It was not applied for within the specified time, and the amount was added to the School fund.
The Agricultural School Fund will become available in 1905. It is provided that there shall be two farms, one as a " model " and the other as "experimental." On these farms is to be established a manufactory of the "Im- plements of Husbandry" and a "School of Industry for the benefit of the Poor," in which boys taken from the most indigent classes shall receive a good common school education, and instruction in agriculture and mathematics. When twenty-one years old each boy is to receive $200.
The Board of Trustees was organized in May, 1848, and Hon. Osmyn Baker was chosen presi- dent. Under his efficient management this comprehensive system of charities was estab- lished upon a basis so substantial that no finan- cial disturbances have affected its growth. Two hundred thousand dollars were set apart by the Testator, till it had doubled in amount. This was accomplished in eleven years, and the several charities under the will were put in operation in 1859. When the money was turned over to the Trustees in 1848, it amounted to $349,221.16, and has now increased to the sum of $1,245,277.09. During this time, $937, 548 have been paid to the various beneficiaries ; 2,214 indentured apprentices have availed themselves of its provisions ; 2,959 girls have received mar- riage portions ; and 4, 854 widows have been aided.
39
THE MEADOW CITY.
BAKER HALL
CLARKE INSTITUTION
In Massachusetts, as indeed throughout our country, the public schools of our towns and cities make ample provision for the instruction of normal children; but if, by accident or illness, either the sight or hear- ing of a child is greatly impaired, the methods which appeal almost ex- clusively to these two senses, become at once quite insufficient, and special methods of educa- tion are then demanded. The number of pupils requiring such special instruction is usually too small in any one town or
ROGERS HALL
40
NORTHAMPTON,
city to justify the establishment in it of a sepa- rate school for either of these classes. For valid reasons, educational as well as economic, it is deemed wise to gather these children into special
known names. The presidents of this board have been Hon. Gardiner Green Hubbard, formerly of Cambridge, now of Washington ; Hon. Frank B. Sanborn of Concord ; and Hon. Lewis J. Dudley of this city, who still holds the office.
The school is located on Round Hill, and, as at present organized, consists of three dis- tinct schools. A Gram- mar School, an Inter- mediate and a Primary. Each Department occupies buildings of its own; each being in itself a unit as regards both school organiza- tion and family life. The Grammar Depart- ment occupies Clarke and Rogers Halls, the former for school and library purposes; and the latter as a boarding house for teachers and pupils. The Interme- diate Department occu- pies Baker Hall, and the Primary occupies Dud- ley Hall. The great advantage of such a sub- division of a school into departments and families
CLARKE HALL
schools, in which such methods may be employed as are suited to the unusual condition of the pupils.
The Clarke Institution was opened in October of 1867, as a school for the education of boys and girls who, because of their deafness, must receive special instruc- tion; such as is not provided in ordinary schools. The Institu- tion was endowed by Mr. John Clarke, whose benefactions, in this and other directions, have made his name an honored one in this city. Its endowment fund has, from the first, been in the care of a corporation, which has numbered among its members not a few of Northampton's best
5
DUDLEY HALL
41
THE MEADOW CITY.
THE ROAD
RESIDENCE OF MRS. H. M. MOODY
are too apparent to need remark. The number of pupils enrolled in the three departments dur- ing the last school year was one hundred and thirty-four, and these were divided into six- teen classes.
From its open - ing, this school has employed ex- clusively what is known as the Oral Method for the instruction of the Deaf. Previous to its organization, the method of in- struction in use in the schools for this class of pupils in America, had been the French Method of Signs and Finger-spelling. Miss Harriet B. Rogers, the first principal of this
school, had in 1866, opened a small private school, in the eastern part of the state, in which she had taught deaf chil- dren to speak, and to read speech from the lips. She knew that this was done in Ger- many, but of the details of the method, she knew nothing. Being called to the prin- cipalship of the new school in Northampton, she brought with her the method, which up to this time had been used only in a few iso- lated cases in this country. The introduction of
GLIMPSE OF THE CITY FROM ROUND HILL
....
PATH ON A. L. WILLISTON'S GROUNDS
RESIDENCE OF A. L. WILLISTON
VIEWS ON AND FROM ROUND HILL
42
NORTHAMPTON,
the speech and speech-reading method marked the opening of a new era in the education of the deaf in America. In another important respect the example set by this school has modified the practice of other schools. Previous to its estab- lishment, few deaf children entered school before twelve years of age ; while now, few schools advise so late admission ; a number admit pupils
RESIDENCE OF MRS. LUTHER BODMAN, ELM STREET
at five, and some, even younger. The school has, from the first, attracted to itself pupils from outside Massachusetts and New England, and even from the West and South.
Few realize the varying mental conditions of pupils entering such a school and the consequent adjustment of methods required to fit their needs. On the opening day of each year there may be found among the entering pupils, children whose needs are as various as it is possible to imagine. One is a little child who has no hearing, no lan- guage and no speech. An- other speaks perfectly, for he heard perfectly until a few months ago when a terrible illness deprived him of hear- ing. He must be taught to understand the words spoken to him, and, as speedily as possible, to write and read the words he speaks, that no part of that precious store of language already acquired be lost. Another little one has been for some time in the public schools, but the teacher
had little time to spare from her regular work for work with a special pupil - not dull of mind, but only dull of hearing. In that case, the imperfect pronunciation must be corrected, and what is far more difficult, the imperfect comprehension and use of language, which inevitably result from im- perfect hearing in early life, must be overcome. Another is a lad who was just ready to enter the High School, when catarrhal deafness, which had been creeping slowly on, finally shut the door of the public schools against him. To this special school he has come, that communication between himself and those about him may be restored, not by the restoration of hearing, but by the training of sight as a partial substitute for hear- ing. He will learn to read the words on the lips, instead of hearing them, and then will go on again with his studies, though not as easily or rapidly as before.
The inability to apprehend the meaning of language, in one or both of its forms of presenta- tion -its spoken or its written form -constitutes the most serious obstacle to the child's progress in each one of these cases. This closing of the ustal avenue to the child's mind makes him slow in the acquisition of his native language - makes him use it awkwardly and blunderingly as a for- eigner does ; so that, before all else, the teacher in a school for the deaf must be a teacher of language. Let the understanding and use of
-
MERRITT CLARK'S RESIDENCE
JUNCTION OF ELM STREET AND ROUND NILL
43
THE MEADOW CITY.
the ordinary language of daily life and of common books be given to a deaf child, and he will then stand intellectually with his more fortunate brothers and sisters ; but let him fail
RESIDENCE OF J. H. DEMOND, ELM STREET
to acquire these, and he remains always a for- eigner in his own land. To give such a knowl- edge and use of spoken and written language, and to open to them the treasures of the printed
page is the most important work which the Clarke Institution attempts to do for its pupils. Beyond and above all knowledge of natural science, history, literature, and mathematics
RESIDENCE OF GEO. 1'. DICKINSON, ELM STREET
which it gives them, stands pre-eminent its gift to them of their mother-tongue - the language of their country and their homes.
ELM STREET
77
NORTHAMPTON,
SMITH COLLEGE
Nineteen years ago Smith College inaugurated its first president and dedicated its first academic building. The college owes its existence to the benevolence of a woman, Miss Sophia Smith of Hatfield, Mass., who left three hundred and sixty- five thousand dollars for its endowment. The greater part of the fortune came to Miss Smith in 1861, at the death of her brother, Austin Smith, a business man of Hatfield.
care the needs round about her, and chiefly the educational needs, for her first will, made after coming into possession of her brother's property, appropriates $75,000 to an academy in Hatfield, $100,000 to a Deaf Mute institution in Hat- field, and $50,000 to a Scientific School in con- nection with Amherst College.
We are told that even at this time Miss Smith had some thought of endowing a woman's college, but put it aside because her funds seemed insuf- ficient. Evidently the idea attracted her, for when in 1867, a Deaf Mute institution was
MAIN COLLEGE BUILDING
From the first, she appears to have felt the responsibility attached to the possession of large wealth, and to have desired to make a judicious use of her property. Doubtless she was some- what influenced in this desire by the example of her unele, Oliver Smith of Hatfield, who had died many years before, leaving a sum which now amounts to over a million dollars, to found the Smith Charities in Northampton. In any case it is evident that Miss Smith studied with
provided for by the generosity of Mr. John Clarke, of Northampton, she at once made a new will, in which almost all her property, with the exception of the bequest to the Academy in Hatfield, was left to found a college for women.
This will locates the College in the main or "front " street of Hatfield, and gives it Miss Smith's full name. A second will was made two years later which modified the first in several respects. Among other things, the location of
45
THE MEADOW CITY.
PRESIDENT'S HOUSE
HATFIELD HOUSE
the college was changed to Northamp- ton, on condition that $25,000 were given by that town as an additional endow- ment, and the Christian name of the donor was struck out. Miss Smith not only named and located the college, but outlined its fundamental principles and appointed a Board of Trustees to execute her wishes. In all this she was counselled and assisted by the Rev. John M. Green, whose name has always headed the list of trustees, and by the late Hon. George W. Hubbard, also one of the original trustees, and for many years treasurer of the college.
Miss Smith died in 1870. In 1871, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
issued a charter to Smith College with full powers " to grant such honorary testimonials, and confer such honors, degrees and diplomas, as are granted by any university, college or seminary in the United States." This was the first charter of the kind ever granted to women in Massachu- setts. The same year the trustees were organized.
WALLACE HOUSE
Their first work was to select a suitable location for the college buildings. For a time Round Hill seemed the most beautiful and desirable site, but in the end the trustees decided to purchase the Dewey and Lyman places, which stood at the head of the main street and near the centre of the town. The grounds belonging to these two estates fronted on Elm street, and ran back to what is now known as College Lane. In 1873, the Rev. L. Clark Seelye, at that time a professor in Amherst College, was elected
HILL.YER ART GALLERY
46
NORTHAMPTON,
president, and under his efficient management the work of buying, building and organizing began. The Lyman house was sold and moved off from the grounds. The stately old Dewey house was removed to the spot where it now stands, and refitted to accommodate such of
LAWRENCE HOUSE
the first class as preferred to live within the college grounds. The main college building and the president's house were then erected. In July, 1875, President Seelye was formally inaugurated and the first building dedicated. In the following September Smith College began its academic career.
The development of the college since that eventful summer of 1875 has been rapid and
OF IF
ALUMN.E. GYMNASIL'M
successful far beyond the expectations of its friends. The number of buildings now standing is one eloquent witness to this development. At
the time the main building was erected, the college had no claim to the land adjoining its own to the south - the land where now runs the line of buildings beginning with Music Hall and end- ing with the Morris House. In a short time this property was acquired and put to use.
At the end of four years -in 1879-three other dwelling houses had gathered about the Dewey. Of these the Hatfield was the first in
DEWEY HOUSE
order of erection. The Washburn came next, named for the late ex-Governor Washburn of Greenfield, but called by the students for some time the "new lionse." Then the Hubbard, named for the treasurer of the college, was put up, and the trustees turned their attention to other pressing needs.
The work of the music department had grown to such proportions that it was thought best to appropriate a certain amount of the endowment fund for a music building. This was in 1881. In the same year the Art Gallery was built and endowed by the generosity of Mr. Winthrop Hillyer. Up to this time the Art work of the college had been carried on in what is now number 10 in College Hall.
The wisdom of adopting the cot- tage system had been sufficiently proved already, but again it was demonstrated by the increasing demand for rooms. The college already owned an old-fashioned frame house on
47
THE MEADOW CITY.
WASHBURN HOUSE
the opposite side of Elm street. In r885, this was re- fitted and opened to students. Hap- pily it was allowed to retain its historic name, the Stoddard House.
The Science de- partment, like the Music and Art de- partments, had expanded to the point where a new and special build- ing had become a necessity. This building was given by Mr. Alfred Theodore Lilly of Flor- ence. The fine Lilly Hall of Science was dedicated during the Commence- ment of 1887. Already work had been begun on an observatory situated a little to the north and some distance back of the Hatfield House. Not until it had been built some time were the names of its donors known. A stone tablet just within the door now tells us that it is the gift of President Seelye and Mr. A. Lyman Williston of Northampton. Again the pressure for rooms bore heavily, and in the fall of 1890 the Wallace House was opened. There were now six college houses, five within the campus. Back of the line of houses within the campus the ground dropped
MUSIC HALL
suddenly and then widened out and away into a broad area of orchard and pasture land, known as the back campus. Many of the old trees still stand unmolested, and in places the grass and wild flowers are allowed to grow at will, but the back campus as the older alumnæ knew and loved it is no more. On one side, along by Green street, the land has been filled in and graded to make a suitable location for three more college houses, -the Morris, which stands nearest Col- lege Lane, the Lawrence, and the Dickinson House. Between the Lawrence and Dickinson Houses stands the new Gymnasium, built and equipped by the loyal alumnæ of ' : college. On the north side of the back car as one sees
the green house, the lily pond, and the winding , paths and flower beds of the new botanical garden. From time to time the college has pur- chased to the north and west, property which it is holding in reserve for future uses.
So much for the history of Smith College as ex- pressed in its acqui- sition of buildings and iund. Back of all this lies its the- ory of education. The founder's will states that her
THE OBSERVATORY
48
NORTHAMPTON,
money is to be used for the " establishment and maintenance of an institution for the higher edu- cation of young women with the design of fur- nishing them means and facilities for education equal to those which are afforded in our colleges for young men." She also defines clearly cer- tain features which she wishes to have incorpo- rated. The cottage system is to be substitu- ted for the dormitory, the students are not to live a cloistered life, but to be brought into con- tact as much as possible with the outside world, the discipline of the college is to be everywhere informed with the spirit of evangelical, Christian religion. The wishes of the founder have been faithfully carried out.
Although the curriculum has been altered and enlarged as the college has grown, yet, in the main. the policy outlined so ably by the president in his inaugural address has been adhered to. From the first, Smith has been hampered by no preparatory department. The college opened with one course of study leading to the degree of Bachelor of Arts. For admission to this course, Greek and Mathematics were required as in men's colleges. Special students were admitted under certain conditions, but were not, eligible for a de- gree. Certain specified studies were required each term ; all others were elective. This required work grew less in amount each year, and thus it was pos- sible for a student to lay the broad foundation necessary to the broadest intellectual development and yet specialize along congenial lines. Art and Music were recognized as a part of true culture and put on a plane with other electives. The maximum number of recitations hours each week was fixed at
DICKINSON HOUSE
sixteen. No student while in college was per- mitted to know her stand, and no honors were assigned at graduation. In this way the strain was appreciably reduced and the student was encouraged to work for higher ends. In general, the college still conforms to this policy. One or two important changes have taken place, how- ever. Two new courses have been added,-a literary course leading to the degree of Bach- elor of Letters, and a scientific course, leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science. The college now offers three courses of four years each, and no longer admits special students unless they propose to make up deficiencies and graduate. Gradually the elective system has grown until the junior and senior years are now compara- tively free from requirements. In the adoption of three courses of study on an equal basis, and of a more thorough- going elective sys- tem, the college expresses its con- viction that the best educational
LILLY HALL OF SCIENCE
1
MORRIS HOUSE
49
THE MEADOW CITY.
HUBBARD HOUSE
results are sub- served in propor- tion as freedom is allowed for indi- vidual develop- ment.
The equipment of the college has grown in all direc- tions. Depart- ments have been divided, new de- partments have been added, the faculty has been increased, new scholarships have been awarded and fellowships have been established.
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