USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Our county and its people : A history of Hampden County, Massachusetts. Volume 3 > Part 21
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In matters pertaining to the educational welfare of its youth, this town has long held an enviable reputation among the eivil divisions of the country: but owing to the absence of early
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records, little is known concerning the earliest schools, and only tradition, with the positive knowledge that the town has reared, educated and sent out into professional and public life many strong men, is the basis of the inference that the old-time schools of Granville must have been of high character to produce such results. The old academic school at West Granville was a known factor in this work for many years, but long ago that once famous institution gave way to the improved free school system inaugurated under the state legislative enactments.
According to the present disposition of school interests the town is divided into eight districts, and a good school is main- tained in each. There are now in the town about 220 children between the ages of five and fifteen years, for whose instruetion eight teachers are annually employed. The town raises by an- nual tax approximately $2.800, and shares in the public school fund about $550. The amount annually expended for school purposes is about $3.550. The school committee at this time comprises Alice M. Carpenter (chm.), Joseph Welch and Benj. F. Hurlburt.
During the period of its history there have been established within the limits of the town several small villages and hamlets, for the purposes of trade, mannfacture and publie assemblages. They are known as Granville Corners, East Granville and West Granville. Originally Tolland was ealled West Granville, while the present hamlet. so-called, was designated the Middle parish.
West Granville in local history is a place of little impor- tanee, having no considerable industries and only one store. It is, however, a convenient trading center, and Joseph Welch, general merchant, supplies the entire locality with all which the townsmen must needs purchase. He also is the postmaster, one of the selectmen, and withal one of the prominent men of the west part of the town. Here, too, is the West Granville Congre- gational church. the remnant of the Dickinson library (kept in the meeting house gallery 1, the old academy building (now used by the women's sewing cirele and for other publie purposes), and about twenty dwellings. The district school stands on a hill just outside the hamlet proper.
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Granville, the oldest of the three villages of the town, and sometimes called East Granville, the seat of town business, is a hamlet of perhaps 200 inhabitants. Its institutions comprise the town hall, the church, the district school and the postoffice. It has mereantile interests and a few shops of minor consequence, and its inhabitants are thrifty and progressive.
Granville Corners is the business hamlet of the town and for many years has enjoyed a certain prominence in the industry founded away back in 1854 by Silas Noble and James P. Cooley,
Granville Corners-Universalist Church
manufacturers of drums, novelties and specialties; and the old firm name still stands and is exceedingly well known in eon- mercial eireles.
Inasnmich as the villages of Granville are without defined boundaries, in speaking of present business interests it is hardly necessary to give the precise location of each of them: but sum- marizing this element of the town's history these interests may be noted about as follows : George L. Oysler, E. M. Pomeroy and Joseph Welch are the town's auctioneers; Geo. L. Oysler and
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C. A. Barnes are the blacksmiths : Charles Roberts, of the Center, the boot and shoemaker; J. M. Gibbons and Wm. S. Pomeroy, merchants at the Center, and Joseph Welch in the West village : HI. B. Diekinson, proprietor of grist mill, one of the few remain- ing in the county; Columbus Wileox, proprietor Granville house : E. B. Holeomb, machinist : Herbert G. Rockwell, physician and surgeon ; B. F. Gibbons, postmaster at Granville; C. A. Clark & Co., printers: Charles B. Thompson, provision dealer; N. M. Frisbie and C. W. Ives, proprietors of saw mills. both in West Granville: Holeomb Bros., manufacturers of sewing machine supplies ; M. V. Stow, proprietor of shingle mill; Noble & Cooley, toy and novelty manufacturers: J. M. Gibbons, undertaker; M. V. Stowe, proprietor of shingle mill.
Before elosing this chapter it is proper to furnish the names of Granville's representatives to the general court previous to the ereation of Hampden county : the representatives after 1812 will be found in an earlier chapter. The succession follows: 1775, Timothy Robinson, Nathan Barlow: 1776. none; 1777, Timothy Robinson, Nathan Barlow: 1778. none: 1779, Oliver Phelps, Timothy Robinson : 1780. Oliver Phelps, Josiah Harvey ; 1781, Timothy Robinson : 1782, none; 1783, Timothy Robinson : 1784, none; 1785, Timothy Robinson; 1786, William Cooley : 1787, Timothy Robinson, Titus Fowler: 1788, Samuel Thrall, John Hamilton: 1789. Clark Cooley; 1790. Timothy Robinson, James Hamilton : 1791. Thomas Burbank. James Hamilton ; 1792-3, Timothy Robinson: 1794, David Robinson, Titus Fowler: 1795. Enoeh Baneroft, David Robinson: 1796, none: 1797, David Robinson. Ezra Marvin : 1798. Ezra Marvin, Jacob Bates : 1799. John Phelps, James Hamilton : 1800, Israel Parsons. David Robinson; 1801, Israel Parsons, Thomas Hamilton ; 1802. Israel Parsons, John Phelps: 1803. Israel Parsons. Titus Fowler ; 1804-05, Israel Parsons, John Phelps: 1806. Abraham Granger: 1807. Enoch Bancroft. Abraham Granger: 1808-09. Israel Par- sons, John Phelps: 1810, Israel Parsons, William Twining; 1811, none : 1812. Asa Seymour. John Phelps.
AA perusal of the pages of this chapter will disclose the faet that Granville not only has made an interesting history, but has
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furnished some of the best men of the county who have been called into publie station during the last hundred years. Glancing baek over the last half century of our town's history the names of a few men suggest themselves and are worthy of passing mention : such men as the late Rev. Timothy M. Cooley, Reuben Noble, Captain Joseph Parsons, Marshall V. Stow, George W. Terrill, Carlos Gibbons, Emery Barnes, William Bacon, Timothy Clark, Dr. Johnson, Arden Seymour, Oliver Rose, Frank Peebles, Ralph S. Brown, James P. Cooley. Silas Noble, J. Murray Gibbons, Edgar Holcomb, "Squire" James Cooley and Martin K. Bates, none of whom are now living, but each of whom in his day was a contributing factor for good in local annals.
In the same manner it is proper to mention the names of a few of Granville's prominent men of the present day. and in this connection present the names of B. J. Roberts, Edgar B. and E. G. Holcomb (the manufacturers and machinists), Dr. H. G. Rockwell, Joseph Welch, Benjamin F. Gibbons, Charles B. Thompson, Franklin A. Robinson (an extensive farmer in West Granville), John O. Roberts, Ralph B. Cooley, Orville R. Noble (the drum and toy manufacturer). Austin T. Phelon (a pros- perous farmer), William S. Pomeroy. Cyrus W. Ives (the saw mill proprietor), James O. Rose (successful farmer), Milo E. Seymour, Charles H. Tyron, Edwin N. Henry, Lorenzo H. Noble (retired farmer), M. T. Gibbons (retired farmer), William M. Beekwith (substantial farmer and man of influence in the town).
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CHAPTER VII THE TOWN OF MONSON
BY DR. GEORGE E. FULLER
Monson, an integral part of Brimfield till 1760, is situated 85 miles southwest of Boston and 15 miles east of Springfield, and is bounded on the north by Palmer, east by Brimfield, south by Stafford and west by Wilbraham. It is in its largest dimen- sions about 6 miles from east to west, 9 miles from north to south, contains about 54 square miles of land and has a population of 3,402, according to the census of 1900.1
The village of Monson, looking from the south, is a swallow- tailed triangle, the apex to the south and the swallow-tails to the north, the one extending to the northwest to and beyond the W. N. Flynt granite quarries, and the other to the northeast through the north factory village. The village is walled about by the east and west hills and on the north by the rock-house ledges. Monson has the reputation given it by those who have travelled extensively of being the town par excellence, with its beautiful soldiers' monument, its granite library and granite memorial town hall, its churches, its residences and its well trimmed lawns and its hill sides rich in the green verdure of summer and richest sun-hued tints of autumn.
Monson was named in honor of the president of the British board of trade by his friend Thomas Pownall, who was governor of Massachusetts when the town was incorporated a distriet in 1760. The first house erected within its limits was built by Richard Fellows in 1657 or 8. on the north side of the Bay path,
1 This census was taken when our industries were largely paralyzed and to-day we have an increase of at least 500 persons.
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the east side of Chicopee brook and on the south line of the farm now occupied by William E. Fay.
This was the first house built between Springfield and Brookfield and was used as a tavern. Its position was well chosen as it was on hard land at the only spot between the North factory and the Quaboag (then ealled Chicopee river), at which the banks of Chicopee brook could be approached from both east and west on hard land.
This grant was made on petition of Richard Fellows by the general court at Boston, October 23, 1657. The petitioner "humbly desiring the honored court to grant him 200 acres of upland and meadow to be laid out to him at Chicopee river by George Colton and Benjamin Cooley. That the said land and stake be rent free, promising and engaging in consideration thereof to build a house there for the entertainment of travellers, both for house room for horse and man and some lodgings and provisions for both, with beere, wine and strong liquors". The general court deemed it meete and wise to grant his request, providing the petitioner build an house within one year, and maintain the same for seven years: both to entertain and aecom- modate strangers. Fellows probably built his tavern during this or the following year. His stay was short, for from fear of the Indians he within a year or two abandoned it, burying its tools, which were plowed up 80 years lated by Capt. James Merrick. Fellows eame from and returned to Springfield and died in Hadley in 1663. Fellows, although he did not fulfil the condi- tions, retained possession of his grant and was allowed to dispose of it to Gov. Hutchinson. The title then lay dormant for 75 years, when it was confirmed by the general court held at Salem, June 22, 1733, to Edward Hutchinson and Mary Wolcott. They sold, March 30, 1738, for £800, to Daniel and John Wood of New- bury. John Wood took the casterly and Daniel the westerly half ; but January 11, 1768, John purchased the westerly half of his brother. John Wood died in 1796 and his daughter, Mrs. Eliza- beth Taylor, inherited the whole Fellows traet. Mrs. Taylor sold, in 1815, the eastern half to Joel Norcross, who in 1818 disposed of it to Rufus Fay, Sr., and it is now in the possession of his grandson, Wm. E. Fay.
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The first permanent settler of Monson was Robert Olds, who located about 1715 south of and adjoining the Fellows grant. He was born in Suffield, Conn., and came to Monson from Spring- field. Under date of April 17. 1722, he gave a mortgage on his 100 acre farm to Win. Pynchon of Springfield. Capt. James Merrick purchased a part of this farm in 1734 and the remainder in 1736. Capt. Merriek and his sons. James, Aaron and Gideon, are said to have served in the French and Indian wars. Capt. James was a grandson of Thomas Merrick, one of the first settlers of Springfield. He was born January 1, 1698, and died in 1790, at the venerable age of 92 years. Capt. Merriek was one of the first selectmen of Monson and continued in office five years. He was an important factor in our early history as several of his descendants have been in later years. It is probable that the house in which C. M. Foley now resides was built by Capt. James Merriek nearly a century and a half ago. Another old house in Monson is that now occupied by John L. Borgeson. originally built by Capt David Hitchcock as early as 1734; also the house now occupied by Nelson Skinner, built by Freeborn Moulton and in the "ell" part of which it is said Moulton kept the first store in Monson : also the Bates house, so-called, now owned by Henry Rindge and built by David Hyde; also the Norcross house, so- called, built in the old colonial style by William Norcross and now used as tenement and boarding house.
The general court, June 20, 1701. appointed Col. John Pynehon. Capt. Thomas Colton, James Warriner, David Morgan and Joseph Stebbins to lay out a new township 8 miles square on the east boundary of Springfield. In the fall of that year they thrice visited the locality before they could decide where to lay the town plot. East hill. then called Chicopee hill. and later Grout hill, was chosen within the limits of the present town of Monson and a road 4 rods wide laid from the Connecticut line to the Grout school house. Thirteen grants were made on this road prior to December 31, 1701. There is now an old eellar hole on this road which is said to have been intended for the meeting house. These grants all lapsed. the conditions not having been fulfilled probably owing to the uncertainty caused by the French
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Now owned by Henry Rindge, Monson, Mass. House built by David Hyde about 1775
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and Indian wars. Brimfield was granted June 16, 1772, an ex- tension of 3 miles to the east and the town plot was changed to Tower hill in that town. Brimfield became a town by act of the general court December 24, 1731, and of the 84 proprietors to whom allotments were made, 10 were located within the limits of the present town of Monson. The names of the original settlers and the location of their grants, as far as known, were as follows: Robert Olds, the present C. M. Foley farm; David Killam, the site of the Massachusetts Epileptic hospital: Benjamin Munn,
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House built by William Norcross about 1775 Now owned by S. F. Cushman Sons & Co., Monson
the farm of Edson M. Walker: Obediah Cooley, the farm of Joseph Carpenter; Ezra King, the farm of Wm. Holdridge; Samuel King, the farm of JJ. M. Craw, whose wife is a lineal de- scendant of Samuel King; John Keep, the farm of Daniel Car- penter; John Atcherson, the farm of Omar E. Bradway; Marke Ferry, an abandoned farm north of Wm. Beebe's; and Samuel Kilburn, whose location we have been unable to establish.
At the time of Monson's incorporation as a district, April 25, 1760, there were forty-nine families located within its limits.
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The names of many of the original corporators have been familiar to the present generation. Such names are Blodgett, Bliss, Colton, Ferry, Homer, Hitchcock, King, Keep, Merrick, Munn, Moulton, Stebbins, Shaw, Warner and Woods.
The first district meeting was called by a warrant issued by Capt. John Sherman, who was the physician, school teacher, town clerk and justice of the peace of Brimfield.1 This meeting was warned by constable Samuel King and was held at his house, which was situated near the present residence of James M. Craw. The original warrant with the indorsement of service is safely preserved in the archives of Monson. There is no record of this or any meeting held prior to March 16, 1762. As a district the inhabitants had all the rights of a town save only they must unite with the mother town in the choice of representative.
The first town meeting of which records are preserved was that of 1762, and was held at a tavern kept by Richard Bishop, located a little west of the present residence of S. Fred Cushman. At a subsequent meeting in the same year a committee was ap- pointed to procure land on which to set the meeting house and have charge of raising it. The same year Rev. Abishai Sabin was settled as pastor. It thus appears that Monson's earliest citizens deemed it their first duty to erect a church and settle a minister. They builded their little commonwealth on the sure foundations which have given the religion of Puritan New Eng- land such an influence in the formation of the states of the great West.
Revolutionary Incidents. On June 23, 1774, the town voted with certain reservations to sign the non-importation covenant with Boston, and on September 5 voted £14 to provide a stock of ammunition.
October 3, 1774, Dea. Abel Goodell was chosen delegate to the Provincial congress to be held at Concord. December 29, 1774, the town approved of the choice of Freeborn Moulton as captain, Nathaniel Sikes as lieutenant and David Hiteheock as ensign. These officers were authorized to make up a quota of
1We have seen his ledger in which he made his medical charges. The writing is like copper plate as plain as print.
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minutemen. Thus it will be seen that Monson was ready to do its part in case there should be war with the mother country, and when the war of revolution came the town spread on its records a copy of the declaration of independence.
Monson became a town with full powers in 1776, and Dea. Abijah Newell was elected the first representative. June 24, 1776, the town voted unanimously in favor of independence. May 23, 1777, the town voted 20 pounds bounty to men enlisting in the continental army. November 17, 1777, Capt. Joshua Shaw, Capt. Reuben Munn, Lieut. Reuben Hoar, Lient. Simon Keep, Lieut. James Stebbins. Lient. Jonathan Chapin and Lieut. Jonathan Cove were appointed a committee to settle with the continental soldiers. This indicates that commissioned officers were numerous in town. A search of the old records indicates that nearly if not quite all the able-bodied men of Monson, in- cluding the minister and the doctor, were at one time or another in the field for independence.
A letter addressed by Benjamin Munn, Abel Goodell and Noah Sabin to Samuel Adams and Joseph Warren, under date April 5, 1775, says, among other things: "We send a testimonial of our firm adherence to the great cause, in which everything dear to us is embarked. We profess a ready cheerfulness to shed our blood to oppose tyranny and oppression. We have 80 fellows in this district. a great part of which are disciplined and ready marksmen. I dare be bol to say that. at about 30 rods distant. they would pick off tories as fast as so many hawks would pick frogs from a frog pond."
Bounties were voted several times subsequently. June 26, 1778, the town voted £420 to pay the nine months' soldiers, and in the same year, September 1, the town voted £19 to pay for blankets for continental soldiers and also to pay for clothing car- ried to Philadelphia by Benjamin Munn. Several similar votes are recorded paying various bounties and caring for the families of sokliers while away on duty.
The men who laid the foundations of Monson in the last half of the 18th century belonged to a sturdy, heroic race. They wrought with all their might whether in church, war, town or
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Residence of Thomas Styles, Monson, Mass.
The house where Phoebe Brown lived when she wrote the hynin. "I Love to Steal Awhile Away." The house was built by - Sabin
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on the Farm. There was an untold amount of work to be done in establishing a new town. There was a church, school houses and homes to be built, forests to be subdued, saw and grist mills to be ereeted and numberless roads to be laid out and built. The records show that 73 roads were laid out, accepted and built during the first 40 years of the town's history ; and when we add to this the cost in blood. treasure and time expended in the con- stantly recurring wars of the period we are lost in wonder and admiration of the men who, ever invincible. conquered all their foes and gave to us the priceless treasure of civil and religious liberty. Large families were characteristic of the period. Fami- lies of 10 or 12 or more children were not uncommon.
During the revolution small pox became very prevalent and inoculation with it was resorted to. Under proper care and pre- cantions only a small percentage of deaths occurred. May 18, 1778, Monson voted to set up " Enockenlation " for the small pox under proper restrictions by the selectmen.
The purchasing power of continental currency grew less and less as the war progressed, and on March 21, 1780. the town voted £9 per day for work on the highways to September 1, and £6 per day the rest of the year. The names of Munn, King. Wood, Hoar. Merrick. Shaw. Keep. Blodgett, Newton, Colton, Stebbins, Stacy, Norcross and Flynt appear frequently in the old records and they have representatives still with us, worthy scions of their worthy sires.
By the records of Monson it appears that money was first expressed in dollars and cents in 1795. Prior to that date it was pounds, shillings and pence. Committee after committee was appointed to seat and do various things to the old meeting house till 1797. when a committee was appointed to draw plans and devise means to build a new one. This old church was rectangular, about 20 feet high, withont chimney or steeple, lighted by a single row of small windows. The second church was dedicated November 16, 1803.
Town meetings were called in "llis Majesties" name until March 16, 1776. On May 21. 1776. the call was "in observance of colony writ ". and on June 17. 1776. "by resolve of the general
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court", and on February 18, 1777, by "power vested in the gen- eral court", and from September 1, 1777, "in the name of the government by the people" till December 11, 1780. Since that time they have been called in the name of the "Commonwealth of Massachusetts".
In 1798 Freeborn Moulton and sixty others were set off as the first Baptist church of Monson. A meeting house was built in the west part of the town on the Hampden road, and flourished for many years, but it fell into a decline and the house was burned in 1856. The 19th century was ushered in by prepara- tions to build a new meeting house. All denominations were to worship in it, each furnishing a supply in proportion to the amount realized from its members in the sale of the pews. Each was to have the right to attend without "extortion of money" to support another denomination. The pews were sold at aue- tion and brought from 11 to 161 dollars each, and the total was $4,264. In the new church the young women were to sit on the east and the young men on the west side of the gallery,
At a town meeting held July 9, 1812, the town voted unani- mously in the negative after a discussion of the war known as that of 1812, and appointed a committee to prepare resolves. These were prepared and accepted, depreeating the war with Great Britain, and the town also voted against an alliance with France. It was also voted to choose an agent to represent the town in convention to be held in Northampton, and Deodatus Dutton, Esq., was chosen as such agent.
The first half of the nineteenth century was for Monson, as for the country in general, an era of recuperation. The forests were largely subdued and the lands brought under subjection to the plow. The descendants of the first settlers, strong and hardy, active in mind and body, sought for other employment than that of tilling the soil. Utilizing the streams for power to eard and spin and weave and for the various manufactures of steel, iron and wood, they found means close at hand for their active minds. Chicopee river and Twelve Mile brook in Monson became thickły studded with saw, grist. clover, carding, cotton and woolen mills. The iron, axe, lead pipe, spectaele and silk worm
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industries were tried but only for a time. David Hannum made axes at the North factory. Lead pipe was made by Timothy Packard, Sr., at a point a little east of Conant's grist mill. He sold out to Mason Moulton who continued the manufacture to 1824. Lead pipe was made by running the lead in sheets, cutting to proper width and moulding on an iron rod six feet long; the long joint was then soldered. Noah Sabin and Reuben Hoar made linseed oil as late as 1808 on the site of D. W. Ellis & Sons' mill. On the site of the New mill. so called, on the east side of the stream. Asa White had a grist mill till 1845, and on the west side was a small building for the manufacture of bar iron from serap iron and bog iron mined near Cato's pool in Silver street. Joseph and Jeremiah Bumpstead operated the iron industry. There were elover mills on both Chicopee and Twelve Mile brook. Roswell and Gideon Merriek had a saw and grist mill at the north factory. which was taken down in 1816 and replaced in 1820 by the frame mill still standing. This mill was owned and operated by Witherell & Co. for the manufacture of cottons. Later on the east side of the stream a stone mill was built and operated successively by Dea. Andrew Porter. Albert Noreross, Jared Beebe and Heery Bros. till burned in 1894. As early as 1800 Asa Gates had a earding and finishing mill on the site of the present S. F. Cushman & Sons' woolen mill. Gates did carding and finished the home-spun cloth for the farmers. Gates sold in 1816 to the Monson Woolen Manufacturing Co. The plant next passed to the Hampden Cotton Manufacturing Co. In 1824 Iforatio Lyon and others acquired the property under the name of the Monson Woolen Manufacturing Co. In 1870 Mr. Lyon became the sole owner and upon retiring from business in 1877 he sold out to S. F. Cushman.
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