USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Our county and its people : A history of Hampden County, Massachusetts. Volume 3 > Part 26
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In an unpretentious but efficient way the town has from the first given attention to the edneation of its children. The first mention of a school appropriation is made in the midst of the revolutionary war period, when the sum of £400 was voted; but in the inflated currency of that time it is doubtful if this nominally large sum accomplished as much as the £20 which was voted a few years later. In 1800 the amount appropriated was $133. Nine years previous a committee to locate and build school houses had been entrusted with £90 for that purpose, while the general direction of the schools remained in the hands of the selectmen until 1794, when a more satisfactory arrange- ment-that of a committee from each school district-was adopted. As early as 1822 the division of the town into nine school districts had been completed, and the lines thus estah-
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lished largely exist to the present time, the town having voted, under the option allowed by the act of the legislature establish- ing the grade system of schools in Massachusetts, to continue the districts. That is still done in most parts of the town, but at Ludlow village (formerly Jencksville) a fine eight-room building has recently been erected, at a cost of $23,000, dedicated September 3, 1901, in which the high school and the union grammar school are quartered. The high school is under the direction of Frederic F. Smith as principal with Miss Flora B. Townsend as assistant. The grammar school is instructed by Miss Addie Cole as principal, with seven assistant teachers. The six district schools are each in charge of a single teacher.
In area the present town of Ludlow comprises 28.2 square miles. Its population in 1850, as given by the United States census, numbered 1,186, and for two decades showed a slight loss, being 1,174 in 1860, and 1,136 in 1870. In 1880 it had increased to 1,526, in 1890 to 1,939, and in 1900 to 3,536-the large increase of the last decade being chiefly due to the pros- perity and extension of business of the town's chief industry, the Ludlow Manufacturing company.
CHAPTER IX
THE TOWN OF MONTGOMERY
On the northern border of Hampden county, among the rocky, rugged foothills of the castern range of the Berkshire hills, is one of the smallest yet in some respects one of the most interesting civil divisions of the region. Soon after the close of the last French and English war, when it was safe for an adventurous pioneer to leave the well protected settlements of the larger towns, Ephraim Avery and his family removed from the thickly populated portion of the flourishing town of West- field and made his way up into the hill regions to the westward
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and there established a home not far from the towering heights of old Mt. Tekoa. In the course of a few more months and during the years 1767 and '68, other settlers came to the locality, where the lands were cheap and yet were fertile and productive, and there made comfortable farm homes for themselves, their children and their descendants.
By the frequent arrival of other families in the vicinity a settlement was built up in the space of a few years, and the locality soon became known as the "New Addition" to Westfield, the mother town, whence came nearly all these first settlers. After the total number of families here had increased to perhaps fifty or more. and after these had become united in the common bonds of friendship and mutual interest, they naturally sought to establish a new town in this part of old Hampshire county, for they were at considerable inconvenience in being compelled to travel eight miles to Westfield to transaet business, to vote at elections, and to attend to other necessary affairs which might be done nearer home. At that time, as now, eight and ten miles of travel in itself was of little importance to the hardy settler, but between Westfield and the central part of the New Addition settlement the traveled roads were rough and there had been little attempt at improvement in any of the intervening country ; and besides, the site of the settlement was elevated several hundred feet above the Westfield village level and the journey up into the mountainous country was attended with many in- conveniences and some danger during the frozen seasons of the year.
In 1780, having these things in mind and having increased their new settlement so that it numbered something like 400 in- habitants, the people here. with the sanction and assistance of those at Westfield, besought the general court. praying that they be set off and incorporated as a new town of the county. The legislative records on this subject read as follows: "Whereas the inhabitants of the northerly part of Westfield. ealled the New Addition, on the east side of Westfield river, and the south- westerly part of Southampton, viz. : fifth mile square, sixth mile square, and the one-half square mile adjoining the said sixth
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mile square, and the southerly corner of Norwich, beginning at the Moose Meadow corner 800 rods on the Southampton west line; thence a straight line to Rock House corner, so called, to the corner of the abovesaid New Addition, have represented to this court the great difficulties and inconvenience they labor under in their present situation, and have earnestly requested that they be incorporated into a town;" Be it enacted, ete. "That the northerly part of Westfield, ealled the New Addition, on the east side of Westfield river, and the southerly part of Southampton, and the southerly corner of Norwich," etc. (here follows a particular description of the territory), "be, and the same is, hereby incorporated into a town by the name of Mont- gomery."
Thus was the town established during the darkest years of the revolution, but the necessary work of organization and election was hardly finished before the freemen began devising means for the common defense. Already several of the sturdy young men of the town were in the army, and to encourage still further enlistments it was voted to pay a bounty of four pounds for all who would serve for one month, and three pounds, five shillings for each month thereafter. While some of the towns were not unanimous in their support of the cause for which the Amerieans were contending, the spirit of disloyalty never was shown in the little struggling settlement in the upper valley of Westfield river; and in 1812, when the spirit of federalism pervaded the entire region of Western Massachusetts the resolu- tions favoring the sentiments of the Northampton convention and its purpose were in accord with the action of nearly all the towns comprising the then new county of Hampden.
Let us return, however, to an earlier period of the town's history and briefly note the names and something of the lives of the settlers who laid the foundations of this loyal okt town, whose organization antedated that of the county by more than two-score years. Some doubt exists as to the exact year in which pioneer Ephraim Avery first ventured up into the mountainous regions surrounding old Mt. Tekoa, but common belief places the date of his coming somewhere between 1765 and 1767. Ile was
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the head of a large family of children, not one of whom now lives to tell the tale of early life in the town. His sons were William, Abel. Samuel, Rainsford and Ephraim, and besides he had two daughters. In later years the Family became scattered in other localities, but the surname is still represented here by thrifty descendants of the worthy pioneer.
Captain Sylvester Squier, whose name is not unknown in connection with the early military history of the town, was another of the first settlers, and is believed to have come here previous to 1767. He, too, had a goodly family, although we have no present record of the names of his children. Abial Squier was one of the first selectment of the town of 1780, and with Noble Squier of later years served in that capacity a long time. By marriage the daughters of Capt. Squier lost their surnames, vet the direct descendants of the pioneer are still in this part of the county.
Oliver Clark settled here in 1766 or '67 and was one of the first to follow the pioneer into the region. He lived to a good old age, and was a man nich respected in the town although his life was devoted to personal concerns rather than publie affairs. The sons of Oliver Clark were Oliver. James, Hawley, Simon, Pharez. Elijah and Elisha, and the daughters were Ruth and Olive. By the marriage of these children the Clark surname became numerous in Montgomery and always stood for integrity and worth.
Another pioneer head of a worthy family was David Allyn, who settled here probably in 1767. and some representative of whose family name in each sneeeeding generation has been prominently identified with Montgomery history, and also with its best interests in business pursuits. Pioneer Allyn raised to maturity a large family of seven sons and six daughters. The sons were JJabez, David. Joseph. Ansel, James, Albert and Albro Allyn. Daniel Barrett, another settler of about the same time, also was the head of a large family in Montgomery, yet the surname is not now represented here. His sons were Moses. Samuel. Benjamin, Daniel, Mareus, Lysander and Elisha, the first three of whom died in the town, while the others joined the tide of westward emigration years ago.
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The Parks surname has been known in Montgomery history ever since the days of first settlement; and almost every genera- tion of the descendants of Aaron Parks, including the pioneer himself, has served the town in one or more public offices. Aaron Parks was married three times. His sons were Moses and Orrin, neither of whom died in the town, but both of whom left families. and from them have descended many of the Parks's, now so numerous in the western towns of the county.
Another old and prominent family name in Montgomery history is that of Moore, the pioneer being Joel Moore, an indus- trious and fairly successful man, yet not a conspicuous figure in public affairs. Joel, Jr., Guy and Dorus Moore were sons of Joel, the pioneer, and the descendants of these are now nu- merous in Hampden county. Throughout all generations of the family from the pioneer to the present factors in county life, the Moores have been noted for their industry and integrity.
Abial Pettis was still another of the earliest settlers in the New Addition, and although the descendants of Abial are still numerous in this section of the county, recollections of the pio- neer himself are not easily obtainable. Allen Pettis, one of his sons, lived in Montgomery and attained a good old age. Abial jun., died in the town but left no children. Philander, son of the pioneer, died in the west.
Among the other early settlers of Montgomery, some of whom have been of the first comers, but of whom no accurate data are obtainable, there may be recalled the names of John Kagwin, Elijah Pitcher (one of the first selectmen and a prominent person in town affairs), John French, Jacob Fellows, Zadock Bosworth, Nathaniel Wattles, Daniel Barret, Richard Falley (who was selectman in 1784, and who also was a prominent char- acter in early town history.1 His daughter was grandmother of former president Grover Cleveland. The Falley surname is not now represented in the town), Amos Maynard, Truman
1Richard Falley owned and lived on the farm now owned by Mr. Le Valley, the artist, and carried on a gun shop in which he made muskets for the Amer- ican soldiers in the revolutionary war, and also in the war of 1812-15. The foundations of the old shop are still to be seen in a ravine near Mr. Le Valley's residence .- ED.
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Mallory, Isaac Palner, Isaac Chapman, Jacob Andrews, Martin Root, Oliver Rice, Edward Taylor, Jonathan Herrick, Levi Adams, Isaac Wilbarn, and others perhaps equally worthy of mention, but whose names are forgotten with lapse of years.
With settlement thus permanently established by sturdy New Englanders from the eastern colonies of the province, and with the subsequent acquisition to their number by others of the same stock, it is not surprising that the liberty-loving people should petition the general court for an act of incorporation ; and when that end was attained it was fitting that the new jurisdiction should be named in allusion to one of America's bravest revolutionary patriots, Gen. Richard Montgomery, who was killed in battle before the walls of Quebec in 1775.
In a preceding paragraph the act creating the town is re- ferred to at some length. On February 25, 1792, Montgomery surrendered a small portion of its territory to the town of Rus- sell, and on March 6 of the same year parts of Norwich and Southampton were annexed to Montgomery. The organization was accomplished with little ceremony, and the first meeting for the election of officers was held at the house of Zadoek Bosworth on December 14, 1780. At that time all the offices were filled and some provision was made for the support of public schools. The church society then was an institution of the town and was for three years afterward a controlling factor in its government.
Selectmen .- 1780, Oliver Clark, Abial Squier, Elijah Pitcher; 1781, Abial Squier, Elijah Pitcher John French; 1782, Abial Squier, Jacob Fellows, Nathaniel Wattles; 1783, Aaron Parks, Sylvester Squier, Daniel Barret; 1784, Richard Falley, Sylvester Squier, Aaron Parks; 1785, Isaac Wilbarn, Daniel Barret, Amos Maynard ; 1786, Jacob Andrus, Martin Root, Tru- man Mallory; 1787, Edward Taylor, Sylvester Squier, Amos Maynard; 1788, Aaron Parks, Noble Squier, David Crow; 1789, Isaac Palmer, Jr., Noble Squier, James Clark; 1790, Isaac Palmer, Jr., Amos Maynard, Samuel Wright, Jr .; 1791, Isaac Chapman, Abner Rice, Jr., Noble Squier; 1792, Daniel Barret, Edward Taylor, Aaron Parks; 1793, Jonathan Herrick, Noble Squier, Gardner Squier; 1794, Edward Taylor, Daniel Barret,
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Amos Maynard; 1795, Edward Taylor, Sylvester Squier, Levi Adams; 1796, Sylvester Squier, Isaac Chapman, Martin Root ; 1797, Edward Taylor, Aaron Parks, Levi Adams; 1798, Edward Taylor, Amos Maynard. Daniel Barret; 1799, Aaron Parks, Elisha Hutchinson, Sylvester Squier: 1800, Sylvester Squier, Zadoek Bosworth, Daniel Barret: 1801, Aaron Parks, Amos Maynard, Daniel Barret : 1802-3. Edward Taylor, Aaron Parks, Daniel Barret : 1804. Aaron Parks, Richard Falley, Sylvester Squier: 1805, Samuel Avery, Richard Falley, Sylvester Squier; 1806-8. Aaron Parks, Sylvester Squier, Samuel Avery; 1809, Aaron Parks. Sylvester Squier. David R. Cooley; 1810-11, Aaron Parks. Sylvester Squier, James Wright: 1812, Aaron Parks, Joseph Green, James L. Adair; 1813, Aaron Parks, Tru- man Mallory, Abner Chapman; 1814, Edward Taylor, Moses Hatch, David Crowley: 1815-17. Edward Taylor, Aaron Parks, Moses Hatch; 1818, Moses Hatch, Aaron Parks, Gameliel King; 1819, Edward Taylor, John Crow, Orrin Parks : 1820, Wm. Crow, Edward Taylor, Orrin Parks: 1821. Edward Taylor, Orrin Parks. Pliny Moore: 1822. Moses Parks, Flavius Moore, Wm. Crow; 1823. Edward Taylor, Pliny Moore, Orrin Parks; 1824, Edward Taylor, Orrin Parks, John Crow; 1825-26, Moses Parks, John Crow. Orrin Parks: 1827-28. Edward Taylor, Orrin Parks, Lucius Wright: 1829. Edward Taylor, Moses Parks, Orrin Parks: 1830-31. Orrin Parks, John Crow. Ransom Clark; 1832, Edward Taylor. Moses Parks, Orrin Parks; 1833, Edward Taylor, Moses Parks, Win. Squier; 1834, Orrin Parks, Wm. Squier, JJohn Camp; 1835. Edward Taylor, Orrin Parks. John Camp: 1836, Orrin Parks, Noah Sheldon, Elisha Avery: 1837- 38, Orrin Parks, Ransom Clark. Nathan Hutchinson; 1839, Moses Parks, Elisha Avery, Win. Squier; 1840. Orrin Parks, Wm. Squier, Sheldon Brownson: 1841, Moses Parks, Noah Sheldon, Nathan Hutchinson: 1842. Orrin Parks. Isaac Brown- son, Win. Squier: 1843. Ransom Clark. Win. Squier, Elisha P. l'arks: 1844. Ransom Clark. Elisha P. Parks. Norman Chapman; 1845, Ransom Clark, Sheldon Brownson, Edward Taylor: 1846- 47. Elisha Avery, Wm. Sqnier. Aaron P. Parks; 1848, Amos W. Wheeler, Ransom Clark, Norman Chapman ; 1849, Aaron P.
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Parks, Ransom Clark, Hiram Bartholmew; 1850, Wm. Squier, Elisha P. Parks, N. P. Bartholmew; 1851, Elisha P. Parks, Holley Clark, N. P. Bartholmew; 1852, Edward M. Taylor, Aaron P. Parks, S. Moore; 1853, Wm. Squier, Isaae Brownson, Zenas Clark; 1854, Wm. Squier, L. T. Allyn, Nelson Clark; 1855, Wm. Squier, L. T. Allyn. A. A. Moore; 1856, A. A. Moore, Nelson Hutchinson, B. H. Kagwin; 1857, Wm. Squier, Holley Clark, A. A. Moore; 1858, Aaron P. Parks, L. T. Allyn, Henry S. Stiles; 1859, Wm. Squier, Chelsea Upson, Franeis W. Clark; 1860. A. A. Moore, John Hutchinson, Chelsea Upson; 1861, A. A. Moore, Horace F. Moore, Henry S. Stiles; 1862, Wm. Squier, Aaron P. Parks, Gilbert Squier ; 1863, Wm. Squier, A. A. Moore, Orlando W. Axtell ; 1864, Edwin S. Snow, Horace F. Moore, R. W. Clark ; 1865, Aaron P. Parks, R. W. Clark, Horace F. Moore; 1866-67, A. A. Moore, H. K. Axtell, O. A. Moore; 1868, R. W. Clark. Wm. Squier. Lewis T. Allyn; 1869, R. W. Clark, Henry S. Stiles, Chelsea Upson; 1870, R. W. Clark, Henry S. Stiles, Ransom E. Clark: 1871, E. W. Pettis, R. W. Clark, Ransom E. Clark : 1872, R. E. Clark, Henry S. Stiles, Wm. H. Avery ; 1873, R. E. Clark, Lewis T. Allyn, Ezra Wright; 1874-75, R. E. Clark, Henry S. Stiles, Chelsea Upson; 1876, Lewis T. Allyn, F. W. Clark, A. A. Moore: 1877, R. W. Clark, Henry S. Stiles, G. L. Moore: 1878, Lewis T. Allyn, F. W. Clark, HI. F. Moore; 1879- 81. R. W. Clark. Henry S. Stiles. G. L. Moore; 1882, R. W. Clark, H. K. Axtell. H. C. Kelso: 1883, R. W. Clark, H. S. Stiles, H. C. Kelso; 1884-86, G. L. Moore, Ezra Wright, L. O. Moore; 1887-89, R. W. Clark, L. O. Moore, G. L. Moore; 1890, L. O. Moore, Ezra Wright, A. G. Wright; 1891-94, L. O. Moore, R. W. Clark, G. L. Moore; 1895-99, L. O. Moore, R. W. Clark, A. D. Avery : 1900. L. O. Moore, A. D. Avery, A. J. Hall; 1901, L. O. Moore, D. L. Allyn, O. E. Moore.
Town Clerks .- Stephen Hurlbut, 1780-83; Daniel Barrett, 1783-97 ; James Searle, 1798; Daniel Barrett, 1799-1805; James Wright, 1805-9: James L. Adair, 1809-16; Elisha Chapman, 1816-19; Moses Hateh, 1819-20; Orrin Parks, 1821; Samuel Bar- rett, 1822-23: Orrin Parks, 1824-53; N. S. Moore, 1853-58; Wm. Squier, 1858-60; Aaron P. Parks, 1860-62; L. T. Allyn, 1863;
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Horaee Bartholomew, 1864; Aaron P. Parks, 1865-68; L. T. Allyn, 1868-72; A. A. Moore, 1872-78; R. E. Clark, 1879 ; Horace Bartholomew, 1880-81; A. A. Moore, 1882; H. S. Stiles, 1883-86; F. W. Clark, 1887-88; H. S. Stiles, 1889; A. A. Moore, 1890; I. T. Allyn, 1891-92; D. L. Allyn, 1893-98; A. D. Avery, 1899- 1901.
Town Officers. 1901 .- L. O. Moore, O. E. Moore, D. L. Allyn, selectmen ; A. D. Avery, town clerk; A. J. Hall, auditor; D. L. Allyn. treasurer ; C. H. Clapp, eolleetor; C. H. Clapp and C. A. Williams, constables; M. E. Camp, D. L. Allyn, H. C. Kelso, cemetery commissioners; Lucien O. Moore, justice of the peace : (. 1. Williams, chief of police. The selectmen act as assessors, overseers of the poor and town board of health.
Among the towns of Ilampden county Montgomery always has enjoyed an excellent standing and has furnished to the higher offices of public life in the region some of the best men chosen to those positions. A glanee at the above list of selectmen will show the quality of material from which the town officers have been selected, and a perusal of the general county civil list will disclose that this town has furnished some strong representa- tives to the general court of the commonwealth. Yet it is some- what surprising that in 1900 Montgomery had less than half the number of inhabitants who dwelt in the town one hundred years ago. The causes of this remarkable deerease are too well known to need diseussion in this chapter, and a comparison of census statistics with other towns will show that the loss in population here has been no greater than in other similarly conditioned divisions of the county.
From the earliest years of its history Montgomery has been an agricultural town1; the quality of its land is good and fair production is assured under persevering effort on the part of the farmer. But the town happens to be located at a remote distance from the best markets and never has had the direct benefits of a railroad. Its lands are elevated several hundred feet above the valley in Westfield, and a fair proportion of its
1About 1837 there were 1168 sheep in the town, producing $2,220.33 worth of wool .- ED.
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entire area is covered with excellent timber of various kinds. Lumbering has always been carried on and occasionally wood- working establishments have been operated in the town.
The population of the town at various periods is shown by the following extracts from the federal and state census reports : 1790, 449; 1800, 560; 1810, 595; 1820, 604; 1830, 579; 1840, 740; 1850, 393 ; 1855, 413; 1860, 371; 1865, 353; 1870, 318; 1875, 304; 1880, 303; 1885, 278; 1890, 266; 1895, 275; 1900, 273.
Notwithstanding the fact that Montgomery has been an incorporated town almost a century and a half, it never has had a village or trading center of any considerable note. The little hamlet which has been made to serve that purpose is
Montgomery
situated near the center of the town and comprises about a dozen dwellings and a few small shops, the Congregational church, the library and a public school. This loeality, and indeed the entire town, is made the summer home of many per- sons who seek to eseape the oppressive atmosphere of the cities and find rest and quiet in the more pleasant and healthful hill regions of this substantial old town.
It would be difficult, if not quite impossible, to furnish a reliable list of all the persons who have engaged in industrial pursuits, other than farming, in the town. Many of the best farmers raise general erops, yet dairy farming is perhaps the
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chief occupation of the inhabitants. In connection with this pursuit there has been maintained for years several creameries, located according to the convenience of the people of the several sections. At this time these creameries are conducted by A. D. Avery, John Camp, Samuel W. Coe, E. A. Chapman and C. M. Hayden. The axe helve factory is under the present pro- prietorship of (. A. Williams, who also aets as the peaee officer of the town. The cider makers are S. S. Avery and J. E. Camp; cattle dealers, D. L. AAllyn and C. S. Allyn; carpenter, H. C. Kelso; wheelwright and general jobber, S. W. Williston; post- inistress, Mrs. A. E. Pittsinger: justice of the peace, Lucien O. Moore; painter, Clifford Williston ; proprietor of stage line, W. B. Cushman ; librarian, Mrs. D. L. Allyn; library committee, Mrs. A. D. Avery, D. S. Moore, Mrs. H. C. Kelso.
The town always has maintained a public school system according to the requirements of the law and of a standard equal to that of any other town of like situation with this. When formally organized in 1780 ample provision was made for the support of a school. and as the several localities beeame settled the territory was divided into districts and a school was provided for each. The maximum number, both of schools and pupils, was reached between 1830 and 1840, sinee which time they have been reduced in number as the population has de- ereased. At the present time five sehools are maintained, but the attendance is small in each, the total number of children of school age in the town being only 47. Under the present arrangement pupils entitled to attend an academic school are sent to Westfield. Montgomery is one of four towns in Hamp- den county which have no superintendent of common schools.1 The present school committee comprises D. L. Allyn, chairman : C. H. Clapp and C. M. Hayden.
In the early history of the town the affairs of the church and of town itself were conducted almost as a single body, and publie maintenance of religious worship was a recognized cus- tom from the tine the settlement was begun until about three
Since this was written the town has joined with Russell, Blandford and Hunt- ington in employing a Superintendent of Schools.
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years after the incorporating act of 1783. Previous to 1780 the church in Westfield governed the ecclesiastical history of the New Addition. On the organization of the town the inhabitants discussed the question of providing for regular services, and in December following appropriated six pounds for the support of "preaching in the town." In 1783 Rev. John Ballentine was engaged to preach at the price of two dollars for each Sabbath's service for twenty weeks. The first services were held in the houses of the inhabitants, and in 1788 the subject of a meeting house was discussed. In 1797 the first ehnreh edifice was built, and was succeeded by the present structure erected in 1848. During the period of its history, the Congregational church in Montgomery has experienced a varied condition of existence, at times being in a healthful state and as often decreasing in numbers until it was not self-supporting. Now the pulpit is supplied from Huntington by Rev. W. L. Hendrick.
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