USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Springfield > Springfield city directory and business advertiser 1871-1872 > Part 3
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 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40
The old numbers were few, and not uniform. Sometimes there were two numbers alike for widely separated places on the same street. The method of locating people by their block did not answer, in some instances, where the very occupants had forgotten what the block was called! Thus strangers were misled, and citizens even, in a population of thirty thousand people, could not readily find one another. Now, all the streets are numbered by the city government, and maps of them made, on which every twenty feet is marked and described. The cost of putting the new numbers on all the buildings at this time is small-fifteen cents a figure-and when it is once done, there is no probability of a change.
The new streets added to the city, changes in old ones, locations of public buildings and objects of interest, are shown on the map which accompanies this work. Its increased size indicates how much the city " enlarges its borders " in a single year.
3
18
SPRINGFIELD CITY DIRECTORY.
Special pains have been taken to make the Directory reliable and complete. The difficulty of canvassing for names, while the streets were being re-numbered, has been greater than could have been anticipated. Considerable ground was necessarily gone over a second time, because, after the names had been obtained, many new numbers were changed on account of errors in measuring, sometimes through an entire street. Where householders have lost their cards or have poor memories, figures for them have been supplied from the city's maps ; if, then, mistakes are found, the usually careful map-makers, and not the Directory, are accountable for them. Thus the publica- tion of the work has been seriously delayed. But to have issued it earlier, without correcting the street numbers, or supplying omissions in them, would have made the book less valuable, and limited its circulation.
Springfield in 1871.
THE CITY'S GROWTH-ITS FUTURE PROSPECTS-A GLANCE AT THE PAST-NEW BUILDINGS.
INDUSTRY and trade have prospered in Springfield the past year, and the future is full of promise. The new enterprises started this season involve in the aggregate a very large outlay, and will make business lively here, as well as benefit the neighboring towns.
Ward One, which has increased largely in population and wealth the past five years, will soon be the center of large manufactur- ing operations. Beyond the Memorial Church, on the railroad west of Dr. Holland's residence, the Wason Manufacturing Company have recently purchased the farm of J. H. Demond and other land in this vicinity, making in all some seventy-two acres, exceedingly well adapted for building purposes. On this they have commenced the erection of works much larger than those they now occupy, and when the new buildings are completed, will remove their entire busi- ness there. Other large concerns will also locate near by, and some of them will engage in manufactures not now carried on in Spring- field. A large number of mechanics, most of them heads of families, will then be employed here, and house-building will be brisk. This section of the city is to be called Brightwood.
A lot has been bought on Elm street for over $50,000, on which it is proposed to place the new court-house. It is possible, even now, however, that the location may be changed, if a more desirable site can be secured. The plans for the building have been made, and it is expected to cost about $150,000. It will be a fine specimen of architecture, substantially built, well arranged for light and venti- lation, fire-proof, and affording accommodations long needed for the various departments of county business and the courts.
The Union street Methodist Church have purchased a lot on the corner of State and Myrtle streets, on which they will erect a house of worship, costing, with the ground, about $60,000. The North
20
SPRINGFIELD CITY DIRECTORY.
and the Episcopal Churches also propose to put up new structures at no distant day, the former on Salem street. There is also a proba- bility that a Baptist Church will be built in Ward One, and another in Ward Seven, in the near future.
D. O. Gilmore is erecting a fine business block, adjoining his pres- ent one on Main street, to cost $60,000. Other blocks are also begun, or soon will be, on Harrison avenue, Bridge and Worthington streets. As detailed descriptions of these and other new buildings appear on another page, it is only necessary to mention them here, as part of the work done in a single season.
Smith & Wesson are building a large shop and store-house, and adding to the capacity of the one they now occupy. At the south end, a large shop is nearly completed on Hanover street, to be occu- pied probably by the American Corrugated Iron Company.
The Bemis & Call Tool Company are also erecting new works, to replace those recently destroyed by fire.
New dwelling-houses appear in almost every direction. Nearly one hundred will be completed this year. An unusual number are of the best class, and will be occupied by the owners. Some of these residences are as " beautiful for situation" as they are complete in design and furnishing. Springfield offers rare advantages for the location of fine houses upon commanding positions, with delightful surroundings. Business and professional men, retiring from active life elsewhere, are thus drawn here, to make their homes and lay out a portion of their fortunes. Hills abound of various forms-round, long or crescent-shaped-and just high enough to afford fine views of the landscape, and lure the observer to their tops ; even the plains reveal singular phenomena, exciting curiosity ; while quiet retreats, sparkling brooks, ponds covered with lilies as nowhere else, add rural charms to the attractions of city life. From a wide region of the country around, young people also are constantly coming here to reside. They find not only better wages and more agreeable em- ployment than at home, but also superior facilities for education and social enjoyment. They make a most desirable class of residents often, and are to be considered in calculating the city's future growth.
PROGRESS IN THE PAST TEN YEARS.
While Springfield's advance in the present is rapid, and likely to be more so in the future, its progress in the past ten years is gratify- ing. The census shows that its average increase in population has been over a thousand a year, during that period. Only three of the sixteen cities in the State have grown more. In 1860, the popula- tion of Springfield was 15,199, and the valuation $8,669,806. In
21
SPRINGFIELD CITY DIRECTORY.
1870, the population was 26,703, and the valuation $24,914,060. The number of polls last year was 6,587 ; dwellings, 4,090 ; families, 5,708.
During the past ten years, seven fine churches have been built, costing half a million dollars, and most of the old ones are still used also for religious purposes. Six large, elegant and convenient school- houses have been added to those before existing, at an expense to the city of $250,000 ; the investment is most profitable, however, and the schools are excellent and well appreciated, for ninety-three per cent of all the children of school-age attended them the past year.
Our city library has been gathered, most of it, during the period we are considering, and is now one of the largest and best-selected for popular use in the country. It contains over 32,000 volumes, and new works of popular interest are constantly being added to the various departments. A catalogue of the books has just been pub- lished, the preparation of which has required much labor, research and patience on the part of the librarian and his assistants. But it enables subscribers at once to find what they want, and will be ap- preciated by all readers. The museum, which is connected with the library, attracts many visitors, and is yearly increasing in value and interest. While the city library was necessarily closed for a time, the service it has rendered the community, in promoting a taste for literature, was shown by the number of excellent circulating libraries that came into being at once, and the liberal patronage these have received. The new city library building is a handsome specimen of architecture, and cost, including the ground, about $100,000. An engraving of it has been prepared for this year's Directory, and will be found on another page, with a detailed description.
Fine business blocks completed each season testify of the taste and wealth of their owners, and the increase of trade. Among struct- ures of this class, of which any city might well be proud, we may mention the granite building erected and partly occupied by the Powers Paper Company and the Agawam National Bank, the iron front block of the Messrs. Bill, the granite building containing the offices of the Boston and Albany Railroad Company, the blocks erected and occupied respectively by the Springfield Institution for Savings, the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, the First and Second National Banks, the lately remodeled Foot's block, the new Music Hall, Haynes' Hotel block, Barnes' and Union blocks, the beginning of Hurlbut's block, and a long list of others only less costly and elegant.
Many of the streets have been macadamized, some sixteen miles of
-
22
SPRINGFIELD CITY DIRECTORY.
sewers have been built, gas is used in nearly all the dwellings as well as public buildings, pure water is supplied, and the street rail- way is a popular and established institution.
While capital reaps a fair return, industry prospers, and land owners are happy, the accumulations in the savings banks are signifi- cant facts. In 1860, the three savings banks of the city had little more than one million one hundred thousand dollars, and the two largest had thirty-five hundred depositors. Now, the sum of their deposits is over six and a half millions ; and the oldest one alone had the past year 13,562 depositors, of whom 7,544 were for small sums, and 3,683 opened new accounts.
RAILROADS.
The one great secret of the steady growth of Springfield is its im- portance as a railroad center. The Boston & Albany Railroad, two hundred miles long, with a capital of $20,000,000, forming a link in the most important line west from Boston, passes through the city from east to west, and has its principal offices here. The Spring- field, Hartford & New Haven Railroad, with $6,300,000 capital, finishes the southern connection, and, with the Boston & Albany road, forms part of the most popular through route between New York and Boston,-one the metropolis of the whole country, and the other of New England ; and the Connecticut River Railroad, with $1,700,000 of capital, takes the traveler northward, up the beautiful valley of the Connecticut, to connecting lines that will carry him to any part of northern New England or Canada. Three more new roads-the Springfield & Longmeadow, the Springfield & Farming- ton Valley, and the Springfield & Athol-are chartered, and will be completed in a few years, perhaps months. These new roads, while they are never likely to become important as through lines, like the roads already existing, are still sure to be valuable adjuncts to the present roads, and to bring tribute to the business of Springfield. Our city is already one of the most important railroad centers of New England, and with the new roads completed it will have facilities for travel and transportation that will make it still more desirable for residence and business of all kinds. A new iron bridge will soon be finished by the Boston & Albany, across the river here, and prob- ably the plans for a new depot will then be taken up. The work has been delayed by the necessity of making it large and locating it so as to serve, if possible, all the railroads now here or that are soon coming,
23
SPRINGFIELD CITY DIRECTORY.
MANUFACTURES.
Counting each firm as one person, there are three hundred manu- facturers here, employing over four thousand men, and over one thousand women and children. The United States Armory ranks first upon the list, as it has heretofore ; but there is an increasing number of other large establishments, each employing nearly as many hands, taking the year through. Thus, according to the census, over 600 persons are employed in making railroad cars; nearly 1,000 in manufacturing cotton and woolen goods ; over 300 on pistols and firearms ; 155 on harnesses, saddlery, etc .; 154 on paper collars ; nearly 150 in foundries ; 95 on gold chains ; 90 on watches ; and so of a multitude of different branches of manufactures. Then, too, we have 202 carpenters, 69 masons, 37 house-painters (probably more), 76 tinners, 205 brick-makers, 25 bakers, and 162 tailors. Skilled workmen are in the majority, and not a few Springfield mechanics are successful inventors, and some have become the heads of large concerns, whose products go to all lands.
It would be impossible to mention in detail all the manufacturing interests of Springfield,-they are so numerous and varied. We must refer readers to the advertisements of each concern, elsewhere. The list would embrace railroad cars, bridges, cotton, woolen and rubber goods, paints and chemicals, fire-arms, swords, cartridges, watches, jewelry, gold pens, clothing, candy, carpeting, water filters, soda fountains, toys, games, children's carriages, corks, paper collars and boxes, envelopes, books, trunks, spectacles, skates, hand stamps, and a thousand things, almost, besides.
TRADE.
The wholesale business of Springfield merchants is estimated at twenty millions a year, and the retail trade is very large. Spring- field is the natural business center of a wide area of territory, con- taining many thrifty towns. People come a long distance to do their shopping here, and the general verdict is that nowhere can they do better for their money. May the time never come when our dealers have a less honorable and generous reputation than now. A very good idea of the business of the city may be gained by reading the brief cards scattered through the list of names in the Directory, and the advertisements preceding and following them.
AGRICULTURE AND HORTICULTURE.
There are 158 farmers in Springfield. Some of them wield a large capital, in real estate. Two on Main street still hold, for agricultural
24
SPRINGFIELD CITY DIRECTORY.
purposes, a considerable piece of land, which would sell readily for $1,000 a front foot, allowing 125 feet depth. They have put in a substantial fence with heavy granite posts lately, and evidently mean to stick to their business at the old place. Two miles out, farms are rated at $1,000 an acre. They yield good crops,-a ton of tobacco to the acre, near the river. On one farm of 110 acres, the value of the products for a year is reported in the census at $8,625, the market garden bringing in $1,800 ; three horses and twenty head of cattle were kept, and 9,124 gallons of milk sold. The owners know how to manage a farm as well as "keep a hotel." On another farm, some distance from the thickly settled portion of the city, the pro- prietor gives attention to stock-raising ; and besides five horses and forty-three head of cattle, reported two hundred and forty-nine swine. Not many raise tobacco; the "weed" needs too much care. Cab- bages pay better, in one man's opinion, and he produces acres of them, realizing quick sales and good prices.
Grapes, pears and small fruits, flowers and vegetables, thrive here, on the rich bottom-land. From his garden, one of our pastors has presented more than twenty varieties of pears at a horticultural fair.
OLD LANDMARKS.
Springfield was first settled by people from Roxbury, Mass., in 1634. It bore its Indian name of Aguam or Agawam until 1740, and then was called Springfield, in compliment to William Pynchon, the magistrate and leading man, who had lived in Springfield in England. The land was bought of the Indians ; their deed may still be seen ; and peace was kept with them nearly forty years. On one occasion, a few years after the first settlement, when famine threatened the people, the red men sailed down the Connecticut from Deerfield, with a fleet of fifty canoes, bringing a supply of corn. There was an Indian fort on Long Hill, and during King Phillip's war, the savages came thence and burned all of the town except three fortified houses. One of the latter, the first brick structure in the valley, stood until 1831, and its picture is shown on our city seal.
Our fathers were church-going people. Clocks being scarce, the hour of worship was announced by beat of drum for half an hour ; at Northampton, a trumpet was blown for the same purpose. People who did not go to church were punished by the law; and Daniel, a servant of Thomas Merrick of Springfield, for "idle watching about and not coming to the ordinances of the Lord," was adjudged to be worthy of stripes to the number of five, well laid on. Boys were restless sometimes, it seems, for a vote was passed in Hadley, in 1671, "that there shall be some sticks set up in the meeting-house in
25
SPRINGFIELD CITY DIRECTORY.
several places, with some fit persons placed by them, to use the same as occasion shall require, to keepe the youth from disorder."
Men are still in active business who remember Main street as a "corduroy road," and that the other thoroughfares were the road to Boston (now State street), Meeting-house lane (Elm street), Ferry lane to the upper landing (Cypress street), Bridge lane (Bridge street), the lane to the lower landing (York street), the road to Chipmuck (Carew street), and the present Water street.
Near the corner of the present Sargeant and Main streets, Mr. Stebbins kept a hotel in 1775, and the building was removed a few years ago to another street, and still does good service as an eight- tenement dwelling-house. A hotel kept in old times by Mr. Williams on the present Court square, now stands near the west end of Court street. The building occupied as a court house before the present one was built in 1822, is now a carriage shop, corner of Berlin and Sanford streets. Most of the old landmarks are gone, but from aged citizens much valuable information might be gathered concerning our early history.
NEW BUILDINGS.
From the quiet ways of the past to the stirring life of to-day, the transition is obvious, in the new buildings on so many streets. The more noticeable of those raised this season are described below :
CHILDREN'S HOME-CHAPEL-SCHOOL-HOUSE-BUSINESS BLOCKS .AND SHOPS- THE NEW WASON WORKS -- HANDSOME RESIDENCES.
Of the new buildings completed or commenced the present year, none have inter- ested so many people, here and elsewhere, as the Children's Home. The credit of its construction is due to the ladies of Springfield, though those in neighboring towns have assisted. The gentlemen, of course, have seconded their efforts with wise counsel and generous subscriptions, though a considerable portion of the necessary funds was raised by a Fair held at the City Hall, the past spring. Major Ingersoll presided; and the attendance and success were matched only by the grand Soldiers' Fair, held at the same place, in the dark days of the war. The people came together as by a common impulse of sympathy for a noble object; and while nothing objectionable was resorted to, over $8,000 were realized for the Home. The building is on Buckingham street, near State. It is of brick, two stories high above the basement, with French roof. The main part is 50 feet on Buckingham street, by 40 deep, and the ell in the rear is 28 by 30. There is a piazza in front and one each side of the ell. On the first floor are the reception parlor, library, sewing-room, dining-room, kitchen, pantries, etc., all conveniently furnished. The second floor contains the girls' dormitory, 17 by 38 feet, a nursery room and hospital apartment, and a large bathing and wash-room; also the boys' dormitory and bath-room, and apartments for the matron and attendants. On the third floor are dormitories, and also a tank holding 1,000 gallons, filled with rain water from the roof, or from a force-pump, and supplying all parts of the house. In the basement are the laundry, with four sets of soapstone tubs, a forty-gallon copper kettle, and a drying-room ; also a play-room, 18 by 38 feet, for the boys, as well as rooms for coal, furnaces, etc. The lot, which was presented by the Messrs. Tapley, Haynes, and McKnight, is 150 by 300 feet. The building and fixtures cost nearly $20,000. 4
26
SPRINGFIELD CITY DIRECTORY.
The building committee were D. H. Brigham, Gurdon Bill, Horace Kibbe, Mrs. George Walker, Mrs. William Rice and Mrs. Charles Merriam. A. Mayo was the contractor ; D. J. Curtis did the mason work, and David Warner the painting.
The First Methodist Church, on Florence street, are building a chiapel 72 by 58 feet, and containing a large lecture-room and two class-rooms. It is connected with the church by a small building, containing a pastor's study and class room. The doors are so arranged that seats in three of the rooms in the new building command a view of the pulpit in the church, and thus accommodate any overflow of the congregation from the latter. The chapel will cost about $6,500, and Rice & Shannon are the builders.
The new school-house on Central street will be ready for use the coming fall. It is the sixth large grammar school building completed by the city since 1865, and while all are models, each one in succession embodies new features of excellence. The Central street school-house will be a story less in hight, and cost less than the others, but will accommodate 450 scholars. It is very pleasantly located, built of brick, two stories high, with mansard roof. The main part is 90 by 60 feet, and the two ells are each 10 by 25 feet. There are nine school-rooms, a recitation room, and a hall on the upper floor 60 by 58 feet. The rooms are 14 feet high in the clear. C. L. Shaw is the builder ; E. J. Piper puts in the furniture ; and the total cost will be about $41,000.
D. O. Gilmore is building a large addition, southward of his present block, at 324 Main street. The new part is 45 feet wide by 152 deep, and five stories high, besides basement and sub-cellar. The front will be of Philadelphia brick, with iron and Port- land stone trimmings. There will be two stores, and, in all, one hundred rooms. Many of these will be taken in suits for families. The building will be well finished, warmed throughout by steam, and cost about $60,000.
Emerson Wight has commenced a block of five stores, on the north side of Worthing- ton street, near Main street. It will be of brick, with iron trimmings, 180 feet long and 45 to 56 deep, four stories high, and with mansard roof.
Park Warner is building, on the corner of Bridge and Dwight streets, a brick block, 31 by 72 feet, and three stories high, with mansard roof. It will contain three stores and six tenements, and cost about $10,000, besides the lot. Norman Akins is the contractor.
Patrick Fitzgerald is building on Bridge street, corner of Stearns' park, a brick block, 40 by 60 feet, and four stories high, including basement. There will be three stores in it, besides offices and dwellings, and the cost will be about $30,000, including the lot. Perkins & Gardner, architects.
On the corner of Worthington street and Stearns' park, Patrick Fitzgerald is also building a brick block of stores and dwellings, 60 by 62 feet, and four stories higlı, including basement. The cost is $35,000, without the lot. George E. Page, carpen- ter; D. J. Curtis, mason.
On Harrison avenue, a brick block of stores is soon to be commenced by Patrick Fitzgerald. It will be 50 by 60 feet, three stories high, with mansard roof, and cost $18,000, besides the lot. George E. Page, builder ; M. Curtis, mason.
E. J. Avery has nearly completed, at 56 Main street, a brick block, 42 feet by 52, four stories high, with French roof, and containing two stores and six tenements. Norman Akins, builder.
At Indian Orchard, corner Main and Oak streets, a brick block, containing three stores, besides dwellings, has just been completed for O. E. Tilley, Dr. Noyes Barstow, and the Goff Brothers. It is 40 by 70 feet, three stories high, witli mansard roof, and cost $12,000, without the ground. Kent & Morgan, carpenters; Howe & Whittemore, masons.
Smith & Wesson, on Stockbridge street, are building an addition to the central por- tion of the front of their lawge pistol shop. The new part is a tower, 40 feet by 32 on the ground, and five stories high, besides a basement. The main entrance to the establishment is here; the first floor is for office room, and is finished in black walnut, as is also the stairway; and on the sixth floor there is a large water tank, for protec-
27
SPRINGFIELD CITY DIRECTORY.
tion against fire. In the rear of this shop, a new building is being erected, 182 feet by 45, half of which will be used for a forge sliop, and the other half, which is two stories high, for storage, and for the carpenter and stocking shops. All of the wood work in the factory will be transferred to this building as soon as completed. These additions will give an opportunity for the employment of 50 or 100 workmen in addition to the pres- ent force of 275, and the new hands will be set at work as soon as practicable. The company are filling an order for 20,000 army revolvers for the Russian government, and have many other European contracts. The cost of the new shop and the addition to the old one will not be far from $20,000. Chauncey Shepherd, builder; Spooner & Top- liff, masons.
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.