USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Florence > The history of Florence, Massachusetts : including a complete account of the Northampton Association of Education and Industry > Part 11
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WHAT I FOUND AT THE NORTHAMPTON ASSOCIATION.
BY FREDERICK DOUGLASS.
OF the great mental wave of reform that passed over New England fifty years ago and gave rise to the Florence, Brook Farm, and Hopedale Communities, others can tell you more and better than I. The religion of good will to man ; of fervent desire and courageous determi- nation to put aside the old and to venture boldly upon the new ; to change and improve conditions of human existence ; to liberate mankind from the bondage of time-worn custom ; to curb and fix limits to in- dividual selfishness ; to diffuse wealth among the lowly ; to banish poverty ; to harmonize " Far from gay cities and the ways of men."- Pope. conflicting interests, and to promote the happiness of mankind gener- ally, had at that time such a revival as, perhaps, New England had never seen before, and has certainly never seen since.
This high thought of the time took deep hold upon men and women, and led them to dare and do startling things in contradiction to the common sense of the period. Many who thought themselves reformers were not ready to embark in the wild, or what seemed to them wild, and fantastical measures of these radicals ; who, in their war against old forms and social arrangements, sometimes seemed to assume that what- ever was new, was true, and that whatever was old, was erroneous. With them, the old way was the wrong way, and the new was the right, or at least had within it the promise of the right.
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HISTORY OF FLORENCE.
The period was one of faith, hope, and charity ; of millennial fore- shadowing. The air was full of isms-Grahamism, mesmerism, Fou- rierism, transcendentalism, communism, and abolitionism. Fresh from slavery at that time, and keenly alive to its horrors, my mind was mainly occupied with the last mentioned ism, and yet with a strong leaning towards communism as a remedy for all social ills. I found, too, that the men and women who were interested in the work of revolutionizing the whole system of civilization were also deeply interested in the emancipa- tion of the slaves ; and this was enough to insure my sympathy to these universal reformers.
Of the various attempts to give form and substance to the broad and beneficent ideas of the times, Florence and Hopedale seemed fullest of promise. For harmony, Hopedale had a decided advantage over Flor- ence, in that its leaders were of one religious faith, while Florence was composed both of men and women of different denominations, and of those of no religious bias or profession. It was from the first a protest against sectism and bigotry and an assertion of the paramount impor- tance of human brotherhood.
I visited Florence almost at its beginning, when it was in the rough ; when all was Spartan-like simplicity. It struck me at once that the reformers had a tremendous task before them. I knew that many of them were people well to do in the world, and I naturally wondered how they could content themselves to leave the smooth and pleasant paths of life to which they were accustomed, for the rough and thorny ways they were now compelled to tread. The site of the Community was decidedly unpromising. The soil was poor and had little or nothing upon it but stubby oaks and stunted pines. The most hopeful thing I saw there was a narrow stream meandering through an entangled valley of brush and brier, and a brick building which the communists had now converted into a dwelling and factory. The place and the people struck me as tlie most democratic I had ever met. It was a place to extinguish all aris- tocratic pretensions. There was no high, no low, no masters, no servants, no white, no black. I, however, felt myself in very high society. I met there Samuel Hill, Seth Hunt, George Benson, Hall Judd, William Bassett, James Boyle, Giles B. Stebbins, Elisha Hammond, his wife, Miss Sophia Foorde, and a number of others, all people from the upper walks of life, and yet fraternizing with the humblest members of the association of which they formed a part.
My impressions of the Community are not only the impressions of a stranger, but those of a fugitive slave to whom at that time even Massa- chusetts opposed a harsh and repellent side. The cordial reception I met with at Florence, was, therefore, much enhanced by its contrast with
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many other places in that commonwealth. Here, at least, neither my color nor my condition was counted against me. I found here my old friend, David Ruggles, not only black, but blind, and measurably help- less, but a man of sterling sense and worth. He had been caught up in New York city, rescued from destitution, brought here and kindly cared for. I speak of David Ruggles as my old friend. He was such to me only as he had been to others in the same plight. Before he was old and blind he had been a coworker with the venerable Quaker. Isaac T. Hopper, and had assisted me as well as many other fugitive slaves, on the way from slavery to freedom. It was good to see that this man who had zealously assisted others was now receiving assistance from the benevolent men and women of this Community, and if a grateful heart
VIEW OF FLORENCE-LOOKING NORTH FROM SCHOOLHOUSE TOWER.
in a recipient of benevolence is any compensation for such benevolence. the friends of David Ruggles were well compensated. His whole theme to me was gratitude to these noble people. For his blindness he was hydropathically treated in the Community. He himself became well versed in the water cure system, and was subsequently at the head of a water cure establishment at Florence. He acquired such sensitiveness of touch that he could, by feeling the patient, easily locate the disease, and was, therefore, very successful in treating his patients.
David Ruggles was not the only colored person who found refuge in this Community. I met here for the first time that strange compound of wit and wisdom, of wild enthusiasm and flint-like common sense, who
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seemed to feel it her duty to trip me up in my speeches and to ridicule my efforts to speak and act like a person of cultivation and refinement. I allude to Sojourner Truth. She was a genuine specimen of the uncul- tured negro. She cared very little for elegance of speech or refinement of manners. She seemed to please herself and others best when she put her ideas in the oddest forms. She was much respected at Florence, for she was honest, industrious, and amiable. Her quaint speeches easily gave her an audience, and she was one of the most useful members of the Community in its day of small things.
It is hardly possible to point to a greater contrast than is presented by Florence now, and what it was fifty years ago. Then it was a wilder- ness. Now it blossoms like the rose. Though the outward form has changed, the early spirit of the Community has survived. The noble character of its men and women, and the spirit of its teachers, are still found in that locality, and one cannot visit there without seeing that George Benson, Samuel Hill, Mr. and Mrs. Hammond, Sophia Foorde, William Bassett, and Giles B. Stebbins, and the rest of them, have not lived in vain.
THE HUTCHINSONS' VISIT.
BY JOHN W. HUTCHINSON.
THE glorious principle of the " Fatherhood of God, and the Brother- hood of Man " is a legacy to humanity from primeval times ; it was the spirit that pervaded the day of Pentecost, and actuated the early Chris- tians, who " held all things in common." From out the dim vista of years, to the believers of a later generation this spirit came once more. as though ordained to awaken anew the cherished idea advanced by the Master, the rule of love-that mighty, controlling influence which was to be once more promulgated to lift the struggling world to a realm of confidence in God and man.
It was this vital principle that made itself visible in the spirit that shone forth and the motives controlling the dear cluster of believers gathered in the Northampton valley, on the banks of the picturesque Mill River, coming thence from the homes of New England to form the " Northampton Association of Education and Industry." They sought to establish a community. For reasons that it is no part of my task to state, their experiment, like that at Brook Farm in Roxbury, the " North American Phalanx" in New Jersey, and the community of my own loved brothers and sisters in Milford, N. H., was short lived, but the idea is immortal, and some day will receive its successful demonstration.
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OLD COMMUNITY TIMES.
As the last remaining member of the band of singing brothers and one sister, who in 1844 spent two happy days with this Community, it is a privilege to put on record some impressions and reminiscences of this delightful occasion. We were youthful and ambitious. Our voices had been already lifted in aid of freedom and reform. We had just closed our first tour to Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington. In the latter cities we had received our first impressions, by actual contact, of the horrid iniquity of slavery. We were now on our way from New York city-where we had achieved in its fullest measure the success so dear to the heart of every artist-to our New Hampshire home.
In the party that arrived at Northampton on that bright day in open- ing spring, was my brother Zephaniah, the elder of the band, who was our business agent. A verita- ble Yankee, full of plans, full of hope, except when a tempo- rary set-back in our work or some slight illness subdued his spirits and found expression in some whimsical remark, half- sad, half-jocose ; the life he saw at the Florence Community filled him with enthusiasm, and it was hard for him to tear him- self away from the entrancing company. He was an Illinois pioneer, and now lies buried near his prairie home. Judson was there, dear, warm-hearted, whole-souled, angel-voiced Judson. His body rests in Mil- RESIDENCE OF NELSON A. DAVIS. ford, near the farm where the Hutchinsons were even then dwelling in a happy community, with Benny and Rhoda as the home guard, while the others were earning money for the common treasury in the concert field. Asa, the basso of the troupe and the youngest brother, was there also. He sleeps by the banks of the Hassan river, in the western home of the brothers, Hutchinson, Minnesota. And Abby, the youngest of all, then only fifteen, was also there. It is only a few short months since she was with me. Now she sings with the rest in the spirit world. And I only remain ! How many of that band which we visited are left I do not know, but I do know that there was not a word or look or act during our visit that did not tell the story of perfect love and good will toward us and toward each other.
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HISTORY OF FLORENCE.
The date was April 29, 1844. All nature was alive. As we rode from Northampton village on that Saturday morning, we saw the farmers putting the seed into the ground, and found our young hearts in the fullest unison with the bright, awakening spring. We had long looked forward to the time when we should make our advent to this delightful, picturesque valley. We were greeted as we rode into the village by scores of communists, who had evidently been anticipating our arrival. Our sympathies were at once commingled, and soul met soul in true communion. We pealed forth a song of greeting, which kindled a flame of sacred love that pervaded all hearts. At once we were ushered to our lodgings and soon were prepared to be conducted about the grounds. One place we saw was most charming. In that delightfully picturesque spot we longed to linger. It was called " Para- dise Regained," and at this point we gave a strain of music :-
" This world is full of beauty As other worlds above ; And, if we did our duty, It might be full of love."
We strolled about the farm in groups. We went to the silk factories and thence back to the unpainted Community building, and into the dining apartments, where, at the touch of the bell. all assembled to partake of food. Order and per- fect decorum prevailed. and joy lighted up all countenances. The dis- tribution of labor seemed to be properly adjusted, and order prevailed among all the people. We saw no signs of disaf- fection, and our joy was full as we discussed the grand problems of the A MODERN INTERIOR. day, fully believing the whole world could be in- duced to come up higher into such realms of glory. In the afternoon we played ball. On Sunday there was a meeting in the great dining room. Frederick Douglass, then so recently " chattel personal," who the follow- ing year went with us to Europe, to promulgate the gospel of freedom,
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OLD COMMUNITY TIMES.
was there, and spoke to the communists, as did one of the leaders, Mr. Hill, and others. We sang many of our songs. I well recall the genial presence at the meeting and about the premises, of Dr. Boyd,* in his quaint Continental costume. Other faces are in my mind, though their names have slipped from my memory. At night we rode back to North-
FORMERLY A PART OF THE COMMUNITY FARM-FROM MEADOW STREET BRIDGE.
ampton, where we sang at a great anti-slavery meeting in the town hall. I remember Douglass talked three hours. The communists came over to hear him and us in several two-horse teams.
And all this was a half century ago ! I was then a youth of twenty- three ; now my white locks tell me of the swift passage of time, though my heart is as young as ever, for I never mean to grow old. I have many times seen Northampton since, and in later years often met Samuel L. Hill. The silk mills remain as a memorial of the quiet Community which once dwelt where now is the site of a populous village. I am glad that I am able to join with such gifted spirits as Hill, Stebbins. Judd, Douglass, and Birge, in contributing a leaf to the history of such an enterprise. It is certainly well to secure such a memento before all the actors in the scenes of long ago have passed away.
* See portrait on page 93.
VIEW SOUTHEAST FROM TOWER OF COSMIAN HALL.
RELIGIOUS HISTORY.
THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
BY REV. E. G. COBB.
IN the fall of 1860 a movement was made for erecting a church edifice in Florence. Land for this purpose, and for a parsonage, was given by the Greenville Manufacturing Company of that place, and the requisite funds were raised by subscription, friends in the Center making liberal contributions. The immediate success of the effort was in a large meas- ure due to the earnest co-operation of Rev. Z. Eddy, D.D., pastor of the First Church. In the chapel of that church, on Saturday, the twentieth day of October, 1860, the "Florence Church Society " was organized. The subscribers to the building fund were also present, and united with the society in choosing a building committee, consisting of Messrs. D. G. Littlefield, A. L. Williston, I. S. Parsons, Joel Hayden, and J. P. Willis- ton. In the following spring the edifice was commenced, and by the ensuing fall it was finished and paid for.
On the ninth of October, 1861, twenty-six members of different evan- gelical churches, having adopted the confession of faith and covenant, were regularly organized by an ecclesiastical council, into a church of Christ ; and in the afternoon of the same day their house of worship was dedicated to the Lord. For six months after this they had the services of Rev. T. A. Leete, who had also labored with them for some time previous to the organization. He was succeeded by Rev. S. O. Dyer, who supplied the pulpit for the term of three months. On the fifteenth of December, 1862, Rev. Horace C. Hovey was called to settle as pastor, and on the fifth of February, 1863, he was duly installed. On the twenty-fifth of August, 1866, Mr. Hovey offered his resignation, was released by a mutual council September third, and closed his labors with this church October first, 1866. On the twenty-first of the same month Rev. Elisha G. Cobb, then pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church in Peekskill, N. Y .. was called, and on the sixth of December, 1866, was installed pastor by a council of which Rev. Zachary Eddy, D.D., was moderator. Prof. William S. Tyler of Amherst College preached the installation sermon
The original church building cost about four thousand dollars. It was divided into two parts, the rear, entered by a side door, being used for Sunday-school and prayer meetings. In 1864 a separate building was
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HISTORY OF FLORENCE.
erected for a chapel, and the entire church made into one audience room. The cost of the chapel building and changes in the church was about three thousand dollars. In 1877 a kitchen and parlors were added to the chapel at a cost of about three thousand dollars more. These rooms have been of great advantage in developing the social life of the congre- gation. The evening sociables, under the auspices of our Ladies' Benevo- lent Society, have furnished occasions for the introduction of strangers, mutual acquaintance, and a happy association of children with our church life. In 1878 the church was frescoed within, an organ recess built, and a new organ placed in the rear of the pulpit. The cost of this organ was eleven hundred dollars, toward which the old one counted for one hundred and twenty-five dollars. The cost of the other improve- ments was about four hundred and twenty-five dollars. While these repairs were going on the congregation worshiped in the church parlors, and were comfortably accommodated. This chapel and parlors were en- tirely destroyed by fire February thirteenth, 1885, and the present chapel building was erected on the same site during the following summer, at a cost of four thousand five hundred dollars for the building, and seven hundred and thirty dollars for furnishing. As the former building was insured for four thousand six hundred dollars, the additional cost of this one was six hundred and thirty dollars. In the summer of 1890 the church edifice was extensively repaired within and without. New win- dows, new pews, new lighting, new furniture, and a new finish have given us our present tasteful and comfortable sanctuary. The cost of this improvement has been about four thousand dollars.
By examining the record it will be seen by the numbers joining by profession that this church has been favored with seasons of special religious awakening about once in four years. These seasons generally began with the week of prayer, and have greatly strengthened the church by bringing in successive companies of new members. The largest number uniting by profession at any one time was in 1885, when fifty-one were received. At ten other times from fifteen to forty have been received. The work of these special seasons has always been done by the members with their minister, except in 1885, when Rev. Rufus Underwood, an evangelist, assisted for two weeks. The whole number of members from the beginning to January first, 1895, is seven hundred and seventy-two, of which three hundred and ninety joined by pro- fession, and three hundred and eighty-two by letter.
If it should seem to any that more space is given in this sketch to the buildings than to spiritual work, it is because the material part can better be put into figures. Christian transformation of character and the divine tempering of spirit which sweeten the life that now is, and
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prepare us for that which is to come, are more precious than silver and gold. What has been our success in this direction in the thirty years of our church life now completed cannot be stated in words or figures. We believe it has been as great as our faithfulness has deserved, and that it will endure in glory immortal when all trace of these material struc- tures shall have vanished.
1866-1891. BY FRANK N. LOOK.
A PASTORATE of twenty-five years does not come to the lot of many ministers at the present time. Conditions of life now change rapidly. and mere custom ceases to be the dominating influence, as of old, in deciding many of our problems and relations. Such a pastorate marks both the minister and people. Be the church really alive to all its possibilities, and in vital sympathy with them, qualities of mind and heart are at once demanded of the pastor, that not all possess.
A progressive church demands a progressive minister, having full sympathy with it, in all of its work. To work thus unitedly for twenty- five years manifests many great and admirable qualities, and hearty cooperation of pastor and people. Such a service could not be limited to the immediate members of the church itself, and the expression of interest on the part of all of the people of Florence, when, on Octo- ber twenty-second, 1891, the quarter CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH centennial of the pastorate of the Rev. E. G. Cobb was commemorated, bore striking testimony to this fact His service had been to the people, irrespective of creed or nationality. It was a normal pastorate, for it had grown more happy, more fruittul. and more useful every year.
The history of this church, covered by this quarter of a century. includes many days of uncertainty and of opposition, difficult for the present generation to understand, but through the wise guidance of its pastor, inspired by his love for all men, and his strong faith in God's
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leading, the church has been molded into what it is, "liberal toward everything good, and the good in everything."
No commemorative service could surpass this in expressions of joy and thankfulness, for all that it represented.
Sons and daughters from afar joined in the rare celebration, and it is a matter of great satisfaction that the life of Julius Phelps was spared
to extend the welcome of the church at this time. His long life in Florence, being at that time the old- est member of the church, his keen observation, his strong character, ripened into all its fullness through the example and counsel of Mr. Cobb, especially fitted him to be the voice of the church itself.
The coming of Mr. Cobb to Florence had always CONGREGATIONAL CHAPEL. seemed to him to have been of divine leading, and the joys of the occasion were heightened because of the presence of the ven- erable and beloved Professor Tyler of Amherst, through whom the church was brought to know of Mr. Cobb in 1866. Said Professor Tyler, at the close of his very interesting address, "Let me give you the right hand of fellowship for another twenty-five years. I shall not be living when you reach that goal, but I hope to be among the great cloud of witnesses who will look down from heaven," and the people said "Amen."
The Rev. H. C. Hovey, the first pastor of the church, brought cordial greeting and interesting reminiscences of the early life of the church.
Dr. David Torrey, the early pastor of Mr. Cobb, and his lifelong friend, spoke in his brilliant and fascinating manner, of the early life of Mr. Cobb, and of the happy results of his pastorate.
Mr. A. L. Williston, ever the friend of pastor and church, to whom more than to any other man the Florence Church has always turned for counsel and for aid, gave a very valuable history of the period covered by this twenty-five years, as well as of the years preceding. The results of this pastorate were made possible largely through the quiet, constant, and faithful work of the wife of the pastor. Her genuine interest in the young men and boys, particularly, her love for them, has made men of large numbers of them. Her Sunday-school class, like the church, has
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always had a changing membership, having been as a training school, fitting young men for wider activities, for a broader life.
That many were not able to be present, but sent their tributes of congratulation and thankfulness, for the memory of her work, showed that in the work of life they were bearing their part with heart stronger for conflict, and with mind clearer because of the teachings and example received from Mrs. Cobb.
Letters from friends far and near, full of congratulations and good wishes, and gifts to both pastor and wife, expressed the love of the
NEAR THE RIVER -" LOVERS' LANE."
people for them, for " how much the faithful pastor and his equally faithful wife have done in molding and influencing the intellectual. moral, and spiritual life of the community." Could such heartfelt tributes produce other result than at the close of the day, when Mr. Cobb so appropriately expressing his appreciation, said, "I give you my most hearty thanks and offer myself afresh to the service of the Lord in this church."
Three years more of this pastorate have passed since this silver wed- ding, and stand as an auspicious omen for the attainment of the second quarter century, the golden wedding of this rich and happy union.
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HISTORY OF FLORENCE.
METHODISM IN FLORENCE.
BY MARY E. GOULD.
EARLY in the history of Florence, Methodists held preaching services ; they were indeed the first to hold a Sunday service, the people being obliged to go to Northampton to worship in the earliest days. In 1848 we have record that Rev. Thomas Marcey preached here, though not as an appointed pastor ; but in 1855 Rev. Jonas M. Clark was appointed by the New England Conference, pastor of the Flor- ence Methodist Church, which had then twenty-five mem- bers. A flourishing Sabbath- school was held, of which J. B. Whitehouse was superin- tendent ; A. G. Hill, secretary ; and H. B. Haven, librarian. The library was the gift of a patient at Dr. Munde's water cure.
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