USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Amherst > The history of the town of Amherst, Massachusetts, pt 1 > Part 18
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 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48
The old tavern was the scene of much plotting during Shays rebellion ; indeed I think the first plans for it were made there. Landlord Clapp was a great though secret friend of Shays, and when he was stationed in Pelham. every night at 12 o'clock, a messenger was sent by him tograndfather's window. ' for the news of the day.' At one time, (Jan. 28, 1787) a number of sled-loads of provisions which had been sent for Shays' army with a small escort, stopped at the tavern for entertain- ment for themselves and teams ; to their great astonishment they met with a stern refusal, as they had been directed to stop there for refreshments. At the first
137
STATISTICS.
opportunity the commander of the party was taken one side and told to start for Pelham as quickly as possible. as government troops were near at hand and in hot pursuit. They lost no time in following directions. At the same time another friend of Shays (Capt. Billings) mounted a horse and rode up the hill to the West street to reconnoitre. Dashing nearly up to the troops, he suddenly wheeled his steed, and, waving his hat and shouting ' Come on, boys,' dashed away at a furious rate, the soldiers spurring their horses to their utmost speed and following him down the hill, past the tavern and on towards Pelham in a mad race. In the meantime the teamsters had reached Thornton hill, from which they caught sight of the coming soldiers. The commander of the ' supply train' drew his teams up across the road resolved to do his best to protect his charge. The steepness of the hill proved of great advantage. as he was enabled so to dispose of his men that bayonet showed above bayonet, with apparently a formidable barricade in front. At the same time a number of men appeared on the Valley road : as the troops drew near they caught sight of the formidable array in front and the men on the Valley road; they were sure they were being drawn into an ambuscade. Wheeling their horses they rode back at a madder pace even than before. Stopping for rest at the Clapp tavern, they reported that they had been led ' into the very jaws of hell.'"
CHAPTER XX.
STATISTICS IN 1777, 1779, AND 1781 .- COUNTERFEITING .- INDUSTRIAL MOVEMENTS .- MERCHANTS AND TRADERS .- AMHERST IN 1800. -WAR OF 1812.
In 1777, a list of male inhabitants of Amherst over 16 years of age, gave the number of whites as 238 ; of blacks, two. From a valuation list of the town made in 1779, the following statistics are taken : Polls, 248 ; houses and barns, 256, valued at $37 each ; mowing and tillage, 1266 acres ; pasture land, 311 acres ; woodland, 3693 acres ; 3 mills ; money at interest and on hand, 5582 ; debts due not on interest, £95 ; goods, wares and merchandise, £480 ; horses, 113 : oxen, 101 ; cows, 184 ; steers, 303 ; sheep, 951 ; swine, 206. Two years , later, in 1781, the figures recorded were as follows: Polls, 251 ; houses, 134; barns, 106 ; stores, etc., 3 ; distill houses, mills, etc., 6 ; acres of English mowing, 310 ; acres of tillage land, 1271 ; acres of fresh meadow, 1117 ; acres of pasturing. 641 ; acres of woodland and land unimproved, 8716 ; barrels of " cyder," 636 ; money on interest and on hand, {221 ; goods, wares and mdse., L90; horses, 167 ; oxen, 261 ; cows, 413 ; sheep and goats, 949 ; swine, 160.
138
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF AMHERST, MASS.
Coaches, chaises, etc., were owned to the value of £57. There were four owners of gold, coined and uncoined, and 252 owners of silver. Statistics taken in 1784 record the following : Polls, ratable, 251 ; non-ratable polls, . 26 ; dwelling-houses, 136 ; shops, 6; tan-houses, 3 ; pot and pearl ash works, 1 ; barns, 112 ; grist, saw and other mills, 4 ; other buildings, 15 ; acres of tillage, 1104: acres of English mowing, 4463 ; acres of fresh meadow, 8503 ; acres of pasture, 478 ; acres of woodland, 3144; acres of other land, unimproved. 5062 ; barrels of "cyder," 862 ; amount of stock in trade, £162 ; horses and colts, 231 ; oxen, 214 ; neat cattle, 397 ; cows, 385 ; sheep and goats, 594 ; swine, 298 ; debts due, £740 ; money on hand, $30 ; total valuation, £1950, 19, 6. There were 44 owners of silver plate.
While the early inhabitants of Western Massachusetts were, in the main, orderly and law-abiding, the vicious and criminal element was not lacking. The courts in olden times had to deal with all manner of offences . against person and property. The scarcity of money was a great tempta- tion to counterfeiters, who were willing to brave the severe penalties attached to the crime in the hope of acquiring great wealth with little effort. In 1770, one Thomas Walton was accused of counterfeiting, was tried before the court in Springfield and convicted. Nathan Dickinson of Amherst, who entered the complaint against Walton, thereupon petitioned for the reward offered by the commonwealth for the conviction of such offenders, his petition reading as follows :
" To the Honble Thomas Hutchinson Esq Lt Gov. & Commander in chief over his Majesty's Province of Massachusetts Bay in New England and the Honble his Majesty's Council at Cambridge March 20th 1770. Humbly shews Nathan Dick- inson of Amherst in the County of Hampshire that on the 23d Day of March last Past he made Information to Josiah Chauncy & Simeon Strong Esq. two of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the County of Hampshire against one Thomas Walton, charging the said Thomas with the offence of forging and counterfeiting certain Pieces of Pewter & other Base Metals with the Resemblance of Spanish Mille" Dollars the Current Coin of this Province. by means whereof the said Thomas was Recognized by said Justices to appear before his Majesty's Superior Court of Judicature court of Assize and General Goal Delivery then next to be holden at Springfield within & for the County of Hampshire on the fourth Tuesday of September then next at which term the said Thomas in Consequence of the said Information was at the Same Term of Said Court Convicted of the same Offence, as by the Record of the Conviction in the same Court appears & your Petitioner therefore humbly prays that the Treasurer of the Province be impowered and ordered to pay your Petitioner out of the Province Treasury the Reward and Premium of {25 according to the Laws of this Province in Such cases Provided and as in Duty Bound Shall pray.
NATHAN DICKINSON."
139
INDUSTRIAL MOVEMENTS.
Eleven years later, in 1781, Ebenezer Mattoon petitioned the General Court to reimburse him for the money he had paid out in journeying "from Amherst to Providence, R. I. to prevent the liberating of one Firmine Woods of s'd Amherst, then confined in Providence Goal for uttering & passing counterfeit Eight Dollar Bills of the New Emission, which was- contemplated by a number of persons of suspected character of said Town, one being actually sent for that purpose." The General Court allowed him £7, I for his trouble and expense.
Soon after the ending of the Shays rebellion, a series of industrial movements were inaugurated in Western Massachusetts in some of which Amherst citizens were engaged and which were calculated to affect the growth and prosperity of the town. The constant succession of armed conflicts which, beginning with King Philip's war in 1675, had lasted with little interruption for more than a century, had greatly retarded the devel- opment of the resources of the Connecticut Valley. The means of transportation had always been limited and unsatisfactory. Railways were as yet unknown, highways were of the most primitive construction, and the only water-way of importance, the Connecticut river, was robbed of half its value by the existence of the falls at South Hadley and at Mon- tague. In 1792, prominent men of Berkshire and Hampshire counties, among them Simeon Strong of Amherst, formed an association for the purpose of constructing canals around these falls. The association was incorporated under the name of " The Proprietors of the Locks and Canals on Connecticut River." A canal was built at South Hadley at great expense, being two and a half miles long, much of it cut through solid rock. It was the first canal of any importance built in the United States. When completed, it was found that its bed was not low enough to take the water from the river, but this difficulty was obviated by the construction of a dam. This dam set back the water for several miles, overflowing the Northampton meadows and causing an epidemic of fever, so that North- ampton people had the company indicted for maintaining a nuisance ; the case came, to trial, the plaintiffs won their suit and the dam, save its oblique section, was ordered to be torn down. Money was needed in order to lower the bed of the canal, and in 1802 the Legislature, on petition, granted the proprietors a lottery for raising $20,000. The scheme was successful and in 1804 the lowering of the canal was completed ; it was in success- ful operation for many years. The canal at Turners Falls was completed in 1797.
Turnpikes were built in New England at an early date in its history, but did not become common in Western Massachusetts until after the close of the Shays rebellion. In the latter part of the 18th century many turn- pike corporations were formed in this section, among them the "Sixth
-
140
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF AMHERST, MASS.
Massachusetts Turnpike Corporation," for the purpose of building a road commencing on the east line of Amherst and passing through Pelham. Greenwich, Hardwick, New Braintree, Oakham, Rutland, Holden and Worcester, "to the great road in Shrewsbury leading from New York to Boston."
In the statistics given for the year 1784, it will be noted that Amherst reported its stock in trade as valued at only £162. This would indicate a small development of mercantile or other business. Yet Amherst had as many country stores as was customary for towns of its size, stores whose stock of goods was as miscellaneous in character, if not as large in volume. as those of the modern "department emporiums." Some of these stores were developed from taverns, while the greater number of them had liquors as a part of their regular stock in trade. Such a thing as a " cash business" would have been impossible in the earlier years, and trade and barter usurped the place of buying and selling to a large degree. From a review of trade in Amherst in 1815, written 72 years afterward by an old resident of the town, the following facts of interest are gathered. In 1814 or there- about James Kellogg established himself as a merchant at East Amherst. He built the brick house now standing near the school-house, and opened a store in the south part while his family occupied the north part. He continued in business there about ten years, when he closed it out and bought a farm at South Amherst, where he opened a small dry-goods and grocery store which he conducted in connection with his farming operations. Later on, he established a hardware business, engaging in the manufacture of joiners' tools in that part of the town now known as " Kelloggville." At the center of the town in 1815, H. Wright Strong kept a store at the upper corner of what is now known as Phoenix Row; one of his clerks was Luke Sweetser, who afterwards became one of the best known and most successful of Amherst's merchants. Across the street, on the oppo- site corner, was a building occupied by Jay White as a dry-goods and grocery store. Further north, near Mt. Pleasant, was a store conducted by Morton Dickinson.
There was a store at East Amherst near where stands the one now conducted by George E. Thayer. This was owned by " Capt." Dyer, who in 1818 sold out to Asahel Thayer, the latter continuing the business until 1834, when he engaged with Lyman Knowles in carriage manufacturing. A little to the north was a small store occupied by John Hunt, while across the street was one built about 1822 and occupied by Hubbard & Lamb. The latter continued in business a few years and then sold out to L. M. Hills. About the year 1824 a store was started at South Amherst by Philip L. Goss, and one at North Amherst by Emerson Marsh.
.
£
OLD ELM NEAR JOHN M. HYDE'S.
EBENEZER MATTOON. JR.
14I
AMHERST AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS CENTURY.
Prof. William S. Tyler's History of Amherst College contains in one of its opening chapters an interesting sketch of the center village of Amherst as it appeared in the year ISoo. It gives a list of the houses, the names of owners, and occupants, and locations also, all matters of historic interest and value. The houses at the center were all built front- ing on the highways, forty rods in width ; when the streets were narrowed, the land in front of the houses was enclosed, thus forming spacious " front yards," such as may now be seen in front of the Cowles house on Pleasant street and the Strong house at the corner of Amity and Prospect streets. The same custom prevailed at East Amherst, and Judd in his unpublished mss. says that formerly there were five or six houses from 20 to 40 rods east of the present East Street ; the old cellars still remained in 1850, one in the rear of John Dickinson's house on a rise of ground, one further north and one or two to the south of the Pelham road.
At the beginning of the present century, Judge Simeon Strong owned all the land at and near the northwest and northeast corners of Main and Pleasant streets, as far north as the Cowles house, and the Cole- man house which then stood near the cemetery. Gen. Zebina Montague owned the southeast corner, and Dr. Parsons the southwest angle except the corner which was occupied, then as now, by a hotel. In 1815, when the college began to be talked of, there were not more than 25 houses in the entire village. The hotel and two of the dwelling-houses, those belong- ing to Judge Strong and Dr. Parsons, had gambrel roofs, a favorite style of architecture at that time. Between the hotel and the Parsons house, which stood on the brow of College hill, the only building was a school-house, situated about where Hunt's block now stands. The corner now occupied by Adams' drugstore was then the site of the house and store of H. Wright Strong, until about that time the only store in town. At the east end of Phoenix Row, on the site of the present Kellogg block, was the. house which was owned and occupied by Noah Webster from 1812 until 1822 ; this house was burned in 1838. Further to the east was the house which had recently been erected by Samuel Fowler Dickinson, the first house in town to be built of brick; the old Whiting house, afterwards known as the Ayers house until it was torn down in 1879, fronted on what is now known as East Pleasant street, standing a little to the north of the barn owned by John M. Hyde. On the east side of the common stood the Warner house and the Merrill house. On Amity street was the house built by Solomon Boltwood and afterwards occupied by Dr. Cutler. Of these houses four are still standing. The " Strong " house, now occupied by Mrs. Sarah E. Emerson, was built in 1744 by Nehemiah Strong, who came to this place from Northampton. It was afterwards occupied by his son, Judge Simeon Strong, and then by his grandson, Simeon Strong, Jr. It
---
142
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF AMHERST, MASS.
was never occupied by Noah Webster, as has been often stated. This house has never been rebuilt and presents to-day much the same appearance as when it was erected, 150 years ago. The same may be said of the Boltwood house, now occupied by Dr. E. B. Dickinson. The Merrill house has been largely rebuilt, and is now conducted as a students' boarding house by Mrs. L. E. Redding. Considerable alterations have been made on the Dickinson house, now occupied by Miss Lavinia Dickinson. Such was the center village of Amherst, in the year 1800, and the succeeding twenty years brought with them little change. In 1820, there were about forty dwellings within the radius of a mile from where the Amherst house now stands.
The war of 1812 caused hardly a ripple on the surface of affairs in Amherst. The town, in common with nearly all the neighboring commu- nities, was strongly opposed to the war, and at a meeting held June 29, 1812, passed resolutions condemning it. A convention representing 57 towns in Hampshire, Hampden and Frankin counties was held at North- ampton, July 14, to consult upon the war. The delegates from Amherst were Ebenezer Mattoon, Samuel F. Dickinson and Simeon Strong. The convention organized and appointed a committee to report in regard to the proper action of the convention, concerning public affairs, and then adjourned to the following day ; Mr. Dickinson was a member of this com- mittee, which reported that it was expedient to present a respectful memo- rial to the president of the United States, praying that commissioners might be forthwith appointed to negotiate a peace with Great Britain upon safe and honorable terms. Mr. Dickinson was also appointed one of a delegation of four to represent Hampshire county at a state convention. provided similar measures should be adopted in other parts of the Com- monwealth. At the time of holding this convention, Caleb Strong of Northampton was governor of Massachusetts. He was a believer in a strict construction of the United States constitution, and, believing that the mere act of declaring war on the part of the president did not invest the latter with the power to call the militia of the several states into service. he declined accession to the requisition made for Massachusetts troops, to be placed at the command of the president. In this position lie was sup- ported by the supreme court of the state.
In the fall of 1814, Gov. Strong issued a call for troops to repel an expected invasion of the British, who had taken possession of Castine, on the Penobscot, then within the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, and declared their intention to lay waste the coast from Maine to Georgia. Two regi- ments of infantry and one of artillery were raised in Hampshire county and marched to Boston. So far as can be learned but few Amherst men were enrolled in any of these regiments. Enos Dickinson of South
3
143
GOVERNOR STRONG'S WAR.
Amherst was commissioned as lieutenant in one of the companies raised in this vicinity. Joseph Dana and Samuel Prince went with the troops to Boston. Daniel Smith served about four months in Capt. Woodworth's company stationed at Charlestown. Rev. Joshua Crosby, a trustee of Amherst Academy and, for a short time after the death of President Moore, acting president of Amherst College, went with the troops to Boston and served as chaplain. It is stated that men were drafted from the two militia organizations in Amherst to serve in the war. Dr. Seth Fish, who afterwards located in Amherst, went from Shutesbury as a substitute for his father, and served as cook. It is impossible to obtain from the officials, either at Boston or Washington, a list of the Amherst men who enlisted or were drafted into the service. The troops spent some forty days in camp, were reviewed by Gov. Strong on Boston common, and were afterwards dismissed and sent home. They saw no active military service, and the event was alluded to by wits of the time as " Gov. Strong's war." As in the French and Indian war and in the war of the Revolution, so in the war of 1812 the Bay Road was a favorite military highway. It was a link in the great chain connecting the East with the West. and over it were hauled many of the supplies for Commodore Perry's fleet on Lake Erie. It is related that a team of eighteen horses was required to draw one dis- mounted cannon.
CHAPTER XXI.
ORIGIN OF AMHERST ACADEMY .- PETITION TO THE LEGISLATURE .- ACT OF INCORPORATION .- LIFE AT THE ACADEMY .- MARY LYON .- ACADEMY TEACHERS.
For more than a quarter of a century succeeding the year that marked the ending of the Shays rebellion, no event of marked interest or impor- tance can be recorded of the town of Amherst or its inhabitants. A peru- sal of the old town records shows that special attention was paid during these years to the determination of town boundaries, the laying out of new streets and the disposal of the land remaining after the three broad high- ways had been narrowed down, to property-owners adjoining. It was not until 1812 that the first steps were taken in an enterprise whose success and development were to exert a momentous influence on the future of the
144
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF AMHERST, MASS.
town. The founding of Amherst Academy, which in time was to develop into Amherst College, was an event the significance of which was little appreciated at the time. It marked an era in Amherst history, determining the lines along which the town was to find its broadest development. Amherst, even in its earlier years, was the home of learned men, therefore it was but natural that they should desire for their children better educa- tional advantages than were furnished by the district schools, with their school-dames and masters who themselves possessed but little learning and less faculty for imparting it to others, with school terms of uncertain length, dependent sometimes upon the supply of firewood and always limited by small appropriations. Among the earlier inhabitants who had enjoyed the advantages of a college education were Dr. David Parsons, Nathaniel Dickinson, Jr., Ebenezer Boltwood. Ebenezer Mattoon, Simeon Strong, Rufus Cowles, Samuel Fowler Dickinson, Solomon Strong, John Dickinson and Moses Dickinson. The subscription for Amherst Academy was started by Samuel Fowler Dickinson and Hezekiah. Wright Strong, the latter a son of Judge Simeon Strong. The land on which the building was erected was donated by Dr. David Parsons, who was also active in raising funds for the institution and was the first president of its board of trustees. Among others who were prominent in the work were Calvin Merrill, and Justus Williams of South Amherst. The subscription was started in 1812, and the building erected in 1814. The charter was not obtained until 1816. The petition to the General Court and the charter granted are among the manuscript archives in the state-house at Boston, and are copied here entire.
PETITION FOR AMHERST ACADEMY.
"To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Common- wealth of Massachusetts, in General Court assembled, at their winter Session, A. D. 1816.
Humbly shews,
The subscribers. that they have, at an expense of about Five thousand dollars, purchased in a central & commanding situation in thetown of Amherst in the county of Hampshire, one half acre of land, and erected thereon & thoroughly finished, for the purpose of an Academy, a brick building, fifty feet long, thirty eight feet wide, & three stories high, with a cellar under the whole, one part of which is used for a family kitchen. The whole is designed to accommodate two schools ; one for males: & the other for females; and also a family to superintend the building, and keep a house for boarding. The situation is inviting, and the air pure, & the town healthy. It is also in the midst of a rich country & a flourishing population, naturally centering at this place, And no town in the Commonwealth. perhaps, is better situated, or offers greater encouragements for an institution of this kind. Your petitioners would further state, that more than one year ago they established a school in this building; under the Care of a Preceptor; assisted during the two summer quarters, by a Preceptress ; that the average number of
1
-
---
---
----
BRICK SCHOOL-HOUSE ON PLEASANT STREET. (Stood on Site of E. D. Bangs' Residence.)
AMHERST ACADEMY.
145
AMHERST ACADEMY INCORPORATED.
schollars in the winter has not been less than sixty ; & during the two summer quarters, more than ninety. And the prospects of usefulness therefrom are such, as to excite pleasing anticipations in the patrons and friends of science & useful literature. But in order to secure the blessings in prospect, which the youth of both sexes so much need ; and the good of society so much requires, funds and the public patronage of the Government are necessary. Your Petitioners, therefore, respectfully ask the assistance of the Legislature, to aid them in their benevolent designs of educating, and training to usefulness the rising generation. And they humbly pray that their school may be established by Law, as an Academy ; under the care of such Trustees, as the Legislature shall see fit to appoint ; with such endowments as the Government have equally bestowed on institutions of this kind. And as an inducement therefor, Your Petitioners offer to release, and do hereby release, each for himself, all his right, title & interest, in & to the land & buildings above mentioned; with all their appurtenances ; to such Trustees as the Legislature may appoint ; to be used forever as an Academy, & for no other purpose. And as in duty bound will ever pray.
DAVID PARSONS, SAMUEL F. DICKINSON,
H. WRIGHT STRONG, JOSEPH CHURCH, JR.,
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.