Exploring Western Massachusetts: People

Showing posts with label People. Show all posts

Monday, March 7, 2011

This Month in Western Massachusetts History: March

BORN:

2 Mar 1904 - Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss - (2 Mar 1904 - 24 Sept 1991) - Author; Illustrator, Green Eggs and Ham, etc. - Born and raised in Springfield

5 Mar 1955 - Penn Fraser Jillette - (5 Mar 1955 - ) - Illusionist; Magician; Entertainer - Born and raised in Greenfield

12 Mar 1948 - James Vernon Taylor - (12 Mar 1948 - ) - Grammy Award-winning Musician, Member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame - Resident of Washington

17 Mar 1951 - Kurt Vogel Russell - (17 Mar 1951 - ) - Actor, Silkwood, etc.; Baseball Player - Born in Springfield

26 Mar 1850 - Edward Bellamy - (26 Mar 1850 - 22 May 1898) - Author, Looking Backward 2000-1887 - Born and died in Chicopee Falls

26 Mar 1874 - Robert Lee Frost - (26 Mar 1874 - 29 Jan 1963) - Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet; English Teacher at Amherst - Lived in Amherst

27 Mar 1969 - Johnny April - (27 Mar 1969 - ) - Musician; Drummer, Staind - Resided in Springfield

DIED:

13 Mar 1906 - Susan Brownell Anthony - (15 Feb 1820 - 13 March 1906) - Temperance Activist; Abolitionist; Suffragette - Born in Adams

16 Mar 1985 - Edward William (Eddie) Shore - (25 Nov 1902 - 16 Mar 1985) - NHL Hockey Player; Player, Owner, AHL's Springfield Indians - Resided and died in Springfield

19 Mar 1988 - Estelle Condit (Suzy) Frelinghuysen - (1911 - 19 Mar 1988) - Abstract Artist; Opera Singer, Philanthropist - Married to George L. K. Morris - Resided in Lenox

22 Mar 1785 - Jonathan Edwards - (5 Oct 1703 - 22 Mar 1785) - Fervent Preacher; Theologian - Lived in Northampton

22 Mar 1798 - Justin Morgan - (28 Feb 1747 - 22 Mar 1798) - Composer; Horse Breeder, Morgan Horse - Born and lived in West Springfield

24 Mar 1882 - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - (27 Feb 1807 - 24 Mar 1882) - Professor; Poet, Paul Revere's Ride, etc. - Resided in Pittsfield

HAPPENED:

Mar 1643 - Springfield settlers vote to build a bridge over the Mill River in Springfield.

Mar 1648 - The section of Springfield known to natives as Woronoko is annexed to create Westfield. Springfield had acquired the land per an order of the General Court in 1647.

Mar 1750 - Residents of South Hadley, requiring more space for worship and civic affairs, vote at assembly to build a new meeting-house. Fifty meetings and thirteen contentious years later, the structure is finally built.

Mar 1847 - Springfield's Main Street train station burns beyond repair. It is replaced with a larger, brick structure.

Mar 1848 - With debate whether to advance from town to city growing, a committee of the state legislature sitting in Springfield is presented with opinions pro and con.

Mar 1931 - The aqueduct connecting the Ware River and Wachusett Reservoir is completed, as Boston looks west to increase fresh water supplies to the city and its suburbs.

Mar 1674- Ferry service is established on the Connecticut River, just south of inlet of the Agawam (now the Westfield River). The ferry shuttled passengers, animals and freight across the river at this spot for almost 200 years, until the construction of the South-end bridge in 1879.

1 Mar 1651 - Joshua Parsons, young son of Hugh and Mary Parsons, passes away, leading an already-unnerved Mary to declare her husband a witch and murderer to Magistrate Pynchon, confirming many Springfield residents' suspicions. Mary, claiming to be possessed by Satan, recanted her story shortly after, taking responsibility for the death of the boy. Joining her jailed husband in Boston, she was held for trial. Although Mary was exonerated on the charge of being witch, she was convicted in May, 1651, and sentenced to death for Joshua's murder. Too sick to be hanged on the scheduled day, Mary was found dead in her cell on the next. Hugh Parsons was also convicted, but ultimately was spared the hangman's noose, leaving the area in due haste.

1 Mar 1842 - The Northampton and Springfield railroad corporation is formed.

2 Mar 1798 - The Berkshire County town of Clarksburg is incorporated.

3 Mar 1802 - West Springfield grows in area with the annexation of Westfield land.

4 Mar 1629 - King Charles I grants charter to the Company of the Massachusetts Bay.

4 Mar 1816 - Enfield holds its first town meeting. Enfield was one of four Massachusetts towns disincorporated in 1938 to make way for the Quabbin Reservoir, part of Boston's water-supply system.

6 Mar 1762 - The Franklin County town of Bernardston, formerly known as Falltown, incorporates.

6 Mar 1762 - The Berkshire County town of Sandisfield is incorporated.

6 Mar 1762 - The town of Tyringham, in Berkshire County, is incorporated.

6 Mar 1930 - Frozen food makes its worldwide debut as seven markets in Springfield offer curious patrons a variety of Clarence Birdseye's icy edibles for the first time in history.

7 Mar 1888 - The Springfield Daily Union newspaper offices on the corner of Main and Worthington Streets are swept up in a rapidly spreading fire, causing several deaths and injuries. Some victims jumped from the upper floors, where fire had trapped them. Others met their end in the blaze itself, unable to get out of the building. The tragic event prompted the city to buy the fire department's first aerial ladder.

7 Mar 1938 - Dana holds its last town meeting. The Swift River Valley town (and three others) would cease to exist on April 28, 1938, drowned by the man-made Quabbin Reservoir, a massive undertaking to expand Boston's water supplies.

9 Mar 1848 - Main Street, Springfield, was a somber scene as the body of President John Quincy Adams passed mourning dignitaries, military companies, politicians and residents on its way to First Church at Court Square.

9 Mar 1855 - The town of Norwich changes name to Huntington.

11 Mar 1864 - The Westfield Athenaeum is incorporated by legislative act.

12 Mar 1783 - The Hampshire County town of Middlefield is established.

12 Mar 1830 - The Massachusetts railroad corporation is established. The corporation's mission is to build a railroad between Boston and the Hudson river near Albany or Troy by January 1, 1835, passing through Springfield.

14 Mar 1793 - Cheshire is incorporated as a town in Berkshire County.

14 Mar 1805 - Great Island, in the Connecticut River, is annexed to the town of Gill, effective April 1, 1805.

15 Mar 1833 - The Western Railroad Company is established by charter of the Massachusetts legislature. The incorporation is charged with extending the western end of the Boston and Worcester railroad to the state's border with New York.

16 Mar 1854 - Holyoke firm Lyman Mills is incorporated.

16 Mar 1868 - The Springfield Street Railroad Company is incorporated. Before electrification, the rail cars were pulled by teams of horses

17 Mar 1801 - Dana holds its first town meeting.

20 Mar 1651 - Hugh Parsons, accused of witchcraft, is brought from Springfield to Boston to stand trial.

20 Mar 1784 - The town of Dalton is incorporated in Berkshire County.

20 Mar 1837 - The Westfield - Southwick border is adjusted.

21 Mar 1785 - Heath holds its first town meeting.

21 Mar 1936 - Springfield and other Connecticut River towns are devastated by a major flood.

21 Mar 1940 - Quabbin Reservoir receives its first flow of water from Ware River diversion. Quabbin reaches full capacity on June 22, 1946, 412 billion gallons.

25 Mar 1938 - Enfield Town Hall serves as site of town's farewell gathering, an emotional night well-attended by residents and friends alike. Just over a month later, Enfield is no longer, officially disincorporated to make way for the Quabbin Reservoir.

26 Mar 1855 - The border between Northampton and Easthampton is defined.

28 Mar 1938 - Final plans are filed by the Metropolitan District Water Supply Commission for the massive land-taking required for the creation of Quabbin. In all, 117 square miles become watershed property. By the year 2005, the reservoir quenches the thirst of over 2.2 million people in eastern Massachusetts daily.

31 Mar 1933 - The Civilian Conservation Corps is created as a result of the Reforestation Relief Act. The Corps was also referred to as the "3 Cs". Taming Holyoke's Mt. Tom State Reservation was one of the first local projects the Corps tackled.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

A Ride on the Mt. Tom Railroad, Holyoke

Electricity, entrepreneurship and an eye for entertainment transformed the highest peak on the Mt. Tom Range from a knuckle in the stone spine of the Metacomet Ridge into the happening local destination of the 1890s and beyond, thanks to William S. Loomis, owner of the Holyoke Street Railway Company.

As a Holyoke businessman dissatisfied with the pace of the street railway's line expansion, Loomis decided to take matters into his own hands, purchasing the four-year old company outright in 1888. Electrification of the lines came in 1891 and, despite a faltering economy, the Holyoke Street Railway grew apace under his ambitious stewardship.

In 1895, Loomis's railway began shuttling weekend passengers in search of respite and recreation to a 365-acre parcel on Holyoke's Mt. Tom that he had purchased and begun to groom some years before. Opened in 1894 and named Mountain Park, the new connection to the Holyoke Street Railway resulted in a steady increase of visitors and profits.

In 1897, with a state charter to build a pleasure resort in hand, Loomis strove to make his vision blossom, adding a restaurant (with open-air dining), a dance hall, and a 2,500-seat theater named The Casino. A unique switchback railway (a new type of roller coaster, the first of which had been built just 13 years before at Coney Island, NY) beckoned the daring soul, with a merry-go-round and water ride providing additional, less-challenging, amusement.

The Holyoke Street Railway's weekend trolley park on the mountain served both pleasure and profit, with day-off fares proffered by grateful workers free on holiday to board trains that would else sit idle as a Sunday factory: Indeed, a combined natural win for both city folk and stakeholder.

Mountain Park & Mt. Tom Summit House, Holyoke, Mass., between 1900-1910

No self-respecting turn of the 20th century mountain resort was without a crowning summit house. Locally, proprietor William Street's Eyrie House hotel and resort had perched at the apex of Holyoke's Mt. Nonotuck for 36 years - the summit house atop Mt. Holyoke in one form or another for much longer - by the time the Mt. Tom Summit House opened in 1897. The fresh and fierce competition for patrons, coupled with a calamitous fire, drove William Street from the pleasure business into bitterness and seclusion by 1901. Mt. Holyoke's summit house fared better, operating as the Mt. Holyoke Hotel into the 1930s.

Lower station, Mt. Tom Railroad, Holyoke, Mass., between 1905-1915

Key to the success and popularity of the Mt. Tom Summit House as a satellite of Mountain Park, despite its location atop the highest peak of the Mt Tom Range, was the construction of the Mt. Tom Railroad in 1897. An offshoot of the Holyoke Street Railway Company, the two lines' convenient connection at Mt. Tom's lower station made the steep, uphill climb a painless, even pleasurable, experience for patrons.

In the photo above, cars of the Holyoke Street Railway service passengers at the lower station platform. Access to the Mt. Tom Railroad is on the opposite side of the station.

Mt. Tom Railroad elevating car, The Elizur Holyoke, between 1900-1920

The Mt. Tom Railroad was uniquely engineered to master the steep, uneven terrain using two special elevating cars, designed with seats that automatically leveled themselves to the immediate incline for passenger comfort. Each car could carry up to 80 fares.

The duo were named in honor of contemporaries Elizur Holyoke and Rowland Thomas, 17th-century surveyors of the area from the down river settlement of Springfield and namesakes of Mt. Holyoke and Mt. Tom. Elizur Holyoke married Springfield settler and magistrate William Pynchon's daughter Mary in 1640, the first marriage recorded in Springfield.

The Rowland Thomas, after passing turn-out, between 1905-1915

With two cars shuttling passengers on one line, it was necessary to incorporate a turn-out, or bypass, on the Mt. Tom Railroad constructed to be capable of allowing the overhead electric cables of each car to pass unimpeded on their meeting.

In the photo above, the Rowland Thomas (foreground) climbs toward the Mt. Tom summit after passing the Elizur Holyoke, the turn-out visible between them.

The Elizur Holyoke climbs Mt. Tom, Holyoke, Mass., between 1905-1915

Basalt barriers blasted, mountain flora cut to earth: a mile of wooden ties and steel racks were tacked to rugged stone slope to create the Mt. Tom Railroad, linking Mountain Park and the Mt. Tom Summit House, 700-feet above. Bordered by traprock piles, desolate in their displacement, the railroad's construction cut what would be a time-consuming - or even impossible for some - on-foot ordeal into a short, 10-minute ride to the top, accessible to anyone with the price of the fare, twenty-five cents (as recorded in 1912).

Approaching Mt. Tom Railroad's upper station, between 1900-1906

The Elizur Holyoke appears in the distance climbing toward the Mt. Tom Railroad's upper station. The two cars on the line, as well as the upper and lower stations, were linked by telephone, affording ease in communication and providing an extra level of safety and service. A full-service telephone was available for public use at the Mt. Tom Summit House.

The Elizur Holyoke crests the final rise of the Mt. Tom Railroad, between 1900-1906

Trade union publication, The Railroad Trainman, with an appreciative eye for the innovative, took note of the newly-built Mt. Tom Railroad in its July, 1898, issue:

"The summit of Mt. Tom was not easily accessible until the construction of the Mt. Tom Railroad in the year 1897. Now, the street cars of Holyoke (which connect with the Springfield system of street cars, and with the Boston & Maine and N. Y., N. H. & Hartford railroads) run to the lower station of the Mt. Tom Railroad, and in less than ten minutes afterward the mountain cars deliver their passengers on the summit. The Mt. Tom Railroad is a cable-trolley-electric, modern mountain railway. The two cars are connected, and balanced by a 1 1/4 inch tested steel cable, made of 120 steel wires, twisted into the six minor cables which form the strong steel rope which runs over an eight-foot sheave at the top of the incline."

Electric brakes were backed up by an automatic, speed-sensitive braking system, as well as a cable brake. Power to spark the whole line traveled through pole-supported electric wires from a generating source five miles distant.

Pulling into upper station on the Mt. Tom Railroad, between 1900-1906

President William McKinley and First Lady Ida were very important passengers on the Mt. Tom Railroad on an outing to the Mt. Tom Summit House in 1899. The 25th president of the United States, accompanied by Massachusetts governor Roger Wolcott, was taking in the local sights while visiting Western Massachusetts to attend his niece Grace's June 20th graduation from the esteemed Mt. Holyoke College. Re-elected to a second term in 1900, McKinley perished September 14, 1901, assassinated by an angry anarchist at the age of 58. McKinley was the last sitting president to have served in the Civil War and the first to be captured on film in a 'moving picture.'

Upper station, Mt. Tom Railroad, Holyoke, Mass., between 1905-1915

Over a thousand feet above sea level, the vista outside the Mt. Tom Railroad's upper station exploded in stretching immensity, offering striking, breathtaking views of the valley and beyond. Visitor conquerors of the jagged cap of Mt. Tom Range alighted in the heavens from electric chariots full-lunged and fresh, ready to enjoy the amenities and entertainment scattered about the peak for their pleasure.

Steps away from the upper station beckoned the Mt. Tom Summit House - perched on a basalt tor defiant - with its maps and telescopes, sitting nooks and myriad wide windows inviting visitors to drink in the distant and near. The top-notch Top-O-Tom restaurant provided an upscale ambiance to the rugged natural surroundings offering diners both fine food and magnificent views in a classy atmosphere. The establishment was noted for its unique, ivy-covered interior walls.

The Mt. Tom Summit House, Holyoke, Mass., between 1905-1915

The original Mt. Tom Summit house, built in 1897, was destroyed by fire on October 8, 1900. The Holyoke Street Railway Company wasted no time rebuilding, employing laborers over the winter to work post haste to replace the profitable asset with an even bigger and better version. On May 15, 1901, the new Mt. Tom Summit House (above), complete with golden dome, 300-person capacity hall, and 3,920 square-foot, glass-enclosed upper observation deck, opened for business.

The imposing, seven-story tall structure served as a focal point of the valley and a day trip destination until its own demise by fire in 1929. A small building made of metal was constructed on the spot as a replacement, but, as growing automobile ownership expanded folk's choices, and increased competition for recreation revenue coupled with the onslaught of the Great Depression, the once-keen popularity of the Mt. Tom Summit House failed to rebound. The land became the seed for Mount Tom State Reservation, groomed by the Civilian Conservation Corps beginning in 1933, and still serves today as a piece of public paradise.

In 1938, the last summit house and the Mt. Tom Railroad were dismantled and sold for scrap, an ignominious exit for a vibrant era fast fading to sepia-toned memories.

Mountain Park, having marked its share of ups and downs navigating the past 117 years, has enjoyed a more illustrious and lasting legacy than its satellite in the sky, persevering in various forms and configurations until the end of the 1987 season, when its gates closed for what sadly appeared to be the last time.

Fortunately, the 60 acres that had been the heart of Mountain Park through the decades remained in private hands and were purchased in 2006 by local visionary and entrepreneur, Eric Suher, who entertains dreams of restoring the park of locals' memories. Generations apart, William Loomis and Eric Suher complete a century circle of commercial creativity and inspiration, promoting the hard acres of Mt. Tom, inventing and re-inventing the happy world of Mountain Park. Well-attended concerts organized by Mr. Suher in 2009 and 2010 breathed life into the dormant and dismantled park, public support for Mr. Suher's endeavors on display in the enthusiastic turn-out for the shows.

View of Easthampton from Mt. Tom, Holyoke, Mass., c1908

On his 1899 visit, President McKinley declared the view from Mt. Tom "the most beautiful mountain out look in the whole world." Perhaps had he enjoyed the opportunity on his trip to visit more of the several summits standing sentinel above the Pioneer Valley, witnessing perfection in constant laid out below, he would have expanded his generous summation to reflect what locals truly know: Western Massachusetts is the most beautiful place in the world.

As always, thanks for stopping by and take care.

Explore more...

One ride from Mountain Park that can still be ridden is the 1929-built merry-go-round, relocated and still spinning at a buck a ride beneath a wonderful recreation of its original pavilion at Holyoke's Heritage State Park. For more information, visit the Holyoke Merry-Go-Round website at: http://www.holyokemerrygoround.org/

Wistariahurst Museum in Holyoke maintains an excellent website, Chariots of Change, chronicling the history of the Holyoke Street Railway Company, including interesting links to a large collection of digitized reference material: http://wistariahurst.org/holyokestreetrailway/introduction/

The website, Mt. Holyoke Historical Timelines, presented by Robb Strycharz, is an excellent resource that captures the symbiotic relationship between Mt. Holyoke, Mt. Tom, and Mt Nonotuck throughout their commercial development: http://www.chronos-historical.org/mtholyoke/index.html

In 1912, the Holyoke Street Railway Company - under the management of Louis D. Pellissier - published Views on and about Mt. Tom and of Mt. Tom railroad, an illustrated promotional tool for the resort. Louis Pellissier and William Loomis worked together for years molding the mountain acreage into a profitable business. Pellissier purchased Mountain Park in 1929 and operated it until 1952. Here's a link to the publication, digitized at the Internet Archive: http://www.archive.org/details/viewsonaboutmtto00pell

Here's a nice website with information and images, including the original Mt. Tom Summit House: http://www.mounttom.com/

Jay Ducharme, author of the book, Mountain Park (Arcadia Publishers), is the local authority on the park's history. Here's a link to his website: http://www.karenandjay.com/mtpark/mtpark.html

Plan your visit to Mt. Tom State Reservation in Holyoke with directions, printable trail map and more, courtesy of the Mass. Dept. of Conservation and Recreation: http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/mtom.htm

Check out the EWM channel on YouTube for a collection of vintage clips and videos of Holyoke history in motion: http://www.youtube.com/user/Explorewesternmass

Learn more about William Street, proprietor of the Eyrie House atop the summit of Mt. Nonotuck, with EWM post, The Eyrie House: William Street's Home in the Clouds: http://explorewmass.blogspot.com/2010/03/eyrie-house-william-streets-home-in.html

Take a photo-hike around Mt. Tom's Lake Bray with EWM post, A Misty Morning on the Bray Loop Trail: http://explorewmass.blogspot.com/2008/06/misty-morning-on-bray-loop-trail.html

EWM post The Federal Theatre Project Visits Mt. Park Casino features posters from the depression-era WPA Federal Theatre Project advertising shows at Mountain Park Casino: http://explorewmass.blogspot.com/2009/03/federal-theatre-project-visits-mt-tom.html

Photo source: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Photograph Collection:
1: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994006420/PP/
2: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994021402/PP/
3: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994002003/PP/
4: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994021403/PP/
5: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994021401/PP/
6: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994005743/PP/
7: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994005744/PP/
8: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994009976/PP/
9: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994021398/PP/
10: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994021400/PP/
11: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994019924/PP/

Thursday, February 3, 2011

This Month in Western Massachusetts History: February

BORN:

3 Feb 1894 - Norman Percevel Rockwell - (3 Feb 1894 - 8 Nov 1978) - Artist; Illustrator; Recipient, Presidential Medal of Freedom, 1977 - Lived and died in Stockbridge

5 Feb 1837 - Dwight Lyman Moody - (5 Feb 1837 - 22 Dec 1899) - Evangelist; Publisher; Founder of Northfield and Mount Herman Schools - Born in Northfield, where he died

9 Feb 1826 - Samuel Bowles - (9 Feb 1826 - 16 Jan 1878) - Editor of the Daily Republican Newspaper - Springfield native and resident

10 Feb 1974 - Elizabeth Banks, born Elizabeth Maresal Mitchell - (10 Feb 1974 - ) - Actress - Pittsfield native

11 Feb 1939 - Jane Hyatt Yolen - (11 Feb 1939 - ) - Award-winning Author; Editor - Resident of Hatfield

15 Feb 1820 - Susan Brownell Anthony - (15 Feb 1820 - 13 March 1906) - Temperance Activist; Abolitionist; Suffragette - Born in Adams

22 Feb 1881 - Joseph Buell Ely - (22 Feb 1881 - 13 Jun 1956) - Lawyer; Politician; 52nd Governor of Massachusetts - Born and lived in Westfield

23 Feb 1868 - William Edward Burghardt Du Bois - (23 Feb 1868 - 27 Aug 1963) - Scholar; Author; Civil-rights Activist - Born and raised in Great Barrington

24 Feb 1965 - Jane Maria Swift - (24 Feb 1965 - ) - Politician; First Female Governor of Massachusetts - Born in North Adams, resident of Williamstown

27 Feb 1807 - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - (27 Feb 1807 - 24 Mar 1882) - Professor; Poet, Paul Revere's Ride, etc. - Resided in Pittsfield

28 Feb 1747 - Justin Morgan - (28 Feb 1747 - 22 Mar 1798) - Composer; Horse Breeder, Morgan Horse - Born and lived in West Springfield

DIED:

11 Feb 1963 - Sylvia Plath - (27 Oct 1932 - 11 Feb 1963) - Poet; Writer; Teacher, Smith College - Lived in Northampton

11 Feb 1982 - Eleanor Torrey Powell - (21 Nov 1912 - 11 Feb 1982) - Actress, Dancer - Born in Springfield

15 Feb 1967 - James Frank Duryea - (8 Oct 1869 - 15 Feb 1967) - Co-producer of first gasoline powered automobile; Co-founder of the Duryea Motor Wagon Co. - Springfield

16 Feb 1974 - John Cantius Garand - (1 Jan 1888 - 16 Feb 1974) - Firearms Designer, M1 Garand - Resided and died in Springfield

27 Feb 1864 - Edward Hitchcock - (24 May 1793 - 27 Feb 1864) - Geologist; Pastor; Professor; President, Amherst College; Author - Resided in Deerfield and Amherst

HAPPENED:

Feb 1786 - Judgements are filed against an astounding 333 debtors in the current county court's term, a sign of the difficult financial times many citizens faced after the Revolution. These court actions and the numerous foreclosures farmers and others faced prompted men like Daniel Shays and Luke Day to question the practices of the court and lenders, and to demand answers.

4 Feb 1787 - Shays's Rebellion ends with Pelham resident Daniel Shays' and his mens' defeat in Petersham by General Benjamin Lincoln's militia, who manage to surprise the group while they are preparing breakfast. Shays and some of his men escaped to Vermont, and were assisted by the Ethan Allen, among others. Shays was later pardoned by Governor John Hancock.

4 Feb 1842 - Dana increases its land area, acquiring acreage from Petersham and Hardwick through an act of the Legislature.

7 Feb 1803 - 'The Belchertown and Greenwich Turnpike Corporation' is established by an act of the Massachusetts Legislature.

7 Feb 1842 - English author Charles Dickens travels from Springfield to Hartford via the Connecticut river on a steamboat, a popular method of transportation at the time.

14 Feb 1938 - Greenwich has its last town meeting. This date is taken from Walter E. Clarke's book 'Quabbin Reservoir,' and differs from the date of April 21, 1938 given by the author J.R. Greene in his book 'The Day Four Quabbin Towns Died.'

15 Feb 1816 - The Town of Enfield is incorporated, created from parts of the towns of Belchertown and Greenwich.

18 Feb 1801 - Dana is incorporated as a town.

18 Feb 1822 - Prescott holds its first town meeting.

23 Feb 1774 - The boundary between Springfield and West Springfield is established.

27 Feb 1906 - Wachusett Reservoir Dam on South Branch of Nashua River in Clinton is finished. Construction on the 114 foot high dam was begun in 1897. The Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs are linked by a 25 mile long aqueduct, and supply water to the residents of Boston, and other Massachusetts cities and towns.

28 Feb 1774 - The town of Ludlow is created from the Stony Hill section of Springfield

29 Feb 1804 - The Petersham and Monson Turnpike is established by an act of the Massachusetts Legislature. The toll road ran from the Fifth Massachusetts Turnpike in Athol to Monson, crossing the Sixth Massachusetts Turnpike west of Greenwich Village.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Barney Demonstrates Skates at Forest Park

Everett Hosmer Barney (December 7, 1835 - May 31, 1916), Springfield resident and major benefactor of the city's Forest Park is probably best known for his invention of the clamp-on ice skate, for which he received his first patent in 1864.

One of Barney's many other patents, awarded in 1868, was for a perforating machine that could stamp the amount due on a check, or the words "canceled" and "paid."

Here Mr. Barney is seen demonstrating his prowess on his product in a photograph from the 1900 book, A Handbook of Figure Skating Arranged for Use on the Ice, written by George H. Browne, A. M., and published by the Barney and Berry Company in Springfield.

As always, thanks for stopping by and take care.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

The Federal Writers' Project: George O. Dunnell, Northfield, Massachusetts

Montague St., Lake Pleasant, Mass.

The Federal Writer's Project began in an effort to put idle writers to work in the throes of the Great Depression. Funded as part of the Works Progress Administration, the project collected the memories of ordinary Americans as government-hired wordsmiths fanned out into the countryside armed with pads and pencils and the patience to listen.

For more stories and additional information about the Federal Writer's Project, check out the collection American Life Histories, Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940, at the website of the Library of Congress: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/wpahome.html.

The following is a segment of the ruminations of Northfield merchant, George O. Dunnell, discussing Spiritualism and Lake Pleasant, Massachusetts.

* * *

STATE Massachusetts

NAME OF WORKER Robert Wilder

ADDRESS Northfield, Massachusetts

DATE July 10, 1939

SUBJECT Living Lore

NAME OR IMFORMANT G. O. Dunnell

ADDRESS Northfield, Massachusetts

I stopped in to ask Mr. Dunnell if he would like to go along with me on an errand to Lake Pleasant, our "resort" lake beyond Millers' Falls. Mr. Dunnell's rheumatism was "botherin'", business was dull and the excursion proved to be a pleasant diversion.

As we jogged along in my ancient puddle jumper Mr. Dunnell reminisced.

"The only time I ever went to Lake Pleasant was when I was working in Deerfield, and the railroad run an excursion from Greenfield one Sunday. I wanted to hear Nellie Brigham. She was a Colrain girl. Nope, I never took much interest in Spiritualism.

"They was a feller up in Colrain that felt somethin' the way I do now. He had no use for Spiritualists. But his wife was a real devout one. Used to go to all the meetings, and to the camp meeting at Lake Pleasant.

"Lake Pleasant was quite a place in them days - that is, summers.

They wan't nothin' but a few caretakers there winters. The cottages set right side by side, close enough so that you couldn't walk between most of 'em. And they wan't anywhere near the lake, 'cept a few of 'em. They was all through the woods, laid out in blocks with streets and numbers and things. They was a common, somewheres near the center, where they had balloon ascensions and parachute jumps, sometimes. And they was hotels and stores and boarding houses - everything in the pine woods. And, of course, a railroad station. They was a steamboat landing, too, where you could get a ride around the lake for ten cents, and wooden swings, with backs, that would hold two people. They was a couple of amphytheatres in the woods with wooden seats, where if it rained, everybody would get wet except the speaker or the band, which had a little house of their own, down in the center. And, of course, they was the Temple, which was a kind of a church for the Spiritualists. They was also a circle of wooden benches around a flag pole, 'way off in the woods, where the 'mystic circles' was held. And practically every house had a fortune teller in it. Most of 'em wan't Spiritualists at all. They was only in the thing to make money. Oh, it was some place. They built a trolley line out there, too. And on Sunday afternoons when the weather was right, the place was,jammed like Coney Island. People doing nothing but walk up and down 'til they was tuckered out, then sitting down and watching the rest go by.

"They was wuth wat in' watchin', too. The gals had hair that was done way up high, so that their big hats, with flowers and garden truck on 'em, stood right up edgeways. Their hair made an arch above their faces that looked sunthin' like a fat sausage, or maybe, part of a life preserver- I mean the hair, not the faces. They had on shirt waists with high collars that had bones in'em and ruchin' around the edge. They had heavy black, skirts that dragged in the dust, and when they held 'em up a bit, you'd see a little of a white petticoat with flounces on it. Some of 'em carried parasols, but mostly the fellers carried 'em for them. They was pretty busy, what with holding up their skirts to keep 'em from dragging in the dust and feeling around back, slily, to see that their shirt waist hadn't parted company with their skirt. 'Course, I didn't see any, but just the same, I know that they all wore straight front corsets, 'cause that's what give 'em the funny shapes they had.

"Oh, yes, I guess we'd laugh at the fellers now. But they didn't look funny then. Those curly brim derbies would be good for a laugh. And we had long hair, except that it was trimmed - 'blocked' we called it - over our ears and 'round in back, and then our necks shaved, so when we had our derbies on, it looked from the back as if we was wearing felt wigs. And maybe we didn't have some collars. The feller who could wear the highest was best man, I guess. Anyway, some of the collars was stiff, white ones three four inches high. Our coats was padded in the shoulders - reg'lar feather bed on each side. And our britches was 'peg tops.' Don't know where the name come from out the pants was fairly small around the ankles the flaring in the seat. Then most of us had 'bull dogs' for shoes. They was mostly bright yellow. And they had turned up toes with knobs on 'em. Fairly high heels, too. And we wore detachable cuffs, and ready tied neckties, and had watch chains with things hanging on 'em.

"But I'm getting pretty fur away from that feller up in Colrain that had the Spiritualist wife, and didn't believe in spirits himself. He lived on the Shelburne Falls-Colrain Road where the trolley used to run. Shattackville was the name of the place.

"One morning before he got up he was lying there thinking about Spiritualism, and how devoted to it his wife was. And what a comfort it seemed to be to her. 'By George!' he says right out loud, 'I wish that if they's anything in Spiritualism that it would take hold of me! 'He said, next thing he knew suntain' grabbed him. Yes, sir. Yanked him up right out of bed and left him standing shivering out there in the cold. That settled it, he said. He became a believer. Anyway, he built a temple on his place where they used to hold meetings - large building it was, with blue glass winders - still standing, I guess, 't was the last time I was up that way. Folks laughed though. No wonder he believed in Spiritualism. He was a practicing spiritualist all right. Had been right along. Yer see, his business was making cider brandy. And he had his distillery right there next the temple. And as cider brandy is what spirits they is in cider, he was pretty familiar with 'em. They say that that combination of a spirit temple, and a spirit distillery, along with a picnic grove was a pretty profitable thing. And that the spirits made him good and prosperous. I don't know anything about it, but that's what the talk was. Maybe it was the idea of the money he'd make that yanked him out of bed."

More local Federal Writers' Projects stories on Exploring Western Massachusetts.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Amelia Park Ice Arena & Garden Celebrates Ten Years

Westfield's Amelia Park Ice Arena and Garden is one of the finest examples of personal philanthropy in Western Massachusetts. Built as a tribute to his late wife Amelia, Albert F. Ferst has created an amazing skating complex within a nearly 50,000 square foot facility, the culmination of a dream the woman affectionately known as "Millie" had held dear to her heart.

Outside the arena, Amelia's Garden graces a beautifully transformed acre of land replete with flowers and foliage, statuettes and streaming waterfalls.

Today, September 10, 2010, is Amelia Park's 10th anniversary, which is being marked with a celebration to be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. complete with cake, free skating (rentals $3), face painting and more.

For details, visit: http://ameliaparkice.org/arena-programs/special-events/10th-anniversary-celebration.html

Noble Hospital will be offering free blood pressure screening at Amelia Park during today's event. A prescription for inner peace could surely include a slow walk through the garden, likely to bring calm to even the highest-strung soul.

"Amelia Ferst was a beautiful, humble person who never looked to be

recognized for all the good deeds she did. She and her husband Albert

always saw with their hearts the needs of the community and took

every opportunity to enrich the lives of others.

This garden has been created as a loving tribute to Amelia, her vision

and her commitment to the future of Westfield and its children.

The splendor of the flowers is a reflection of her beauty.

The chirping of the birds is the sweet melody of her voice.

The soft whisper of the wind is the quiet manner in which she gave to others.

The warmth of the sun is the embrace of her love.

The springtime rebirth of the garden is her unwavering belief in God."

As the seasons change and autumn makes her entry, some colors brighten, some shades fade. All the hue and cry of nature unbound, splashed on cosmic canvas to become portraits ever-changing, memories everlasting.

There are some who walk the path whose footprints never fade.

Amelia Garden is an acre of undying love, watered and nurtured, the fruit a harvest of joy to be savored.

Sit for a bit and reflect. Let the sights and sounds carry you away in place.

Bricks fired in the kiln of the passionate heart. Mortar mixed in turning days strung together as a life well-lived. Memorials and tributes in stone, for the ages to behold. A garden is the work of a beautiful soul.

A gazebo and trellises grace the garden. Sixty-four beds of flowers masterfully maintained are individual smiles.

"Lives are filled with happiness when hearts are filled with love."

Our lives are each one of themselves a time capsule, stored in the hearts of those who would remember our passing. The world is a better place because of Amelia and Albert Ferst.

Here is a link to the Amelia Ice Arena & Garden's website:

http://ameliaparkice.org/

As always, thanks for stopping by and take care.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

This Month in Western Massachusetts History: September

B O R N :

1 Sept 1792 - Chester Harding - (1 Sept 1792 - 1 Apr 1866) - Portrait Artist - Born in Conway, resided 36 years in Springfield

6 Sept 1946 - Francis Xavier Healy - (6 Sept 1946 - ) - Major League Baseball Catcher; Sports Broadcaster - Born in Holyoke

15 Sept 1974 - Creighton Williams Abrams, Jr. - (15 Sept 1914 - 4 Sept 1974) - U.S. Army General; Army Chief of Staff - Namesake of the M1 Abrams Tank - Born in Springfield, raised in Feeding Hills - Buried in Arlington National Cemetery

27 Sept 1966 - Stephanie Diana Wilson - (27 Sept 1966 - ) - Engineer; NASA Astronaut - Lived in Pittsfield

30 Sept 1824 - Charles Pomeroy Stone - (30 Sept 1824 - 24 Jan 1887) - U. S. Army Officer; Surveyor; Engineer, Statue of Liberty Foundation and Pedestal, etc. - Born in Greenfield

D I E D :

4 Sept 1974 - Creighton Williams Abrams, Jr. - (See above)

11 Sept 1851 - Sylvester Graham, Rev. - (5 Jul 1794 - 11 Sept 1851) - Creator of the Graham Cracker; Dietary Reformist; Minister - Resided in Northampton

24 Sept 1991 - Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss - (2 Mar 1904 - 24 Sept 1991) - Author; Illustrator, Green Eggs and Ham, etc. - Born and raised in Springfield

28 Sept 1891 - Herman Melville - (1 Aug 1819 - 28 Sept 1891) - Author, Moby-Dick - Lived in Pittsfield

28 Sept 1938 - Charles Edgar Duryea - (15 Dec 1861 - 28 Sept 1938) - Co-producer of first gasoline-powered automobile; Co-founder of the Duryea Motor Wagon Co. - Springfield

29 Sept 1825 - Daniel Shays - (1741 - 29 Sept 1825) - American revolutionary remembered for 'Shays's Rebellion' 1786-87 - Resided in Pelham, buried in Springwater, NY.

H A P P E N E D :

2 Sept 1902 - On a visit to Massachusetts, President Theodore Roosevelt stops in Westfield and appears before a large crowd gathered to hear him speak from a platform on the town Green.

5 Sept 1892 - The newly-constructed Court Square Theater Building on Elm Street in Springfield is dedicated. Performances of "If I Were You," a comedy by William Young, and "Diana," burlesque by Sydney Rosenfeld, are given by the Manola-Mason Company. The building is owned by Dwight O. Gilmore and sets him back $250,000.

10 Sept 1799 - The first meeting of The Sixth Massachusetts Turnpike Corporation is held in Hardwick at the home of Jonathan Warner. When finished, the turnpike links Amherst and Shrewsbury.

10 Sept 1938 - From books to buildings, the Massachusetts Water District Supply Commission holds an auction of items it holds in the Swift River Valley, soon to be flooded for Quabbin Reservoir. It takes place in Enfield's Town Hall, which itself is sold that day for $550.00, a high price in comparison to the Enfield Grange Hall, which sells for the paltry sum of $35.00.

16 Sept 1940 - The Summit House atop Mt. Holyoke is the site of dedication ceremonies for the new Skinner State Park, named after land-donor Joseph Skinner.

17 Sept 1941 - Water begins to flow through the aqueduct connecting Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs for the first time, marking an exponential expansion of Greater Boston's public water supply.

21 Sept 1938 - The Great New England Hurricane claims an estimated 700 lives on its path of destruction. By September 22, the Connecticut River is coursing through the Franklin County town of Montague at nearly 17 feet above flood stage. 19,000 structures, 26,000 vehicles and 2,600 boats are lost to the devastation.

24 Sept 1847 - The American Dictionary of the English Language is first published by the Merriam brothers, George and Charles, in Springfield.

26 Sept 1786 - Daniel Shays leads 600 men on a protest march to the courthouse in Springfield. The Supreme Judicial court session taking place is duly interrupted and subsequently adjourned as a result of the group's actions in pursuit of financial justice against an unforgiving and slanted system. Although General Shepard of Westfield keeps a watchful eye on the citizen militia, no violence ensues between his troops and the marchers, and no one is taken into custody. With similar uprisings having occurred in Northampton and Worcester, it is decided to forego the October session of the court, meant to be held in Great Barrington. The birth of the United States Constitution is hastened by these acts of civil disobedience.

28 Sept 1793 - The Franklin County town of Gill is incorporated.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

The Eyrie House: William Street's Home in the Clouds

Stumbling upon the ruins of the strong traprock foundation astride the summit of Holyoke's Mt. Nonotuck, one might wonder what magnificent structure had perched atop these sills, what glorious architecture capped such a solid base that suggests grandeur in every stone laid. The fact of the matter is that these massive basalt walls have never supported anything but such visions and mind-pictures in the century passed, calamity and competition leaving unfinished one man's dream.

In 1893, William Street began construction of a new stone and concrete-built summit house to replace the aging Eyrie House hotel and resort he owned and operated from the lofty heights of his treasured property at the very top of Mt. Nonotuck. Street's plan to build an elegant four-story fireproof structure on the site just below the original hotel came to a blazing end around 8 p.m. on the night of April 13, 1901, when the mountain went aflame, a result of loose embers from a fire Street had started earlier as a crematory pyre for two deceased horses. Thinking the ashes of his fire had been reasonably contained, Street, alone on the summit, had gone about his evening business, the orange and red glow of the hungry and growing eraser traveling up the mountain alerting him to the pyre's re-spark too late as the barn went up, the first casualty in the ensuing path of destruction the desperate hotelier was helpless to halt.

Street, known for his frugality, was woefully under-insured. Three years of fierce competition from the nearby Mt. Tom Summit House and Railway Park, opened in 1897, and before that, years of sustained rivalry with the Prospect House, atop Mt. Holyoke across the Connecticut River, had also severely cut into Mr. Street's seasonal receipts. Unable to rebuild, broken and broken-hearted, William Street gave up his mountain perch to live out the rest of his days a recluse, to his death refusing to acknowledge the $5,000 the Mt. Tom Reservation Commission had deposited into an escrow account in his name after taking his property per eminent domain when negotiations between the two parties about the acreage's true value had come to a stubborn stand still. William Street died in 1918 at the age of 78. Having remained a bachelor all of his life, his sole heir was his sister, Ann, who inherited what was left of Street's estate, including, presumably, the $5,000, which he had left untouched for fourteen years. Mr. Street's Mt. Nonotuck has been enjoyed by visitors to its climes as part of Mt. Tom State Reservation for over a century now.

Officially opened on July 4, 1861, the Eyrie House had expanded its facilities as well as its reputation by the time this 1871 advertisement for the busy summer resort appeared in the book, Attractions of Northampton, by Charles Chandler. Patrons could visit a collection of creatures Mr. Street, an amateur zoologist, kept as a mountain menagerie. Options for viewing the valley and surrounding blue-tinged ranges were numerous, with platforms and walkways and mountain paths leading to natural lookouts. A telescope provided breathtaking views of the Connecticut River's meandering Oxbow or the growing town of Northampton, shining in the upriver distance. Bands appeared and picnics were held, the grove filled to its edges most summer days, well over a hundred folks at a time enjoying the fresh mountain air of Western Massachusetts.

William Street had begun the Mt. Nonotuck enterprise with a partner, Hiram Farnum, who sold his share in the operation in August of 1861, the architectural and recreational creation born atop the mountain thereafter the pursuit of Street's sole and personal vision. The image above shows the north face of the Eyrie House. It was taken facing the summit from the area of where the previously pictured foundation ruins of the never-to-be replacement hotel can be found today. From meager beginnings on leased land, Street's mountain resort grew and expanded each year as he sunk his heart and soul into his dream. In 1875, he purchased the property from his lessor. By 1885, an improved road was carrying Eyrie House patrons up the mountain to stay in one of the hotel's more than thirty well-decorated, wainscoted and black-walnut trimmed guest rooms. Wooden decks and promenades soared above the treetops, leading to attractions scattered around the property. Companies held picnics there and families made an annual tradition of vacation pilgrimages to the elevated retreat.

The faint figures of people utilizing the observation deck atop the Eyrie House can be seen in this photograph. The four decade old, all-wooden building and its surrounding decks and promenades took little time to burn on that fateful Saturday night in the spring of 1901, a somber spectacle seen for miles around, like a tragic beacon illuminating the nearly 900 foot high Mt. Nonotuck summit. According to an article in the April 14, 1901, Springfield Sunday Republican: "The progress of the fire was watched by hundreds of people at Northampton, Easthampton and Holyoke, and it made a brilliant sight way up against the clouds. There seemed to be no resistance to the flames, and they rushed through the long three-story building at will, and by 11 o'clock the whole structure was in ashes." Street was badly burned on one of his hands as he bravely battled the fire and later maintained that, had he gotten help sooner, the house may have been spared the inferno. Very few items were saved before the hotel was consumed, the telescope, some souvenirs and bedding retrieved all that Street had left to remember his mountain paradise. Those and a sturdy traprock foundation begun, that sadly, would never see progress again. Unlike the Phoenix, the Eyrie House would not rise from the ashes.

Folks from all points had options for getting to William Street's Eyrie House with local road, rail and water travel experiencing giant leaps forward toward modernity in the 19th century. The final leg of the journey, though, was always uphill, the mountain road a vital link to success which Street continuously tried to improve over the years, purchasing land and securing rights-of way necessary to ease the toll of the climb on his patrons. Indeed, simultaneously with construction of the stalwart, left-behind foundation of the new hotel, a railway was being built to carry passengers from the flatland below to the heights of the resort. Remnants of the rail bed, begun around 1894, can still be seen in thick, high, stone support walls chasing time down the slopes. That endeavor, too, was abandoned as a result of the 1901 Eyrie House fire.

This radio beacon tower, constructed by the Defense Department in the mid-40s and maintained today by the FAA, is located almost in the center of where the original Eyrie House once stood. Snapped from the foundation ruins of the never-completed "new" Eyrie House, the angle of the photograph is very similar to the angle of the one three photographs up, the one depicting the north side of the hotel. Standing here, one can imagine the house at it was, proprietor William Street, the "hermit of the mountain" as he had been known, opening his doors to happy and satisfied guests for a few months of the year. Selling his creation on the mountain one night at a time to folks who returned year after year to behold the new wonders he had in store. It isn't every hotel owner who kept a bear in the basement...

Now under the charge of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Mt. Tom State Reservation is a place of basalt ghosts and keystone memories, specters we can revisit on snowy hikes or summer days to contemplate dreams borne upon wings to summits in the sky. Today, through doorways and beyond walls fixed in stone and mortar, we can walk among the nestled rock puzzle remnants of one man's vision: An ever-welcoming crown atop an unforgiving mount, William Street's eyrie among the clouds.

We can look off into the valley, over the hills, and marvel at all that has changed from William Street's day. We can wonder, too, of all that remains the same. And still, we pay our coin, we take our view, and some will see further than others.

As always, thanks for stopping by and take care.

For more information on visiting Mt. Tom State Reservation, including how to get there and a printable trail map, be sure to visit the mass DCR's park web page at:

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/mtom.htm

For a great video history of the Eyrie House check out Mt. Tom historian Robert Schwobe's presentation, Mt. Nonotuck and the Eyrie House Hotel, at Easthampton Community Access Television's blog:

http://ecatv5.blogspot.com/2008/10/mt-nonotuck-and-eyrie-house-hotel.html

And here's a link to an excellent chronology of Eyrie House history by Bob Genest over at the Pine Cone Johnny blog:

http://pineconejohnny.blogspot.com/2008/07/rise-and-fall-of-holyokes-eyrie-house.html

Tony Mateus, author of the blog, in the valley, has also visited the Eyrie House and Mt. Tom, here's a link to his post, with his ever-present awesome photographs:

http://thepioneervalley.blogspot.com/2008/09/havent-foggiest.html

And another link to a great web site called, Mt. Holyoke Historical Timelines, which mentions the Eyrie House a few times:

http://www.chronos-historical.org/mtholyoke/index.html

The two vintage Eyrie House photographs and the map are courtesy of the always-expanding ImageMuseum (thanks!):

http://imagemuseum.smugmug.com/

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Advertisements: Insurance Agent Ink Blotters

In the days of nibs and ink bottles, advertising blotters were as ubiquitous as business cards are today. Used to catch excess ink from the writing tips of quill and fountain pens, paper blotters disappeared from everyday use with the advent of the ball point pen in the mid 20th century. Here are a couple of examples of blotter advertising recently shared with EWM by historian Barbara Shaffer, featuring Westfield insurance agent, S. A. Allen & Son.

S. A. Allen & Son's office was located in Gillett's Block, on the corner of Elm and Arnold Streets. The building, designed by Westfield architect, Augustus Holton, was opened for occupancy in 1899 and today is home to Westfield Gas & Electric, the municipal utility. Along with running his insurance company, S. A. Allen was president of Westfield's First National Bank.

S. A. Allen's son, Charles Turner Allen, met an unfortunate fate on the night of June 11, 1903, when he fell three stories to his death in the hose tower of Westfield's Arnold Street fire station. An inquest conducted by Judge Willis S. Kellogg the following month concluded that young Charles died as a result of his own carelessness, raising himself 34 feet above the concrete floor by a life-belt attached to an old rope used for lifting fire hose for drying and storage, despite being warned not to go so high. Even the insurers need insurance.

As always thanks for stopping by and take care. (And thank you, Barbara, for sharing these interesting pieces of ephemera!)

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Notable Residents of Western Massachusetts

Some folks may be famous in their own circles, others internationally, but one thing is for sure, Western Massachusetts has contributed its share of personality, genius and talent to the planet, and continues to do so today, to the benefit of all. Here are some of the people who have called Western Massachusetts home...

~A~

Creighton Williams Abrams, Jr. - (15 Sept 1914 - 4 Sept 1974) - U.S. Army General; Army Chief of Staff - Namesake of the M1 Abrams Tank - Born in Springfield, raised in Feeding Hills - Buried in Arlington National Cemetery

Susan Brownell Anthony - (15 Feb 1820 - 13 March 1906) - Temperance Activist; Abolitionist; Suffragette - Born in Adams

Johnny April - (27 Mar 1969 - ) - Musician; Drummer, Staind - Resided in Springfield

~B~

Elizabeth Banks, born Elizabeth Maresal Mitchell - (10 Feb 1974 - ) - Actress - Pittsfield native

Louis Knox Barlow - (17 Jul 1966 - ) - Musician; Songwriter; Guitarist; Singer, Dinosaur Jr., etc. - Lived in Westfield

Everett Hosmer Barney - (7 Dec 1835 - 31 May 1916) - Inventor of clamp-on ice skates; Philanthropist - Springfield resident from 1864 - Interred in Barney Mausoleum, Forest Park, Springfield

Leonard Baskin - (1922 - 3 Jun 2000) - Artist; Sculptor; Illustrator; Printmaker - Resided in Northampton

Jesse Barrett-Mills - (2 May 1984 - ) - Award-winning Filmmaker - Raised in Amherst

Mark Henry Belanger - (8 Jun 1944 - 6 Oct 1998) - Major League Baseball Shortstop - Born and buried in Pittsfield

Edward Bellamy - (26 Mar 1850 - 22 May 1898) - Author, Looking Backward 2000-1887 - Born and died in Chicopee Falls

Travis Eric Best - (12 Jul 1972 - ) - NBA Basketball Player - Born and raised in Springfield

Samuel Bowles - (9 Feb 1826 - 16 Jan 1878) - Editor of the Daily Republican Newspaper - Springfield native and resident

Milton Bradley (8 Nov 1836 - 30 May 1911) - Lithographer; Inventor; Game Manufacturer - Springfield Resident from 1856

John Brown - (9 May 1800 - 2 Dec 1859) - Merchant; Abolitionist - Springfield resident, 1846-49

Rachel Fuller Brown - (23 Nov 1898 - 14 Jan 1980) - Biochemist; Co-developer of anti-fungal antibiotic Nystatin - Born in Springfield

William Cullen Bryant - (3 Nov 1794 - 12 Jun 1878) - Poet; Editor, New York Evening Post - Born and lived in Cummington

Nick Buoniconti - (15 Dec 1940 - ) - Football Player; Member of NFL Hall of Fame - Born in Springfield

Thornton Waldo Burgess - (14 Jan 1874 - 5 Jun 1965) - Conservationist; Author, Old Mother West Wind, etc. - Lived in Springfield and Hampden

Augusten Burroughs, born Christopher Robison - (23 Oct 1965 - ) - Bestselling Author, Running With Scissors, etc. - Raised in Northampton, Amherst resident

~C~

Christopher Frank Capuano - (19 Aug 1978 - ) - Major League Baseball Player - Born and raised in West Springfield

Eric Carle - (25 Jun 1929 - ) - Children's Book Author and Illustrator, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, etc. - Resided in Northampton 20+ years

Catherine Grace (Cady) Coleman - (14 Dec 1960 - ) - USAF Colonel; NASA Astronaut - Resident of Shelburne Falls

Chris Collingwood - (1968 - ) - Songwriter; Producer; Musician, Fountains of Wayne - Resident of Northampton

John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. - (4 Jul 1872 - Jan 1933) - Northampton Politician; 30th U. S. President - Amherst, Northampton resident

Zenas Crane - (9 May 1777 - 29 Jun 1845) - Currency, Certificate and Bond Papermaker; Co-founder of Old Berkshire Mill, now Crane & Co. - Resided in Dalton

Frances Crowe - (1919 - ) - Peace Activist, Pacifist - Lives in Northampton

~D~

Timothy Patrick Daggett - (22 May 1962 - ) - Gymnast; Olympic Medalist; Sports Broadcaster - Born in Springfield, raised in West Springfield

Michael D'Antonio - Songwriter; Designer; Musician, Killswitch Engage - Westfield

William Danoff - (7 May 1946 - ) - Singer, Starland Vocal Band; Songwriter, Co-wrote Take Me Home Country Roads - Born and raised in Springfield

Cecil Blount DeMille - (12 Aug 1881 - 21 Jan 1959) - Filmmaker; Academy-Award Winning Producer; Director - Born in Ashfield

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson - (10 Dec 1830 - 15 May 1886) - Reclusive Posthumously Published Poet - Born, lived and died in Amherst

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois - (23 Feb 1868 - 27 Aug 1963) - Scholar; Author; Civil-rights Activist - Born and raised in Great Barrington

Charles Edgar Duryea - (15 Dec 1861 - 28 Sept 1938) - Co-producer of first gasoline-powered automobile; Co-founder of the Duryea Motor Wagon Co. - Springfield

James Frank Duryea - (8 Oct 1869 - 15 Feb 1967) - Co-producer of first gasoline powered automobile; Co-founder of the Duryea Motor Wagon Co. - Springfield

Adam Jonathan Dutkiewicz - (4 Apr 1977 - ) - Musician, Killswitch Engage - Raised in Westhampton

~E~

Kevin Brooks Eastman - (30 May 1962 - ) - Artist; Co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles -Resided in Northampton

Jonathan Edwards - (5 Oct 1703 - 22 Mar 1785) - Fervent Preacher; Theologian - Lived in Northampton

Joseph Buell Ely - (22 Feb 1881 - 13 Jun 1956) - Lawyer; Politician; 52nd Governor of Massachusetts - Born and lived in Westfield

~F~

Damien Richard Fahey - (1 Jun 1980 - ) - MTV VJ; Entertainer - Raised in Chicopee and Longmeadow

Marshall Field - (18 Aug 1834 - 16 Jan 1906) - Department Store Founder, Marshall Field & Co.; Philanthropist - Born in Conway, lived in Pittsfield

Estelle Condit (Suzy) Frelinghuysen - (1911 - 19 Mar 1988) - Abstract Artist; Opera Singer, Philanthropist - Married to George L. K. Morris - Resided in Lenox

Daniel Chester French - (20 Apr 1850 - 7 Oct 1931) - Sculptor, Lincoln in Lincoln Memorial, etc. - Summered in Stockbridge

Robert Lee Frost - (26 Mar 1874 - 29 Jan 1963) - Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet; English Teacher at Amherst - Lived in Amherst

~G~

John Cantius Garand - (1 Jan 1888 - 16 Feb 1974) - Firearms Designer, M1 Garand - Resided and died in Springfield

Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss - (2 Mar 1904 - 24 Sept 1991) - Author; Illustrator, Green Eggs and Ham, etc. - Born and raised in Springfield

Kim Althea Gordon - (28 Apr 1953 - ) - Musician; Singer-Songwriter, Sonic Youth; Designer; Producer - Northampton resident

Sylvester Graham, Rev. - (5 Jul 1794 - 11 Sept 1851) - Creator of the Graham Cracker; Dietary Reformist; Minister - Resided in Northampton

William Robert Guerin - (9 Nov 1970 - ) - Hockey Player; NHL's First Latino - Born and raised in Wilbraham

Arlo Davy Guthrie - (10 Jul 1947 - ) - Musician; Folk Singer; Song Writer - Resident of Washington

~H~

Chester Harding - (1 Sept 1792 - 1 Apr 1866) - Portrait Artist - Born in Conway, resided 36 years in Springfield.

Nathaniel Hawthorne, born Nathaniel Hathorne - (4 Jul 1804 - 19 May 1864) - Author, The House of the Seven Gables, etc. - Resided in Lenox

Francis Xavier Healy - (6 Sept 1946 - ) - Major League Baseball Catcher; Sports Broadcaster - Born in Holyoke

Edward Hitchcock - (24 May 1793 - 27 Feb 1864) - Geologist; Pastor; Professor; President, Amherst College; Author - Resided in Deerfield and Amherst

Joseph Hooker - (13 Nov 1814 - 31 Oct 1879) - Major General in Union Army, Defeated by Lee in Civil War Battle of Chancellorsville, VA, 1863 - Native of Hadley

~I~

~J~

Helen Maria Hunt Jackson - (18 Oct 1830 - 12 Aug 1885) - Author, Ramona, etc.; Indian Rights Activist - Born in Amherst

Penn Fraser Jillette - (5 Mar 1955 - ) - Illusionist; Magician; Entertainer - Born and raised in Greenfield

~K~

John Tracy Kidder - (12 Nov 1945 - ) - Pulitzer Prize-winning Author - Resident of Northampton

~L~

Peter Alan Laird - (27 Jan 1954 - ) - Artist; Co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Native of North Adams

Timothy Francis Leary, Dr. - (22 Oct 1920 - 31 May 1996) - Author; Psychologist; 1960s Counter-Culture Figure - Born and raised in Springfield

Aaron Lewis - (13 Apr 1972 - ) - Musician; Songwriter; Guitarist, Staind - Raised in Longmeadow

Rebecca Rose Lobo-Rushin - (6 Oct 1973 - ) - Basketball Player, WNBA; Sports Broadcaster - Raised in Southwick

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - (27 Feb 1807 - 24 Mar 1882) - Professor; Poet, Paul Revere's Ride, etc. - Resided in Pittsfield

~M~

Archibald MacLeish - (7 May 1892 – 20 April 1982) - Poet, Writer, JFK Speechwriter, Librarian of Congress - Resided in Conway

Anne Mansfield (Annie) Sullivan Macy, born Johanna Sullivan - (14 Apr 1866 - 20 Oct 1936) - Teacher; Sign Language Pioneer; Governess, Helen Keller - Born in Feeding Hills

Rachel Anne Maddow - (1 Apr 1973 - ) - Media Figure; Broadcaster; Political Commentator - Resident of Western Massachusetts

Taj Mahal, born Henry Saint Clair Fredericks - (17 May 1942 - ) - Grammy Award-winning Blues Musician - Raised in Springfield

Joseph Donald (J) Mascis - (10 Dec 1965 - ) - Musician; Songwriter; Guitarist, Singer, Dinosaur Jr., etc. - Born and lives in Amherst

Herman Melville - (1 Aug 1819 - 28 Sept 1891) - Author, Moby-Dick, etc. - Lived in Pittsfield

Charles Merriam - (31 Nov 1806 - 9 Jul 1887) - Co-founder G. & C. Merriam Co., Publisher, Webster's Dictionary; Philanthropist - Resided and died in Springfield

George S. Merriam - (20 Jan 1803 - 22 Jun 1880) - Co-founder G. & C. Merriam Co., Publisher, Webster's Dictionary; Editor; Author, Life and Times of Samuel Bowles, etc. - Resided and died in Springfield

Dwight Lyman Moody - (5 Feb 1837 - 22 Dec 1899) - Evangelist; Publisher; Founder of Northfield and Mount Herman Schools - Born in Northfield, where he died

Thurston Joseph Moore - (25 Jul 1958 - ) - Musician; Singer-songwriter, Sonic Youth; Producer - Resident of Northampton

Justin Morgan - (28 Feb 1747 - 22 Mar 1798) - Composer; Horse Breeder, Morgan Horse - Born and lived in West Springfield

William G. Morgan - (1870 - 1942) - Inventor of Volleyball; Physical Education Instructor - Resided in Northfield, Springfield and Holyoke

George L. K. Morris - (1905 - 1975) - Abstract Artist; Philanthropist - Married to Estelle Condit (Suzy) Frelinghuysen - Resided in Lenox

Kathryn Bridget Moynahan - (28 Apr 1971 - ) - Model; Actress - Resident of Longmeadow

Emmett Jefferson (Patrick, Murph) Murphy III - (21 Dec 1964 - ) Musician; Drummer, Dinosaur Jr., etc. - Born in Amherst

Mike Mushok - (10 Apr 1969 - ) - Musician; Guitarist, Staind - Raised in Ludlow, lived in Springfield

~N~

James Naismith - (6 Nov 1861 - 28 Nov 1939) - Inventor of Basketball; Physical Education Instructor; Coach - Resided in Springfield

~O~

~P~

Linda M. Perry - (15 Apr 1965 - ) - Musician; Producer; Singer, 4 Non Blondes - Born in Springfield

Matthew Langford Perry - (19 Aug 1969 - ) - Actor, Friends, etc. - Born in Williamstown

Louis Brian Piccolo - (31 Oct 1943 - 16 Jun 1970) - NFL Football Player; Cancer Fight Immortalized in Movie, Brian's Song - Born and lived in Pittsfield

Sylvia Plath - (27 Oct 1932 - 11 Feb 1963) - Poet; Writer; Teacher, Smith College - Lived in Northampton

Eleanor Torrey Powell - (21 Nov 1912 - 11 Feb 1982) - Actress, Dancer - Born in Springfield

Victoria Principal - (3 Jan 1950 - ) - Actress - Resided in Chicopee

William Pynchon - (11 Oct 1590 - 29 Oct 1662) - Massachusetts Settler; Co-founder of Springfield; Theologian - Resided in Springfield

~Q~

~R~

Jeffrey James Reardon - (1 Oct 1955 - ) - Major League Baseball Relief Pitcher - Born in Dalton

Norman Percevel Rockwell - (3 Feb 1894 - 8 Nov 1978) - Artist; Illustrator; Recipient, Presidential Medal of Freedom, 1977 - Lived and died in Stockbridge

Kurt Vogel Russell - (17 Mar 1951 - ) - Actor, Silkwood, etc.; Baseball Player - Born in Springfield

~S~

Edmund Hamilton Sears - (6 Apr 1810 - 14 Jan 1876) - Minister; Author, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, etc. - Born and raised in Sandisfield

Suzanne Strempek Shea - Award-Winning Author, Selling the Lite of Heaven, etc. - Born in Western Massachusetts, resident of Bondsville

Edward William (Eddie) Shore - (25 Nov 1902 - 16 Mar 1985) - NHL Hockey Player; Player, Owner, AHL's Springfield Indians - Resided and died in Springfield

Josiah James Linsly (Josh) Simpson, Jr. - (1949 - ) - Glass Artist - Resident of Shelburne Falls

Horace Smith - (28 Oct 1808 - 15 Jan 1893) - Inventor; Gun Manufacturer; Co-founder Smith & Wesson, Co.; Philanthropist - Born in Cheshire, resided in Springfield - Buried in Springfield Cemetery

William Stanley, Jr. - (28 Nov 1858 - 14 May 1916) - Physicist; Electrician; Inventor, Thermos Bottle, etc. - Resided in Great Barrington

Charles Pomeroy Stone - (30 Sept 1824 - 24 Jan 1887) - U. S. Army Officer; Surveyor; Engineer, Statue of Liberty Foundation and Pedestal, etc. - Born in Greenfield

Joel Michael Stroetzel - (24 Jul 1980 - ) - Musician, Killswitch Engage - Raised in Westfield

Jimmy Sturr - Grammy Award-winning Polka Musician - Born in Springfield

Jane Maria Swift - (24 Feb 1965 - ) - Politician; First Female Governor of Massachusetts - Born in North Adams, resident of Williamstown

~T~

James Vernon Taylor - (12 Mar 1948 - ) - Grammy Award-winning Musician, Member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame - Resident of Washington

Uma Karuna Thurman - (29 Apr 1970 - ) - Actress, Pulp Fiction, etc. - Resided in Amherst and Northfield

Sojourner Truth, born as Isabella Baumfree - (1797 - 26 Nov 1883) - Abolitionist; Women's Rights Activist - Resided in Florence

~U~

~V~

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. - (11 Nov 1922 - 11 Apr 2007) - Author, Slaughterhouse-Five, etc. - Lived briefly in Northampton

~W~

Francis Emroy Warren - (1844 - 1929) - First Governor of Wyoming - Born in Hinsdale

Daniel Baird Wesson - (18 May 1825 - 4 Aug 1906) - Inventor; Gun Manufacturer; Co-founder Smith & Wesson, Co.; Philanthropist - Resided in Springfield - Buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, Springfield

Edith Wharton, born as Edith Newbold Jones - (24 Jan 1862 - 11 Aug 1937) - Designer; Pulitzer Prize-winning Author - Resided in Lenox

Stephanie Diana Wilson - (27 Sept 1966 - ) - Engineer; NASA Astronaut - Lived in Pittsfield

Mark Edward Wohlers - (23 Jan 1970 - ) - Major League Baseball pitcher - Native of Holyoke

Jon Wysocki - (17 Jan 1971 - ) - Musician; Drummer, Staind - Born in Northampton, raised in Westfield, lived in Springfield

~X~

~Y~

Jane Hyatt Yolen - (11 Feb 1939 - ) - Award-winning Author; Editor - Resident of Hatfield

~Z~

As I worked on this list, I began to realize that I could keep adding to it indefinitely...there are so many interesting and able souls that hail from Western Massachusetts. I'll keep working on it as time passes, so check back for updates every once in awhile. If you have a suggestion of someone I should add (and I'm certain there are many) or a correction/modification I should make, please leave a comment below. Thanks! ~Mark (Updated October 4, 2010)