Massachusetts; A Guide To Its Places and People - Springfield - Foot Tour #7

American Guide Series - Illustrated

Springfield Museum of Fine Arts

"Retrace Cemetery Ave.; R. from Cemetery Ave. on Maple St.; straight ahead on Chestnut St."

"7. The Springfield Museum of Fine Arts (open weekdays except Mon. 1-4.30; Sun. 2-5), erected in 1933, is of steel with limestone facing, by Tilton and Githens, architects."

Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration of Massachusetts.
Massachusetts; A Guide To Its Places and People (Kindle Locations 9234-9236).
Boston, Houghton Mifflin company. Page 363, Published 1937

N 42° 06.239 W 072° 35.163

Short Description:

Museum of Fine Arts is now named the Michele and Donald D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts. It is located in the north west corner of the Quadrangle complex of museums in Springfield, MA.

Long Description:

The Museum Fine Arts is one of five world class museums located at the Quadrangle in downtown Springfield, MA. The Art Deco façade was designed by Tilton and Githens. The museum opened in October 1933.

Above the door of the main entrance is a bas relief sculpture of a pair of angels. This classical representation is in keeping with the classical art theme of the museum - "American and European paintings, works on paper, sculpture and more".

Along the front wall is a series of six hexagonal bas-relief sculptures displaying some aspect of culture. The images depict a scarab beetle, feathered head-dress, bull skull, pair of lions, Greek urn, and a Mayan-like image.

The series continues to include and additional image, at the same height, on the left and right walls. The left wall contains a dragon, the right lion and shield.

Introduction to Springfield, MA from: 

Massachusetts; A Guide To Its Places and People 

SPRINGFIELD The Metropolis of Western Massachusetts City: Alt. 69, pop. 149,642, sett. 1636, incorp. town 1641, city 1852. Railroad Station: Union Station, Lyman & Liberty Sts., for N.Y., N.H. & H. R.R., B. & M. R.R., and B. & A. R.R. Accommodations: Seven hotels. Information: Chamber of Commerce, 134 Chestnut St.; Automobile Club, 140 Chestnut St.; A.L.A., 1387 Main St.

SPRINGFIELD, the metropolis of western Massachusetts, lies on the east bank of the Connecticut River, holding a strategic position in the traffic of the New England states with New York and the West. Its situation on a series of terraces and in gently rolling country produces an effect of spacious leisure, and imposing architecture and tree-shaded lawns, parks, and boulevards give it an atmosphere of dignity, substance, and comfort. Its diversified industries, superior transportation facilities, large merchandising establishments, and fine residential sections make it an important center of industry, commerce, and finance; and its notable interest in music and the other arts make it an outstanding cultural center.

In 1636 a dozen families made their way to the inviting valley where the Agawam River joins the Connecticut. Their livestock inflicted so much damage on the cornfields of the Indians that they were forced to abandon the settlement. They moved on across the Connecticut River, to a barren terrain demanding heart-breaking labor and promising little reward for toil.

Fortunately, the leader of the group was stout-hearted William Pynchon. With such vigor did he build up the new settlement that even after a board had been elected determination of program and policy was left in his hands. His leadership was not questioned until 1650, when he published a theological work. The Puritan Fathers detected in the book germs of heresy. To protect the community from infection they administered the antitoxin of denunciation. The services of Pynchon were soon forgotten; he was badgered on all sides, and finally returned to England. His son, John, remained and assumed the management of the town.

In the next year the Springfield community indulged in a witch hunt — a sport more exciting than the battle against heresy. Hugh Parsons was a dyspeptic, of choleric disposition which had not endeared him to his neighbors. His wife was subject to periodic fits, probably epileptic. But such an explanation of their eccentricities was too simple, and the savants of the occult brought charges of witchcraft against the couple. Not a few good people were disappointed when the court acquitted the pair.

Twenty peaceful and constructive years followed. In 1675, however, King Philip declared war on the Colony, and Springfield did not escape. The town was almost totally burned. The townspeople pushed reconstruction, building on a larger scale. Early in the eighteenth century the citizens of Springfield made the river a capital asset. They erected sawmills and gristmills and took their first step away from a complete agricultural economy. The large clay deposits were utilized in the manufacture of brick. Acute financial depression resulted from the Revolutionary War; farmer and mill-owner were bogged in a morass of debt. Thousands banded themselves together under Daniel Shays, and for six months tramped up and down western Massachusetts in an attempt to prevent the convening of the courts and the entering of judgments against debtors. Although their cause won numerous sympathizers, it failed. Springfield became Shays's Waterloo when an attempt to capture the United States Arsenal was frustrated.

The manufacture of metal goods was given an impetus in 1794 by the passage of a bill in Congress establishing the United States Armory at Springfield. The advent of the railroad, about 1835, stimulated business. At that time the town already had seventy-three mechanic shops, six cotton mills, four printing offices, thirteen warehouses, two card factories, two forges, one rifle factory, one powder mill, six sawmills, four grist mills, three tanneries, two jewelers' tool factories, one sword factory, and one spool factory.

Developments in the manufacture of textiles brought French-Canadians, English, and Scots. Skilled artisans of all races were attracted by the openings in the machine shops. Irish, Italian, Swedish, and German labor was plentiful. Long hours and meager wages were the lot of those whose labor enriched the town. But aside from the general agitation that accompanied the crisis of 1830, there was no real organization of labor until after the Civil War.

The year 1824 marked the founding of the Springfield Republican by Samuel Bowles. The excellent style of this journal, under the editorship of Dr. J. G. Holland, and the liberal philosophy of its editorials, made the paper almost a national institution. The first newspaper in Springfield, however, was the Massachusetts Gazette and General Advertiser, published in 1782, which failed to survive, posting this notice: 'Those gentlemen who engaged for their papers in grain are once more requested to make immediate payment, as the printers are in much want of that article.' Other papers published during this period were the Hampshire Chronicle, the Hampshire Herald, and the Federal Spy.

In 1847 John Brown of Akron opened the warehouse of Brown and Perkins, wool merchants. The business enjoyed a fair degree of prosperity, but John Brown was absent from business the greater part of the time, his real enthusiasm being centered in the Abolitionist movement. Said Emerson,' If he kept sheep, it was with a royal mind. And if he traded in wool, he was a merchant prince, not in the amount of wealth, but in the protection of the interests confided to him.' He organized the United States League of Gileadites, which assisted fugitive slaves to escape.

Shortly after his arrival in Springfield, John Brown was visited by Frederick Douglass, Negro orator and scholar, who found him living in a cottage near the shacks occupied by Negroes. ' Plain as was the house on the outside,' wrote Douglass, ' the inside was plainer. Its furniture would have satisfied a Spartan. There was an element of plainness about it which almost suggested destitution.... The meal was such as a man might relish after following the plow all day, or performing a forced march of a dozen miles over a rough road in frosty weather.' John Brown lived in Springfield for two years, and during this time hundreds of runaway slaves were harbored in the town, then were passed along to the next station of the Underground Railway.

The termination of the war once more allowed the free flow of commerce. An expanding market aided in Springfield's prosperity. Factories were rebuilt and enlarged, the population swelled. Simultaneously labor took its first organized steps toward improving working and living conditions. Following the example of the horse-car drivers, who in 1861 had established a benevolent association, which was forced by a threatened wage reduction to transform itself into a trade union, workers in many industries began to wage a united battle for the eight-hour day. In 1864 cigar-makers, stonecutters, pianoforte-makers, blacksmiths, carpenters, and tailors were organized to secure higher wages and shorter hours. The Massachusetts Legislature investigated the possibilities of regulating and limiting hours of labor, and eventually the eight-hour day became a reality. In the later i88o's all the trade unions in the city participated in the formation of the Central Labor Union. To Bishop N. Saltus, first president of this federation, belongs a chief share of the credit for its vigorous development.

Since 1890, such large industries have been established as the Van Norman Tool and Machine Company, the United States Envelope Company, the Fiberloid Company, the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, and the Milton Bradley Company, makers of toys, games, and school supplies. Motorcycles have been manufactured here since the beginning of the century. On the West Springfield side of the river numerous industries have located. The Gilbert and Barker Company makes gasoline pumps and oil-burners. Matches, packaging machinery, radios, magnetos, hot-water heaters, air-conditioning equipment, and forgings are also manufactured here.

Between 1910 and 1920 the population increased 117 per cent. Of the present residents of Springfield, about one-fourth are foreign-born. The largest racial group is the Irish, which numbers nearly 6000. The Italians follow with about 4500, Russians with 3800, French-Canadians with 3700, and Poles with 2400. Scotland, England, Sweden, and Germany each contribute about 1000 to the foreign-born population. The high percentage of skilled workers among the population has been a strong influence in the social and political life of the city. The general housing situation, for example, is considerably better in Springfield than in most industrial cities of its size. The civic life is heightened by the social clubs, singing societies, and physical culture centers of the various racial groups.

A flood in 1927 caused considerable loss when the Connecticut River overflowed its banks; but it can hardly be compared to the catastrophe of 1936, when the worst flood in the history of New England inflicted untold suffering on Springfield and caused property losses amounting to millions of dollars. Only efficient organization, prompt action, and many deeds of heroism prevented wholesale loss of human life.

Massachusetts; A Guide To Its Places and People - Springfield - Foot Tour #6

American Guide Series - Illustrated

The Puritan Statue in Merrick Park

"Retrace Cemetery Ave.; R. from Cemetery Ave. on Maple St.; straight ahead on Chestnut St."

"6. In Merrick Park, corner of State St., is The Puritan, by Saint-Gaudens. R. from Chestnut St. into first drive."

Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration of Massachusetts.
Massachusetts; A Guide To Its Places and People (Kindle Locations 9233-9234).
Boston, Houghton Mifflin company. Page 363, Published 1937

Deacon Samuel Chapin - The Puritan by Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Deacon Samuel Chapin - The Puritan by Augustus Saint-Gaudens

GPS: N42° 06.179; W072° 35.105

Short Description: 

The original sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens of Deacon Samuel Chapin (The Puritan) is located Merrick Park on State Street in Springfield, MA

Long Description:

The original sculpture of the The Puritan is located outside the main Springfield Library in Merrick Park on State Street. The base is inscribed:

1595 Anno Domini 1675
Deacon Samuel Chapin
One Of The Founders Of Springfield 
Chester W. Chapin acquired a fortune in the railroad business and later became a congressman from Massachusetts. In 1881, he commissioned the most famous American sculptor of the time, Augustus Saint-Gaudens to create a bronze statue of his ancestor Deacon Samuel Chapin (1595–1675), one of the three founders of the City of Springfield, MA.

Augustus Saint-Gaudens produced a startling and iconic bronze sculpture. A 12' figure of Samuel Chapin is depicted wearing large billowing cape while standing with a cane in his right hand and a large book under his left arm. The sculpture rests on a 5' high by 6' diameter ornate circular granite base designed by architect Sanford White. Three steps lead up to the base. The sculpture was cast at the Bureau Brothers foundry and dedicated on November 27, l887.

The statue proved to be very popular with the public. Saint-Gaudens then realized its profit potential and produced many versions of the statue that he entitled The Puritan. Today more than 25 copies of The Puritan are located in museums, art galleries, universities, and private collections.

Introduction to Springfield, MA from:

Massachusetts; A Guide To Its Places and People

SPRINGFIELD The Metropolis of Western Massachusetts City: Alt. 69, pop. 149,642, sett. 1636, incorp. town 1641, city 1852. Railroad Station: Union Station, Lyman & Liberty Sts., for N.Y., N.H. & H. R.R., B. & M. R.R., and B. & A. R.R. Accommodations: Seven hotels. Information: Chamber of Commerce, 134 Chestnut St.; Automobile Club, 140 Chestnut St.; A.L.A., 1387 Main St.

SPRINGFIELD, the metropolis of western Massachusetts, lies on the east bank of the Connecticut River, holding a strategic position in the traffic of the New England states with New York and the West. Its situation on a series of terraces and in gently rolling country produces an effect of spacious leisure, and imposing architecture and tree-shaded lawns, parks, and boulevards give it an atmosphere of dignity, substance, and comfort. Its diversified industries, superior transportation facilities, large merchandising establishments, and fine residential sections make it an important center of industry, commerce, and finance; and its notable interest in music and the other arts make it an outstanding cultural center.

In 1636 a dozen families made their way to the inviting valley where the Agawam River joins the Connecticut. Their livestock inflicted so much damage on the cornfields of the Indians that they were forced to abandon the settlement. They moved on across the Connecticut River, to a barren terrain demanding heart-breaking labor and promising little reward for toil.

Fortunately, the leader of the group was stout-hearted William Pynchon. With such vigor did he build up the new settlement that even after a board had been elected determination of program and policy was left in his hands. His leadership was not questioned until 1650, when he published a theological work. The Puritan Fathers detected in the book germs of heresy. To protect the community from infection they administered the antitoxin of denunciation. The services of Pynchon were soon forgotten; he was badgered on all sides, and finally returned to England. His son, John, remained and assumed the management of the town.

In the next year the Springfield community indulged in a witch hunt — a sport more exciting than the battle against heresy. Hugh Parsons was a dyspeptic, of choleric disposition which had not endeared him to his neighbors. His wife was subject to periodic fits, probably epileptic. But such an explanation of their eccentricities was too simple, and the savants of the occult brought charges of witchcraft against the couple. Not a few good people were disappointed when the court acquitted the pair.

Twenty peaceful and constructive years followed. In 1675, however, King Philip declared war on the Colony, and Springfield did not escape. The town was almost totally burned. The townspeople pushed reconstruction, building on a larger scale. Early in the eighteenth century the citizens of Springfield made the river a capital asset. They erected sawmills and gristmills and took their first step away from a complete agricultural economy. The large clay deposits were utilized in the manufacture of brick. Acute financial depression resulted from the Revolutionary War; farmer and mill-owner were bogged in a morass of debt. Thousands banded themselves together under Daniel Shays, and for six months tramped up and down western Massachusetts in an attempt to prevent the convening of the courts and the entering of judgments against debtors. Although their cause won numerous sympathizers, it failed. Springfield became Shays's Waterloo when an attempt to capture the United States Arsenal was frustrated.

The manufacture of metal goods was given an impetus in 1794 by the passage of a bill in Congress establishing the United States Armory at Springfield. The advent of the railroad, about 1835, stimulated business. At that time the town already had seventy-three mechanic shops, six cotton mills, four printing offices, thirteen warehouses, two card factories, two forges, one rifle factory, one powder mill, six sawmills, four grist mills, three tanneries, two jewelers' tool factories, one sword factory, and one spool factory.

Developments in the manufacture of textiles brought French-Canadians, English, and Scots. Skilled artisans of all races were attracted by the openings in the machine shops. Irish, Italian, Swedish, and German labor was plentiful. Long hours and meager wages were the lot of those whose labor enriched the town. But aside from the general agitation that accompanied the crisis of 1830, there was no real organization of labor until after the Civil War.

The year 1824 marked the founding of the Springfield Republican by Samuel Bowles. The excellent style of this journal, under the editorship of Dr. J. G. Holland, and the liberal philosophy of its editorials, made the paper almost a national institution. The first newspaper in Springfield, however, was the Massachusetts Gazette and General Advertiser, published in 1782, which failed to survive, posting this notice: 'Those gentlemen who engaged for their papers in grain are once more requested to make immediate payment, as the printers are in much want of that article.' Other papers published during this period were the Hampshire Chronicle, the Hampshire Herald, and the Federal Spy.

In 1847 John Brown of Akron opened the warehouse of Brown and Perkins, wool merchants. The business enjoyed a fair degree of prosperity, but John Brown was absent from business the greater part of the time, his real enthusiasm being centered in the Abolitionist movement. Said Emerson,' If he kept sheep, it was with a royal mind. And if he traded in wool, he was a merchant prince, not in the amount of wealth, but in the protection of the interests confided to him.' He organized the United States League of Gileadites, which assisted fugitive slaves to escape.

Shortly after his arrival in Springfield, John Brown was visited by Frederick Douglass, Negro orator and scholar, who found him living in a cottage near the shacks occupied by Negroes. ' Plain as was the house on the outside,' wrote Douglass, ' the inside was plainer. Its furniture would have satisfied a Spartan. There was an element of plainness about it which almost suggested destitution.... The meal was such as a man might relish after following the plow all day, or performing a forced march of a dozen miles over a rough road in frosty weather.' John Brown lived in Springfield for two years, and during this time hundreds of runaway slaves were harbored in the town, then were passed along to the next station of the Underground Railway.

The termination of the war once more allowed the free flow of commerce. An expanding market aided in Springfield's prosperity. Factories were rebuilt and enlarged, the population swelled. Simultaneously labor took its first organized steps toward improving working and living conditions. Following the example of the horse-car drivers, who in 1861 had established a benevolent association, which was forced by a threatened wage reduction to transform itself into a trade union, workers in many industries began to wage a united battle for the eight-hour day. In 1864 cigar-makers, stonecutters, pianoforte-makers, blacksmiths, carpenters, and tailors were organized to secure higher wages and shorter hours. The Massachusetts Legislature investigated the possibilities of regulating and limiting hours of labor, and eventually the eight-hour day became a reality. In the later i88o's all the trade unions in the city participated in the formation of the Central Labor Union. To Bishop N. Saltus, first president of this federation, belongs a chief share of the credit for its vigorous development.

Since 1890, such large industries have been established as the Van Norman Tool and Machine Company, the United States Envelope Company, the Fiberloid Company, the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, and the Milton Bradley Company, makers of toys, games, and school supplies. Motorcycles have been manufactured here since the beginning of the century. On the West Springfield side of the river numerous industries have located. The Gilbert and Barker Company makes gasoline pumps and oil-burners. Matches, packaging machinery, radios, magnetos, hot-water heaters, air-conditioning equipment, and forgings are also manufactured here.

Between 1910 and 1920 the population increased 117 per cent. Of the present residents of Springfield, about one-fourth are foreign-born. The largest racial group is the Irish, which numbers nearly 6000. The Italians follow with about 4500, Russians with 3800, French-Canadians with 3700, and Poles with 2400. Scotland, England, Sweden, and Germany each contribute about 1000 to the foreign-born population. The high percentage of skilled workers among the population has been a strong influence in the social and political life of the city. The general housing situation, for example, is considerably better in Springfield than in most industrial cities of its size. The civic life is heightened by the social clubs, singing societies, and physical culture centers of the various racial groups.

A flood in 1927 caused considerable loss when the Connecticut River overflowed its banks; but it can hardly be compared to the catastrophe of 1936, when the worst flood in the history of New England inflicted untold suffering on Springfield and caused property losses amounting to millions of dollars. Only efficient organization, prompt action, and many deeds of heroism prevented wholesale loss of human life.

Massachusetts; A Guide To Its Places and People - Springfield - Foot Tour #5

American Guide Series - Illustrated

Bronze Relief of J.G. Holland in Springfield Cemetery

"L. from Maple St. on Cemetery Ave."

"5. In the Springfield Cemetery is a bronze relief by Saint-Gaudens representing J. G. Holland, author and first editor of the Springfield Republican."


Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration of Massachusetts.
Massachusetts; A Guide To Its Places and People (Kindle Locations 9230-9232).
Boston, Houghton Mifflin company. Page 363, Published 1937

 Josiah Gilbert Holland Grave 

 Josiah Gilbert Holland Sculpture

GPS: N42° 06.269; W 072° 34.550

Short Description:

The grave of Josiah Gilbert Holland, in Springfield Cemetery, is marked with a sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

Long Description:

Josiah Gilbert Holland was an American editor, historian, novelist, and poet. He was born in Belchertown, Massachusetts, on July 24, 1819. He attended Northampton High School and, in 1844, graduated from Berkshire Medical College.

While practicing medicine in Springfield, MA, he wrote for various magazines. He then became editor of the Springfield Republican newspaper, published by abolitionist Samuel Bowles. He gained fame as a writer after the essays he wrote for the paper were collected and published in book form. Following the Civil War he wrote his most popular works, Life of Abraham Lincoln (1866), and Katrina (1869).
His wrote the History of Western Massachusetts and the historical novel Bay Path (1857). In 1858, writing under the pen name Timothy Titcomb, he wrote a collection of essays entitled Titcomb's Letters to Young People, Single and Married and the poem Bitter Sweet.

In 1869, he moved to New York City and collaborated with Charles Scribner to publish and edit Scribner's Monthly. He continued writing and published three novels: Arthur Bonicastle (1873), Story of Sevenoaks (1875), and Nicholas Minturn (1877). His poetry includes The Marble Faun (1872), The Mistress and the Manse (1874), and The Puritan's Guest (1881).

Holland died at age 62 on October 12, 1881, in New York City and is buried in the Methodist section of Springfield Cemetery. His grave is marked by a bas-relief sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. This was one of Saint-Gaudens earliest commissions.

Introduction to Springfield, MA from:

Massachusetts; A Guide To Its Places and People

SPRINGFIELD The Metropolis of Western Massachusetts City: Alt. 69, pop. 149,642, sett. 1636, incorp. town 1641, city 1852. Railroad Station: Union Station, Lyman & Liberty Sts., for N.Y., N.H. & H. R.R., B. & M. R.R., and B. & A. R.R. Accommodations: Seven hotels. Information: Chamber of Commerce, 134 Chestnut St.; Automobile Club, 140 Chestnut St.; A.L.A., 1387 Main St.

SPRINGFIELD, the metropolis of western Massachusetts, lies on the east bank of the Connecticut River, holding a strategic position in the traffic of the New England states with New York and the West. Its situation on a series of terraces and in gently rolling country produces an effect of spacious leisure, and imposing architecture and tree-shaded lawns, parks, and boulevards give it an atmosphere of dignity, substance, and comfort. Its diversified industries, superior transportation facilities, large merchandising establishments, and fine residential sections make it an important center of industry, commerce, and finance; and its notable interest in music and the other arts make it an outstanding cultural center.

In 1636 a dozen families made their way to the inviting valley where the Agawam River joins the Connecticut. Their livestock inflicted so much damage on the cornfields of the Indians that they were forced to abandon the settlement. They moved on across the Connecticut River, to a barren terrain demanding heart-breaking labor and promising little reward for toil.

Fortunately, the leader of the group was stout-hearted William Pynchon. With such vigor did he build up the new settlement that even after a board had been elected determination of program and policy was left in his hands. His leadership was not questioned until 1650, when he published a theological work. The Puritan Fathers detected in the book germs of heresy. To protect the community from infection they administered the antitoxin of denunciation. The services of Pynchon were soon forgotten; he was badgered on all sides, and finally returned to England. His son, John, remained and assumed the management of the town.

In the next year the Springfield community indulged in a witch hunt — a sport more exciting than the battle against heresy. Hugh Parsons was a dyspeptic, of choleric disposition which had not endeared him to his neighbors. His wife was subject to periodic fits, probably epileptic. But such an explanation of their eccentricities was too simple, and the savants of the occult brought charges of witchcraft against the couple. Not a few good people were disappointed when the court acquitted the pair.

Twenty peaceful and constructive years followed. In 1675, however, King Philip declared war on the Colony, and Springfield did not escape. The town was almost totally burned. The townspeople pushed reconstruction, building on a larger scale. Early in the eighteenth century the citizens of Springfield made the river a capital asset. They erected sawmills and gristmills and took their first step away from a complete agricultural economy. The large clay deposits were utilized in the manufacture of brick. Acute financial depression resulted from the Revolutionary War; farmer and mill-owner were bogged in a morass of debt. Thousands banded themselves together under Daniel Shays, and for six months tramped up and down western Massachusetts in an attempt to prevent the convening of the courts and the entering of judgments against debtors. Although their cause won numerous sympathizers, it failed. Springfield became Shays's Waterloo when an attempt to capture the United States Arsenal was frustrated.

The manufacture of metal goods was given an impetus in 1794 by the passage of a bill in Congress establishing the United States Armory at Springfield. The advent of the railroad, about 1835, stimulated business. At that time the town already had seventy-three mechanic shops, six cotton mills, four printing offices, thirteen warehouses, two card factories, two forges, one rifle factory, one powder mill, six sawmills, four grist mills, three tanneries, two jewelers' tool factories, one sword factory, and one spool factory.

Developments in the manufacture of textiles brought French-Canadians, English, and Scots. Skilled artisans of all races were attracted by the openings in the machine shops. Irish, Italian, Swedish, and German labor was plentiful. Long hours and meager wages were the lot of those whose labor enriched the town. But aside from the general agitation that accompanied the crisis of 1830, there was no real organization of labor until after the Civil War.

The year 1824 marked the founding of the Springfield Republican by Samuel Bowles. The excellent style of this journal, under the editorship of Dr. J. G. Holland, and the liberal philosophy of its editorials, made the paper almost a national institution. The first newspaper in Springfield, however, was the Massachusetts Gazette and General Advertiser, published in 1782, which failed to survive, posting this notice: 'Those gentlemen who engaged for their papers in grain are once more requested to make immediate payment, as the printers are in much want of that article.' Other papers published during this period were the Hampshire Chronicle, the Hampshire Herald, and the Federal Spy.

In 1847 John Brown of Akron opened the warehouse of Brown and Perkins, wool merchants. The business enjoyed a fair degree of prosperity, but John Brown was absent from business the greater part of the time, his real enthusiasm being centered in the Abolitionist movement. Said Emerson,' If he kept sheep, it was with a royal mind. And if he traded in wool, he was a merchant prince, not in the amount of wealth, but in the protection of the interests confided to him.' He organized the United States League of Gileadites, which assisted fugitive slaves to escape.

Shortly after his arrival in Springfield, John Brown was visited by Frederick Douglass, Negro orator and scholar, who found him living in a cottage near the shacks occupied by Negroes. ' Plain as was the house on the outside,' wrote Douglass, ' the inside was plainer. Its furniture would have satisfied a Spartan. There was an element of plainness about it which almost suggested destitution.... The meal was such as a man might relish after following the plow all day, or performing a forced march of a dozen miles over a rough road in frosty weather.' John Brown lived in Springfield for two years, and during this time hundreds of runaway slaves were harbored in the town, then were passed along to the next station of the Underground Railway.

The termination of the war once more allowed the free flow of commerce. An expanding market aided in Springfield's prosperity. Factories were rebuilt and enlarged, the population swelled. Simultaneously labor took its first organized steps toward improving working and living conditions. Following the example of the horse-car drivers, who in 1861 had established a benevolent association, which was forced by a threatened wage reduction to transform itself into a trade union, workers in many industries began to wage a united battle for the eight-hour day. In 1864 cigar-makers, stonecutters, pianoforte-makers, blacksmiths, carpenters, and tailors were organized to secure higher wages and shorter hours. The Massachusetts Legislature investigated the possibilities of regulating and limiting hours of labor, and eventually the eight-hour day became a reality. In the later i88o's all the trade unions in the city participated in the formation of the Central Labor Union. To Bishop N. Saltus, first president of this federation, belongs a chief share of the credit for its vigorous development.

Since 1890, such large industries have been established as the Van Norman Tool and Machine Company, the United States Envelope Company, the Fiberloid Company, the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, and the Milton Bradley Company, makers of toys, games, and school supplies. Motorcycles have been manufactured here since the beginning of the century. On the West Springfield side of the river numerous industries have located. The Gilbert and Barker Company makes gasoline pumps and oil-burners. Matches, packaging machinery, radios, magnetos, hot-water heaters, air-conditioning equipment, and forgings are also manufactured here.


Between 1910 and 1920 the population increased 117 per cent. Of the present residents of Springfield, about one-fourth are foreign-born. The largest racial group is the Irish, which numbers nearly 6000. The Italians follow with about 4500, Russians with 3800, French-Canadians with 3700, and Poles with 2400. Scotland, England, Sweden, and Germany each contribute about 1000 to the foreign-born population. The high percentage of skilled workers among the population has been a strong influence in the social and political life of the city. The general housing situation, for example, is considerably better in Springfield than in most industrial cities of its size. The civic life is heightened by the social clubs, singing societies, and physical culture centers of the various racial groups.

Massachusetts; A Guide To Its Places and People - Springfield - Foot Tour #4

American Guide Series - Illustrated

The Colony Club

"Retrace on Court Square; R. from Court Square Green into Main St.; L. from Main St. into State St.; R. from State St. into Maple St." 

"4. The Colony Club, 50 Maple St., is the former home of the late D. B. Wesson, manufacturer of firearms. The walls are of pink Milford granite; the interior is finished in woods of native and tropical origin, variegated marbles, and satin wall coverings." 

Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration of Massachusetts.
Massachusetts; A Guide To Its Places and People (Kindle Locations 9226-9229).
Boston, Houghton Mifflin company. Page 362-3, Published 1937

Baystate Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice

(Original Location)
GPS: N42° 06.174; W072° 34.973 

 (New Location)
GPS: N42° 06.058; W072° 35.544

Quick Description: 

The Colony Club was destroyed by fire on February 19, 1966. The original site is now occupied by the Baystate Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice.

Long Description:

In 1889, George W. Tapley sold the real estate later known as 50 Maple Street in Springfield for $35,000 to Daniel B. Wesson, one of the founders of the firearms manufacturing firm of Smith & Wesson, purchase the property at 50 Maple Street from George W. Tapley for $35,000. Wesson began the construction of a French Chateau inspired mansion in 1892, which was completd in 1898 at a cost of $200,000.

Both Wesson and his wife died in 1906 and the property was later  purchased by the social club called the Colony Club, which was formed in 1915. The Colony Club occupied the building from 1915 until February 19, 1966, when the building was destroyed by fire. The Colony Club had entertained such distinguished guests as Presidents Taft, Roosevelt, and Hoover, and Congressman John F. Kennedy. among others.

The Colony Club then rented space on the third floor of 110 Maple Street. The land at 50 Maple Street was taken by eminent domain by the City of Springfield and the Colony Club moved to it's present  location at Tower Square, 1500 Main Street, in March, 1973.

Introduction to Springfield, MA from:

Massachusetts; A Guide To Its Places and People

SPRINGFIELD The Metropolis of Western Massachusetts City: Alt. 69, pop. 149,642, sett. 1636, incorp. town 1641, city 1852. Railroad Station: Union Station, Lyman & Liberty Sts., for N.Y., N.H. & H. R.R., B. & M. R.R., and B. & A. R.R. Accommodations: Seven hotels. Information: Chamber of Commerce, 134 Chestnut St.; Automobile Club, 140 Chestnut St.; A.L.A., 1387 Main St.

SPRINGFIELD, the metropolis of western Massachusetts, lies on the east bank of the Connecticut River, holding a strategic position in the traffic of the New England states with New York and the West. Its situation on a series of terraces and in gently rolling country produces an effect of spacious leisure, and imposing architecture and tree-shaded lawns, parks, and boulevards give it an atmosphere of dignity, substance, and comfort. Its diversified industries, superior transportation facilities, large merchandising establishments, and fine residential sections make it an important center of industry, commerce, and finance; and its notable interest in music and the other arts make it an outstanding cultural center.

In 1636 a dozen families made their way to the inviting valley where the Agawam River joins the Connecticut. Their livestock inflicted so much damage on the cornfields of the Indians that they were forced to abandon the settlement. They moved on across the Connecticut River, to a barren terrain demanding heart-breaking labor and promising little reward for toil.

Fortunately, the leader of the group was stout-hearted William Pynchon. With such vigor did he build up the new settlement that even after a board had been elected determination of program and policy was left in his hands. His leadership was not questioned until 1650, when he published a theological work. The Puritan Fathers detected in the book germs of heresy. To protect the community from infection they administered the antitoxin of denunciation. The services of Pynchon were soon forgotten; he was badgered on all sides, and finally returned to England. His son, John, remained and assumed the management of the town.

In the next year the Springfield community indulged in a witch hunt — a sport more exciting than the battle against heresy. Hugh Parsons was a dyspeptic, of choleric disposition which had not endeared him to his neighbors. His wife was subject to periodic fits, probably epileptic. But such an explanation of their eccentricities was too simple, and the savants of the occult brought charges of witchcraft against the couple. Not a few good people were disappointed when the court acquitted the pair.

Twenty peaceful and constructive years followed. In 1675, however, King Philip declared war on the Colony, and Springfield did not escape. The town was almost totally burned. The townspeople pushed reconstruction, building on a larger scale. Early in the eighteenth century the citizens of Springfield made the river a capital asset. They erected sawmills and gristmills and took their first step away from a complete agricultural economy. The large clay deposits were utilized in the manufacture of brick. Acute financial depression resulted from the Revolutionary War; farmer and mill-owner were bogged in a morass of debt. Thousands banded themselves together under Daniel Shays, and for six months tramped up and down western Massachusetts in an attempt to prevent the convening of the courts and the entering of judgments against debtors. Although their cause won numerous sympathizers, it failed. Springfield became Shays's Waterloo when an attempt to capture the United States Arsenal was frustrated.

The manufacture of metal goods was given an impetus in 1794 by the passage of a bill in Congress establishing the United States Armory at Springfield. The advent of the railroad, about 1835, stimulated business. At that time the town already had seventy-three mechanic shops, six cotton mills, four printing offices, thirteen warehouses, two card factories, two forges, one rifle factory, one powder mill, six sawmills, four grist mills, three tanneries, two jewelers' tool factories, one sword factory, and one spool factory.

Developments in the manufacture of textiles brought French-Canadians, English, and Scots. Skilled artisans of all races were attracted by the openings in the machine shops. Irish, Italian, Swedish, and German labor was plentiful. Long hours and meager wages were the lot of those whose labor enriched the town. But aside from the general agitation that accompanied the crisis of 1830, there was no real organization of labor until after the Civil War.

The year 1824 marked the founding of the Springfield Republican by Samuel Bowles. The excellent style of this journal, under the editorship of Dr. J. G. Holland, and the liberal philosophy of its editorials, made the paper almost a national institution. The first newspaper in Springfield, however, was the Massachusetts Gazette and General Advertiser, published in 1782, which failed to survive, posting this notice: 'Those gentlemen who engaged for their papers in grain are once more requested to make immediate payment, as the printers are in much want of that article.' Other papers published during this period were the Hampshire Chronicle, the Hampshire Herald, and the Federal Spy.

In 1847 John Brown of Akron opened the warehouse of Brown and Perkins, wool merchants. The business enjoyed a fair degree of prosperity, but John Brown was absent from business the greater part of the time, his real enthusiasm being centered in the Abolitionist movement. Said Emerson,' If he kept sheep, it was with a royal mind. And if he traded in wool, he was a merchant prince, not in the amount of wealth, but in the protection of the interests confided to him.' He organized the United States League of Gileadites, which assisted fugitive slaves to escape.

Shortly after his arrival in Springfield, John Brown was visited by Frederick Douglass, Negro orator and scholar, who found him living in a cottage near the shacks occupied by Negroes. ' Plain as was the house on the outside,' wrote Douglass, ' the inside was plainer. Its furniture would have satisfied a Spartan. There was an element of plainness about it which almost suggested destitution.... The meal was such as a man might relish after following the plow all day, or performing a forced march of a dozen miles over a rough road in frosty weather.' John Brown lived in Springfield for two years, and during this time hundreds of runaway slaves were harbored in the town, then were passed along to the next station of the Underground Railway.

The termination of the war once more allowed the free flow of commerce. An expanding market aided in Springfield's prosperity. Factories were rebuilt and enlarged, the population swelled. Simultaneously labor took its first organized steps toward improving working and living conditions. Following the example of the horse-car drivers, who in 1861 had established a benevolent association, which was forced by a threatened wage reduction to transform itself into a trade union, workers in many industries began to wage a united battle for the eight-hour day. In 1864 cigar-makers, stonecutters, pianoforte-makers, blacksmiths, carpenters, and tailors were organized to secure higher wages and shorter hours. The Massachusetts Legislature investigated the possibilities of regulating and limiting hours of labor, and eventually the eight-hour day became a reality. In the later i88o's all the trade unions in the city participated in the formation of the Central Labor Union. To Bishop N. Saltus, first president of this federation, belongs a chief share of the credit for its vigorous development.

Since 1890, such large industries have been established as the Van Norman Tool and Machine Company, the United States Envelope Company, the Fiberloid Company, the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, and the Milton Bradley Company, makers of toys, games, and school supplies. Motorcycles have been manufactured here since the beginning of the century. On the West Springfield side of the river numerous industries have located. The Gilbert and Barker Company makes gasoline pumps and oil-burners. Matches, packaging machinery, radios, magnetos, hot-water heaters, air-conditioning equipment, and forgings are also manufactured here.

Between 1910 and 1920 the population increased 117 per cent. Of the present residents of Springfield, about one-fourth are foreign-born. The largest racial group is the Irish, which numbers nearly 6000. The Italians follow with about 4500, Russians with 3800, French-Canadians with 3700, and Poles with 2400. Scotland, England, Sweden, and Germany each contribute about 1000 to the foreign-born population. The high percentage of skilled workers among the population has been a strong influence in the social and political life of the city. The general housing situation, for example, is considerably better in Springfield than in most industrial cities of its size. The civic life is heightened by the social clubs, singing societies, and physical culture centers of the various racial groups.

A flood in 1927 caused considerable loss when the Connecticut River overflowed its banks; but it can hardly be compared to the catastrophe of 1936, when the worst flood in the history of New England inflicted untold suffering on Springfield and caused property losses amounting to millions of dollars. Only efficient organization, prompt action, and many deeds of heroism prevented wholesale loss of human life.

Massachusetts; A Guide To Its Places and People - Springfield - Foot Tour #3

American Guide Series - Illustrated

Springfield Municipal Group

"FOOT TOUR — 1.5 m. NW. from State St. (US 20) on Main St.; L. from Main St. into Court Square Green." 

3. The Springfield Municipal Group, on the north side of the Square, consists of an office and court building, an auditorium, and a 300-foot campanile (open Mon.-Fri. 9-11, 2-4; Sat. 9-11), with an illuminated clock and a carillon of 12 bells. It was designed by Pell and Corbett and dedicated in 1913. The view from the observatory platform (elevator) offers a view of the city against a background of mountain peaks. The group is an impressive civic monument, imposing in its proportions, its classic detail and in the identical Corinthian porticoes which dignify the front of both buildings."  

Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration of Massachusetts.
Massachusetts; A Guide To Its Places and People (Kindle Locations 9225-9226).
Boston, Houghton Mifflin company. Page 362-3, Published 1937

Municipal Group

City Hall

Campanile

Symphony Hall

GPS: N42° 06.058; W072° 35.389

Quick Description: 

The Municipal Group of three structures - City Hall, Campanile, Symphony Hall - occupies the entire north side of the Court Square District in downtown Springfield.

Long Description:

The Municipal Complex contains two matching Greek Revival buildings which house the City Hall and Symphony Hall. Between the two is the 300-foot Italianate Campanile clock and bell tower. The group was erected at a cost of two million dollars and dedicated December 8, 1913. It has become the iconic symbol of Springfield.

City Hall is is located on the northeast side of the complex. Springfield's first City Hall was destroyed by fire in 1905. According to Springfield lore, a monkey overturned a kerosene lamp at a City Hall fair and started the fire. The city was at the height of its industrial power and desperately needed a new city hall. It was decided to finance the present day magnificent grand municipal complex and retained architects Harvey Wiley Corbett and F. Livingston Pell to designed a Greek revival City Hall and Symphony Hall as well as the Italianate Campanile.

Campanile

The 300-foot Italianate Campanile (Bell Tower) is the most prominent structure of the Springfield Municipal Complex. It is flanked by two two Greek Revival buildings which house City Hall and Symphony Hall. The campanile contains a carillon of twelve bells, that play sixteen notes of Handel's Messiah, and an illuminated four-faced clock. The face of each clock is fourteen feet in diameter. Originally, the clock and elevator were powered by water.

Symphony Hall

Symphony Hall is the cultural center of Springfield. It is home to the Springfield Symphony Orchestra under the leadership of Kevin Rhodes, Music Director. It was built in 1912 and was extensively refurbished and rededicated in 1980 as Symphony Hall. The building interior was renovated once again in 2004. The facility has 2611 seats - 1779 in the Orchestra and Grand Tier, 832 in the Balcony.

Introduction to Springfield, MA from: 

Massachusetts; A Guide To Its Places and People 

SPRINGFIELD The Metropolis of Western Massachusetts City: Alt. 69, pop. 149,642, sett. 1636, incorp. town 1641, city 1852. Railroad Station: Union Station, Lyman & Liberty Sts., for N.Y., N.H. & H. R.R., B. & M. R.R., and B. & A. R.R. Accommodations: Seven hotels. Information: Chamber of Commerce, 134 Chestnut St.; Automobile Club, 140 Chestnut St.; A.L.A., 1387 Main St. 

SPRINGFIELD, the metropolis of western Massachusetts, lies on the east bank of the Connecticut River, holding a strategic position in the traffic of the New England states with New York and the West. Its situation on a series of terraces and in gently rolling country produces an effect of spacious leisure, and imposing architecture and tree-shaded lawns, parks, and boulevards give it an atmosphere of dignity, substance, and comfort. Its diversified industries, superior transportation facilities, large merchandising establishments, and fine residential sections make it an important center of industry, commerce, and finance; and its notable interest in music and the other arts make it an outstanding cultural center. 

In 1636 a dozen families made their way to the inviting valley where the Agawam River joins the Connecticut. Their livestock inflicted so much damage on the cornfields of the Indians that they were forced to abandon the settlement. They moved on across the Connecticut River, to a barren terrain demanding heart-breaking labor and promising little reward for toil. 

Fortunately, the leader of the group was stout-hearted William Pynchon. With such vigor did he build up the new settlement that even after a board had been elected determination of program and policy was left in his hands. His leadership was not questioned until 1650, when he published a theological work. The Puritan Fathers detected in the book germs of heresy. To protect the community from infection they administered the antitoxin of denunciation. The services of Pynchon were soon forgotten; he was badgered on all sides, and finally returned to England. His son, John, remained and assumed the management of the town. 

In the next year the Springfield community indulged in a witch hunt — a sport more exciting than the battle against heresy. Hugh Parsons was a dyspeptic, of choleric disposition which had not endeared him to his neighbors. His wife was subject to periodic fits, probably epileptic. But such an explanation of their eccentricities was too simple, and the savants of the occult brought charges of witchcraft against the couple. Not a few good people were disappointed when the court acquitted the pair. 

Twenty peaceful and constructive years followed. In 1675, however, King Philip declared war on the Colony, and Springfield did not escape. The town was almost totally burned. The townspeople pushed reconstruction, building on a larger scale. Early in the eighteenth century the citizens of Springfield made the river a capital asset. They erected sawmills and gristmills and took their first step away from a complete agricultural economy. The large clay deposits were utilized in the manufacture of brick. Acute financial depression resulted from the Revolutionary War; farmer and mill-owner were bogged in a morass of debt. Thousands banded themselves together under Daniel Shays, and for six months tramped up and down western Massachusetts in an attempt to prevent the convening of the courts and the entering of judgments against debtors. Although their cause won numerous sympathizers, it failed. Springfield became Shays's Waterloo when an attempt to capture the United States Arsenal was frustrated. 

The manufacture of metal goods was given an impetus in 1794 by the passage of a bill in Congress establishing the United States Armory at Springfield. The advent of the railroad, about 1835, stimulated business. At that time the town already had seventy-three mechanic shops, six cotton mills, four printing offices, thirteen warehouses, two card factories, two forges, one rifle factory, one powder mill, six sawmills, four grist mills, three tanneries, two jewelers' tool factories, one sword factory, and one spool factory. 

Developments in the manufacture of textiles brought French-Canadians, English, and Scots. Skilled artisans of all races were attracted by the openings in the machine shops. Irish, Italian, Swedish, and German labor was plentiful. Long hours and meager wages were the lot of those whose labor enriched the town. But aside from the general agitation that accompanied the crisis of 1830, there was no real organization of labor until after the Civil War. 

The year 1824 marked the founding of the Springfield Republican by Samuel Bowles. The excellent style of this journal, under the editorship of Dr. J. G. Holland, and the liberal philosophy of its editorials, made the paper almost a national institution. The first newspaper in Springfield, however, was the Massachusetts Gazette and General Advertiser, published in 1782, which failed to survive, posting this notice: 'Those gentlemen who engaged for their papers in grain are once more requested to make immediate payment, as the printers are in much want of that article.' Other papers published during this period were the Hampshire Chronicle, the Hampshire Herald, and the Federal Spy. 

In 1847 John Brown of Akron opened the warehouse of Brown and Perkins, wool merchants. The business enjoyed a fair degree of prosperity, but John Brown was absent from business the greater part of the time, his real enthusiasm being centered in the Abolitionist movement. Said Emerson,' If he kept sheep, it was with a royal mind. And if he traded in wool, he was a merchant prince, not in the amount of wealth, but in the protection of the interests confided to him.' He organized the United States League of Gileadites, which assisted fugitive slaves to escape. 

Shortly after his arrival in Springfield, John Brown was visited by Frederick Douglass, Negro orator and scholar, who found him living in a cottage near the shacks occupied by Negroes. ' Plain as was the house on the outside,' wrote Douglass, ' the inside was plainer. Its furniture would have satisfied a Spartan. There was an element of plainness about it which almost suggested destitution.... The meal was such as a man might relish after following the plow all day, or performing a forced march of a dozen miles over a rough road in frosty weather.' John Brown lived in Springfield for two years, and during this time hundreds of runaway slaves were harbored in the town, then were passed along to the next station of the Underground Railway. 

The termination of the war once more allowed the free flow of commerce. An expanding market aided in Springfield's prosperity. Factories were rebuilt and enlarged, the population swelled. Simultaneously labor took its first organized steps toward improving working and living conditions. Following the example of the horse-car drivers, who in 1861 had established a benevolent association, which was forced by a threatened wage reduction to transform itself into a trade union, workers in many industries began to wage a united battle for the eight-hour day. In 1864 cigar-makers, stonecutters, pianoforte-makers, blacksmiths, carpenters, and tailors were organized to secure higher wages and shorter hours. The Massachusetts Legislature investigated the possibilities of regulating and limiting hours of labor, and eventually the eight-hour day became a reality. In the later i88o's all the trade unions in the city participated in the formation of the Central Labor Union. To Bishop N. Saltus, first president of this federation, belongs a chief share of the credit for its vigorous development. 

Since 1890, such large industries have been established as the Van Norman Tool and Machine Company, the United States Envelope Company, the Fiberloid Company, the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, and the Milton Bradley Company, makers of toys, games, and school supplies. Motorcycles have been manufactured here since the beginning of the century. On the West Springfield side of the river numerous industries have located. The Gilbert and Barker Company makes gasoline pumps and oil-burners. Matches, packaging machinery, radios, magnetos, hot-water heaters, air-conditioning equipment, and forgings are also manufactured here.

Between 1910 and 1920 the population increased 117 per cent. Of the present residents of Springfield, about one-fourth are foreign-born. The largest racial group is the Irish, which numbers nearly 6000. The Italians follow with about 4500, Russians with 3800, French-Canadians with 3700, and Poles with 2400. Scotland, England, Sweden, and Germany each contribute about 1000 to the foreign-born population. The high percentage of skilled workers among the population has been a strong influence in the social and political life of the city. The general housing situation, for example, is considerably better in Springfield than in most industrial cities of its size. The civic life is heightened by the social clubs, singing societies, and physical culture centers of the various racial groups. 

A flood in 1927 caused considerable loss when the Connecticut River overflowed its banks; but it can hardly be compared to the catastrophe of 1936, when the worst flood in the history of New England inflicted untold suffering on Springfield and caused property losses amounting to millions of dollars. Only efficient organization, prompt action, and many deeds of heroism prevented wholesale loss of human life. 

Massachusetts; A Guide To Its Places and People - Springfield - Foot Tour #2

American Guide Series - Illustrated

Hampden County Courthouse 

"FOOT TOUR — 1.5 m. NW. from State St. (US 20) on Main St.; L. from Main St. into Court Square Green." 

"2. The Hampden County Courthouse was built in 1871 after the design of H. H. Richardson, and showed his individualistic adaptation of late Gothic, powerfully handled to express modern function. Remodeling in 1906 has changed the mass and composition and virtually destroyed the Richardsonian elements." 

Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration of Massachusetts.
Massachusetts; A Guide To Its Places and People (Kindle Locations 9217-9219).
Boston, Houghton Mifflin company. Page 362, Published 1937

GPS: N42° 06.026; W072° 35.326

Quick Description: 

The Hampden County Courthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Sites .an historic courthouse at Court Square between Elm and State Streets in Springfield, MA

Long Description:

Hampden County Courthouse is a historic courthouse on Elm Street in Springfield, MA. It was designed by the noted architect Henry Hobson Richardson in Romanesque Revival style. Public pressure caused the county to build this courthouse, after a grand jury indicted the county commissioners for official misconduct since the older courthouse did not have fireproof storage for the registry of deeds and the safekeeping of public records. Construction began in late 1871. The building was dedicated on April 28, 1874. The original building cost $214,068.

The main facade of the building features vertical lines, tall windows, and two dormers on either side of the bell tower. The facades were built of light gray Monson granite in rough-faced masonry with smooth trim.

It is currently still in use as a courthouse where it hears juvenile and housing cases.

Street address: 37 Elm Street Springfield , MA United States 01103

Introduction to Springfield, MA from: 

Massachusetts; A Guide To Its Places and People 

SPRINGFIELD The Metropolis of Western Massachusetts City: Alt. 69, pop. 149,642, sett. 1636, incorp. town 1641, city 1852. Railroad Station: Union Station, Lyman & Liberty Sts., for N.Y., N.H. & H. R.R., B. & M. R.R., and B. & A. R.R. Accommodations: Seven hotels. Information: Chamber of Commerce, 134 Chestnut St.; Automobile Club, 140 Chestnut St.; A.L.A., 1387 Main St.

SPRINGFIELD, the metropolis of western Massachusetts, lies on the east bank of the Connecticut River, holding a strategic position in the traffic of the New England states with New York and the West. Its situation on a series of terraces and in gently rolling country produces an effect of spacious leisure, and imposing architecture and tree-shaded lawns, parks, and boulevards give it an atmosphere of dignity, substance, and comfort. Its diversified industries, superior transportation facilities, large merchandising establishments, and fine residential sections make it an important center of industry, commerce, and finance; and its notable interest in music and the other arts make it an outstanding cultural center.

In 1636 a dozen families made their way to the inviting valley where the Agawam River joins the Connecticut. Their livestock inflicted so much damage on the cornfields of the Indians that they were forced to abandon the settlement. They moved on across the Connecticut River, to a barren terrain demanding heart-breaking labor and promising little reward for toil.

Fortunately, the leader of the group was stout-hearted William Pynchon. With such vigor did he build up the new settlement that even after a board had been elected determination of program and policy was left in his hands. His leadership was not questioned until 1650, when he published a theological work. The Puritan Fathers detected in the book germs of heresy. To protect the community from infection they administered the antitoxin of denunciation. The services of Pynchon were soon forgotten; he was badgered on all sides, and finally returned to England. His son, John, remained and assumed the management of the town.

In the next year the Springfield community indulged in a witch hunt — a sport more exciting than the battle against heresy. Hugh Parsons was a dyspeptic, of choleric disposition which had not endeared him to his neighbors. His wife was subject to periodic fits, probably epileptic. But such an explanation of their eccentricities was too simple, and the savants of the occult brought charges of witchcraft against the couple. Not a few good people were disappointed when the court acquitted the pair.

Twenty peaceful and constructive years followed. In 1675, however, King Philip declared war on the Colony, and Springfield did not escape. The town was almost totally burned. The townspeople pushed reconstruction, building on a larger scale. Early in the eighteenth century the citizens of Springfield made the river a capital asset. They erected sawmills and gristmills and took their first step away from a complete agricultural economy. The large clay deposits were utilized in the manufacture of brick. Acute financial depression resulted from the Revolutionary War; farmer and mill-owner were bogged in a morass of debt. Thousands banded themselves together under Daniel Shays, and for six months tramped up and down western Massachusetts in an attempt to prevent the convening of the courts and the entering of judgments against debtors. Although their cause won numerous sympathizers, it failed. Springfield became Shays's Waterloo when an attempt to capture the United States Arsenal was frustrated.

The manufacture of metal goods was given an impetus in 1794 by the passage of a bill in Congress establishing the United States Armory at Springfield. The advent of the railroad, about 1835, stimulated business. At that time the town already had seventy-three mechanic shops, six cotton mills, four printing offices, thirteen warehouses, two card factories, two forges, one rifle factory, one powder mill, six sawmills, four grist mills, three tanneries, two jewelers' tool factories, one sword factory, and one spool factory.

Developments in the manufacture of textiles brought French-Canadians, English, and Scots. Skilled artisans of all races were attracted by the openings in the machine shops. Irish, Italian, Swedish, and German labor was plentiful. Long hours and meager wages were the lot of those whose labor enriched the town. But aside from the general agitation that accompanied the crisis of 1830, there was no real organization of labor until after the Civil War.

The year 1824 marked the founding of the Springfield Republican by Samuel Bowles. The excellent style of this journal, under the editorship of Dr. J. G. Holland, and the liberal philosophy of its editorials, made the paper almost a national institution. The first newspaper in Springfield, however, was the Massachusetts Gazette and General Advertiser, published in 1782, which failed to survive, posting this notice: 'Those gentlemen who engaged for their papers in grain are once more requested to make immediate payment, as the printers are in much want of that article.' Other papers published during this period were the Hampshire Chronicle, the Hampshire Herald, and the Federal Spy.

In 1847 John Brown of Akron opened the warehouse of Brown and Perkins, wool merchants. The business enjoyed a fair degree of prosperity, but John Brown was absent from business the greater part of the time, his real enthusiasm being centered in the Abolitionist movement. Said Emerson,' If he kept sheep, it was with a royal mind. And if he traded in wool, he was a merchant prince, not in the amount of wealth, but in the protection of the interests confided to him.' He organized the United States League of Gileadites, which assisted fugitive slaves to escape.

Shortly after his arrival in Springfield, John Brown was visited by Frederick Douglass, Negro orator and scholar, who found him living in a cottage near the shacks occupied by Negroes. ' Plain as was the house on the outside,' wrote Douglass, ' the inside was plainer. Its furniture would have satisfied a Spartan. There was an element of plainness about it which almost suggested destitution.... The meal was such as a man might relish after following the plow all day, or performing a forced march of a dozen miles over a rough road in frosty weather.' John Brown lived in Springfield for two years, and during this time hundreds of runaway slaves were harbored in the town, then were passed along to the next station of the Underground Railway.

The termination of the war once more allowed the free flow of commerce. An expanding market aided in Springfield's prosperity. Factories were rebuilt and enlarged, the population swelled. Simultaneously labor took its first organized steps toward improving working and living conditions. Following the example of the horse-car drivers, who in 1861 had established a benevolent association, which was forced by a threatened wage reduction to transform itself into a trade union, workers in many industries began to wage a united battle for the eight-hour day. In 1864 cigar-makers, stonecutters, pianoforte-makers, blacksmiths, carpenters, and tailors were organized to secure higher wages and shorter hours. The Massachusetts Legislature investigated the possibilities of regulating and limiting hours of labor, and eventually the eight-hour day became a reality. In the later i88o's all the trade unions in the city participated in the formation of the Central Labor Union. To Bishop N. Saltus, first president of this federation, belongs a chief share of the credit for its vigorous development.

Since 1890, such large industries have been established as the Van Norman Tool and Machine Company, the United States Envelope Company, the Fiberloid Company, the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, and the Milton Bradley Company, makers of toys, games, and school supplies. Motorcycles have been manufactured here since the beginning of the century. On the West Springfield side of the river numerous industries have located. The Gilbert and Barker Company makes gasoline pumps and oil-burners. Matches, packaging machinery, radios, magnetos, hot-water heaters, air-conditioning equipment, and forgings are also manufactured here.

Between 1910 and 1920 the population increased 117 per cent. Of the present residents of Springfield, about one-fourth are foreign-born. The largest racial group is the Irish, which numbers nearly 6000. The Italians follow with about 4500, Russians with 3800, French-Canadians with 3700, and Poles with 2400. Scotland, England, Sweden, and Germany each contribute about 1000 to the foreign-born population. The high percentage of skilled workers among the population has been a strong influence in the social and political life of the city. The general housing situation, for example, is considerably better in Springfield than in most industrial cities of its size. The civic life is heightened by the social clubs, singing societies, and physical culture centers of the various racial groups.

A flood in 1927 caused considerable loss when the Connecticut River overflowed its banks; but it can hardly be compared to the catastrophe of 1936, when the worst flood in the history of New England inflicted untold suffering on Springfield and caused property losses amounting to millions of dollars. Only efficient organization, prompt action, and many deeds of heroism prevented wholesale loss of human life.

Massachusetts; A Guide To Its Places and People - Springfield - Foot Tour #1

American Guide Series - Illustrated

 First Church of Christ (Congregational)

"FOOT TOUR — 1.5 m. NW. from State St. (US 20) on Main St.; L. from Main St. into Court Square Green." 

"1. The First Church of Christ (Congregational), near the midpoint of the Green in Court Square, was designed in 1819 by Isaac Damon, the fourth structure of the First Parish. Commissioned to design a church "with a decent plain front" he achieved a building adorned by a portico with Doric columns, triangular pediment, and decorated frieze, and topped by a cupola of three members — none, unfortunately, of open design."

Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration of Massachusetts.
Massachusetts; A Guide To Its Places and People (Kindle Locations 9214-9217).
Boston, Houghton Mifflin company. Page 362, Published 1937

First Church of Christ (Congregational)

First Church of Christ (Congregational)

Historic Rooster Weathervane - 1750

N 42° 06.049 W 072° 35.334

Quick Description: 

The First Church of Christ (Congregational) is the focal point of the Court Square Historic District in downtown Springfield, MA.

Long Description:

The landmark Old First Church occupies the western end of Court Square in Springfield, MA. With its Greek Revival columns and Federal style tower and spire topped by a copper rooster weathervane made in London that dates back to 1750, this architectural gem is the quintessential example of a New England church. The congregation dates back to 1637. Having outgrown three meeting-houses, the present thousand-seat structure was built in 1818. In 2007 the church was forced to close its doors due to a dwindling congregation of about 150 members. Currently, the City of Springfield and the University of Massachusetts are partnering to assess how the church can best contribute to the economy and the arts in downtown Springfield.

The facility is now used for concerts, recitals, meeting and lectures. The church organ has 56 ranks, 3,241 pipes and three manual console. In 1997 been completely re-leathered, upgraded the switching and combination action been provided with a new case.

The church was recognized as a historical state landmark in 1971 and was individually listed on the Nation Register of Historic Places in 1972.

From the National Register Of Historic Places website:

Historic Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Architect, builder, or engineer: Damon,Isaac
Architectural Style: Greek Revival, Federal
Area of Significance: Architecture, Religion
Period of Significance: 1800-1824
Owner: Private
Historic Function: Religion
Historic Sub-function: Religious Structure

Introduction to Springfield, MA from: 

Massachusetts; A Guide To Its Places and People 

SPRINGFIELD The Metropolis of Western Massachusetts City: Alt. 69, pop. 149,642, sett. 1636, incorp. town 1641, city 1852. Railroad Station: Union Station, Lyman & Liberty Sts., for N.Y., N.H. & H. R.R., B. & M. R.R., and B. & A. R.R. Accommodations: Seven hotels. Information: Chamber of Commerce, 134 Chestnut St.; Automobile Club, 140 Chestnut St.; A.L.A., 1387 Main St.

SPRINGFIELD, the metropolis of western Massachusetts, lies on the east bank of the Connecticut River, holding a strategic position in the traffic of the New England states with New York and the West. Its situation on a series of terraces and in gently rolling country produces an effect of spacious leisure, and imposing architecture and tree-shaded lawns, parks, and boulevards give it an atmosphere of dignity, substance, and comfort. Its diversified industries, superior transportation facilities, large merchandising establishments, and fine residential sections make it an important center of industry, commerce, and finance; and its notable interest in music and the other arts make it an outstanding cultural center.

In 1636 a dozen families made their way to the inviting valley where the Agawam River joins the Connecticut. Their livestock inflicted so much damage on the cornfields of the Indians that they were forced to abandon the settlement. They moved on across the Connecticut River, to a barren terrain demanding heart-breaking labor and promising little reward for toil.

Fortunately, the leader of the group was stout-hearted William Pynchon. With such vigor did he build up the new settlement that even after a board had been elected determination of program and policy was left in his hands. His leadership was not questioned until 1650, when he published a theological work. The Puritan Fathers detected in the book germs of heresy. To protect the community from infection they administered the antitoxin of denunciation. The services of Pynchon were soon forgotten; he was badgered on all sides, and finally returned to England. His son, John, remained and assumed the management of the town.

In the next year the Springfield community indulged in a witch hunt — a sport more exciting than the battle against heresy. Hugh Parsons was a dyspeptic, of choleric disposition which had not endeared him to his neighbors. His wife was subject to periodic fits, probably epileptic. But such an explanation of their eccentricities was too simple, and the savants of the occult brought charges of witchcraft against the couple. Not a few good people were disappointed when the court acquitted the pair.

Twenty peaceful and constructive years followed. In 1675, however, King Philip declared war on the Colony, and Springfield did not escape. The town was almost totally burned. The townspeople pushed reconstruction, building on a larger scale. Early in the eighteenth century the citizens of Springfield made the river a capital asset. They erected sawmills and gristmills and took their first step away from a complete agricultural economy. The large clay deposits were utilized in the manufacture of brick. Acute financial depression resulted from the Revolutionary War; farmer and mill-owner were bogged in a morass of debt. Thousands banded themselves together under Daniel Shays, and for six months tramped up and down western Massachusetts in an attempt to prevent the convening of the courts and the entering of judgments against debtors. Although their cause won numerous sympathizers, it failed. Springfield became Shays's Waterloo when an attempt to capture the United States Arsenal was frustrated.

The manufacture of metal goods was given an impetus in 1794 by the passage of a bill in Congress establishing the United States Armory at Springfield. The advent of the railroad, about 1835, stimulated business. At that time the town already had seventy-three mechanic shops, six cotton mills, four printing offices, thirteen warehouses, two card factories, two forges, one rifle factory, one powder mill, six sawmills, four grist mills, three tanneries, two jewelers' tool factories, one sword factory, and one spool factory.

Developments in the manufacture of textiles brought French-Canadians, English, and Scots. Skilled artisans of all races were attracted by the openings in the machine shops. Irish, Italian, Swedish, and German labor was plentiful. Long hours and meager wages were the lot of those whose labor enriched the town. But aside from the general agitation that accompanied the crisis of 1830, there was no real organization of labor until after the Civil War.

The year 1824 marked the founding of the Springfield Republican by Samuel Bowles. The excellent style of this journal, under the editorship of Dr. J. G. Holland, and the liberal philosophy of its editorials, made the paper almost a national institution. The first newspaper in Springfield, however, was the Massachusetts Gazette and General Advertiser, published in 1782, which failed to survive, posting this notice: 'Those gentlemen who engaged for their papers in grain are once more requested to make immediate payment, as the printers are in much want of that article.' Other papers published during this period were the Hampshire Chronicle, the Hampshire Herald, and the Federal Spy.

In 1847 John Brown of Akron opened the warehouse of Brown and Perkins, wool merchants. The business enjoyed a fair degree of prosperity, but John Brown was absent from business the greater part of the time, his real enthusiasm being centered in the Abolitionist movement. Said Emerson,' If he kept sheep, it was with a royal mind. And if he traded in wool, he was a merchant prince, not in the amount of wealth, but in the protection of the interests confided to him.' He organized the United States League of Gileadites, which assisted fugitive slaves to escape.

Shortly after his arrival in Springfield, John Brown was visited by Frederick Douglass, Negro orator and scholar, who found him living in a cottage near the shacks occupied by Negroes. ' Plain as was the house on the outside,' wrote Douglass, ' the inside was plainer. Its furniture would have satisfied a Spartan. There was an element of plainness about it which almost suggested destitution.... The meal was such as a man might relish after following the plow all day, or performing a forced march of a dozen miles over a rough road in frosty weather.' John Brown lived in Springfield for two years, and during this time hundreds of runaway slaves were harbored in the town, then were passed along to the next station of the Underground Railway.

The termination of the war once more allowed the free flow of commerce. An expanding market aided in Springfield's prosperity. Factories were rebuilt and enlarged, the population swelled. Simultaneously labor took its first organized steps toward improving working and living conditions. Following the example of the horse-car drivers, who in 1861 had established a benevolent association, which was forced by a threatened wage reduction to transform itself into a trade union, workers in many industries began to wage a united battle for the eight-hour day. In 1864 cigar-makers, stonecutters, pianoforte-makers, blacksmiths, carpenters, and tailors were organized to secure higher wages and shorter hours. The Massachusetts Legislature investigated the possibilities of regulating and limiting hours of labor, and eventually the eight-hour day became a reality. In the later i88o's all the trade unions in the city participated in the formation of the Central Labor Union. To Bishop N. Saltus, first president of this federation, belongs a chief share of the credit for its vigorous development.

Since 1890, such large industries have been established as the Van Norman Tool and Machine Company, the United States Envelope Company, the Fiberloid Company, the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, and the Milton Bradley Company, makers of toys, games, and school supplies. Motorcycles have been manufactured here since the beginning of the century. On the West Springfield side of the river numerous industries have located. The Gilbert and Barker Company makes gasoline pumps and oil-burners. Matches, packaging machinery, radios, magnetos, hot-water heaters, air-conditioning equipment, and forgings are also manufactured here.

Between 1910 and 1920 the population increased 117 per cent. Of the present residents of Springfield, about one-fourth are foreign-born. The largest racial group is the Irish, which numbers nearly 6000. The Italians follow with about 4500, Russians with 3800, French-Canadians with 3700, and Poles with 2400. Scotland, England, Sweden, and Germany each contribute about 1000 to the foreign-born population. The high percentage of skilled workers among the population has been a strong influence in the social and political life of the city. The general housing situation, for example, is considerably better in Springfield than in most industrial cities of its size. The civic life is heightened by the social clubs, singing societies, and physical culture centers of the various racial groups.

A flood in 1927 caused considerable loss when the Connecticut River overflowed its banks; but it can hardly be compared to the catastrophe of 1936, when the worst flood in the history of New England inflicted untold suffering on Springfield and caused property losses amounting to millions of dollars. Only efficient organization, prompt action, and many deeds of heroism prevented wholesale loss of human life.