Chapter IV

EARLY SPRINGFIELD AND LONGMEADOW, MASSACHUSETTS
Page 3 (Continued)

As first laid out, the southerly course of Springfield's town street ended at "the way to the lower wharf," now York Street, the town brook and the swamps about it making further progress to the south impractical. Quite early, a foot bridge was provided across the brook and the adjacent morass to give access to the corn mill on Mill river.¹ On March 9, 1642/43, "a bridge and highway to the mill, for the passage of carts and cattle" was ordered, necessitating the building of a corduroy road across the marsh.²

Three years later, to make the long-meadow section accessible to teams, on January 8, 1645/46, Thomas Merrick and Joseph Parsons were delegated to "make a way from the Mill river to the Longmeadow" where allotments had been made the year before.³ Evidently the project was greater than anticipated, possibly because of bridging Pecousic brook, for on November 2, 1646, the supervisors were admonished to see that it was finished by the last of May, 1647.⁴

The completed road, however, ended at the Longmeadow and it was only gradually extended to Freshwater (now Enfield) as that section became settled and a road became necessary. The town budget of January 30, 1650/51, included an item of "£10 to the cartway to the foot of the falls"⁵ at Warehouse Point, so as to avoid the bringing up of freight by water, over the rapids and shoals.

In 1664, this section of road was established as a part of the county road from Hadley to Windsor, via "the lower end of Springfield to Longmeadow Gate and from the lower end of said meadow into Freshwater (Enfield) so called, and from thence to the dividing line between the colonies" which was then twenty rods south of the warehouse at Warehouse Point.⁶

Just as the bridge to Brooklyn is the Brooklyn Bridge, so the bridge giving access to Longmeadow was known as the Longmeadow Bridge, the bridge across the Pecousic.

Presumably, when in 1647 Thomas Merrick and Joseph Parsons completed "the way from the Mill river to the Longmeadow," such a bridge was included, for on February 13, 1656/57, George Colton was granted "about a dozen acres of land by the Great River side about three quarters of a mile below Longmeadow bridge betwixt the brow of the hill where the cart way now goeth and the Great River."⁷

It evidently was a rather primitive bridge of logs which was so ravaged by the turbulence of the brook as the snows melted in the spring that the bridge was later raised above the flood by stone abutments.

February 11, 166/67, for the "carrying on the work of Long Meadow bridge, the selectmen did conclude that George Colton and Rowland Thomas shall, as soon as the snow is off the ground, go down and see where the stones may be had easiest and whether they must cart them or fetch them by boat and Benjamin Cooley and Rowland Thomas shall see to the carrying on the work."⁸

In many New England towns, building construction was strongly influenced by an abundance of stone, but in Springfield it was equally influenced by an almost utter lack of it. The town proper, the meadows west of the Connecticut, and the long-meadow, were almost devoid of it. One exception was the red sandstone in the bed of Miller river, and at Pecousic, where there was a limited supply of stone too soft to be of great value and difficult to procure. With crowbars, beetles and wedges this stone was laboriously worked out for what value it had. At Pecousic the ledges extended well into the Connecticut. The late Everett H. Barney, who was intimately acquainted with the locality, often repeated stories of old people he had known as a boy, who told him that in olden days, in times of drought, it was often possible to wade entirely across the Connecticut on such stones. February 10, 1652/53, the selectmen gave to Rowland Thomas "liberty to carry away those stones he hath dug in Powscowsack river by the end of June next; no man to molest him in the meantime, but in case he leave any after that time, it shall be free for any man to take them."⁹ February 12, 1660/61 Samuel Marshfield was granted land on the north bank of the Pecousic brook at its mouth, provided that any person might "have liberty to fetch stones from the flats in the Great River."¹⁰ Poor as was the product, it was about the only nearby source of supply.

The valley of the Pecousic is quite extensive, draining a considerable area, so that the turbulence of the stream in the spring necessitated frequent repairs to the bridge. On February 5, 1666/67, it was "concluded that Long Meadow bridge shall be made with stone on each side of the brook for the timber work to lie upon."¹¹ April 24, 1685 "it was voted to allow Obadiah Cooley, Samuel Bliss, Jr. and Nathaniel Bliss, three pounds to repair the Long Meadow bridge in the country road, they laying five new sleepers of good sound timber and planking them with half trees and pinning them down with cross pieces and putting up poles by the sides of said bridge."¹² March 13, 1693/94, "Longmeadow bridge being said to be very defective or to want a new one, this affair whether to repair the old bridge or to make a new one is left with Nathaniel Burt, Senr., together with the surveyors of the highways."¹³ At the same time "Increase Sikes, Samuel Bliss, 3d, Samuel Ely and Daniel Beamon did desire of the town the stream of Pecousic brook to set a saw mill on and the low land for ponding and they promise to free the town from all charge as to maintaining Pecousic bridge," and on April 11, 1694, their desire was granted. Thereafter the term Longmeadow bridge gave way to Pecousic bridge.

This was the first use made of the power at that point but the use continued for some two hundred years. A saw mill there is shown on the 1831 map of Longmeadow.¹⁴ In Civil Way days James Warner had a pistol factory there. Until nearly the close of the last century, the brick buildings of the Havemeyer papier-mache factory were a familiar sight and became the original Barney & Berry skate factory.

A knowledge of the four Longmeadow brooks, Cooley Brook, Wheelmeadow Brook, Longmeadow Brook and Raspberry Brook, is vital to an understanding of events there. All were such significant streams that one might walk across the meadows with no realization of their existence until he suddenly came upon them. Having no precipitous banks, it is doubtful if any of them except Raspberry brook were even spanned by bridges in the early days, when no provision was required for the chaise or stage coach of a later era. A mere farmer could far easier drive his ox-team through the shallow water than he could provide logs for a bridge. All of the 17th century descriptions of the highway traversing the meadow are confined almost solely to references to the width of the road in the span between Longmeadow gate at the north and the southerly end of the meadow. Bridges over "gutters" were spoken of but none were mentioned that can be identified with these brooks. Surely some provision for the care of such bridges would have been included, had they existed. During the entire meadow period, Cooley brook was not once mentioned in the records. Wheelmeadow was mentioned frequently but only once in connection with a brook.

Conditions were entirely different after removal to the hill in 1703, where the town street was intersected by the deep ravines of these water courses. They then became a noticeable and most annoying feature of the landscape; something to be reckoned with four-fold on a journey across the town. Thus they became known by familiar names.

On December 10, 1700, Isaac Colton was granted "twenty acres at Rasbury Brooke."¹⁵ Prior to that, the stream had been known as Longmeadow brook, for on October 12, 1670, Samuel Ely was granted "six acres of high land below Long Meadow Brooke near the Great River."¹⁶ Such a tract could have been adjacent only to the present Raspberry brook. This application is confirmed by the record of the establishment of the town of Enfield, August 24, 1681, the north bound of which was designated as being at "the mouth of Long Meadow brook below Springfield,"¹⁷ and that was most definitely the present Raspberry brook. On February 5, 1683/84, Samuel Bliss, Jr. petitioned for "twenty acres of low land upon Long Meadow Brooke, beyond Barke hall, on both sides of the brook."¹⁸ It is patent that this reference could be to none other than what is today known as Raspberry brook, or a closely adjacent confluent.

The 1831 manuscript map in the Massachusetts Archives explains this situation. Longmeadow brook, coming down through the ravine south of Bark Hall road, on approaching the meadow, originally took an oblique course south westerly and joined the present Raspberry brook, they becoming one brook designated as Longmeadow brook. At the point where the brook met the meadow, at Bark Hall, it was later artificially diverted north along the foot of the hill and then westerly to the river. The longmeadow brook, in its present course across the meadow, is a man-made canal, the abandoned course being indicated by dotted lines and so designated. Hence the necessity for a name for the remaining part of the brook at the south, which was christened Raspberry brook and is still so known.

It was the combined Longmeadow-Raspberry brook, the most southerly of the four meadow brooks, that was referred to on January 6, 1678/79, when there was granted to Jonathan Burt, Sr., "a piece of land lying over the country (i.e. public) bridge at the lower end of Longmeadow."¹⁹ Reference to this same bridge and brook was implied when on May 21, 1680 "it was voted, that whereas, the bridge over Longmeadow brook was carried away or spoiled by the late flood, that a new bridge should be built in the old place."²⁰

The last definite reference to the meadow portion of Longmeadow brook in the town records was on February 5, 1683/84.²¹ The first recorded reference to the depleted southern boundary-brook as Raspberry brook, was on December 10, 1700.²² Sometime between these two dates the alteration in the course of the brook must have been made.

Early and frequent mention is found in the records of the Longmeadow Gate, reference usually being to the gate at the north end of the meadow. Some entries indicate that this was just west of the Longmeadow bridge at Pecousic brook while others seem to place it in the vicinity of Cooley brook. The situation defies satisfactory analysis, but the evidence is here presented for what value it may have.

The earliest reference is that of March 14, 1653/54, when it was "ordered that the proprietors of the field in the long meadow shall make a sufficient cart gate at the bridge over the long meadow brook."²³ It is obvious that this refers to the gate at the southerly end of the meadow.

August 27, 1660, "Thomas Gilbert hath liberty granted him for building and dwelling on his land which he hath bought of Benjamin Cooley at the Longmeadow Gate."²⁴ Unfortunately this valueless as there is no record of such a sale and therefor it is impossible to locate the tract.

February 19, 1661/62, it was "ordered that the highway from the town bridge by Thomas Bancroft's to Goodman Cooley's lot at the higher end of the Long meadow shall be four rod in breadth. It is to turn to the right hand on this side the first bridge and so there is to be made a bridge over that gutter to make the way more straight and to save charge of repairing those bad places where the way has usually been. Also the highway from the long meadow gate to the lower end of the Long meadow is to be four rod in breadth from the gate till it turns from the river into the lots and thence to the bridge it is to be two rod in breadth."²⁵

At that date Cooley owned up to the last five acre bit at the north end of the long-meadow. The foregoing would seem to mean that from the bridge in town to the Cooley tract the road was to be four rods wide. From the Longmeadow Gate it went through the narrow pass and turned southerly from the river to the Cooley lots and so through the meadows to the bridge at Raspberry brook. Through the meadows it was to be but two rods wide as hard land there was too scarce and valuable to allow of a greater width. All of which would seem to place the Gate at a point east of the narrow pass and close to Pecousic brook--which reasoning is flatly contradicted by other evidence.

The road-layout form Hadley to Windsor in 1664 mentions the Longmeadow Gate. The record describes this portion of it as "from the lower end of Springfield to Long meadow gate, running where it now doth, in breadth four rods, and from the Long meadow gate to the bridge at the lower end of and by the river bank shall be in breadth two rods and from the lower end of the said Meadow into Fresh Water River, so called (Enfield) as the way now runs, four rods."²⁶

January 11, 1668/69, provision was made for payment to "Ensigne Cooley for maintaining the water fence at long meadow gate."²⁷

On May 28, 1679, it was agreed that "Benjamin Cooley would and should make and maintain the gate and water fence at the upper end of the Longmeadow for ever. Also, he shall have liberty, if he see meet, to translate that gate and water fence and whole cross fence, to the lower side of his son, Eliakim Cooley's lot, provided it be no prejudice to the field."²⁸

There is nothing obscure about that. Twenty-five years earlier, on March 7, 1653/54, Benjamin Cooley and George Colton had been appointed to supervise "a fence at both ends of the long meadow, betwixt the top of the bank down into the river, for the securing of the said field."²⁹ Cooley was now directed to build anew the fence across the highway at the upper end of the meadows and extend it far enough into the deep water of the river so that cattle would not go around it. If he preferred to build it where the fence and gate had previously been, that would be perfectly satisfactory. If he found it more convenient and economical to transfer it to another point, that would be equally satisfactory, provided there was no inconvenience to the public.

Did he remove it from a point near Cooley brook, to somewhere in the vicinity of Pecousic? Or vice versa? The records are not clear on that point. But there is an utter lack of reference to a toll gate.

Longmeadow historians have contended that the Longmeadow Gate was at a bridge where the highway crossed Cooley brook and that it was a toll gate for exacting a portion of the upkeep of the road from travelers between Hadley and Windsor. No evidence exists to support the latter contention. There is no reason for surrounding the Gate with the atmosphere of the entrance gate to a medieval walled city. Consideration of other gates about Springfield leaves one with the conclusion that the one at Longmeadow differed in no way from other purely farm gates, details of which are here assembled.

April 23, 1669, it was ordered that "for securing the gate way or bars by the meeting house, Benjamin Munn, Serj. Stebbins, William Warringer and James Warringer are to take care and charge thereof."³⁰

That same date it was agreed that "the gate at the higher wharf (now Cypress Street) being judged needful to be kept well hung and shut, that cattle may be kept from going to the river, it is ordered that all the neighbors from Deacon Chapin's upward shall take care of the said gate."³¹

"And that something may be done at the lower wharf (now York Street) as to preventing cattle from pursuing the fields, either by making a gateway or otherwise. Anthony Dorchester is appointed to call the neighbors at the lower end of the town, to consider what may be advantageous."³²

As the long-meadow was adjacent and convenient to the dwellers at the southerly end of the town street, they participated in its distribution. In a like manner "the cow pasture to the north of End Brook, lying northward from the town" became the property of the more northerly of the townsmen, and became known as the Plain-field, now crossed by Plainfield Street. For the protection of the Plain-field a fence and gate were early established at Round Hill. January 31, 1672/73 John Pynchon was "granted that little piece of land at the southeast end of Round Hill, provided a highway be left for passage to the Plain Gate."³³ This gate remained well into the past century. Henry B. Rice (born 1821) in his latter years related that as a youth he saw the fence and gate demolished for the opening of the new road, now North Main street.

In 1673, Obadiah Cooley and David Lombard, who lived on opposite sides of the Way to the Lower Wharf (now York street) had "liberty granted, for security of their own and the common fields to make a fence cross the highway to the lower wharf with a gate for passage through, who in consideration thereof, are to have the privilege of the herbage of the said way to themselves, so long as they shall maintain such fence and gate to secure the fields."³⁴

One reference to a gate illustrates the diplomacy with which the Indian question of the day was handled. February 12, 1667/68, "it was ordered that whoever shall leave open, and not shut that gate by Thomas Miller's when the field is closed, he shall pay to the use of the proprietors of land in that field, the sum of two shillings and six pence. Only, what Indians are culpable that way, they are to pay six pence a time, to the use of Thomas Miller, which he is get of them, yet so that he make no trouble or disturbance in gaining it."³⁵

Mention of a fence implied a gate, a gate where the fence intercepted a highway. Such a fence was in 1658 north of Cooley brook when John Leonard sold to Cooley his land there "lying outside the fence northward."³⁶ Adjoining that tract on the south were the seventeen acres and the fourteen acres Cooley bought of Merrick and Marshfield. These two latter tracts comprised the thirty-one acres listed in the Cooley estate inventory in 1684 as being "within the gate." Thus in 1658 and in 1684 the fence and gate were in the vicinity and north of Cooley brook and presumably were also there during the interim. If at any period they were at a point nearer to Pecousic brook, that period must have been prior to 1658. Quite possibly it was so at an early date.

Apparently occupation of the long-meadow was delayed for a bit after the first grants were made, for not until November 3, 1646, was Thomas Cooper "appointed to measure out the meadow ground in the Long meadow."³⁷

September 23, 1645, as "divers inhabitants have allotments of planting ground in the long meadow and some of them have manifested their desire to break them up the next spring and defend it with a sufficient fence against cattle but others are not yet willing," certain regulations were made as to common fences.³⁸

By the spring of 1648, activities had been carried so far that on March 1, 1647/48, George Colton and Thomas Merrick were chosen supervisors of fences for the district and on April 7, 1649, provision was made for general fencing.³⁹

It is impossible to determine just how early homes were built on the meadows, but certainly as early as 1649, as is shown by testimony in the Hugh Parsons hearing: "February 27, 16050/51, Sarah, the wife of Alexander Edwards testified upon oath that about two years ago, more or less, being then at the Long Meadow, came to her house to buy some milk." Here is clear evidence that the Edwards family was living on the meadows as early as 1649.

March 18, 1650/51, George Colton testified upon oath that Hugh Parsons came into the long-meadow when his child lay at the point of death and having word of the death of it the next morning by Jonathan Burt, he was not affected with it, but he came after a light manner, rushing into my house and said, I hear my child is dead, but I will cut a pipe of tobacco first, before I go home. Hugh Parsons came to his house, he thinks, about 8 o'clock in the morning." Joshua Parsons, the child in question, died March 4, 1651.

The Colton house and the Edwards house were both in the vicinity of the present Longmeadow brook. The latter was shortly after sold to Joseph Parsons and thereafter it changed hands frequently. There is quite a little presumptive evidence indicating that these were the first homes built in Longmeadow.

Occupation proceeded to such an extent that on March 7, 1653/54 it was "ordered that no inhabitant dwelling in the long meadow should suffer their swine to go at liberty in the meadow without rings," complaint having been "made against the dwellers in the long meadow that much spoil is done both in meadow and corn land."⁴⁰ On March 7, 1653/54 the selectmen ordered that "no householder in the long meadow shall suffer swine to go at liberty."⁴¹

   [August 27, 1660] Thomas Gilbert hath liberty granted him for building and dwelling on his land which he hath bought of Benjamin Cooley at the Longmeadow Gate.⁴²
   [December 31, 1660] George Colton desiring liberty to build on his land at the Long meadow, had liberty granted him for erecting a building or dwelling place there.⁴³
   [March 13, 1660/61] granted to Benjamin Cooley, thirty acres on the east side of the swamp over against his house at the long meadow which land lies between two dingles and to run from the brow of the hill backward into the woods eastward till thirty acres be made up.⁴⁴

This is the first recorded mention of a house in the long-meadow owned by Benjamin Cooley.

Footnotes

SOURCE: The Cooley Genealogy, by M. E. Cooley, pp. 1199; The Tuttle Publishing Company, Inc., Rutland, Vermont, 1941. Page 89-102

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