Derek Strahan

Aside from running the Lost New England blog, Derek Strahan is the author of two books: Lost Springfield, Massachusetts and New England Then and Now, along with being the host of the Western Mass History podcast. Derek is a graduate of Westfield State University, with degrees in English and Regional Planning, and he currently works as a land use and environment planner in Western Massachusetts. Derek also serves on the board of directors of the Springfield Preservation Trust, and he lives in Western Massachusetts with his wife Melissa and their two sons.

First Church, Monson Mass

June 18, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The First Church of Monson, around 1892. Image from Picturesque Hampden (1892).

The church in 2015:

The First Church of Monson was established in 1762, two years after the town separated from Brimfield. The first meeting house was built on this hill overlooking the center of town, and was used until a more substantial building was completed in 1803. This building was used until 1871, when it was sold and moved down the hill and across Main Street. Known as Green’s Hall, it was used for commercial space and social gatherings until it burned in 1895. It can be seen in the c.1892 photo in this post.

The present-day church was built in 1873, and has withstood several major disasters over the years. In August 1955, the town sustained heavy damage from flooding, including a massive rockslide from Ely Road, which covered this entire area in front of the church in boulders. A photograph of the scene, taken from around this spot, was published in newspapers across the country. Just a little over 50 years later, photographs of the church again made national news when the June 1, 2011 tornado destroyed the steeple. The original steeple seen in the 1892 photo had been partially destroyed in the 1938 hurricane, and the sections above the belfry were replaced with a similar, but not identical steeple. The entire thing, however, was destroyed in 2011, and a new one was built virtually identical to the 1939 reconstruction.

The other major feature in both photos is the Soldiers’ Monument, which was dedicated on July 4, 1884 in honor of those who served in the Civil War. It was designed by R.F. Carter and was given to the town by industrialist Cyrus W. Holmes. It is made of granite that was quarried in Monson by Flynt Granite Company, and is 46.5 feet tall; the soldier on the top alone is literally larger than life at 7.5 feet tall.

Main Street, Monson Mass (1)

June 18, 2015June 17, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Looking south on Main Street in Monson, from Fountain Street, around 1892. Image from Picturesque Hampden (1892).

Main Street in 2015:

Some of the buildings from the first photo no longer exist, but others survive today, despite over 120 years having passed, along with a direct hit from a tornado four years ago. The Monson Free Library building is visible in the first photo, and is obscured by trees in the second but still there. Next to it is the Soldiers’ Monument, and then in the distance in the center of both photos are two 19th century houses that survive today. These buildings all sustained some amount of damage from the June 1, 2011 tornado that swept through the center of Monson, and the path of the tornado can still be seen in the hillside in the distance; note the difference between the taller, dark green trees to the left and the shorter, light green trees to the right.

The left-hand side of Main Street, however, has completely changed since 1892, and it didn’t take too long. The most prominent building in this scene is what appears to be a church. In fact, it wasn’t a church at the time, but it used to be. It was built in 1803, across the street and up the hill, and was the second building for the First Church of Monson. When the time came to build a new building, the old one didn’t go to waste; it was moved down the hill and across the street in 1871, and was renovated with shops on the first floor and a meeting hall on the second floor, known as Green’s Hall. It was used for a variety of social events until the building burned down in 1895.

Flynt Store, Monson Mass

January 11, 2016June 17, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The company store for Flynt Granite Company on Main Street in Monson, around 1892. Photo from Picturesque Hampden (1892).

The scene in 2015:

This location in Monson has been used for a variety of commercial purposes over the years, beginning in the 1860s when E.E. Towne opened a general store in the building in the first photo, which was known for some time as Towne’s Block. By the time the first photo was taken, though, the store had changed hands, and was owned by Flynt Granite Company. It was the company store for the quarry, which was located a little north of the center of town and was one of the town’s largest employers, with nearly 500 workers in 1900. The original building burned in 1914, and the following year the store reopened in the present-day building. It was owned by the granite company until 1935, when the quarry closed. Since then, the building has been used as a tavern, bowling alley, and currently as an antique store.

The one thing that has remained the same since the first photo was taken is the Flynt Memorial Fountain, which was given to the town in 1882 by quarry owner William N. Flynt, as a watering trough for horses. Today, it is still in the same location, at the intersection of Main and Fountain Streets, although it is now used for decoration rather than as a place for horses to drink water.

Main Street, Wilbraham Mass

June 15, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Looking north on Main Street from Springfield Street, probably around 1900. Image courtesy of the Wilbraham Public Library.

Main Street in 2015:

This scene along Main Street in the center of Wilbraham hasn’t changed much in the past century or so. At least one of the buildings from the first photo is gone, and Main Street is now paved, but overall the center of Wilbraham retains much of its 19th and early 20th century character. The first photo shows several historic buildings that survive today. On the far left is the steeple of the Memorial Chapel, built in 1870 and now part of the Wilbraham & Monson Academy campus. In front of it is the 1793 Old Methodist Meeting House, and in the left-center of both photos is the 1836 Rev. John W. Hardy House. The house in the right-center of the first photo is no longer there, and the store on the far right looks like the one in the present-day scene, but there are some differences. Either it is a completely different building today, or it has been expanded, because it appears to be much close to the Hardy house than in the first view.

First Congregational Church, Wilbraham Mass (3)

June 15, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The old meeting house for the First Congregational Church in Wilbraham, around the 1860s or 1870s. Image courtesy of the Wilbraham Public Library.

The site of the church in 2015:

There aren’t too many photos of the church in the first scene, in part because of the building’s short lifespan. It was built in 1857 to replace Wilbraham’s original First Congregational Church, which had been built in 1748 on Wigwam Hill, near the corner of present-day Tinkham Road and Bolles Road. Given its rather inconvenient location, though, the building was brought down the hill and into the center of town in 1794. It stood here until 1857, when it was moved again and converted into stables near the new church. The new building would’ve been the home church for many of of Wilbraham’s 228 men who served in the Civil War, and the first photo was probably taken during or soon after the war. However, both the old and the new churches were destroyed in a fire in 1877, and a new building was built on the site; this also burned down, after being struck by lightning in 1911. Today, Gazebo Park is located on the spot where a total of four generations of Wilbraham churches once stood, from 1794 to 1958.

First Congregational Church, Wilbraham Mass (2)

June 12, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Looking north on Main Street in Wilbraham, with the First Congregational Church in the center, taken around 1900-1911. Image courtesy of the Wilbraham Public Library.

Main Street in 2015:

Taken from a similar angle as the ones in this post, these photos show some of the changes on Main Street in Wilbraham over the past century. I don’t have an exact date for this photo, but it was taken sometime between 1896, when the Allis House just beyond the church burned down, and 1911, when the church itself burned. Today, the site of the church is now Gazebo Park, and the house in the right foreground is also gone, although many similar historic houses still exist on Main Street.