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.

Wesleyan Academy Baseball Game, Wilbraham Mass

May 1, 2015 by Derek Strahan

A view of a baseball game in progress at Wesleyan Academy (today Wilbraham & Monson Academy) in Wilbraham, around 1892. Image from Picturesque Hampden (1892)

The field in 2015:

The first photo is a rather remarkable scene showing an early baseball game. Most 19th century baseball photos are staged studio portraits that loosely imitate in-game action (see this photo from the Library of Congress website, where the string holding the ball is clearly visible and it looks more like a magic levitating trick than anything one might encounter at a baseball game), so it is fairly rare to see real, in-game action from the 1800s. This particular photo was taken no later than 1892, the year it was published, and no earlier than 1878, when the house on the far left was built. Most likely though, it was probably taken shortly before publication.

By the time that the photo was taken, the game of baseball was well established as the most popular sport in the country, at both the professional and amateur levels. For the most part, the game 125 years ago wasn’t all that different from baseball today – this scene is instantly recognizable as a baseball game. However, there was one last major change in the rules that happened a few years after this photo was taken. A close examination of the photo shows that the pitcher is standing on flat ground, and appears closer to home plate than in modern baseball. Prior to 1893, the pitcher released the ball 55.5 feet from home plate, and stood on flat ground rather than a raised mound. In 1893, the distance of 60.5 feet was established; this remains the same today, and was such a major change that many baseball historians consider 1893 to be the beginning of modern baseball.

I don’t know which team is the home team, but this was taken at what was once Wesleyan Academy, and is now Wilbraham & Monson Academy. My great grandfather attended the academy in the late 1880s, and I don’t know whether he played baseball there, but depending on the exact date of the photo, he could easily be among the players or spectators – some of whom seem to be standing dangerously close to the batter. Today, the campus has grown significantly since the first photo was taken, but the field is still there and is still used for sports, although baseball is now played on a different field on the other side of the campus.

Gurney’s Store, Wilbraham Mass (2)

April 30, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Another view of Gurney’s Store, at the corner of Main and Springfield Streets in Wilbraham, around 1904. Image courtesy of the Wilbraham Public Library.

The scene in 2015:

This scene shows the general store at the corner of Springfield and Main Streets as it appeared when Frank A. Gurney ran the store. As mentioned in this post, the store was owned by several different people around the turn of the last century, with Gurney bring the one most commonly associated with the building. His delivery wagon can be seen in this post, and his primary business was selling goods to farmers in the area, although he probably also saw a fair amount of business from students at nearby Wesleyan Academy. Gurney was out of the building by 1913, and it was used as a post office and Masonic Lodge until it was demolished in 1957, and for many years afterward this was the site of the Louis & Clark drugstore.

Gurney’s Store, Wilbraham Mass (1)

May 1, 2015April 30, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Frank A. Gurney’s Store, at the corner of Main Street and Springfield Street in Wilbraham, probably around 1900. Image courtesy of the Wilbraham Public Library.

The location in 2015:

I don’t know whether Frank Gurney used the building at the time that the first photo was taken, because it was used as a general store by several different men in the early 20th century. However, it is most commonly associated with Gurney, whose carriage can be seen directly across the street from this building in the first photo of this post (note the watering trough, which is seen both in that post and here). The tree next to the trough was apparently used as a sort of community bulletin board, which reveals the occupation that most Wilbraham residents were involved in – farming. The bottom handbill advertises for Berkshire Fertilizers, above it is one that exclaims “WANTED FARMS!!”, and then above that is another ad for a fertilizer company. As for the people in the first photo, I’m guessing that they were the store employees, but the man on the far right stands out. All of the other men are wearing a bow tie and vest or jacket, and he is wearing overalls and a work shirt. Perhaps the others were clerks, and he was the delivery man?

Like many small towns, the building had multiple uses; aside from being a general store, the post office was also located here, and the second floor was used as the Masonic Lodge. The post office and the Masons were here until the building was demolished in 1957, and today the site is occupied by a commercial building that for many years housed the Louis & Clark drugstore. The watering trough for horses is long gone, although its modern equivalent, a gas station, is directly across the street from here.

Springfield Street, Wilbraham Mass

April 30, 2015April 30, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Looking west on Springfield Street from Main Street in Wilbraham, around 1903. Courtesy of the Wilbraham Public Library.

Springfield Street in 2015:

Here in New England, we just finished up a snowy winter, so the 1903 scene here is hardly an unfamiliar sight. However, in many ways snowstorms like this one were actually less of an inconvenience than they are today. Today, a major snowstorm means traffic is limited until the roads can be plowed, salted, and sanded, but in the days before automobiles deep snow just meant hitching up the horses to the sleigh instead of the wagon. Given the poor condition of roads, particularly in New England, this would often be an improvement, since sleigh runners on snow offer a lot less friction than cart wheels on muddy, bumpy roads.

Interestingly, my great-great-great-grandmother lived on this road, a few houses down from the intersection on the left (not visible in these photos), and she died in 1895, less than 10 years before this photo was taken. Since then, the road really hasn’t changed a whole lot – there are a few newer houses, a sidewalk, and a paved road, but otherwise it retains its small town, residential appearance over 110 years later.

Indian Motocycle Factory, Springfield Mass

January 31, 2018April 29, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The factory on Wilbraham Road in Springfield, which would later house the Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company. Seen here around 1892 and published in Picturesque Hampden (1892).

The building in 2015:

This building is best known as having been part of the Indian Motocycle Company factory, but it has had a variety of uses over the years. The original section of the building, as seen in the 1892 photo, was built in 1883 for the Bullard Repeating Arms Company, a rifle company that was not as successful as another firearms company founded in Springfield during the 19th century. Bullard didn’t last too long, and the building was then used by the Springfield Industrial Institute, a private trade school. In 1895, the school moved to the building across the courtyard, and the Elektron Company occupied this building. It was at this point that the wing was built to the east, beyond the tower.

Early in the 20th century, George Hendee moved his motorcycle company to this site, which was originally named Hendee Manufacturing Company, but was later renamed Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company (the “r” was intentionally omitted from “motorcycle” for trademark purposes). The two story addition was put on the building in 1911, which by then had nearly quadrupled in size from the 1892 photo. This triangle between State Street and Wilbraham Road was the home of the company until they closed in 1953, at which point the buildings were used for various other businesses. Since then, several of the buildings have been demolished, although the original 1883 Bullard building survives, and it has been renovated and turned into apartments.

Elm Street, Holyoke Mass

April 27, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Looking north on Elm Street toward Appleton Street in Holyoke, around 1908:

Elm Street in 2015:

The contrast in these two scenes illustrates what has happened in Holyoke over the past century. When the first photo was taken, the city was rapidly growing in population; by the 1910 census, it had over 57,000 residents, and the city was one of the world’s leading paper manufacturing centers. However, by the middle of the 20th century the factories began closing, and the population dropped. The 2010 census showed fewer than 40,000 residents, and Holyoke currently has the second lowest median household income level out of all 351 Massachusetts cities and towns. The house and the apartment building on the left-hand side of Elm Street are still there from the 1908 photo, but otherwise it is a very different scene today.