Chicopee Massachusetts

Broadway School, Chicopee, Mass

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The school at the corner of Broadway and Walnut Street in Chicopee, around 1892. Image from Picturesque Hampden (1892).

The scene in 2018:

This school was completed in 1876, in the factory village of Chicopee Falls. At the time, Chicopee was developing into an important manufacturing center, and many of the students at this school would have been the children of French Canadian immigrants who worked in the nearby factories. The school itself was located just up the hill from the river, on the southern edge of the village. At the time, the surrounding land was still sparsely developed, but this soon changed as Chicopee continued to grow. By 1882, the land just to the north of the school had become the home of the Overman Wheel Company, whose bicycle factory is visible on the right side of the photo.

The Overman Wheel Company was perhaps most significant for being the first American manufacturer of safety bicycles. Unlike the older penny-farthing bicycles, safety bicycles had identically-sized wheels, much like modern bicycles. They were, comparatively speaking, safer than the older bicycles, which required riders to sit much higher and further forward. Along with this innovation, Overman also produced bicycles with interchangeable parts, pneumatic tires, and all-steel parts. These features gave Overman bicycles a higher price tag than most of their competitors, but they enjoyed widespread popularity, and at its peak this factory was producing some 80,000 bicycles per year.

All of this was good news for the owners and employees at Overman, but it made things more difficult for the teachers and students next door at the school. The constant noise from the bicycle factory proved to be a serious distraction here in the school, and the Chicopee School Committee closed the school in 1893, only about a year after the first photo was taken. The building was subsequently purchased by Overman and converted into a factory, and the teachers and students moved into the newly-completed Alvord School, located just a little further south of here on Broadway.

Overman continued to produce bicycles here until 1900, when the company went out of business amid increased competition and decreased prices for bicycles. The former school became a chocolate factory, and later the home of the Page Paper Box Company, while the rest of the Overman plant was sold to J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co. This company was a leading producer of sporting firearms, and in 1920 it was acquired by Savage Arms, although Stevens continued to manufacture guns here as a subsidiary.

The factory was finally demolished in 1960, after Savage Arms moved production to Westfield, Massachusetts, and the old school may have been demolished around the same time. The site of the factory and school, along with several other adjacent blocks here in Chicopee Falls, were subsequently redeveloped as part of an urban renewal project. It is now an affordable housing complex, and it is named MacArthur Terrace after Chicopee Falls native Arthur MacArthur, a prominent Army general who was also the father of Douglas MacArthur.

First Central Baptist Church, Chicopee, Mass

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First Central Baptist Church, at the corner of Broadway and East Streets in Chicopee Falls, around 1892. Image from Picturesque Hampden (1892).

The church in 2018:

The first Baptist organization in Chicopee was established in 1828, back when this area was still part of Springfield. The congregation constructed its first church building in 1832, and it was located just a block away from here at the corner of Maple and Belcher Streets. Chicopee was incorporated as a separate town, and the church became the First Baptist Church of Chicopee. Two years later, the building was moved down the hill to Market Street and enlarged, and the congregation worshiped there for the next 28 years.

In 1878, the First Baptist Church moved back up the hill, constructing this brick High Victorian Gothic-style church building on Broadway. The pastor at the time was Rufus King Bellamy, who had served in this capacity since 1848. He would continue as pastor until 1882, but he would probably be remembered best as the father of novelist and journalist Edward Bellamy, who was one of the most successful American authors of the late 19th century.

Following Reverend Bellamy’s retirement, none of the next few pastors here at First Baptist came close to matching his longevity. By the time the first photo was taken a decade later, the church had seen three new pastors, and it would have two more by the turn of the 20th century. However, this kind of pastoral turnover was not uncommon for churches of the period, and Bellamy’s 34 years in the pulpit was unusually long, even compared with other churches in Chicopee.

In 1931, the First Baptist Church merged with Central Baptist Church, which had been located in the center of Chicopee at the corner of School and Cabot Streets. Central Baptist sold that property, and the united congregation continued to worship here in this church on Broadway, becoming the First Central Baptist Church. Since then, the building has been expanded with an addition to the rear that was built in 1965, but otherwise the historic church is still standing with few alterations to its original exterior. It remains an active church, although it has been renamed again, and it is now the First Central Bible Church.

First Congregational Church, Chicopee, Mass

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The First Congregational Church on Chicopee Street in Chicopee, around 1892. Image from Picturesque Hampden (1892).

The scene in 2017:

Today, this church is known as the First Congregational Church of Chicopee, but the building actually predates Chicopee by several decades. It was completed in 1826 as the Second Congregational Church of Springfield, back when the present-day city of Chicopee was the northern section of Springfield. This section of Chicopee Street, located just east of the Connecticut River, was the site of the earliest settlement in Chicopee, in the second half of the 17th century. For around 75 years, residents of the village had to travel more than five miles to the center of Springfield in order to attend church services, but a new church was established here in 1751. The first meeting house was completed the following year, and stood here until it was replaced with the current church.

The new church came at the request of newly-installed pastor Alexander Phoenix, who agreed to become the pastor of the church only if the old building was repaired or rebuilt. The congregation chose the latter option, spending $4,400 to construct a new church.  The work was done by Alva Whitmarsh and Seba Shepherd, who were associates of noted builder and architect Isaac Damon. Their design reflected the Greek Revival style of architecture, which was becoming popular during this period, particularly for churches and other public buildings, and it also bore a strong resemblance to many of Damon’s own churches, including the First Congregational Church in Springfield.

The first service in the new church was held on January 4, 1826. It was equipped with a stove for heat – something that was still a novelty in many New England churches – but this stove was apparently a source of controversy. Judge E. W. Chapin, in a letter that was read to the church at its annual meeting in 1897, related a story – possibly apocryphal – that his mother had told him regarding this stove, writing that “Some woman opposed the innovation, fearing the heat would be too oppressive. The stove, however, was put up, but for some reason no fire was built in it the first Sabbath. This, however, was not known by the woman, who was so overcome by anticipated heat that she was compelled to leave the church during the service.”

In 1841, the church acquired the house immediately to the left of it, in the distance of both photos. This house had been built in 1830 as the home of Silas Stedman, and was later owned by George Hooker before being sold to the church for use as its parsonage. The church was still a part of Springfield at the time, but in 1848 Chicopee was partitioned off as a separate town, and the church became the First Congregational Church of Chicopee. By this point, the main population centers of the town had shifted to the south and east, to the factory villages of Cabotville and Chicopee Falls, but this church building remained in use here at the traditional center of the town.

The first photo shows Chicopee Street as it appeared around 1892, with the church in the center and the parsonage beyond it to the left. Around 125 years later, this scene has not changed dramatically. The trees are gone, the road has been paved, and a newer house now stands on the right side of the church, but overall this scene still looks much the same as it did at the end of the 19th century. Both the church and parsonage remain standing, and both are still owned by the First Church of Chicopee, which continues to worship here nearly 200 years after the building was completed.

Kendall House, Chicopee, Mass

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Looking south on Springfield Street, toward the Kendall House Hotel in Chicopee, around 1892. Image from Picturesque Hampden (1892).

The scene in 2017:

This scene shows the view looking south on Springfield Street toward the center of Chicopee, with the Chicopee River behind the photographer and the Ames Manufacturing Company facility just out of view to the left. The most notable building in the first photo is the Kendall House hotel, which is seen on the left side of the photo, just beyond the bridge over the canal. The hotel was built around 1834-1835, by prominent businessman Chester W. Chapin, and it dates back to the early days of Chicopee’s industrial development. At the time, Chicopee was still part of Springfield, and this particular area was known as Cabotville. The village was named after the Cabot Manufacturing Company, which was, in turn, named for Boston merchant Samuel Cabot, and this hotel was likewise originally named the Cabot House.

As built, the Cabot House had a fairly plain, Federal-style exterior that was common for commercial buildings of the era, with a brick exterior, three and a half stories, and a gabled roof. It opened as the first hotel in Cabotville, and for the first few years it was operated by Gardner Kimball. In 1836, he hired Marvin Chapin (no close relation to Chester) as a clerk. A native of Somers, Connecticut, Marvin Chapin had just returned to the area after spending time on a surveying crew in Florida, and after just a few weeks here he purchased the Cabot House from Kimball. He and his brother Ethan operated the hotel for several years, but in 1842 they purchased property on Main Street in Springfield and built the Massasoit House, which opened the following year. The Massasoit House went on to become one of the leading hotels in Western Massachusetts, and the Chapins subsequently sold the Cabot House to Madison Kendall.

The hotel later became known as the Kendall House, and enjoyed a prominent location in the center of Chicopee. The Chicopee Falls Branch of the Connecticut River Railroad opened in 1845, with a depot directly in front of the hotel, and three years later Chicopee was incorporated as a separate town. The current City Hall was later built across the street from the Kendall House, and in the meantime the factories here along the riverfront continued to expand, placing the hotel in the center of the city’s industry, commerce, transportation, and government.

The first photo shows the Kendall House with its front section of three and a half stories, a rear section with two and a half stories, and a two-story porch. Adjacent to the hotel, in the center of the photo, was a similar building, known as Chapin’s Block, which was probably built around the same time as the Kendall House. The railroad depot is not visible from this angle, but the white crossing signs can be seen in the center and far left of the photo. The Ames Manufacturing Company, whose factory was soon to be purchased by Spalding, was located just to the left of this scene, and the Dwight Manufacturing Company was just to the right on the opposite side of Springfield Street. Some of the children on the street may have been child laborers for Dwight Manufacturing, similar to those who were documented by photographer Lewis Wickes Hine several decades later.

Around 125 years after the first photo was taken, this scene has changed significantly. Chapin’s Block in the center of the photo is long gone, as are the buildings further in the distance to the right. The road bridge over the canal is new, and the railroad tracks are no longer there, having last been used in 1983. However, the Kendall House is still standing, although it is significantly altered from its original appearance. The gabled roof was removed after a fire in the early 20th century, and replaced with a flat roof and a cornice. The front porch is also gone, and the back part of the building has since been expanded into three full stories. Until recently, the building housed Quicky’s Restaurant and 38 single room occupancy units, but in 2017 the interior was completely renovated and converted into 41 studio apartments.

Ames Manufacturing Company, Chicopee, Mass

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The Ames Manufacturing Company on Springfield Street in Chicopee, around 1892. Image from Picturesque Hampden (1892).

The scene in 2017:

The origins of the Ames Manufacturing Company date back to 1822, when industrialist Edmund Dwight purchased property along the Chicopee River at Skenungonuck Falls, at the present-day village of Chicopee Falls. At the time, Chicopee was the sparsely-settled northern half of Springfield, but the Industrial Revolution helped to transform it into a major manufacturing center, thanks to the many waterfalls here on the Chicopee River. In 1823, Dwight incorporated the Boston and Springfield Manufacturing Company, and within a few years he had built a dam, a canal, and a mill at Chicopee Falls, marking the beginning of large-scale industry here in Chicopee.

In 1829, Dwight persuaded brothers Nathan P. and James T. Ames to relocate their cutlery business from Chelmsford to Chicopee Falls. He provided them with a blacksmith shop at his mill complex, rent-free for four years, and the brothers began operations here with a workforce of nine. The business rapidly expanded, though, and by 1833 they had 25 to 30 employees and were producing a wide variety of cutlery and tools, as well as swords for the Army and Navy.

The company was incorporated as the Ames Manufacturing Company in 1834, and the following year moved to this site further down the river. Known at the time as Cabotville, this village would later become the center of Chicopee when it was incorporated as a separate town in 1848. Here, the Chicopee River drops 50 feet in elevation, and both a dam and a canal were constructed in the early 1830s. At this new site, the company continued to grow and diversify, and by the end of the 1830s the Ames brothers were also producing cannons, cannonballs, bells, and a variety of other metal objects.

The first photo, taken in the early 1890s, shows the canal in the center and the Ames complex on the left. These buildings were constructed starting in 1847, with the oldest section visible just to the right of the tower. The facility was steadily expanded in the following decades, and was largely in its present form by the end of the Civil War. This era marked the heyday of Ames Manufacturing, which produced munitions during both the Mexican War and the Civil War. The Civil War in particular brought prosperity, and this facility became one of the war’s leading producers of swords, light artillery, and heavy ordnance.

During this period, the company also began casting bronze statues, beginning in 1853. Under the direction of foundry superintendent Silas Mosman, Jr., the company produced many important statues, including the Benjamin Franklin statue at Boston’s Old City Hall, the equestrian statues of George Washington at the Boston Public Garden and New York’s Union Square, the Minuteman statue at Concord, and the statues at Abraham Lincoln’s tomb in Springfield, Illinois. However, perhaps Mosman’s most significant accomplishment was casting the bronze doors for the east wing of the U.S. Capitol, which were installed in 1867. In his later years, Silas Mosman was assisted in his work by his son, Melzar, who went on to have an accomplished career both designing and casting statues. He remained here at Ames until 1884, but subsequently left the firm and established his own foundry here in Chicopee.

Of the two Ames brothers, only James lived to see the company’s prosperity in the mid-19th century. Nathan died in 1847, at the age of 43, but James remained with the company until his retirement in 1872, a year before his death. However, by this point Ames Manufacturing was entering a decline. The Civil War had been a boon for business, but after the war the company struggled to adapt to peacetime demands. The factory produced a wide variety of metal products, from mailboxes to ice skates, and as late as the 1870s the company had major foreign contracts for bayonets, scabbards, and sabers. Starting in the early 1880s, Ames also produced bicycles for the Overman Wheel Company. This contract proved lucrative, as demand for bicycles skyrocketed during this period, but this high demand ultimately ended up hurting Ames when, in 1887, Overman opened its own bicycle factory in Chicopee Falls.

The first photo was taken several years later, by which point the company was in serious decline. Ames remained here for about 15 more years, but in 1908 the factory complex was sold to A. G. Spalding and Brothers. This sporting goods company had been established in Chicago in 1876 by baseball player Albert G. Spalding, and in 1893 the company began manufacturing its products in Chicopee Falls. After purchasing the Ames facility in 1908, Spalding set about expanding it, adding several new buildings, and for the next 40 years the factory produced a wide range of Spalding sporting goods. Among other things, Spalding supplied the baseballs for Major League Baseball for most of the 20th century, and these balls were produced here in Chicopee. Spalding was also an early leader in golf equipment, and at one point had an entire building dedicated to producing golf balls.

Spalding relocated to a new facility in Chicopee in 1948, but the old buildings continued to be used by a variety of industries until the 1980s, when the buildings were converted into a 138-unit apartment complex known as Ames Privilege. Despite the many changes in ownership and use, though, the former Ames facility has survived with few major changes over the years. It is hard to tell in the second photo, but the same buildings from the first photo still line the canal, and the only significant change is a fourth floor, which was added to the buildings sometime after the first photo was taken. Because of its level of preservation and its historical significance, the property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Grape Street School, Chicopee, Mass

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The Grape Street School at the corner of Grape and Elm Streets in Chicopee, around 1892. Image from Picturesque Hampden (1892).

The scene in 2017:

During the mid-19th century, Chicopee developed into an industrial center, with factories in the villages of Chicopee Center and Chicopee Falls. Although situated less than two miles apart along the Chicopee River, these two villages were largely independent of one another, and for many years each had its own high school. The first high school was built in 1825 on Church Street in Chicopee Falls, and was replaced by a new building 20 years later. In the meantime, though, a second high school was opened in Chicopee Center in 1843, in this school building on Grape Street.

The Grape Street School had been completed a year earlier, and housed a primary school in the basement and the high school on the second floor. At the time, there were just two teachers in the high school, including a principal and an assistant. Thaddeus M. Szetela, in his 1948 History of Chicopee book, describes the layout of the high school: “There was one large assembly hall, equipped with desks for pupils, with a raised platform in front for the principal’s desk. There were blackboards and tables in the rear on which were a few reference books and magazines. There were openings off this platform to the north, three recitation rooms, one a library.”

This building continued to be used for Center High School throughout most of the 19th century. During this time, by far the longest-tenured and most prominent of its principals was George D. Robinson, who took the position in the fall of 1856. A native of Lexington, Massachusetts, Robinson was a 22-year-old Harvard graduate when he began working as principal, and remained here at the school until 1865, when he left to study law. He subsequently became a prominent lawyer and politician, serving as a Congressman from 1877 to 1884, and as governor of Massachusetts from 1884 to 1887.

Chicopee continued to have two high schools up until the fall of 1890, when Falls High and Center High were combined here at the school on Grape Street. A year later, a new high school building was built on Front Street, midway between the two villages, but the old Grape Street School continued to be used as a public school. It was subsequently renamed the Robinson School, in honor of its famous principal, and in 1899 a second school building was completed just to the right of it, known as the Valentine School.

The Robinson School remained in use well into the 20th century, but it was ultimately demolished in 1959 and an apartment complex was later built on the site. However, the neighboring Valentine School was used as a school into the 1980s, and it has since been preserved and converted into apartments. It stands just beyond and to the right of the apartment buildings in the 2017 photo, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.