1910s

Josiah Cooley House, Longmeadow, Massachusetts (4)

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The northwest corner of Longmeadow Street and Emerson Road in Longmeadow, in October 1912. Image courtesy of the Longmeadow Historical Society, Paesiello Emerson Collection.

The scene in 2023:

These photos show the same house as the ones in the previous three posts, but from further away. As discussed in more detail in the first of these posts, the house was built around 1760 as the home of Josiah and Experience Cooley. However, the property itself had been in the Cooley family for many years prior to that, and Josiah’s father Eliakim lived in a house that was built here on this same site around the 1710s or 1720s. The current house would remain in the family for another century, until Josiah’s great grandson, Josiah Cooley Colton, sold it in 1869.

In 1872, the house was purchased by William G. Emerson, who lived here until his death in 1887. His daughter Annie subsequently inherited the property, and by the time the first photo was taken she was living here with her younger brother Henry and her older half brother Paesiello. It was Paesiello who took the first photo, sometime in October 1912, and it shows the house from the corner of Longmeadow Street and Emerson Road.

At the time, the house included a significant amount of land. As was the case for most of the old houses on Longmeadow Street, it had a relatively narrow frontage on the street, but the property extended for about a third of a mile beyond the house, almost all the way to where Interstate 91 is now located. Annie’s brother Henry farmed this land, and according to his 1943 obituary he was, at one point, one of the largest raspberry producers in western Massachusetts. His obituary also noted that he farmed asparagus, and later in his life shifted to poultry and eggs. Not much of the farmland is visible in the first photo, although a portion of the large barn can be seen in the distance on the far left side of the photo.

By the time the first photo was taken, the house had already undergone many changes since its construction a century and a half earlier. It originally had a saltbox-style roof with two second story rooms in the front and a long, sloping roof in the back. This was  altered around the 1820s or 1830s, when the roof was raised to create a full second story. Along with this, a new two-story wing was added to the north side of the house, and it may have also been during this renovation that the one-story wing was added to the back of the house. Along with this, the original 12-over-12 windows in the front part of the house were replaced with 6-over-6 ones, the interior shutters were replaced with exterior ones, and the current doorway was likely added around this time too.

The Emersons were the last family to use this property for farming, and after Henry’s death in 1943 the property was sold. At some point afterwards, the land that extended beyond the house was subdivided, and new houses were built on the former farmland, as Longmeadow transitioned from a quiet farming community and into a full-fledged suburb of Springfield. The barn in the back was demolished at some point during this time, but the house itself survived, and it underwent some restoration work during the mid 20th century, on both the interior and exterior.

Today, the house still stands as one of the many historic 18th century homes on Longmeadow Street. Its surroundings have changed, including the subdividing of its former property and the redevelopment of adjacent parcels, and most of the trees in the front yard are now gone. Most significantly, these included the massive elm tree on the right side of the first photo. This tree was likely much older than the house itself, but it likely fell victim to Dutch Elm Disease in the decades after the first photo was taken. However, at least one tree from the first photo appears to still be standing. The small maple tree just to the left of the doorway in the first photo is likely the same one in the center of the second photo, where it now towers over the house and partially hides it from view in this scene.

Josiah Cooley House, Longmeadow, Massachusetts (2)

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The house at the northwest corner of Longmeadow Street and Emerson Road in Longmeadow, around the 1910s or 1920s. Image courtesy of the Longmeadow Historical Society, Paesiello Emerson Collection.

The house in 2024:

As explained in more detail in the previous post, this house was built around 1760 as the home of Josiah Cooley (1716-1778), his wife Experience (1714-1798), and their children. It would be owned by their descendants for more than a century, and it was the home of five generations of the family before it was sold in 1869. It was later purchased by the Emerson family in 1872, who would own it until 1943. Residents during this time included town historian Annie Emerson, who wrote a detailed historical account of this house. Her brother Paesiello also lived here in the early 20th century. He was a prolific amateur photographer, and he took many photos of this house, including the first one here in this post.

This house has seen many changes over the years, both before and after the first photo was taken. The house originally had a saltbox-style design, which was common in mid-18th century New England. Such homes generally had two stories in the front part of the house, with a long sloping roof in the back. However, this was altered around the 1820s or 1830s. The roof was raised on the back part of the house to create a full second story, and a wing was added to the north side of the house, as shown on the right side of this scene. The rear addition to the house was also probably built during this time.

Aside from major structural changes, the appearance of the house was also modernized around the 1820s and 1830s. This included installing new 6-over-6 windows in place of the original 12-over-12 ones, which were then reinstalled in less visible locations in the back part of the house. As part of this, the original interior shutters were removed, and were replaced with the exterior ones that are shown in the first photo. The current front doorway was likely also added during this time.

In the century since the first photo was taken, the house has seen further changes, although these have generally been less drastic than the early 19th century changes. Many of these occurred in the late 1940s and 1950s, and included restoring portions of the interior while also modernizing other parts of it. On the exterior, the so-called “coffin door” on the left side of the house was removed, and at some point around this time the shutters were removed. Other changes included a larger window on the ground floor of the north wing, which is now the location of the modern kitchen.

Overall, despite these changes the house retains a high degree of historic integrity, on both the interior and exterior. Most of the windows in the front part of the house date to the early 19th century renovation, and many of the windows in the back are the original 12-over-12 windows from the 1760s. On the interior, most rooms still have their original pine floors, along with original wainscoting and paneling. It stands as a good example of an 18th century New England home, and it is one of the many historic properties that still line Longmeadow Street.

 

Ford’s Theatre, Washington, DC (2)

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The exterior of Ford’s Theatre on 10th Street NW in Washington, DC, around 1909-1919. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, National Photo Company Collection.

The scene in 2021:

As explained in more detail in the previous post, Ford’s Theatre is famous for having been the site of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination on April 14, 1865. The theater had opened in 1863, but after the assassination it was acquired by the federal government and converted into offices. This involved the entire reconstruction of the interior, and much of the interior was rebuilt again in 1893, following a tragic collapse of the interior floors.

The building continued to serve as government offices and storage until the early 1900s, and in 1932 it became the site of a museum in memory of Abraham Lincoln. Then, in 1933 it was acquired by the National Park Service, and in the 1960s the interior was again reconstructed, this time to convert it back into a theater.

The first photo was taken around 1909-1919, showing the exterior during its time as an office building for the War Department’s Division of Records and Pensions. Today, the exterior remains preserved in its original appearance, and the restored theater interior continues to be used for performances. It is open to the public for tours, as part of the Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site.

Petersen House, Washington, DC

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The Petersen House at 516 10th Street NW in Washington, DC, around 1918-1920. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, National Photo Company Collection.

The scene in 2021:

These two photos show the Petersen House, a rowhouse that is famous for having been the place where Abraham Lincoln died on the morning of April 15, 1865. It is located on the west side of 10th Street NW, on the block between E Street and F Street, and it was built in 1849. The original owners of the house were William and Anna Petersen, German immigrants who had arrived in the United States in 1841. William was a tailor, but the family also earned money by taking in boarders, including nine who were living here at the time of Lincoln’s assassination.

On the night of April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln was attending a performance of Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theatre, which is located across the street from here. During the play, at around 10:15, John Wilkes Booth entered the presidential box and shot Lincoln in the head, before jumping down to the stage and making his escape. In the meantime, several doctors who were in the audience rushed to Lincoln’s box to treat him, and they determined that the wound was fatal.

Rather than trying to move Lincoln all the way to the White House, the doctors decided to find a nearby house. Lincoln was carried outside, and around this same time one of the boarders at the Petersen House, Henry S. Safford, heard a commotion outside and went out to investigate. Seeing the men carrying the president, he waved them into the house, and directed them toward a bedroom in the rear of the first floor.

A number of physicians attended to Lincoln throughout the night, but there was little that they could do beyond removing blood clots. Mary Todd Lincoln was here for part of the night with her husband, as was their son, Robert Todd Lincoln. Other important visitors included Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Senator Charles Sumner. Many of them were present when Lincoln died at 7:22 in the morning, including Stanton, who famously said either “now he belongs to the ages” or “now he belongs to the angels” after Lincoln’s death.

For the Petersen family, having the president die in their house certainly brought them a great deal of attention, but it did little to help their financial situation. Hundreds of visitors streamed into the house every day, with many of them making off with whatever souvenirs they could take, including cutting off pieces of the carpet, the wallpaper, and even the bloody sheets. All of the boarders ended up moving elsewhere, because of the lack of privacy from the many curious visitors.

William Petersen eventually died of an overdose of laudanum in 1871, and his wife Anna died four months later. Their heirs owned the house for several more years, before selling the property to Louis and Anna Schade in 1878. They, in turn, sold the house to the federal government in 1896, which preserved it as a museum, making the house a very early example of historic preservation in the United States.

The first photo was taken around 1918-1920, showing the exterior of the house along with the adjacent buildings. As indicated by the sign on the front stairs, the house featured the “Oldroyd Lincoln Memorial Collection of over 3,000 articles,” and it was open to the public “at all hours,” for an admission price of 25 cents. This collection was owned by Osborn H. Oldroyd, who had lived in the house since the late 1890s. He served as the caretaker of the house, and in return he paid no rent, and he was allowed to charge a small admission fee for visitors to see his extensive collection. Oldroyd eventually sold this collection to the federal government in 1926, four years before his death. Then, in 1932, the collection was moved across the street to Ford’s Theatre.

Today, more than a century after the first photo was taken, the surrounding area has seen considerable changes. However, both the Petersen House and the neighboring building to the right are still standing from the first photo. The Petersen House is still owned by the federal government, and it is administered by the National Park Service as part of the Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site, which includes both the house and the restored theater across the street.

Sargent Gallery, Boston Public Library (2)

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A view of the murals in the Sargent Gallery on the third floor of the Boston Public Library’s McKim Building, around 1916-1919. Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

The scene in 2021:

These two photos show the view in the Sargent Gallery facing in the opposite direction from the previous post. The photos in that post show the original portion of John Singer Sargent’s mural Triumph of Religion, which was installed here in 1896. The rest of the panels were added over the next few decades, between 1903 and 1919.

Unlike the panels from 1896, which featured images related to the Old Testament and other religions of the ancient Near East, most of the subsequent panels focused on the New Testament. On the far side of the room, in the distant center of this scene, are two panels that were installed in 1903. The lunette panel depicts the Trinity, and it also has a crucifix with Adam on one side of it and Eve on the other. Beneath this panel is a rectangular one depicting eight angels.

The next installation occurred in 1916, shortly before the first photo was taken. This included the panel on the ceiling in the distance, titled Fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary, and two smaller panels beneath it on the walls: Handmaid of the Lord on the left, and Madonna of Sorrows on the right. The 1916 installation also included six lunette panels at the tops of the walls, with three on each side. On the left side is Fall of Gog and Magog, which is mostly out of view in these photos, followed by Israel and the Law in the center and Messianic Era in the distance. On the right side, starting in the foreground, is Hell, Judgment, and The Passing of Souls into Heaven.

The first photo was taken after the 1916 installation but prior to 1919, when Sargent added two more photos. One of these, just out of view on the far left in the 2021 photo, is Synagogue, and further in the distance on the left is Church. However, Sargent never finished the entire mural project. His intent had been to paint one final panel, depicting the Sermon on the Mount. It would have gone above the stairs, on the left side of the scene, but he died in 1925 before it was completed. The intended space here in the gallery has remained empty ever since, as seen on the left side of the 2021 photo.

Today, aside from the panels that were added in 1919, the only noticeable changes from the first photo are the floor lamps on the left and the railings on the steps to the right. Sargent’s mural underwent a major restoration from 2003 to 2004, and the gallery remains one of the most distinctive features of the McKim Building, which is renowned for both its architecture and its artwork

Mount Tom Railroad, Holyoke, Mass (3)

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The trolley Elizur Holyoke approaching the summit on the Mount Tom Railroad, around 1905-1915. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The scene in 2021:

The first photo shows the trolley Elizur Holyoke, one of two that operated on the Mount Tom Railroad. Together with the Rowland Thomas, these two cars formed a funicular railway; they were connected by a cable that allowed the descending car to use its weight to help pull the other one up the mountain. This cable, which is seen in the foreground in the middle of the tracks in the first photo, was not powered by a motor at the summit, but instead each car had its own motors, which drew power from overhead wires by way of a trolley pole, as shown atop the Elizur Holyoke in the photo.

The Mount Tom Railroad opened in 1897, allowing visitors to reach the newly-constructed Summit House atop the 1,200-foot Mount Tom. It was just under a mile in length, and it rose 700 feet in elevation, with an average grade of 14 percent and a maximum of 21.5 percent. Most of the route was straight, with the exception of a curve near the summit, which is shown here in this scene. The cars typically ran once every half hour, although they could be operated more frequently depending on demand. Each car could seat 84 passengers, and over the course of an average season the railroad typically carried about 75,000 people to and from the summit.

Aside from the railroad itself, this scene also offers a view of the northernmost portion of the Mount Tom Range, along with part of the Holyoke Range. Appropriately enough, the first photo shows the Elizur Holyoke directly below Mount Holyoke. Both the mountain and the trolley share the same namesake, and the mountain also lent its name to the city of Holyoke, where Mount Tom is located. Further to the left of Mount Holyoke is Mount Nonotuck, which is visible near the upper left corner of the first photo.

When the railroad and Summit House here on Mount Tom opened in 1897, both of these mountains already had long-established hotels at their summits, with the Prospect House on Mount Holyoke and the Eyrie House on Mount Nonotuck. Unlike those businesses, though, the Summit House did not offer overnight accommodations, and instead catered entirely to day visitors. In any case, the aging Eyrie House was never a major competitor to the Summit House, and it ultimately burned in 1901. As for the Prospect House, its 20th century history would largely mirror that of the Summit House, and both ultimately closed in the late 1930s amid declining business during the Great Depression.

The Summit House was demolished around 1938, and the railroad tracks were removed around the same time. Then, in 1944 the property was sold to the radio station WHYN, which built towers and buildings at the summit and converted the railroad right-of-way into a paved access road. Overall, though, this scene has not changed much, aside from the loss of the railroad tracks. The slopes of Mount Tom still look much the same as they did when the first photo was taken, as do the mountains in the distance, although some are obscured by tree growth in the present-day photo. Even the Prospect House on Mount Holyoke is still standing, and it is barely visible as a tiny white speck just to the left of the summit in both photos. Now preserved as a museum, this historic building is one of the few surviving 19th century mountaintop resorts in the northeast, having long outlived its newer competitors on Mount Nonotuck and here on Mount Tom.