1920s Archives - Page 11 of 15

Samuel Warner House, Wilbraham Mass

July 7, 2015June 20, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The Samuel Warner House on Stony Hill Road in Wilbraham, on September 3, 1923. Image from Register of the Ancestors of Samuel Warner and his Descendants (1924).

The house in 2015:

This house on Stony Hill Road was probably built in the late 1700s, and for many years it was home to some of my ancestors, starting with Samuel Warner Jr., my great-great-great-great-great grandfather. He was a veteran of two wars, having served with his father in the French and Indian War, where they fought at Fort Ticonderoga and Fort Crown Point in New York. He returned to Ticonderoga several decades later, when he was stationed at Fort Ticonderoga in 1776-1777 during the American Revolution. His son, Samuel Warner III, later took over the farm, and lived here his entire life. He died in 1824 and his son, Samuel Warner IV, my great-great-great grandfather, acquired the property following his marriage in 1827. He was a fairly prominent citizen of Wilbraham, serving as a town selectman in 1857 and as a member of the Wesleyan Academy Board of Trustees from 1848 until 1858. He died in 1859, and the house was later owned by two more generations until 1893, when it was sold to someone outside the family for the first time in probably over a century.

The first photo was taken during a family reunion for the Samuel Warner Association, which consists of descendants of the third Samuel Warner, who lived from 1763 to 1824. Several of my family members are visible in the photo, including my great grandmother, who is standing 6th from the right, in the white outfit. Her three daughters are seated together in the front row on the right, and my grandmother is the one furthest to the left, just to the right of the tear in the paper.

Today, the house is still there, but with significant modifications. It now serves as offices for the Country Club of Wilbraham, which is located on the former Warner property. There have been some significant additions behind and to the right of the house for dining and banquet facilities, but overall the historic house itself is still relatively intact on the exterior.

United States Whip Company, Westfield Mass

June 11, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The United States Whip Company building on Main Street in Westfield, around 1920. Image courtesy of the Westfield Athenaeum.

The site in 2015:

The United States Whip Company was established in 1892 with the merger of 14 whip companies, and they built this building on Main Street in Westfield as their headquarters. It was part of a large complex that took up much of the block between Main Street and Thomas Street, and some of the buildings were originally used by the American Whip Company, one of the companies later involved in the 1892 merger.

Westfield gained the nickname of the Whip City because of its many whip manufacturing companies, but by the turn of the 20th century essentially all of these were owned by United States Whip Company. By the end of World War I, around 99% of the worldwide whip production was from Westfield, and the United States Whip Company accounted for about 85% of the market. They were by far the world’s leading whip producer, but they were the leader in a rapidly shrinking industry. Automobiles were making horse-drawn carriages obsolete, which meant a limited demand for Westfield’s primary manufactured goods. In 1895, the city had 37 different whip companies; by 1926, not long after the first photo was taken, there were only 37 people working in the whip industry.

Today, the building on Main Street is still there, although it has been significantly altered over the years. The brick exterior has since been covered in stucco, and the building that was once the world’s leading producer of whips is now home to Subway, Domino’s, and other businesses. Along with the storefronts on the first floor of the original building, the space in between the “U” has been filled in with a one-story commercial block.

Starzyk Building, Chicopee Mass

July 7, 2015April 23, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The Starzyk Building at the corner of Center Street and Exchange Street in Chicopee, around 1921. Image courtesy of the Chicopee Public Library, Russ H. Gilbert Photographic Collection.

The building in 2015:

The Starzyk Building has been a prominent building in downtown Chicopee for nearly a century, and the first photo was taken right around the time that the original building was completed. It was owned by Paul Peter Starzyk, a Polish immigrant who came to Chicopee in the early 1890s and worked in the mills of Dwight Manufacturing Company, the same place where social reformer Lewis Wickes Hine would later document child labor conditions in the early 1900s. Starzyk didn’t work in the mills for too long, though, because he later went into business for himself, selling men’s clothing. His business was successful enough that he was able to build this building in 1921, and a year later he expanded it on the right-hand side. The first photo was taken before this wing was added. Today, the storefront windows have been altered, but otherwise its exterior appearance hasn’t changed much. It is still used for retail and office space, and is still one of the main commercial buildings in downtown Chicopee.

Calvin Coolidge and Allen Treadway at Plymouth, Vermont

February 10, 2016February 3, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Congressman Allen T. Treadway presenting two rakes to President Calvin Coolidge at the Coolidge Homestead in Plymouth, Vermont on August 19, 1924. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

The scene in 2014:

I’m not quite sure what’s going on in this first scene. I understand that Congressman Allen Treadway is giving two hand-carved rakes to President Coolidge, but I’m not entirely sure why. Film of this ceremony can be seen at the beginning of this video.

Congressman Treadway represented the First Massachusetts District from 1913 until 1945, and before that he was the President of the Massachusetts Senate from 1909-1911, three years before Coolidge himself would hold the same position. They never actually served together in the Senate; Treadway left just before Coolidge started, but like Coolidge he was a Republican from Massachusetts and fellow graduate of Amherst College.

Coolidge Family at Plymouth, Vermont (2)

January 23, 2016February 3, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Calvin, Grace, and John Coolidge at the Coolidge Homestead in Plymouth, Vermont, probably in August, 1924. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

The scene in 2014:

In the 1924 scene, President Calvin Coolidge and First Lady Grace Coolidge are walking toward their car, with their son John walking behind them. It’s the same car as the one in this post, but it doesn’t appear to be taken at the same time as that one, since all of them are wearing different clothing. I don’t know where they are heading, but probably not anywhere too formal, given that John is wearing overalls. Today, the scene hasn’t changed much, although sadly there are no antique cars parked in front of the house anymore.

Coolidge Family at Plymouth, Vermont (1)

January 23, 2016February 3, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Grace, John, and Calvin Coolidge at the Coolidge Homestead in Plymouth, Vermont, probably in August, 1924. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

The scene in 2014:

The 1924 photo in this post was probably taken at about the same time as this one, when John Coolidge (center) was stacking kindling at his grandfather’s farm in Plymouth, Vermont. Standing on either side of him are his parents, Calvin and Grace Coolidge. Today, the barn doesn’t look much different, aside from the ramp leading up to the door.