Springfield-History.com

North Church (original)

Every now and then I come across photographs which are marked as being from Springfield, but upon further research, they are not. They are either from another state's Springfield, or sometimes are from another town in the region.

I thought that would be the case when I came across this stereoview, marked "North Church", published by Milton Bradley & Co, Springfield. I didn't recognize the church, and to me, "North Church" was the church that sits on the corner of Salem & Elliot Streets. Still, the identification wasn't written in pencil -- it was printed on a label affixed to the card, so I went ahead and bought it, puzzled as to its location.

Someone asked me when schools were built in Springfield, so I decided to consult some prior research that I had compiled. When I looked at the list of Springfield Schools that stood in 1900, I was surprised at just how few of them are still standing. Of the approximately 40 Springfield Public Schools that existed in 1900, just 10 11 remain standing -- 75% of them have been demolished.

Update: Springfield Historical Commissioner Bob McCarroll has told me that I missed a school -- Alden St. School, which was converted into a church. I was confused because the school was built in 1890, but the city had the building present on the site listed as being built in 1910.

Only one school stands from Springfield's first school building boom in the 1860's, only 2 schools from the city's second school building boom in the 1880's stand, only one single-room ungraded school still stands, and only two schools from the 1890's stand largely unmodified.

Here are the ten eleven schools, ordered by year of construction.

Indian Orchard Grammar

Indian Orchard Grammar

Built in 1868, this is Springfield's oldest standing school, although it has been significantly modified to the point where it is unrecognizable from its original design. It was renamed Myrtle Street School and the original school had another building built in front of it. Then a second building was built in the front, a twin of the first. The school was later converted into housing, I'm not sure when.

There is an exciting new development for people interested in researching Springfield and Springfield-area history: The Republican has digitized many of its back issues and is offering them online on a subscription basis.

Researching Your House

If we live in old houses we often become curious who lived here before, when they lived here and general things about the history of our homes, even early pictures of our houses.

I'm posting this photo in the hopes that someone can identify it. It is a school photo, probably from around 1900, most likely from Springfield. What is unusual about this photo is that most of the students are identified on the back -- so maybe you will find your ancestor there. If you do, I can send you a large electronic copy which you can have printed out at a photo printer like CVS or Walgreens.

I picked up a neat glass negative of the Springfield City Library. This negative apparently belonged to a former photographer from the Springfield Union, it was taken in 1887, just a few years after the library was built (in 1871). Most other photos I have seen of the library have been closer to end of its life in 1912.

This church once stood at the corner of White and Orange Streets. I identified the photo in two ways; first, the sender of this postcard mentioned that she lived at 175 White St., and that the church was across the street. Second, she mentioned that Mr. Means was the preacher, and a check of the 1910 city directory confirms that Mr. Means was the pastor of Emmanuel Congregational Church.

A row of four duplexes -- houses that were a single building, but owned by two separate people -- once stood on Elliot Street. Today, only a single duplex of this era remains and its future is very much uncertain.

Here is a photo from the only wooden duplex of the four on Elliot St. in 1910 (all others were brick). Click the image for more detail.

I went to "Papermania" in Hartford this weekend, the biggest ephemera show in the Northeast. It is held every year in the beginning of January.

I picked up a stereoview that I can't identify. It is of a school, and the pencil writing on the back simply says "Springfield Mass School".

I picked up a photo on eBay featuring the Armory Hill Young Men's Christian Association. On the reverse of the photo, it is written "1885 - Springfield College held first classes in Armory Hill YMCA".

Armory Hill YMCA