Tag Archives: Samuel Williston

Nashawannuck

by Rick Teller '70, Williston Northampton Archivist

June 20, 2015 Rick Teller '70 1 Comment

(Wish you were here, part II)

Postcard, ca. 1910, of Nashawannuck Pond by moonlight. (Click all images to enlarge.)

Nashawannuck. The name is apparently Algonquian for “Valley of the Little River.” The “Little River” was probably the Manhan — another local Native American appellation. Ironically, the Manhan doesn’t feed Nashawannuck Pond, that large body of water that dominates the Cottage Street district of Easthampton. Scenic it may be, but its original purpose was industrial. Over the course of several decades of the 19th century, Samuel Williston and his associates dammed a small stream to create a power source for the complex of textile mills that sprung up around Williston’s button and elastic factories. In what was surely an unusual idea for its time, the sluice that drove the water wheels passed directly under the factory buildings and fed a collection pond behind them, on Pleasant and Ferry Streets.

In 1847 and 1848 Samuel Williston attempted to calculate the volume of water coming over the spillway.

The work was accomplished in stages. This 1873 map shows a single body of water — the “Upper Mill Pond” had not yet been named “Nashawannuck” — divided only by a railroad causeway. A few years later a small dam was built just above the railroad, creating Williston Pond. Williston Avenue, incorporating another dam, was built, extending across the pond from the intersection of Village Street (now Payson Avenue), Union Street, and Cottage Street, thus isolating what became known as the Rubber Thread Pond, which remains behind the modern-day City Offices. The result was a system comprising four ponds at descending levels. (Click for a current map.)

The entrance to to the spillway is clearly visible right of center, in the postcard image below.

Postcard, ca. 1910. The image originated from the same photograph as a night view further down the page, with different coloring applied in the printing process.

While Samuel Williston’s intentions in creating the pond may have been practical, recreational and scenic implications soon came to the fore. Samuel and Emily Williston donated a large tract of land known as “Brookside” to the town. It was mostly wooded, and abutted Nonotuck Park. Eventually it was developed as a cemetery, but remains a lovely spot. Boaters, including a short-lived Williston Seminary rowing team, swimmers, and fishermen used the pond. In a town dominated by textile mills, whose employees typically worked six 12-hour days or more, it became an essential part of community culture. Continue reading →

Posted in: Easthampton History, Founders, Local History, Wish You Were Here

The Congregational Church in Easthampton History

By Rick Teller '70, Archivist

October 14, 2014 Rick Teller '70 4 Comments

This presentation was given at the Easthampton Congregational Church on October 11, 2014, part of the Easthampton CityArts+ monthly Art Walk. The text and graphics have been slightly modified for this blog.

The Payson Church, now the Easthampton Congregational Church, on Main Street, with Williston's Old Campus in the background. (Easthampton Congregational Church Archives) — The Payson Church, now the Easthampton Congregational Church, on Main Street, with Williston’s Old Campus in the background. (Easthampton Congregational Church Archives [henceforth ECC]) (Click images to enlarge.)

At the time of New England’s Great Awakening, when Jonathan Edwards was pastor in Northampton, Easthampton did not exist. There were a few landholders in the village of Pascommuck, out on what is now East Street. Late in life Edwards would recall that around 1730 “there began to appear a remarkable religious concern at a little village belonging to the congregation, called Pascommuck . . . at this place a number of persons seemed to be savingly wrought upon.”

Note Edwards’ phrase, “little village belonging to the congregation.” In colonial Massachusetts, church and town were interdependent. One could not exist without the other. In 1781 Easthampton residents, citing the growing size of their village, petitioned for severance from Northampton. Attending services in Northampton cannot have been convenient – it was a ride or walk of five or more miles, over roads that barely deserved the name.

Anticipating the success of their request, they began construction of a meeting house on the town common, now the rotary. However, Southampton, only recently independent and perhaps fearing the dilution of their own small congregation, blocked the petition. It was not until June of 1785 that the Northampton church agreed to the formation of an Easthampton parish, thus allowing the town of Easthampton to be incorporated. The following November, 46 adults were dismissed from the Northampton church to form the first congregation in Easthampton. 15 Southampton families followed, and the congregation was formally organized on November 17. Continue reading →

Posted in: Campus and Building History, Easthampton History, Founders, Local History, Williston Seminary

Ephemera

June 29, 2014 Rick Teller '70 1 Comment

Ephemera: Things that exist or are used or enjoyed for only a short time; items of collectable memorabilia, typically written or printed ones, that were originally expected to have only short-term usefulness or popularity. Recorded in English from the late 16th century as the plural of ephemeron, from Greek, neuter of ephēmeros ‘lasting only a day’. As a singular noun the word originally denoted a plant said by ancient writers to last only one day, or an insect with a short lifespan, and hence was applied (late 18th century) to a person or thing of short-lived interest. Current use has been influenced by plurals such as trivia and memorabilia.¹

Samuel Williston is often presented as an ever- and over-serious, deeply religious, hard-driven New England entrepreneur. Much of this is probably true —though Samuel apparently worked hard at creating his own legend. (For a biographical essay, please read “The Button Speech.”) Occasionally we see glimpses of someone a bit more . . . well, human. His grandson, also named Samuel Williston, recalled “That he had softer feelings than might have been guessed from his manner, was indicated by his toleration of young children about the house, as well as by his habit of feeding daily with his own hands the family cat.”²

So Sam was a cat-lover. But there was also at least one dog, a black Newfoundland named Major. We still have the great man’s dog license. Strictly speaking, Major belonged to the cotton mill. And the town clerk had the temerity to charge Sam two bucks — about $30 in current terms — for the document. One wonders how many Easthampton residents would have paid this.

Continue reading →

Posted in: Easthampton History, Founders, Local History

The Old Neighborhood, 1844

November 10, 2013 Rick Teller '70 Leave a comment

campus 1841 — “View of Williston Seminary, East Hampton, Mass., Showing Part of the Village, with Mount Tom in the Distance.” [Click to enlarge.]

The image above is of an 1844 lithograph by Edmund Burke Kellogg and Elijah Chapman Kellogg of Hartford, Conn. The Kellogg brothers were prolific publishers of scenic, historical, and sentimental prints, active from 1830 until 1900, second in popularity only to the rival firm of Currier & Ives. The print measures 18 x 14 inches, and was published in two states, the color lithograph shown here, and a monochrome version. (Our reproduction leaves off the lengthy title for no better reason than the entire sheet would not fit on the Archives’ scanner.)

It is probably the earliest published image of Easthampton; certainly of Williston Seminary. The vantage point is West Street, on the bluff above the Manhan River, which is visible in the middle foreground. At this time none of the later construction—Shop Row, the Town Hall, etc.—had even been contemplated. Open land, most of it the village common, ran right down to the riverbank.