"Prepare- for follow me you must"
A simple gravestone in Longmeadow Cemetery from 1720, with a classic inscription, warns passersby to consider their own fates. It marks...
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Lenny Shaker
- Nov 22, 2022
- 3 min
The Chapel
The First Church of Christ of Longmeadow is a truly historic town landmark. At one time there was an associated structure that stood for...
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Beth Hoff
- Nov 22, 2022
- 4 min
Dairy Farming in Longmeadow
Jarius R. Kibbe and oxen of Frank B. Allen. Image courtesy of Stephen Forbes. Until the turn of the century, most Longmeadow families...
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Betsy McKee
- Nov 21, 2022
- 3 min
Standish, or "Why don't you speak for yourself, John?"
Have you ever heard of a standish? Besides the Pilgrim story of Miles Standish, I hadn't either. Long before Henry Wadsworth Longfellow...
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Betsy McKee
- Nov 21, 2022
- 3 min
Fire! Fire!
If you were one of the many people who voted at the Community House this week, then you were visiting the site of a significant mid-19th...
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Melissa M. Cybulski
- Nov 19, 2022
- 3 min
April 1775: Longmeadow Reports
Battle of Lexington 1775 by Amos Doolittle This week Massachusetts celebrates Patriots’ Day, a holiday commemorating the Battles of...
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Melissa M. Cybulski
- Nov 18, 2022
- 4 min
Longmeadow's Irish
Today's History Note takes a look back at the history of the Irish in Longmeadow in honor of St. Patrick's Day. "Irish emigrants leaving...
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Christopher Cummings LHS '22
- Nov 17, 2022
- 7 min
Deerfield Sculpture
Hello, everyone. I’m Christopher Cummings and I’m a senior at Longmeadow High School. I’ve been interning at the Longmeadow Historical...
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Melissa M. Cybulski
- Nov 16, 2022
- 5 min
Sentenced to Death for Treason: Alpheus Colton of Longmeadow
Jonathan Hale Daybook: Jan 25, 1787 On January 25, 1787, a Longmeadow merchant, Jonathan Hale, recorded in his daybook a debit to Alpheus...
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Beth Hoff
- Nov 13, 2022
- 7 min
John Akley and Sarah Forbus
Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze Who were John Akley and Sarah Forbus? They are pauper children from Boston whom Ensign...
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Melissa M. Cybulski
- Nov 12, 2022
- 4 min
Fridays with Zoe- Documenting Black Lives in Longmeadow
This summer the Longmeadow Historical Society has been participating in a project called “Documenting the Early History of Black Lives in...
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Melissa M. Cybulski
- Nov 4, 2022
- 7 min
The Elusive Johnny Appleseed... of Longmeadow- Part II
Illustration by George Richards from "Johnny Appleseed and Other Poems" by Vachel Lindsay, NY, 1929 Last week’s History Note article...
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Melissa M. Cybulski
- Nov 4, 2022
- 4 min
The Elusive Johnny Appleseed... of Longmeadow
Harper's Magazine, 1871 This article is widely believed to be the source of much of the myth of Johnny Appleseed. Is it true? Was he...
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Beth Hoff
- Nov 4, 2022
- 5 min
Stockbridge Indians and Rev. Stephen Williams
Stockbridge Indians and Rev. Stephen Williams Stockbridge, Massachusetts is the quintessential New England town. Norman Rockwell, who...
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Betsy McKee
- Nov 2, 2022
- 2 min
Solomon Burt and the Explosion at the Powder Mill
As this gravestone attests, patriots faced danger at home as well as on the battlefield. This stone stands in Longmeadow Cemetery,...
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Betsy McKee
- Nov 2, 2022
- 3 min
To Encourage Music
Music at Longmeadow's early meeting house had been a very controversial topic during Stephen William's early years as minister. The...
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Melissa M. Cybulski
- Oct 27, 2022
- 3 min
Early Music in Longmeadow's First Church
Recently on Facebook, the First Church of Longmeadow began sharing a few videos of their virtual choir. In this global pandemic age when...
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Betsy McKee
- Oct 27, 2022
- 2 min
Jerusha Mather Williams Colton (1783 - 1844)
Jerusha Mather Williams was born in 1783 to Ensign Samuel Williams and Lucy Burt. Jerusha's grandfather was the Reverend Stephen...
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Beth Hoff
- Oct 22, 2022
- 2 min
Matthew's Swamp
How did colonial communities in Massachusetts deal with outbreaks of highly communicable and deadly diseases? Like now, one solution was...
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