Diggin' in The Meadows

The Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge, colloquially known as “The Meadows,” is a stretch of meadows and wetlands that dominate the western lowlands of Longmeadow, MA. This area has been the site of human habitation for over 10,000 years and from the late 19th century onwards, it has been the subject of approximately three archaeological digs, which have uncovered many interesting artifacts from Longmeadow’s past.

The first series of excavations started in the spring of 1883 when Frederic Ward Putnam, the “Father of American Archaeology,” was notified by an Agawam farmer named Benjamin Wilson Lord that there were Native American burial sites across the river from where he lived. Per the 1880 census, Lord was a 41-year-old native of East Windsor, Connecticut.

Ceramic rim and body shards recovered by Putnam in 1883.

Credit Peabody Museum at Harvard College

While Putnam only seems to have visited the site once, Lord kept going back through the spring of 1885 and continued to send artifacts and human remains to Putnam at Harvard’s Peabody Museum where he was president. If you are interested in learning more about the artifacts unearthed during these excavations, you can do so by going to https://collections.peabody.harvard.edu/collections and using the advanced search function and searching “Longmeadow”. From there you can learn more about the 35 artifacts that are in the Peabody collection because of Putnam and Lord. In recent years, museums like the Peabody have begun the process of reevaluating their practices of collecting, displaying, and interpreting collections of items such as those from Longmeadow, which include the human remains of indigenous people. For more on their current work see their statement here.

For nearly a century afterward, the Meadows remained untouched by trained archaeologists until 1969 when American International College (AIC) Sociology Professor, Robert Lowrie, led a series of excavations in the then Fannie Stebbins Reservation and Wildlife Refuge looking for Native American artifacts. During these digs, Lowrie was assisted by both students from AIC and members of the Springfield Naturalist Club. They found artifacts such as steatite bowl shards, scrapers, and other tools. He believed that the people who used the tools were from a culture that lived around 1800 BC that was transitioning from a hunter-gatherer mode of living to one based more in horticulture. These digs continued until 1971 and the artifacts are currently in storage at AIC.

Peabody Museum, Harvard

Lowrie inspired an AIC student, Margaret Stoler, to take up her own line of archeological inquiry into the past of the Meadows. Stoler was a History major and Anthropology minor at AIC and was an active member of both the Springfield and Longmeadow Historical Societies. As Longmeadow was preparing for the Bicentennial, Stoler formed an archeological subcommittee of the larger Bicentennial Planning Committee as part of an effort to excavate the remains of some of the original homes of Longmeadow.

When Longmeadow was originally settled, the homes of the settlers were in the Meadows near the Connecticut River and it was only later, after the 1695 flood, that the settlement moved up to where the green is today. By researching old maps and comparing them to more recent maps of the Connecticut River shoreline, town engineer Robert T. Bitters believed he had found the spot where the homesite of one of the earliest English residents, Benjamin Cooley, had been. Stoler and the archeological committee decided to investigate and aimed to try to find the foundation of Cooley’s house. They planned to display any artifacts they found in the Storrs’ house as part of the Bicentennial celebration.

On May 10, 1974, the committee began searching for the foundation of the Cooley house. Later that summer, Stoler reported to The Springfield Republican that her team had made some interesting discoveries. While digging, they unearthed stones that were part of the Old Bay Path cattle trail which ran from Boston to Springfield and then down through Longmeadow to Hartford. Additionally, they found 17th-century brick remnants which were later determined to be part of Cooley’s house. After their bicentennial exposition, the artifacts were remitted to the state for storage and safekeeping.

Stoler with some artifacts from the dig she led. Credit Springfield Republican

Since Stoler’s dig, there have not been any large-scale, organized archaeological excavations in the Meadows. And while a 1988 “Plan for Historic Preservation” commissioned by the Historic District Commission and the Historical Society recommended that there be an archaeological survey conducted of the area, it does not appear that was ever completed. While there are no plans currently, it would be fascinating to know what a new survey by professional archaeologists trained in the latest techniques and having the benefit of the most current technologies might be able to learn and share about the earliest history of communities living and working on the banks of the Connecticut River in what is now known as Longmeadow.

-Contributed by Tim Casey, Longmeadow Historical Society Board Member (Special thanks to Michael Baick for getting me started on the subject and Stebbins Board, Friends of Conte, and the Allen Bird Club for their assistance with my research.)

Originally published June 9, 2022

Sources

Goldapar, Danielle. “Class Notes.” Lucent Magazine 6, no. 1, 2013.

Longmeadow, Massachusetts, Katherine M Greenleese, and Katherine L Kottaridis, Longmeadow Massachusetts: A Plan for Historic Preservation § (1988)

Moriarty, Thomas. “Digging History - Literally.” Springfield Sunday Republican, August 18, 1974.

O’Brien, Ruth. “Digs Lead to the Old Bay Path.” Springfield Sunday Republican, October 12, 1974.

Springfield Sunday Republican, 5 October 1969, "Naturalists Dig into Past at Stebbins Reservation", GenealogyBank.com

Union-News (Springfield, Massachusetts) 18 January 2003, obit for Margaret A. Stoler, GenealogyBank.com

Washington D. C, and Various Persons, 1880 US Census § (1880).

Longmeadow’s Medal of Honor Recipient: Cpl. Edward G. Wilkin

Col. Wilkin’s Medal of Honor

Collection of the Longmeadow Historical Society

As we close out a week that began for many with Memorial Day ceremonies, let us pause and remember Longmeadow Medal of Honor recipient, Corporal Edward G. Wilkin (1917-1945). Wilkin Drive and Edward Circle, located near the high school between Grassy Gutter Road and Williams Street, were named in his honor. Wilkin himself resided at 45 Bellevue Avenue.

Wilkin Drive and Edward Circle, Longmeadow

As a 27-year-old Corporal in the U.S. Army, Company C, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, Cpl. Wilkin was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during World War II.

Edward Wilkin was born in Burlington Vermont on March 25, 1917. The family moved to Springfield, MA after 1920 and Edward eventually resided on Bellevue Avenue in Longmeadow. He married Hazel Brayton in 1938 and had a son, Robert Jesse, in 1941. Edward worked for Adaskin Furniture and Pratt and Whitney before entering the Army in December 1943.

Wilkin earned the Combat Infantry Badge for exemplary action against the enemy on January 18, 1945. For his actions on March 18 1945 on the Siegfried Line in Germany, Corporal Wilkin was awarded the Medal of Honor. This medal is the highest and most prestigious military honor given for “Intrepidity. Above and beyond the call of duty. Risk of life. Selflessness. Exemplary action. Unwavering devotion. Conspicuous gallantry. Extraordinary heroism”

The citation from the U.S. War Department tells the story of his contribution to the battle. It reads::

“Corporal Edward G. Wilkin, Company C, 157th Infantry, spearheaded his unit's assault on the Siegfried Line in Germany on March 18, 1945. Heavy fire from enemy riflemen and camouflaged pillboxes had pinned down his comrades when he moved forward on his own initiative to reconnoiter a route of advance.

He cleared the way into an area studded with pillboxes, where he repeatedly stood up and walked into vicious enemy fire, storming one fortification after another with automatic rifle fire and grenades, killing enemy troops, taking prisoners as the enemy defense became confused, and encouraging his comrades by his heroic example.

When halted by heavy barbed wire entanglements he secured bangalore torpedoes and blasted a path towards still more pillboxes, all the time braving bursting grenades and mortar shells and direct rifle and automatic weapons fire. He engaged in fierce fire fights, standing in the open while his adversaries fought from the protection of concrete emplacements, and on one occasion pursued enemy soldiers across an open field and through interlocking trenches, disregarding the crossfire from two pillboxes until he had penetrated the formidable line 200 yards in advance of any American element.

That night, although terribly fatigued, he refused to rest and insisted on distributing rations and supplies to his comrades. Hearing that a nearby company was suffering heavy casualties, he secured permission to guide litter bearers and assist them in evacuating the wounded. All that night he remained in the battle area on his mercy missions, and for the following two days he continued to remove casualties, venturing into enemy-held territory, scorning cover and braving devastating mortar and artillery bombardments.

In three days he neutralized and captured six pillboxes single-handedly, killed at least nine Germans, wounded 13, took 13 prisoners, aided in the capture of 14 others, and saved many American lives by his fearless performance as a litter bearer. Through his superb fighting skill, dauntless courage and gallant, inspiring actions, corporal Wilkin contributed in large measure to his company‘s success and cracking the Siegfried Line.”

Unfortunately, Corporal Wilkin was killed by a German sniper on April 18, 1945. The war in Europe ended on May 8, 1945. Nearly six hundred Longmeadow men and women served in the armed forces during World War II. For actions during World War II, 472 United States military personnel received the Medal of Honor. Twenty-two Medals of Honor were awarded to men connected to Massachusetts: thirteen serving in the Army, seven in the Marine Corps, and two in the Navy.

The Medal of Honor was presented to Corporal Wilkin’s son posthumously in January 1946.

Springfield Republican January 14, 1946

General Omar Bradley at reinterment ceremony-Boston Herald May 31, 1948

Today, Cpl. Edward G. Wilkin is buried in Longmeadow Cemetery.

The medal is currently in the possession of the Longmeadow Historical Society. This is an incredible treasure honoring a true Longmeadow hero.

-Contributed by Lenny Shaker, Longmeadow Historical Society Board Member

Originally published June 2, 2022

Memorial Day

This coming Monday, May 30th, is Memorial Day. Although the exact origin of the holiday is unclear, it was widely celebrated beginning May 30th, 1868, in honor of the ultimate sacrifice of Civil War soldiers. General John A. Logan, Commander-in-Chief of the G. A. R. (Grand Army of the Republic) issued the proclamation declaring the first Decoration Day, as it was originally named. This author remembers visiting the graves of relatives with red, white, and blue flowers every Decoration Day. Gradually the commemoration encompassed military personnel from other conflicts .It became a Federal Holiday in 1971, and was celebrated on the last Monday in May. It is fitting that this year the 154th anniversary of the first Decoration Day falls on the traditional May 30th.

Longmeadow honors many soldiers from conflicts going back to the Colonial Wars. Here are a few of their stories:

Lt. Nathaniel Burt, 1711-1755, Longmeadow Cemetery

Lieutenant Nathaniel Burt (1711-1755) was killed in the "Bloody Morning Scout" battle of September 8, 1755, during the French and Indian Wars. His wife Sarah, and their daughter, also named Sarah wrote a letter to Nathaniel, addressed "To Lt. Nathaniel Burt, In the Army Marching Against Crown Point." The letter arrived 3 days after his death. The letter, full of newsy items from home, is in the collections of the Longmeadow Historical Society.

Also in the archives is an anonymous elegy written about Burt "Elogy On the death of Mr. Nathaniel Burt, Deacon of the Church of Christ at Longmeadow, and Lieutenant in his Majesty's service; who was killed in the memorable battle at Lake George, Sept. 8, 1755, in the 45th year of his age." It describes the battle, and the way the news was received back in Longmeadow "...But yet no certain tidings we could hear, which held us in suspence, 'twixt hope and fear Until a Reverend letter pass'd the plain with the sad mournful news--Brave Burt is slain."

Moving to the American Civil War, the Coomes family gave up 2 sons to the cause. Elias Coomes (1835-1862) was killed at the Battle of Fair Oaks, VA on May 31, 1862. His older brother James Madison Coomes (1823-1864) died as too many soldiers did in the Civil War, at Andersonville Prison, on May 4, 1864.

James Madison Coomes

Elias Coomes

Both were laid to rest in the Longmeadow Cemetery. Their portraits are in the collections of the Historical Society, as is a "soldier's pocket bible" inscribed with James' name.

To learn more about other soldiers from Longmeadow, we encourage you to visit the Memorial on the town green, and the Longmeadow Cemetery. Look for the markers for the Colonial Wars, the SAR markers for the Revolutionary War, and the many flags flying in the breeze. We salute you all.

Contributed by Betsy McKee, Longmeadow Historical Society Board Member.

Originally published May 26, 2022