“The Multitude Have Risen:” Longmeadow Learns of the Boston Tea Party

Engraving by E. Newberry, 1789. New York Public Library

You’ve probably seen some of the coverage come across your news and social media feeds in the past week about the 250th anniversary of an infamous day in American history - the Boston Tea Party.  In preparation for the day, organizations like The Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum and Revolution 250 have been identifying participants of the day and placing memorials at their graves and preparing a December 16th recreation of the famous dumping of the tea in Boston Harbor.

We are always curious about how news of such important events was received here in Longmeadow, so we went off to our favorite resource for all things 18th century … the diary of Rev. Stephen Williams (1694-1782).  Though the event happened on the night of December 16, 1773, Stephen Williams does not hear of it until a few days later. On December 20, 1773, he recorded in his diary*, “This day we hear that the multitude have risen, and have taken all the Tea (belonging to the East India Company) that was on the ships in Boston Harbour – (broke the Boxes in pieces) – and flung it into the Sea. A strange affair indeed…” That was all. Over the next few days and weeks, he immediately returns to reflecting on matters closer at hand: weather, health of his family and congregants, and concerns over a proposed split from Springfield.

Rev. Stephen Williams (1694-1782)

It would be another two and a half years before some frustrated Longmeadow men staged their own “tea party” of sorts when they set upon town merchant, Samuel Colton’s, shop late on the night of July 24, 1776 - a mere three weeks after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. They broke in to steal molasses, sugar, rum, and other items from the West Indies that they believed he had been overcharging for. Rather than throw it into the Connecticut River, they brought it to the home of another town resident who was trusted to sell it at a fair price. 

Merchant Colton fiercely defended himself against his neighbors’ accusations that he was more loyal to the crown of England than to his own country. He was deeply angered and hurt by their accusations against him as unpatriotic. Within a year, the robbers attempted to pay him back the cash from the sales of the items, but he refused to accept it, on grounds that the money had depreciated so much that it wasn’t worth half of what it had been at the time of the theft. Nearly 250 years later, the verdict is still out on whether Longmeadow’s “Tea Party” raid on Colton’s store was justified or not. 

-Contributed by Melissa M. Cybulski, Longmeadow Historical Society Board Member

* Spelling in Diary entry has been edited here for clarity

Sources:

Storrs, Richard Salter. The Longmeadow Centennial. Springfield, MA: 1883. (218).

Williams, Stephen. Diary for December 20, 1773. (Transcript Volume 8 229-230/ Original Volume 8 page 880).  Accesse

What We're Thankful For

During this season of thanksgiving, the Longmeadow Historical Society would like to reflect on what we are grateful for. This kind of review is good for the soul—it reminds us of all the good in the world when the nightly news might suggest otherwise.

We are grateful for generous friends-- over the past year we have received some wonderful new collection objects. A former Longmeadowite sent us a framed silhouette of five of his ancestors, complete with identification on the back! This gift was the impetus for some exploring into the world of silhouettes and several family trees.

Another former local sent us several items from his family, including two crucibles used for the manufacture of eyeglasses. He also gave us some old slide photos which proved invaluable in identifying a stolen object. And, as it happens, both of those donors were classmates at Center School, as discovered in a class photo of 4th graders from 1947! Between the two, they identified almost everyone in that photo. A recent donation brought us a 1930’s era Flexible Flyer sled, used right here in Longmeadow on Blueberry Hill. Two other local families have loaned us items from their families, providing us with more stories to tell about life in the 19th century. We are also thankful for the determined law-enforcement professionals who recovered a target rifle stolen in 1970!

We are also extremely grateful for all of the generous donors who have given us monetary donations. Each and every dollar is used to continue our work—telling the stories of the past. We couldn’t do it without you! Grants have also enabled us to paint the exterior of the building, rehabilitate storm doors, and add energy saving interior storm windows. Another grant from the Pioneer Valley History Network and the Massachusetts Cultural Council allowed us to organize an area-wide open house with four of our sister history organizations on the same day, called “History on the Go!” This event brought visitors from near and far, and helped us to re-establish connections with our neighbors. We plan to do it again next year.

We are also grateful to our friends who have volunteered their time, including acting as docents for open houses. Others have generously shared their expertise: people like an interpreter from a local museum, who shared his expertise with clocks and musical instruments; another local historian who can answer almost any question we throw at him; and a curator who came to look at furniture, but ended up identifying the source of a reverse-painted scene on a wall clock within seconds of walking into the room!

And for all those faithful readers of our weekly History Notes—thank you! With a special shout-out to those extra-thoughtful people who comment on our posts with words of encouragement and praise! We extend our heartfelt wishes for a healthy, happy holiday season with family and friends. -Submitted by Betsy McKee, Longmeadow Historical Society Board Member.

In honor of next week's upcoming Giving Tuesday, we hope you will consider stopping by the Donations page on our website and contributing. Giving Tuesday is an important fundraising day for small volunteer-based organizations like the Longmeadow Historical Society.

Chandler Avenue

Across the Longmeadow Green from First Church of Christ and stretching to the west is a small country lane named Chandler Avenue. Flanked on the north by the White Tavern (766 Longmeadow Street) and on the south by the Old Country Store (776 Longmeadow Street), this quiet street today belies its history as a hub of industrial and commercial activity in the western village of Longmeadow. In the nineteenth century, this short street was home to, at various times, a general store, a tavern, a spectacle shop, a button manufacturing business, a blacksmith shop, a stable, several residences, and even, briefly, a “segar shop.”

The Old Country Store, built in 1805 by Calvin Burt and Stephen Cooley, has always been a commercial building. Originally a general store, it has also been a gold and thimble shop, a button factory, a spectacle shop, a retail store, a real estate office, and, currently, The Spa on the Green. Proprietors of the general store included Calvin Burt, Edwin K. Colton, Charles Allen, Charles L. Wood, Seth Steele, and Clarence Cooley. A gathering place for town residents, the store included the town’s first telephone, the post office, and the store scales.

The White Tavern was originally built as a private residence for the Bliss family. David White, a master carpenter, purchased the house in 1786 and converted it into a tavern. Over the years, it has served as a tavern, a boarding house, and a temporary schoolhouse. In 1873, William W. Coomes, a silversmith and spectacle maker with a shop across the street in the Old Country Store, bought the White Tavern for his home and it has remained a private residence ever since.

Dimond Chandler, for whom Chandler Avenue is named, was a local entrepreneur who helped establish both the spectacle industry and button manufacturing industry in Longmeadow. At one point, Dimond Chandler owned both the Old Country Store and the White Tavern along with the land behind them. Seeking an opportunity to make the vacant land in the back productive, Dimond decided to partition and sell it. In 1858, he laid out Chandler Avenue between these two buildings and started selling off the lots. Today, the four private residences on the street help to tell the story of Longmeadow.

24 Chandler Avenue

Located on the north side of Chandler Avenue, this house was originally the barn and carriage house for the White Tavern. It was likely built prior to 1800. At some point, probably in the mid-1800’s, the building was moved westwardly to its current location and converted to a residence. In 1879, Diamond Chandler’s heirs sold it to Abby S. Burt, wife of Frank H. Burt, a gunsmith and thimble maker and it remained in the Burt family for many years.

52 Chandler Avenue

At the end of Chandler Avenue, is the Hartigan House, 52 Chandler Avenue. In August of 1858, Dimond Chandler sold land for a “building lot” to Martin Hartigan. By the next January, Mr. Hartigan had erected a dwelling home on the property.

The 1870 map of Longmeadow includes the first depiction of Chandler Avenue – a path leading from the spectacle shop on Longmeadow Street to the button shop and then to the home of “M. Hartigan.”

Martin’s son, John, worked as a coachman and operated a livery stable on the property. He also served the town as a Water Commissioner. Descendants of the Hartigan family occupied this residence until 1951.

31-33 Chandler Avenue

South and east of the Hartigan House is this pretty wooden Victorian two-family house. Dimond Chandler sold the land for this house to Margaret B. Taylor in 1872 and her heir sold her “homestead” to John Ward in 1892.

It is unclear when the house was built, but it first shows up on the 1894 map of Longmeadow.

19 Chandler Avenue

19 Chandler Avenue is on the south side of Chandler Avenue east of 31-33. Now a private residence, the building most likely was built around 1840 to house the expanding Newell Button Factory. Dimond Chandler partnered with the Newell brothers to establish the button factory. Factory workers, most of whom were young, unmarried women, lived in the White Tavern (now serving as a boarding house) located catty corner across the street. The Newell Button Factory flourished, outgrew the space available at 19 Chandler Avenue, and moved to a new location in Springfield in 1863.

In 1873, Dimond Chandler sold the building to William C. Pease who operated it as a multifamily rental property. The building remained what the Longmeadow Assessor called a “tenement building” for many years (the term “tenement” was synonymous with “apartment” at that time). Mr. Pease also owned the blacksmith shop on Chandler Avenue and Noah Webster, the blacksmith, lived at 19 Chandler Avenue for many years.

For further information on these historic sites, please visit our website (longmeadowhistoricalsociety.org) and check out previous History Notes articles on “The White Tavern," “Boarding House for Newell Button Factory Employees," and “Silver and Gold Spectacles and Thimbles.”

Sources:

Historic Homes of Longmeadow

Archives of the Longmeadow Historical Society

Hampden County Registry of Deeds