Longmeadow During the 1918 Influenza Epidemic

Area schools, including Longmeadow, closed their doors on September 27th, 1918 in an effort to stop the spread of the deadly illness. 102 years later our community and schools are struggling with how to respond to a new and totally different virus.

• What role did World War I troops stationed in Boston, Springfield, and West Springfield play?

• What about the Boston Red Sox?

• Did you know a Tent Hospital was established in Forest Park to deal with the overflow of patients at area hospitals?

In addition to newspaper articles of the period, old Annual Town Reports offers a wealth of information on a variety of topics since 1855 when our collection begins. In the 128 pages of the 1918 report, only two short paragraphs give mention to the global pandemic which ravaged the world in the waning months of the Great War.

School Committee Meeting Minutes, October 1918

In the Board of Health’s section of the report, it is stated simply, “Our community has been visited during the past year with the usual contagious diseases. But the general health of the community at large has been quite good. The epidemic of influenza that swept over the country was quite successfully combated; 75 cases being reported with 7 deaths.”

On September 24, 2020, Melissa Cybulski presented her research about life in Longmeadow during the 1918 influenza outbreak. Click here to view the video.

Contributed by Melissa M. Cybulski, Board member, Longmeadow Historical Society

Originally published September 24, 2020

The Hurricane of '38

Photo courtesy of Alan and Molly Harwood (David Booth collection) Brewer-Young Mansion/ 734 Longmeadow St in background

In the past, hurricanes were not named like they are now. The United States started naming storms with female names in 1953. As you can imagine, there were many complaints about the system! It was only in 1979 that the U. S. began naming storms with both male and female names. Names were generally re-used, so I am honored to have had storms named after me for both 1956 (category 4!) and 1965. Thankfully Betsy was retired from the hurricane name rotation after 1965.

The so-called 1938 New England Hurricane made landfall on September 21, 1938, as a Category 3 hurricane. Meteorological forecasting was in its infancy, and warnings were incomplete. Forecasters expected the storm to go harmlessly out to sea, with concern only for shipping lanes.

The storm had sustained winds as high as 160 mph and it had a recorded wind gust of 186 mph, the strongest hurricane-related wind gust ever recorded in the US! It killed an estimated 682 people, damaged or destroyed more than 57,000 homes, toppled more than 2 billion trees, and caused an estimated $308 million in damages.

The eye of the storm followed the Connecticut river northward into Massachusetts. In Springfield, the river rose 10 feet above flood stage, and winds and flooding killed 99 people. Flooding washed away the Chicopee Falls Bridge.

Photo from the Meadows, Longmeadow, MA

Photo credit: Longmeadow Historical Society archives

Notice the trolley tracks in the foreground

Longmeadow, like countless other towns in New England, lost many mature trees, especially elms, that used to line the main streets. At a special Town Meeting, held a month after the storm, town voters approved the expenditure of $14,000 for storm-related repairs.

Springfield Republican, September 23, 1938

Contributed by Betsy McKee, Board Member, Longmeadow Historical Society

Originally published September 17, 2020

South Park Estates

This is a photo of 37 South Park Avenue located near the corner of South Park Avenue and Roseland Terrace. The original owner, Owen McIntyre built this house in 1899 for the cost of $3500. It was one of the first built in South Park Estates.

The arrival of a trolley line to Longmeadow Street in 1896 linked our town to the cities of Springfield in the north and Hartford in the south. This created rapid growth and South Park Estates was the first of several planned subdivisions built within easy access to the trolley line.

South Park Estates is a 45-acre tract of land purchased from the Colton Family in 1898 by William Cheney, Theodore Leete, and Edward Murphy who described this planned neighborhood as "featuring spacious streets and terraces with a charming circular park at the center". Bounded by Forest Glen Road, and Laurel, Converse, and Longmeadow Streets, most house architecture in this area is Queen Ann Style (see photo above), Colonial Revival, or Craftsman (also known as Bungalow).

Contributed by Andrea Taupier, Board Member, Longmeadow Historical Society

Originally published September 10, 2020