THrcmgH
TixrRey Pass

OL Beyond

SKETCHES OF LOCAL HISTORY.
BY
ALICE M. WALKER

Ye Amherst Girl of ye Olden Tyme.
" By a simple assemblage of facts, the author has contrived to introduce her
readers to the people, the customs, the occupations and the recreations which
made up the life of Amherst during the last century.''—//. H. Neil/, Professor of
English Literature, Amherst College.
Early Days in the Connecticut Valley.
" Mrs. Walker has gathered from many sources, facts, and put them together
in a most interesting narrative, told in a style unusually picturesque." — The
Nation.
The Story of a JVew England Country Church.
" It relates the unique history of the meeting house and the religious society
of North Amherst."
" Mrs. Walker not only instructs but she interests and enlivens. She writes
in a graceful style and is at the same time a keen humorist.1' — Edwin A. Grosve-
nor, Professor of Modern Government and International Law, Amherst College.
Mary Mattoon and Her Hero of the Revolution.
" The story as told within these covers gives us a fresh and unhackneyed pic
ture not only of the childhood and early girlhood of our heroine but of the sturdy
little boy, layingfrom year to year the foundations of that strength and master
fulness of character which afterwards carried him so triumphantly through the
days that tried men's jsouls." — Mabel Loomis Todd, President of the Amherst
Historical Society.
Through Turkey Pass to Amherst and Beyond.
This booklet describes Amherst and bits of neighboring towns as seen by the
tourist who rides on the trolley car from Mount Norwottuck to Sugar Loaf, and
from Amherst College to Pelham heights. Oldtime associations are recalled by
reference to the history of homesteads and scenes along the way.

These booklets are illustrated, containing reproductions of old portraits and
pictures of Amherst as it appears to-day. The first four have cover designs
drawn by Miss Martha Genung. All are interesting sketches of local history
and suitable for souvenirs and holiday gifts.
The price of Mary Mattoon and Her Hero of the Revolution is fifty cents ;
the price of each of the others is twenty-five cents. Sent anywhere on receipt of
price. Mrs. C. S. Walker, 21 Main Street, Amherst, Mass.

Through Turkey Pass

TO

Amherst and Beyond

ALICE M. WALKER

\

AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS 1903

Copyright 1903
.By Alice M. Walker

THROUGH TURKEY PASS TO AMHERST
AND BEYOND.

'• Thou lovely vale of sweetest stream that flows :
Winding and willow fringed Connecticut :
Swift to thy fairest scenes my fancy flies."
* # * * *
" Back to thy peaceful villages and fields
My memory, like a weary pilgrim, comes
With scrip and burdon to repose awhile."
Thus sang J. G. Holland of his native valley. To his youth
ful poetic vision the Holyoke mountains, as seen from old
Northampton, were a mystery and an inspiration. Shadows
of fleecy clouds chased each other up and down the green
slopes of Norwottuck. Along the rocky summit of Bare
Mountain summer storms gathered, and from this stronghold
marched across the valley. Sturdy evergreens with roots run
ning deep into the scanty soil between the cliffs and boulders
diversified the snowy winter landscape. This ever-changing
mountain wall, rising against the southern sky, was a perpetual
challenge to the youth who afterward climbed those heights, and
left for us a vivid word-painting of the scene which he beheld.

Through Turkey Pass
" I saw below me, like a jewelled cup,
The valley hollowed to its heaven-kissed lip.'-
*****
'• Across the meadows, carpet for the gods,
Northampton rose, half hidden in her trees,
Lifted above the level of the fields,
And noiseless as a picture.
" Eastward, upon another fertile stretch
Of meadow, sward and tilth, embowered in elms,
Lay the twin streets and sprang the single spire
Of Hadley, where the hunted regicides
Securely lived of old and strangely died :
And eastward still, upon the last green step
From which the Angel of the Morning Light
Leaps to the meadow lands, fair Amherst sat,
Capped by her many windowed colleges :
While from his outpost in the rising north,
Bald with the winds and ruddy with the suns
Of the long eons, stood old Sugar Loaf,
Gazing with changeless brow upon a scene
Changing to fairer beauty evermore."

TurKey Pass.
The early settlers of Hadley were prosaic people. To them
those southern mountains represented difficulty and danger, an
obstacle to be overcome, a wall separating them from the out
side world. Among the tangled woods and rocky passes
lurked bears and wildcats. From out those lofty hiding-places
came the stealthy Indian foe, and back among the rocky
shades he fled when his bloody work was done. A century
later the people who lived to the east of Hadley bade a sor-

To Amherst and Bevoiid

5

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v
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mf
a*
ELM TREE AND HOMESTEAD OF THOMAS J. THURSTON
rowful farewell to their venturesome sons and daughters, who,
attracted by tales of the rich lands and fisheries at the " Great
Falls " of the Connecticut River, moved families and goods to
that distant region. When the hostile Indian and beast of prey
had disappeared, the Holyoke mountains were to the mind of
the Amherst farmer a never failing woodlot, a game preserve
whence he could procure fresh meat, and a pasture for his cattle.
The first travelled path through the forest from Amherst to
6 Through Turkey Pass
South Hadley was a steep and crooked trail, leading around
great boulders and over rocky ledges and he who would take
the journey was obliged to trudge on foot. Deer fled into the
woods on either hand. Rabbits darted like shadows across
the path and sometimes a rattlesnake beside the way sounded
an alarm. Bolder than all these, at echo of footsteps, flocks of
wild turkeys gobbled and fled. The traveler seldom failed to
fire at these presumptuous birds with his old-fashioned musket,
and assured himself of a welcome by presenting his hostess at
South Hadley Falls with the material for a sumptuous dinner.
These early settlers were successful hunters, and the moun
tains around this valley afforded them opportunity to procure
the game so necessary to comfort. Deer furnished food and
clothing, the skins being made into breeches, jackets and
moccasins, and as a result the animals became exceedingly
scarce after 1780 in spite of a law passed for their protection,
enforced by the " Informers of Deer " who were appointed to
arrest offenders. The wild turkeys, however, increased and
multiplied, and housewives from their great brick ovens some
times served birds weighing almost sixty pounds. One flock
remained in 1842, a few turkeys in 1845, one °^ gobbler in
185T. Not many years ago the initials of the oldtime turkey
hunters might have been seen cut on the trees along the way
near the places where their famous shots were made, and tales
of their skill are handed down to their descendants. Hunters
and game have passed away, but we who spin through " Turkey
Pass" on the Amherst and Sunderland trolley cars, in imagi
nation spy amid the mountain shadows the barrel of an ancient
musket, and hear the shrill notes of that last old turkey-
gobbler as his ghost flies despairing from its native haunts.

8 Through Turkey Pass
The old Indian trail, made passable for horses, was after
ward widened into a wagon road, over which plodded travelers
on business or pleasure, farmers with loads of produce bound
for Springfield, and later, on visitors' days, the favored college
students who were allowed to call on their " cousins " within
the sacred precincts of " Mount Holyoke Female Seminary."
Mr. Oren Williams, just passed his ninetieth birthday, remem
bers working on that old road before it was abandoned for the
present highway. But all old-fashioned means of transporta
tion proved too slow for the Amherst farmers of the present
day, and the enterprising citizens of the town built an electric
railroad. " From his outpost in the rising North " old Sugar
Loaf looked down and saw the trolley car deposit its crowds of
passengers within the limits of his shadow and almost at his
feet. Not content with opening to the people of Sunderland a
direct line of communication with Amherst and Northampton,
the railroad company sent gangs of workmen along the old
Indian trail, who laid the rails and stretched the wire. On
July 12, 1902, two cars decked with flags and filled with officers
of the company and their friends ran through the Notch
to South Hadley. By means of the Amherst and Sunderland
electric railroad the Holyoke mountains, once a wall of sepa
ration, have become a medium of communication between two
colleges, and a bond of union between two neighboring towns.
Rumors of the wild and unique scenery along this new route
have gone abroad, and during the first season loaded cars
brought visitors from New York, New Haven and other dis
tant cities. " Fair Amherst, with her many windowed col
leges " is to-day not only an educational center, but also a

To Amherst and Beyond g
place of arrival from all parts of the state, and of departure to
the four points of the compass.
The section of territory opened by the Amherst and Sunder
land trolley line is rich in historic incident and association.
The traveler who would visit this locality under most favorable
circumstances will leave the city hall in Holyoke on a clear day
in early summer, or when the mountains are glowing in the
garb of late October. We pass Mount Holyoke college in
South Hadley. The scene changes from fertile meadows to
rocky pasture land and before us, seeming impassable, lie the
Holyoke mountains. No cog-wheel road is needed here, for
the Indian who trod this winding way selected the lowest pas
sage between two mountain peaks over which to make the
journey, and the white man has followed in his track. The
rails are laid upon a firm foundation. The car moves up a
gentle grade, made easy of ascent by filling in with the abund
ant supply of rocks flung by gigantic hands from heights
above. The mountains close about us and we have reached
the Notch of the present day, in olden time the " Round Hill
Crack" or "Turkey Pass."
These mountains are precipitous and of volcanic origin, hav
ing been forced up through the surrounding strata. To the
botanist and geologist they are of especial interest. The flora
is varied and furnishes innumerable specimens for collections
made by students of the neighboring schools and colleges.
Wild beasts no longer affright the ramblers through the woods,
but foxes and squirrels and rabbits are there, and birds may be
seen in great variety. Trout streams tempt the angler, and the
bee-hunter and the entomologist find pleasure and profit, in
their researches among the peaks and foothills.

AMHERST COLLEGE-HENRY T. MORGAN LIBRARY

To Amherst and Beyond ii
A tract of land near the Notch will soon be cleared for pic
nic grounds. In the Notch itself the traveler from Holyoke
sees to the west a famous talus slope known as the " Devil's
Garden," where for ages the rocks have fallen and split in
pieces. Thousands of tons of shingle stones suitable for the
construction of macadam roadbeds are now made available,
and will no doubt be used for the improvement of adjacent
highways. In early days rattlesnakes came out to sun them
selves upon these solitary ledges, but none have been seen
here for many years, and the mountain climber need not fear to
venture on the footpath wdiich leads over the rocks beyond to
the top of Bare Mountain which overlooks the pass from the
west. No house is on the summit and no fee will be required,
but the extended view which meets the eye will well repay the
slight exertion. »
Mount NorwottucK
Another peak, the highest in the Holyoke range, rises jubt
beyond Round Hill east of the pass. This is Norwottuck,
named from the old Indian tribe that owned the land
before the white man came. From its summit may be seen
the whole of the beautiful Connecticut valley. Far to the
north rise the Green Mountains of Vermont, and black against
the sky lies Monadnockin New Hampshire, while nearer looms
Mount Toby, like a gigantic sleeping elephant. Beyond the
eastern hills Wachusett may be seen. A distant western peak,
the highest in our state, recalls the Indian chief, old Gray
Lock, who from its summit watched the signal smokes of his

12 Through Turkey Pass
followers encamped in the valley below. Behind the Pelham
hills lies Mount Lincoln, a green embankment from whose
heights the patriots' bonfires blazed in Revolutionary days.
Farther south with its tall spire against a cloud, like a toy
building set upon the edge of the horizon, stands the white
meeting-house in Prescott. From north to south the glistening
river takes its tortuous way. Hadley and Amherst, Belcher-
town and Granby, seem at our very feet. Holyoke with its
thriving industries and Springfield with its armory, fix our
attention, and many prosperous towns and country villages in
this fair valley lie misty in the distance.
How different the scene from that beheld by savage King
Philip seated in his chair of old red sandstone on Mount Sugar
Loaf ! From his exalted position the Indian chief gazed upon
dense forests, broken only by clearings about the struggling
river settlements. Tradition tells us that as he gazed he con
sidered plans by which the pale intruders were to be wiped out
of existence and the valley restored to its primitive possessors.
After the dark days of Indian conflict and massacre had passed,
the scene from the top of Norwottuck showed Hadley as a
little group of houses in the bend of the river, and across the
stream was Northampton, another small cluster of buildings.
Below the Great Falls to the south a faint cloud of smoke on
the horizon marked the location of Springfield. The few
houses in Deerfield and Northfield were hidden in the great
northern woods, which extended, an unbroken wilderness, to
Canada. In 1760 Paul Coffin, a famous traveler, climbed Norwottuck
and described the landscape as a " Beautiful garden." Timothy

AMHERST COLLEGE

14 Through Turkey Pass
Dwight made several trips to the top of the range and recorded
his impressions in enthusiastic language. President Edward
Hitchcock at the head of a party of students July 4, 1845, cut
a road up Mount Holyoke and dined with Mary Lyon and her
girls upon its summit. Professor Shepard upon that occasion
made the following prophecy :
" Henceforth with showers of blessings on your heads will
ascend to this most commanding eyrie of the Connecticut val
ley the tired traveler, the wan invalid, prattling childhood and
even hoary age : while maiden beauty, no more toiling over
uncertain footpaths, and up steep declivities, will with flowing
robe and plumed hat be attended hither by gallant knight on
prancing steed."
The next year the class of 1846 cut in the same manner a
road up Mount Norwottuck. The dwellers in South Amherst
built a platform on the summit and five hundred students from
both " literary institutions " joined with people of the town in a
fourth of July picnic on the mountain top. Salutes were fired
and President Hitchcock in his address offered the following
sentiment :
'•' Mount Norwottuck : hitherto it has been a wall of separation
between two literary institutions. To-day it is a point of union.
May it ever be an object of deep interest to both."
Rev. George E. Fisher of North Amherst, a member of the
class of 1846, well remembers this unique celebration in which
he was an active participant. At this time a steam railroad
had invaded the valley. Concerning the new road the Hamp
shire and Franklin Express, the Amherst weekly paper, said:
" And may we not fancy that even these mountains as they
look down upon the outspreading vales, and feel the iron

To Amherst and Beyond 15
shackles binding together their feet, and behold the rushing
engine of art casting forth fire and smoke, safely conducting
along said road most tasteful carriages filled with human
beings, will at such scenes smile in their elevated grandeur? "
This trembling hope has become a reality. The progress of
modern science has made the " fire and smoke " and the " rush
ing engine of art" no longer a necessity in order to enjoy
quick transportation. The mountains " in their elevated gran
deur" have allowed a trolley road to penetrate their solitudes.
Who can doubt but that they really smile at the passage of the
¦' tasteful carriages " by means of which Norwottuck has
become a ''point of union." The wish of President Hitchcock
is to-day completely fulfilled.
The Bay Road.
It is not necessary, however, to climb the mountain in order
to admire the northern prospect, for this is seen from the car
just before passing the brow of the hill. The road is perfectly
ballasted, and the descent toward Amherst is smooth and grad
ual. Reaching level around, we cross the old Bay Road, once
the stage route to Boston, a historic highway, whose narrow
winding course is thronged with shadows of the past.
The Bay Road in the olden time was the channel through
which laws were communicated, and by means of which news
was received from distant friends. That stony highway,
crossed in its length by a hundred streams, was a bond radiat
ing with love and hope and memory. Here and there a hospi
table tavern opened its doors to travelers and hunters, who
drank their flip and smoked their pipes before its fire.

To Amherst and Beyond rj
Bartlett's tavern, burned many years ago, was on the Bay
Road in South Amherst, and Jonathan Bridgman kept an
" ordinary '' in the old homestead now occupied by his descend
ant, Mrs. Louisa Porter. We can imagine how the tavern-
keeper's little lad listened with open mouth to tales of strange
adventures, and then crept trembling to bed, to shiver beneath
the bedclothes at the long drawn howl of the hungry wolf on
the mountain side, and to dream of wildcats ready to leap from
overhanging boughs on him who passed beneath their shadow.
The dwellers in these taverns lived in troubled times. Dur
ing the French and Indian wars their homes were on a military
highway. Captain Reuben Dickinson at the head of a com
pany of Amherst volunteers hastened along the Bay Road to
Boston, summoned by the gun fired at Lexington. Burgoyne's
troops, after the surrender, were escorted over this same road,
stopping to fill their canteens at a place where three little
mountain brooks came together. Cannon for Commodore
Perry's fleet rumbled along by the Bridgman tavern, and heavy
carts loaded with merchandise passed to and from the Bay.
As settlements on the river multiplied the Bay Path became a
great thoroughfare. Droves of cattle and of pigs and flocks of
sheep raised clouds of dust along the way. Later came stage
coaches, driven at furious rate night and day. The " Fast
Mail Coach " left Boston at five o'clock in the morning and
reached Bartlett's tavern at three in the afternoon, always stop
ping to water the horses at the watering place which has been
in use for more than a hundred years. The old Bay Path is
to-day almost deserted, a narrow, crooked, grass-grown high
way. Its traditions are unknown to the present generation and

1 8 Through i Turkey Pass
its history will soon be forgotten. About its mossy banks and
timeworn pebbles lingers still the romance of the olden time
and its heroic deeds. Those who choose to walk along this
road a short distance eastward will be rewarded with an
extended view of northern mountain scenery unsurpassed in
western Massachusetts. SovitK AmHerst.
The West Street of South Amherst, along which the trolley
road passes, is bordered by a succession of fertile farms,
abodes of thrift, intelligence and enterprise. The first home
stead on the left has been the lifelong residence of its owner,
Emery T. Darling, and was the home of his father and grand
father. Parts of the house were built more than a hundred
years ago. Upon the right we see one of the oldest houses in
the neighborhood, the home of Walter Hayward. The project
ing upper story of this building proves it to belong to one of
the most antique types of architecture in New England.
Amherst has long been noted for its handsome elms, but none
more stately and beautiful can be seen in the valley than the
magnificent tree in front of the homestead of Thomas J. Thurs
ton, recently sold to Charles Stiles. Here in order to
avoid destroying this ancient landmark, the surveyor located
the electric road between the tree and the house, thus saving
to the owner one of the chief ornaments of his estate. This
farm was the birthplace of Mr. Thurston's paternal grand
mother. The tree which was planted by a member of the
family in the early part of the last century has grown to be fif
teen feet in circumference with branches spreading a hundred

20 Through T7irkey Pass
feet. From beneath this tree by day we can see the trolley
track along its crooked course far up the mountain side and at
night we spy the gleaming eye of the car as it emerges from
the rocky cut, and may watch it as like an erratic firefly it
appears and disappears among the trees, and finally rushes
past before we know that it is upon us. From the Thurston
farm across an expanse of fertile meadows lies the village of
South Amherst, the spire of its church rising white against the
Mount Lincoln foothills. This section of the town has been
the home of many distinguished men and women. John C.
Hammond of Northampton, and the Bridgman family, well
known as writers, teachers and journalists, were born in South
Amherst and received their early education in its schools.
The first public library in town was kept at Deacon David
Moody's, and the first anti-slavery society was organized in the
schoolhduse on the Green. From South Amherst have come
selectmen, representatives, and county commissioners. The
names Merrick, Dickinson, Bridgman, Dana, Johnson, and
Read are prominent among those who organized and have sup
ported the Congregational church. At the south end of the
town lives Mrs. Henry Bishop, Amherst's one real Daughter of
the American Revolution. Several of the old houses on West
Street have passed into the hands of strangers. The large and
fertile farms of James E. and Allen P. Merrick, who not many
years ago were influential citizens and filled many public
offices, have descended to their sons, who occupy the old
homesteads. But few other representatives of the early settlers
remain. The trolley line, skirting the hill, crosses " Fort River,"

MAIN STREET, TOWN HALL AND COMMON— A view from (lie Amlierst House Yeianda

22 Through Turkey Pass
which rises in Pelham, and flows into the Connecticut at Hock-
anum, near the site of the old Indian fort. At Mill Valley the
car passes in sight of the Clark house and the Gaylord house,
both of which were built in 1782. These afford good types of
the gambrel-roofed dwellings much in favor with an earlier
generation. Near this point Shays Street, named for the
famous leader of the rebellion, joins South Pleasant Street.
For some distance the trolley follows the road over which the
insurgents, in the winter of 1787, fled in hot haste on their way
to Pelham, pursued by General Lincoln and his army. The
spacious golf links of the Amherst Country Club are located
on Mount Doma to the left, south of the tracks of the Boston
and Maine railroad, and the Club-house may be seen far back
among the trees. The Country Club, though recently organ
ized, has a large number of members, and is very popular with
townspeople and students. Near the Boston and Maine sta
tion in the broad highway, the annual muster and training of
the militia, commanded by General Mattoon and other famous
officers, was held in olden time.
Amherst College.
From this point we see, crowning the hill, a group of brick
buildings, recalling the early days of Amherst College, as
described in Ye Amherst Girt of Ye Olden Tyme.
" When the first idea of Amherst College entered the minds
of men who saw far into the future history of the town, and
were anxious for its welfare, the fund then started was called
the ' charity fund, five-sixths of the interest of which shall be
appropriated to the education of indigent, pious young men for
the ministry.'

To Amherst aud Beyond

23

BOLTWOOD TAVERN SIGN— From History of Amherst

" Our Amherst girl was grown and married, when plodding
along the road leading to the village, a strange procession
might have been seen. Ox-teams laden with building material
of all kinds, with lime and sand and lumber, driven by farmers
from the ends of the town, from Leverett and Shutesbury and
Belchertown, hastened to college hill and deposited their bur
dens among the trees. Pelham contributed great blocks of
stone, a firm foundation upon which to build, and all was a
gift, without money and without price. The farmers turned
out in force and camped in tents upon the hill, and labored

2-f

Through Turkey Pass

OLD STRONG HOUSE— From History of Amherst

like the Jews building their temple. They plowed and scraped
and levelled and dug the trenches for the foundations, and
amid scenes of excitement such as the quiet town had never
before witnessed the brick dormitory which to-day we call South
College rose solidly above the cornerstone of Pelham granite.
on which it has rested securely for over eighty years.
" All this is proudly recalled as, annually, at Commencement,
the students sing in their Memory Hymn to Old Amherst :

Vi^

V

i *rs i

II

li

THE OLDEST STONE IN WEST CEMETERY— From History of . Imhasl

Through Turkey Pass

Hi'

*:. -**... i *

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S3~^S?l*f i *£*«'

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— *¦*¦»*#?&*¦*

CHAPEL AND LIBRARY— Agricultural College
' Here, in toil and stress of trial,
Here in sturdy self-denial,
Wrought, to found these hoary walls,
Men whose lifelong consecration,
Rich in sacred inspiration,
Us to high endeavor calls,
Ay, to largest manhood calls.'"
Amherst College of to-day under the direction of its Presi
dent, George Harris, D.D., LL.D., has attained to a high
rank among institutions of its class. It does not aspire to be a
university, nor is it a technical school. It is content to be a
college where young men may obtain a liberal education that
shall broaden and discipline the mind and develop those ele
ments of individual character which will fit the man for whatever

To Amherst and Beyond 27
profession or occupation the future may bring to him. Its cur
riculum has especially to do with the humanities, while science
is not neglected. History, literature, oratory, the languages,
philosophy, and art are taught by inspiring instructors. Among
its corps of professors are found men of genius and of com
manding influence, and its alumni occupy honorable positions
all over the world.
Our car carries us past the white house south of the Boston
and Maine tracks, in which Ebenezer S. Snell, one of the first
two graduates of the college and afterward Professor of Mathe
matics, lived and made his meteorological observations. From
the railroad bridge we may notice the grand-stand of Pratt
athletic field. Observatory House, the residence of Pro
fessor David P. Todd, celebrated as the conductor of many
eclipse expeditions and of Mrs. Mabel Loomis Todd, a
well known author and lecturer, is also plainly to be seen.
Adjoining Observatory House, the new College astronomical
observatory will soon be built. The third house north of the-
railroad track was once the home of President Edward Hitch
cock, who used the octagon annex as a study and cabinet.
Near by is the Delta Upsilon fraternity house, and a little
further on is the house, once the home of Professor Fiske in
which his daughter Helen was born. Many of us remember
her amusing story entitled " The Naughtiest Day of My Life,"'
published in a magazine, which described the adventures of
two little girls who many years ago ran away to Hadley and-
were brought back by Professor Tyler. This naughty Amherst
heroine afterward became the most noted writer of fiction that
Amherst can claim by birth, and, as Helen Hunt Jackson, the

28

Through Turkey Pass

NORTH COLLEGE— Agricultural College
author of " Ramona " and a " Century of Dishonor " is
accorded a high rank among the authors of America.
The old Nash tavern, whose ancient sign is on exhibition in
the rooms of the Amherst Historical Society, stood on the
right hand side of the street, about half way up College hill.
Near its site lived Edward Tuckerman, the distinguished Pro
fessor of Botany, who was a pioneer in the study of the flora of
the White Mountains, and whose name is borne by one of the
famous ravines in that region. Crowning the western brow of
the hill, built of brick with white trimmings, is the President's
Colonial mansion, and beside it stands the beautiful Morgan
library. The next building is College Hall, formerly the First
Congregational church, where in olden time townspeople and

To Amherst and Beyond 2g>
students worshipped together, and where now the public exer
cises of Commencement day and week are held. On the
eastern side of the street may be seen closely grouped on Col
lege hill the North and South dormitories and the old chapel
surmounted by its clock tower which is visible for many miles
in every direction. Near by are Appleton Cabinet, containing
the famous " bird-tracks " discovered by President Hitchcock,
Williston Hall in which is the Mather Art collection, Walker
Hall, an attractive building made of light gray granite, and the
old observatory with its dome shaped roof. The gymnasium
and the college church are hidden among the trees and at the
northeast corner of the grounds is the red brick chemical and
physics laboratory. The drive which leads to the church-
affords a fine outlook over the eastern valley and Pelham
heights. Travelers from all over the world have declared the
extended landscape spread before him who climbs to the top
of Amherst college tower to be unsurpassed in beauty and
variety by any viewed in foreign lands.
Approaching the village we pass on the left the Psi Upsilon
house, which was built in 1822 and occupied for several years
by the President of the College. Afterward it was the home
of Professor Fowler and his daughter Emily, the granddaughter
of Noah Webster and mother of Paul Leicester Ford. Thecream
brick fraternity house of Alpha Delta Phi, surrounded by its
velvet lawn, presents an imposing appearance.
Kair Amherst.
It would be pleasant to remember the famous citizens of the
olden time whose names are connected with every foot of

jo Through Turkey Pass
ground over which we have passed, who walked upon these
streets and lived and died in these old houses. Our modern
institutions are a record of their deeds, and their memory is
held in grateful recollection. Side by side with the car from
Northampton the Amherst and Sunderland car rolls up to the
common. An hour and a quarter from the time we left the
Holyoke city hall we have arrived at the Amherst House.
Here the genial proprietor, D. H. Kendrick, gives us a hearty
welcome and an excellent dinner. Many travelers by trolley,
surprised to find the comfort and elegance of the city in a
country village, are tempted to tarry awhile with Landlord
Kendrick and enjoy his hospitality, while seeing the town, and
at Commencement all his available rooms are engaged far in
advance. The table of the Amherst House is the pride of the
management and is daily supplied with fresh fruit and vege
tables from the Agricultural College farm, and with meat and
poultry from the best markets. The parlors are spacious and
elegantly furnished and the dining-room is airy and well
lighted, while from the broad veranda the guests enjoy a pleas
ant outlook.
The Amherst House is built on land given bv the town to its
first minister, Rev. David Parsons, and by him deeded to his
son, Gideon Parsons, who kept an " ordinary " in a small one-
story building with gambrel roof. In 1806 Elijah Boltwood
kept the tavern which had then become a two-story structure,
painted yellow. Before this oldtime hotel, from a stout post, a
marvelous sign was suspended. A well stocked bar-room on
the lower floor offered refreshment to the weary, and up stairs
in the dancing hall the frivolous were enabled to enjoy their
favorite recreation.

To Amherst and Beyond

3'

DRILL HALL— Agricultural College
The Boltwood tavern was for years one of the best known
inns in western Massachusetts, and many a traveler timed his
journey that he might spend a night beneath its hospitable
roof. Coaches rolled up with crack of whip before the office
door, and distinguished guests inscribed their names upon the
old register and while sitting around the roaring fire discussed
and decided the fate of the nation. Those famous worthies all
are gone, and could they visit their ancient haunts thev would
not recognize in the handsomely appointed modern hotel the
old-time tavern of their recollection.
The world moves on, and the fact is emphasized most
strongly to the guest who, from the veranda of the Amherst
House watches the trolley cars start out in four different direc
tions, and realizes that he has but to choose his car, to be
landed in Sunderland, Pelham, Holyoke or Northampton.

j 2 Through Turkey Pass
The eye is pleased to wander across the velvet turf of the com
mon to Grace Episcopal church and to the fine red brick Town
Hall, the pride of Amherst. This building contains offices and
public library and court room below, while on the second
floor an audience room will seat a thousand persons. It is dif
ficult to realize that over the common, now a miniature park,
in olden time cows wandered at their will, with clanging bells,
and that on the eastern border was a pond fringed with alders,
from which flocks of geese with loud hisses repelled invasion.
The worth)' fathers and mothers plodded slowly past pasture
and goose-pond down a street as crooked as the rail fence
which skirted its eastern border and in rainy seasons muddy to
an untold depth. Sometimes finding it impossible to pick their
way, they climbed painfully along the fence, thankful that their
clothes were of stout homespun and their leather shoes imper
vious to water. A correspondent of the Express urged the
citizens to get flagstones from Montague to make sidewalks
between Sweetser and Cutler's store and the old First church
on College Hill, and said : " If this project does not meet with
favor, my next proposal will be to our merchants that they
should lay in an assortment of stilts for the rainy season."
From the hotel veranda the business blocks are plainly seen.
Where in the olden time Luke Sweetser sold " Sarsnet and
Levantine Silks," " Blue and Brown Camblets," and " Dark
Flowing blue Tea-setts," is to-day the drug store of Henry
Adams and Company. Women in need of " Balzorines " and
" Green Booking " went to Field and Dickinson's. The
" Pestalozzian Primer " was for sale in the bookstore of J. S.
& C. Adams. Merrick M. Marsh sold " Palm Leaf Mat-

.3 z

34 Through Turkey Pass
tresses " and Thomas Wales advertised that he was " deter
mined not to raise the price of shoes if he could possibly help
it." Farmers were prosperous, and wonderful specimens of
farm products were sent in to the editor of the Express.
" Levi Dickinson, 2nd," of Hadley exhibited an egg measuring
seven and five-eighths by six and one-fourth inches. John F.
Nutting raised a radish weighing five and one-half pounds, and
D. F. Cowles had a parsnip which measured three feet, nine
and three-fourths inches in length. Jonathan Cowls picked in
his orchard an apple weighing seventeen and one-half ounces,
while Spencer Smith brought from South Amherst a tomato
that weighed a pound and a half. Walter Fuller sent to the
newspaper office specimens of his " Norwottuck ice cream,"
and bridal parties furnished the editor with a loaf of wedding-
cake. These articles were eaten, and their good qualities
noticed in the paper. Each year a cattle show was held upon
the common and mammoth eggs and apples and radishes and
parsnips were exhibited. On these occasions the farmers and
professors and " Rev'd Clergy " sat down together in the hotel
dining-room, and in after dinner speeches, congratulated each
other upon their success in the practical application of the
science of Agriculture. The famous Indian doctress, Mrs.
Young, was ready in her office in the Amherst House to cure all
diseases, " Chronic, Incipient, eruptive, Scorbutic, sympa
thetic, Symphatic, or Epidemic " and could thus be consulted
in case the banqueters should indulge too freely in the pleas
ures of the table.
These glimpses of local history prepare the visitor for a
stroll on Amity street where, on the site of the present brick

To Amherst and Beyond J5
schoolhouse, the Amherst Academy, the second classical insti
tution in western Massachusetts, was once located. Eugene
and Roswell Field spent their boyhood in the house now owned
by Hiram Heaton, on the corner of Amity street and Lincoln-
Avenue, and attended the private school kept by the Misses
Howland in the octagon house on North Prospect street. The
old Strong house, built in 1744, is in plain view from the hotel..
This ancient dwelling with gambrel roof and quaint interior is
the oldest house in town, and stands substantially the same as
it did one hundred and fifty years ago. The deep yard and
magnificent trees before this venerable mansion attract atten
tion and the former shows the width of the old highways laid
out when the town was in its infancy. The Mary Mattoon
Chapter, D. A. R., has its headquarters in an annex to this
house, and its rooms are filled with relics of the olden time
gathered from all the country round.
Other walks about the village are of exceeding interest, but
the car for Sunderland is waiting and we must hasten on our
way. We see as we continue our ride to the north, on either
side of Pleasant street houses which have stood since the
beginning of the century. The old West Cemetery on the
right, where Revolutionary heroes and their descendants sleep,
is worthy of a visit. On a commanding eminence in the midst
of a grove of oaks and chestnuts we notice the group of build
ings where in 1827, the "Mount Pleasant Classical Institu
tion " was established. Henry Ward Beecher prepared for
Amherst College in this famous school.

^

I

To Amherst and Beyond 37
Massachusetts .Agricultural College.
Passing Unity church on the right and St. Bridget's church
on the left, the car runs through the grounds of the Massachu
setts Agricultural College comprising an estate of four hundred
acres. From the southern entrance may be seen the stone
chapel and the colonial dining hall, around which are grouped
dormitories, laboratories, green-houses, the model barn and
stables, the museums and the dwelling houses of professors and
their assistants. In the midst of the broad stretch of meadow
the miniature lake reflects the sunlight by day and the many
electric lights by night. For a background to the picture the
Berkshire hills and distant Green mountains rise against the
horizon. On the campus a football game may be in progress
or the college battalion may be marching to military music.
The gardens, the orchards, the bits of forest, the conservatories,
the museums, the library, and the whole equipment and work
ing of this educational institution maintained by the Federal
and State Governments at the cost of many thousands of dol
lars annually, are open to the inspection of visitors. Young
men and women who are citizens of the United States receive
here a most excellent education in the arts and sciences with
out charge for tuition. Degrees of Bachelor of Science, Mas
ter of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy are conferred. Stu
dents from Japan, Mexico, Brazil, and other foreign countries
have availed themselves of the privileges of the college. Its
president, Henry H. Goodell, M. A., LL. D., has been con
nected with the institution as instructor, professor, or chief
executive officer from its establishment in 1867. Although the

38

Through Turkey Pass

BUTTON-WOOD TREE— Sunderland Street

To Amherst and Beyond jp
college is closed in summer the closely related work of the
Hatch Experiment station in its many departments is carried
on continuously throughout the year.
North Amherst and Sunderland.
Beyond the college grounds we see at the right, on the
northern slope of Mount Pleasant and commanding a fine view
of the Connecticut and Deerfield valleys, the old Dickinson
estate, " Mark's Meadow." The house was built many years
ago on land that had been owned by the family for generations.
Here lived and died Captain Marquis F. Dickinson, a direct
descendant of Nathaniel Dickinson, the founder of Hadley.
His wife was the first real Daughter of Mary Mattoon Chapter,
Daughters of the American Revolution. The present owner,
Marquis F. Dickinson of Boston, while preserving its antique
features, has put the home of his ancestors in thorough repair
and with his family occupies it as a summer residence. From
the college grounds the village of North Amherst, with its
white meeting-house, seems to be nestled at the foot of Mount
Toby, but as we approach the mountains recede, and charming
views of country homes and fertile fields open in all directions.
The method by which this North Amherst meeting-house was
built, told in the Story of a New England Country Church, is
unique in New England history. The people are prosperous and
many of them are descended from the first settlers of this section
of the town. Just beyond the village where the road turns
sharply to the left is the home of Walter D. Cowls, President of
the Amherst and Sunderland Street Railway Company. This

40 Through Turkey Pass
estate was the property of his father and grandfather, and here
they lived and died. The extension of the road to Sunderland,
to South Hadley and to West Pelham is due to the enterprise
of President Cowls, ably seconded by the officers and directors.
Proceeding northward past the power-house of the railroad
company we follow a level highway shaded by long rows of
sugar maples and bordered by well kept farm-houses. In an
upper room of the old Hubbard tavern, a frame dwelling on the
left at the first crossing above North Amherst, Pacific Lodge
of Masons held its meetings more than a hundred years ago.
It was just north of the " Dry Brook " that Major Caleb Hub
bard was plowing with a yoke of oxen and one horse when the
news came of the fighting at Lexington. The oldtime patriot
left the oxen standing and the plow fast in the furrow, jumped
on the horse's back and galloped to the village to enlist in the
first company leaving for Boston. Presently the road turns to
the left and we catch glimpses of the southern mountains.
Another turn and we are at our journey's end, with a beautiful
shaded avenue stretching before us to the north, and to the
west, the precipitous sandstone cliffs of Sugar Loaf.
Sunderland, formerly known as Swampfield, is a typical New
England town of the olden time, built on one broad street lying
along the river bank. Here Mount Toby and Sugar Loaf and
the river between them provide a natural park with possibili
ties of enjoyment only limited by the disposition of the traveler.
The Connecticut at this point is a smooth lakelike sheet of
water, flowing quietly between its rocky mountain peaks.
Delightful strolls may be taken in either direction along its
shore. If we choose to cross the bridge and walk a short dis-

MOUNT SUGAR LOAF AT SUNSET

42 Through Turkey Pass
tance beyond, we find cars in waiting for South Deerfield
which connect with trolley roads in several directions. The
Mount Toby House at the end of the Amherst and Sunderland
line is an excellent country hotel, and is noted for its trout
suppers. Many picnic parties take refreshment here and then
explore the town, noting the new public library and the
immense buttonwood tree in front of the home of Dr. M. H.
Williams. Among the interesting houses on Sunderland street
is the " Old Parsonage," owned in 1784 by Lemuel Delano,
whose ancestor, Philip Delanoye, a French Huguenot, came to
America in the bark Fortune, and finally settled in Duxbury.
One of his sons married a daughter of Miles Standish and
another a daughter of John and Priscilla Alden. This house is
to-day the home of its owner, Jesse L. Delano, a direct
descendant of Philip Delanoye. The history of the town
shows the early settlers in Sunderland to have been intensely
patriotic. At one time during the Revolution John Montague
was the only able-bodied male citizen at home, and he had
remained to weave cloth for the women and girls to make into
clothing for the soldiers. Sunderland women of the olden time
were capable and energetic, and were mistresses of many arts
and crafts. One village poetess, Miss Nancy Hubbard, signed
her name "Viola," and wrote verses entitled, " My Country,"
" The Moon of Falling Leaves" and many others which were
printed in the Hampshire and Franklin Express. We can
imagine this pensive damsel sitting on a rock apart from the
crowd of merry-makers on the mountain-top, and scribbling :

To Amherst aud Beyond 43
"MUSINGS ON NORWOTTUCK."
¦• I feel the presence of that mighty power
Who spake, and at his word the mountains rose,
Called from the earth the sweetly springing flower,
And formed these hills and vales of calm repose.
Nature's broad carpet spreading at my feet,
Where towns and villages in beauty rise ;
With distant water, many a silver sheet,
And glistening spires, up-pointing to the skies."
In early days Sunderland was a "sea-port town." Heavy
freight from Hartford was landed at the foot of Bridge street
and lumber from the east and northeast was shipped upon the
river. But the Connecticut was not a satisfactory means of
communication and the citizens greatly desired a railroad.
Plans were made by which the " Sugar Loaf Mountain Road "
should be built from Montague to Hockanum passing through
Sunderland and thence by Plum Trees through Amherst a half
mile west of the Amherst House, But in spite of their anxiety
and determination, the people waited more than fifty years
before their idea of railroad communication with neighboring:
towns became an established fact. To-day this lovely rural
village is an objective point of travel from distant sections, and
opportunity to climb the neighboring mountains is placed
within the reach of all.
East Amherst and "West Pelham.
The main line of the Amherst and Sunderland railway ter
minates at Sunderland but the road has still another excursion
to offer to its patrons. Half an hour after leaving the Mount
Toby House we may again be in Amherst and ready to board

44

Through Turkey Pass

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH-Rev. W. E. Strong, Minister

a car for East Amherst and West Pelham. The old American
House, formerly the Hygeian Hotel, is on the left hand side as
the car passes down Main street. Just beyond, at the end of
Phoenix Row, a house long since burned was for ten years the
home of Noah Webster. He was a public spirited citizen and,
though busily engaged in the preparation of his dictionary,

To Amherst and Beyond 45
took an active interest in the welfare of the town, was vice-
president of the college corporation, and made an address at
the laying of the corner stone of the first college building
erected. This distinguished scholar was also a practical
farmer, and delighted in gathering in his hay, assisted by his
daughters, who raked after the cart.
As we proceed along Main. street, the beautiful stone edifice
of the First Congregational church is seen upon the right.
This building is the fourth meeting-house of the organization
which was formed in 1739, when the settlement was known as-
" Hadley Third Precinct." Before the town received its, name
the old First church, in obedience to the decree of the General
Court, had settled a " Learned orthodox minister," the Rev.
David Parsons, and had provided for his " handsome and hon
orable Support." In the first rude meeting-house built on the
hill where the College Observatory now stands, the whole town
gathered to worship for almost fifty years. In 1787 a more
commodious building was erected near the same location, but
with the growth of Amherst College, this became too small for
townspeople and students. The third meeting-house was com
pleted in time for the Commencement exercises in 1829. As
College Hall we see this building to-day, square and orthodox
in its appearance, a substantial monument to the thorough
workmanship of its founders and builders.
The old First church was the parent of the town, and the
mother of the four other Congregational churches within its
limits. The handsome modern edifice built on land purchased
from the Montague estate, was dedicated in 1868. In 1889 its
one hundred and fiftieth anniversary was celebrated.

MATTOON HOUSE IN EAST A M 1 IERST— Now owned by Olney P. Gaylotd

To Amherst aud Beyond 4y
Nearly opposite the First church, and partially hidden by
trees behind an evergreen hedge, is the estate of William A.
Dickinson, the former treasurer of Amherst College. This is
now the home of his widow and of his daughter, Martha Gilbert
Dickinson, author of "Within the Hedge," a collection of
poems. The next house, the first brick house in town, was
built by Samuel F. Dickinson and was the birthplace and life
long home of his granddaughter, Emily Dickinson. Here she
wrote the well-known poems which were published after her
death. As the car crosses the tracks of the Central Vermont rail
road^ the principal manufacturing establishments of Amherst
may be seen. On the right are located the extensive hat fac
tories of the Hills Company and of George B. Burnett and Son.
Growing from a small shop established in 1829 by Leonard M.
Hills, the hat business has been developed by his son and
grandson until to-day thousands of dollars are invested in the
plant and hundreds of hands are employed in the production of
straw hats for the supply of extensive markets. Adjoining the
factory of the Hills Company are the Gas Works and some dis
tance to the north of Main street is the electric light station of
the Amherst Gas Company. Beyond the Hills Company's fac
tory to the east is the box shop of Angus and Seitz. This
firm produces many packing boxes and hundreds of tool-chests
every year. On the opposite side of College street the Arms
Pocket Book and Leather Novelty Company carries on a new
industry recently established.
At East Amherst opposite the second Congregational church,
was the early home of Professor Herbert B. Adams of Johns

4S

Through Turkey Pass

DAM OF THE MONTAGUE CITY ROD COMPANY
From History of Pelham

Hopkins University. Near by, the old house with double doors
was the home of Noah Dickinson whose daughter Mary married
General Ebenezer Mattoon, the most famous soldier that

To Amherst aud Beyond 4g
Amherst ever produced. Across the green may be seen the
square white house in which lived Mary Mattoon and her Hero
of the Revolution. The Mary Mattoon Chapter, D. A. R. of
Amherst is named in honor of this woman, who was a true New
England heroine of the olden time. The old Baggs tavern
near by, where prisoners of Burgoyne's army were entertained
and where the conspirators in Shays' Rebellion gathered about
the bar-room fire to perfect their plans is worthy of our notice.
Shays and his remnant of an army fled along the road over
which we have traveled, back to their homes among the Pelham
hills. This part of the trolley line is closely connected with
that notorious leader and those who followed his standard.
The rebellion was planned in the old Conkey tavern in Pelham
and the army was drilled before the tavern door. This tavern
was long since destroyed, but the descendants of those whom
Daniel Shays led to defeat live all about these hills and tales of
those exciting times are often on their lips.
From East Amherst to West Pelham is new territory for the
trolley road for this is the most recently completed extension
of the line. The terminus leads us into a wild and beautiful
region, under the shadow of Mount Pisgah. Here is the Mon
tague City Fish-rod Factory, where fish-rods in three hundred
different styles and patterns are made from bamboo and
lancewood and shipped all over the world. This industry in
prosperous times gives employment to forty workmen. The
manager, Eugene P. Bartlett, is one of the selectmen of Pelham
and is well known and popular in Amherst.
The Orient grounds, not far away, occupy a sandy plateau
which overlooks Amherst and commands a fine view of the

50 Through Turkey Pass
Holyoke and Mount Tom ranges and toward the north the
Hampshire hills. Here in a deep ravine are the Orient
Springs whose waters have been found to contain iron, sulphur,
and magnesia. This mineral water is noted for its medicinal
qualities and when bottled, commands a ready sale. The
Orient Springs hotel built on this fine location, was burned
many years ago, but with the coming of the trolley, the place
has become accessible, and offers a beautiful situation for a
summer boarding-house. Near by is Mountain View Range,
owned by the Amherst Gun Club. A little to the south on the
brow of the hill the Flavel Gaylord place, commanding a
charming prospect, has been recently sold for the site of a
rustic cottage. The summit of Mount Lincoln, twelve hundred
feet high, is not far distant and is reached by a good road.
When Henry Ward Beecher was a student in Amherst College
he loved nature better than books and almost every day might
have been found among the trees about Pelham and Mount
Lincoln. It is said that he had a familiar acquaintance with
these old Pelham trees and had given names to many of them.
This is a region picturesque and romantic. To the north
lies Lake Wyola, a beautiful sheet of water with wooded shores
frequented by fishermen and hunters. The drive through the
"Gulf" by Scarboro's trout-pond and stream to Pansy Park
and the Belchertown ponds and thence home through South
Amherst offers streamlets and lakes, mountains, forests and
gardens in charming variety. Suitable sites for summer
cottages are found all along the Pelham hills and residents in
neighboring cities are by means of the trolley discovering the
beauties lying at their very doors.

7;

$2 Through Turkey Pass
Returning to the Amherst House, our trolley trip over the
Amherst and Sunderland railroad " Through Turkey Pass to
Amherst and Beyond " is ended for to-day, but in that word
" beyond " are boundless possibilities. Our ancestors dreamed
of a chain of canals by means of which they might travel from
the Connecticut River to Lake Memphremagog. But instead
of being slowly drawn by horses along a narrow channel, we
who are descendants of those ancient dreamers fly up and
down hill like magic, on cars driven by some beneficent unseen
power, which takes us where we will. No secluded hamlet can
repel the invasion of the trolley, and blessings follow on its
path. Amherst and Sunderland, Pelham and South Hadley
are now near neighbors and visit each other on business or
pleasure. Science and enterprise have produced these won
ders and the end is not yet.