I'. v*-: 3"!- ¦k-.li YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY YALE UNIVERSITY NOV 9 1912 LIBRARY Great Barrington, Mass. TOWN DIARY 1676-1911 AND PROGRAM 'i3c 150th Anniversary September 4, 191 1 Main Street Great Barrington, Mass. GREAT BARRINGTON, MASS. Town Diary, 1676- 1911, and Souvenir Program PUBLISHED on the ONE HUNDRED and FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY of the INCORPORATION of the TOWN. BERKSHIRE COURIER PRINT, GREAT BARRINGTON "Thou who wouldst see the lovely and the wild Mingled in harmony on Nature's face, Ascend our rocky mountains. Let thy foot Fail not with weariness, for on their tops The beauty and the majesty of earth. Spread wide beneath, shall make thee to forget The steep and toilsome way. There, as thou stand'st, The haunts of men below thee, and around The mountain summits, thy expanding heart Shall feel a kindred with that loftier world To which thou art translated, and partake The enlargement of thy vision." — Bryant. LhTAS^tS^ ^- HE following chronicle of events pertaining 1 to this locality has been put into the form of a diary to encourage further research into local his tory and to bring clearly to the mind of the present generation the hardships the early inhabitants en dured, the bravery and industry they displayed. The facts have been taken from Mr. Charles J. Taylor's History of Great Barrington," The Berk shire Courier, and recollections of present citizens, and published to commemorate the 150th anni versary of the incorporation of Great Barrington. Prepared by me.iibers of the i5Qth anniversary comm.i tee. August. 191 1. TOWN DIARY 1676 A battle took place at the old Indian Fordway, where the trail from Westfield to Albany crossed the Housatonic river. Major Talcott, in command of Connecticut and Indian soldiers, overcame and dispersed a party of In dians. The earliest event to connect this locality with history. "The Great Wigwam" at the Fordway, then an Indian village, was the council seat for the Indians of this locality. 1677 A company of ransomed prisoners (men, women and children) crossed the Fordway on their way home to Hatfield, from Canada, via Albany. They had been cap tured by Indians at Hatfield and taken to Canada. The Fdrdway as it Appears Today. 1703 First purchase of land from the Indians, by the Dutch. 1705 Patent of Westenhook granted to Dutch settlers by the colony of New York. It included a large portion of the Housatonic valley. 1722 Petitions presented to the Great and General Court of ^Massachusetts by EngUsh set tlers, a king fcr grar.ts of two tracts of land on the "Ousetonnuck" river. 1724 April 25. Konkapot and twenty other Indians dseded to a committee of white men "a certain tract of land lying upon 'Housatonack' river alias Westenhcok" for ¦'£/^6o, 3 barrels of cider, and 30 quarts of rum." 1725 Matthew Noble of Westfield, supposed to be the first permanent white settler, came to this valley. 1726 Hannah, daughter of Matthew Noble, and later wife of Deacon Daniel Kellogg, first white woman known to have lived here. Township surveyed ; settlement developed. 1727 Difficulties between the Dutch and English settlers over ownership of land. 1730 Sept. 28, Mr. Joshua Root died, his the oldest known grave in the Mahaiwe cemetery. *733 Township incorporated as a town, with the name of Sheffield. Proprietors held their first meeting; Daniel Kellogg, clerk. I734' First bridge over Green river towards Sheffield. Indian mission established. Mr. Sergeant and Mr. Bull from Westfield made their first visit to the Indians. Oct. 21. Erection of mission house commenced. Nov. 5. Indian school opened. Dec. 9. Mr. Timothy Woodbridge made permanent schoolmaster. 1735 Rev. John Sergeant ordained and commenced his work as pastor. 1735-1761 Undivided lands laid out and distributed. 1736 Indians exchanged most of their reservation for land now included in Stockbridge. Mis sion moved there. Upper township, or North Parish, of Sheffield surveyed by Timothy Dwight. 1737 "Great Bridge" first mentioned, above David Ingersoll's iron works. ^^^° In f^T""^'' ^"'^ grist-mill established east side of river, near the Great Bridge, by David 1742 Bridge built over Green river toward Egremont. 1742 North Parish of Sheffield invested with parish priv ileges. A meeting-house costing $800 was built east of the Great Bridge. (Site indicated by marker.) Rev. Thomas Strong the first minister. First meeting of the parish proprietors ; David Inger- soll, clerk. Upper cemetery set apart. Tavern kept by Moses Ingersoll near the Great Bridge. He is called the first inn-keeper. 1743 Dec. 28. Rev. Samuel Hopkins ordained and the church organized. The North Parish of Sheffield, formerly called Upper Sheffield, formed, afterwards named Great Barrington. 1744 The "Great Road" laid out from Boston to Albany, over Three Mile Hill and through Great Barrington, was much used during the French and Indian wars. Aaron Sheldon kept a tavern on the site of the present postoffice. 1745 1747 First parish meeting held; the parish organized; William King, clerk. Militia muster for expedition against Louisburg. Nov. Inhabitants fled to Lower Township (Shef field) on account of Indian warfare in Stockbridge. The Rev. Samuel Hopkins First fort built, called Coonrod Burghardt's fort. (Site unknown.) March. Soldiers enlisted under Capt. Williams for expedition to Canada. Reuben King died ; first burial in upper cemetery. 17481749 1750 1754 17551758 175917601761 First mention of a schoolhouse (site unknown) built by the parish. Final division of land. First Hme kiln (west of P. A. Russell's). John Williams built dam, saw mill, grist-mill and blacksmith shop. (VanDeusenville.) Indian troubles north of the town cause fortification of several dwellings. Tavern built by Capt. Hewitt Root north of the Great Bridge. Block -house built on Abbey farm. Gen. Amherst and army encamp ed on way to Ticonderoga. Jonathan Willard appointed to "keep the house clean." (First sexton.) VanDeusenville Falls Several Dutch settlers confined in stocks for failing to attend worship. Kellogg mill built. June 30. North Parish of Sheffield incorporated as the town of Great Barrington ; probably named for Lord Barrington (John Shute) a younger brother of Samuel Shute, governor of Massachusetts 1716-1723. r7.6i July 22. . First town meeting held ; Gen. Joseph Dwight, moderator. First appropriation made for support of schools, £30. August 2, voted to hold first session 'of the courts of the county in the meeting-house. Block-house used as first jail. 1762 Voted to build school house near site of present Congregational church. Episcopal church organized by Rev. Thomas Davies. 1763 The Indians relinquished their claims to the- rest of their reservation. Town pound antl log jail built. 1764 Dec. 25. Episcopal church opened, opposite where Sedgwick institute now stands. 1765 Court house built near the site of the present town hall, and first occupied in April. Jail built on present site of Episcopal church. Court house built near the site of the present town hall, and first occupied in April of that year, was frequently used for town meetings and other public assemblages. Last occupied on Jan. 21, 1793, when a town meeting was held. 1766 Town fined by grand jury for not keeping the roads in repair. 1770 Accounts first audited by selectmen instead of in open meeting. Long Pond road opened. Josiah Smith erected a tavern near the site of the present postoffice. Rev. Gideon Bostwick was made first permanent minister of the Episcopal church. He married Gesie Burghardt, daughter of John, one of the earlj^ settlers of this town. 1771 Inoculation for small-pox introduced by Dr. Latham ; soon forbidden by the town authori ties. I77I 1772 1773 1774 Coonrod VanDeusen built the stone house, still standing, at Risingdale. First mention of a public li brary. In the inventory of Moses Ingersoll's estate was mentioned "a share in the public library. North Parish, £i, los." Town fined by Court of Ses sions for refusing to raise money for support of schools. Gill Belcher arrested for counterfeiting, taken to Albany, tried, convicted and hung. Coun terfeiting done in what is now called Belcher's cave. Dr. William Whiting built a house on the west side of Main street. First Provincial Congress of Massachusetts Bay ; representa tives. Dr. William Whiting and Col. Fellows. July 6. League and Covenant. First combined opposition to Royal rule in Berkshire county. July i6. First concerted open and armed resistence to British rule in America. Crown Judges prevented from holding court in Great Barrington by Berkshire men, aided by 500 men from Litchfield county. Conn. 1775 April 21. Capt. )Villiam King's company of 45 minute-men marched on way to Boston after news of battle of Lexington. Most of the men enlisted later. Dr. William Whiting's House. 1775 Laura, daughter of Major Thomas Ingersoll, born. She went to Canada in 1793 with her father, married James Seacord, an officer in the English army. By her personal bravery she saved the life of her husband and made possible the victory of the English at Beaver Dams. A monument erected to her memory by the Dominion of Canada on Queenstown Heights was unveiled July 5, 191 1. 1776 January. Congressional train of sleighs, bearing military stores captured at Fort Ticonde roga, passed through on way to the army at Dorchester. Tories compelled to resign their arms. Inoculation for small-pox again introduced and again forbidden. 1777 North-east section of the town, called the Hoplands, set off to Lee. July. Expedition of 79 men to Fort Edward. August. Expedition of 55 men went to aid Stark at Bennington. October. A large part of Burgoyne's captured army marched through, en-route to Boston. Gen. Burgpyne guest of Col. Elijah Dwight. Some "refugees" tried to detach and roll East Rock into the valley. September 26. Col. Ashley's army marched to Saratoga. A fine train of artillery captured at Saratoga was drawn through this village. 1777-1780 The town an important depot for supplies. 1778 The north-west section of the town set off to Alford. Voted to buy a town stock of powder, one pound for every male over 16 years. 1780 New state constitution accepted. Families from Connecticut settled here. 1782 Mob of 2000 men prevent the sitting of the court of common pleas at Great Barrington, the county seat. Judges Dwight and Whiting forced to sign obligations not to act under their commission until constitution of commonwealth should be revised. Gen. Thomas Ives from 1782i78l1787 1791 1795 New Haven the first lawyer to practice after re-organization. Major Thomas Ingersoll built the house now used as a public library. Bounty of 40 shillings offered for each wolf killed. February. Ninety men of Shay's army stopped here on way to Sheffield. Skirmish near Goodale marble quarry with Sheffield and Great Barrington men. conflict of Shay's rebellion. (Site indicated by marker.) Town voted to raise 40 shil lings for support of schools. Cincinnatus lodge, F. & A. M., received charter, signed by Paul Revere (Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts). Center school house erected by an association of villagers. After- ' wards became town property. Lo cated about 25 rods east of Main street at the end of a lane nearly opposite St. James' church. 1797 Postoffice established. Moses Hopkins p ostmaster. Commis sion first year, $5.27. First private school, conduct ed by Miss Betsey M. Bostwick. 1800 Union library formed ; books kept at the house of Samuel Whit- '"S- First Postoffice in Great Barrington. Severest l802 1803 180618081809I8I0 I8II I8I3 I8I4 I8I5 I8I8 Baptist society incorporated. First wool-carding mill open ed in this part of the country. Congregational church re opened after being without a pas tor for 16 years. First settlement in Housa tonic. Dam and saw-mill built by Stephen Sibley and Abel Sher- First house built in Housa tonic by Abel Sherman. First road laid out, Housatonic. Great Barrington and Alford turnpike built from the foot of Monument Mountain through North Egremont to Ne;w York line. ^x ^ -V-fc~ v:^ B®li ^ ^^ :r-^ >V J^M Wj ^y.'^ ^TO . \ •>. r^^ \ \ pi i^'w«v!t J\ /„ ^M ;,, ¦ -N^P PI *¦ /^^ yjl^^^^j^v \* Jiv^ JH '' /^ Si^ '^^^^^^^ ^^ j^g '' -^ ^^"^^^Hj il J^S "^ ^^^^ m ^^Ei*^ ^5 Hf -. -^^BE^^^Hi^l W\A -j-^sr' i&^A / ; A B ^Stt^s-jS^ ^^ ^^ —95 jj" :r Spi^K^H mJ^' ^fei^g^j^p i ^0 ^!^w^H E PSf 1 ^^^^^ s^ i^ffp wwwfH s^^ 1 ^^i... - Mgj^ liLILPifiifL " ^ 1 [^ tB mBQ.^^ H 1 ^ •WTV^^f^^^SB^M sf House in which Bryant was Married. New Congregational church built on the present site. Great Barrington mihtia called out to help protect Boston from the British. Capt John Ford, commander. William Cullen Bryant practiced law, was clerk of the court, and here married Miss Fair- child in the house formerly occupied by Gen Dwight. Fourteen saw-mills in operation. 1819-1820 The town became a station on the stage route from Hartford to Albany. 182218241827 1828 1829 1833 18341835 Isaac VanDeusen built a woolen mill at VanDeusenville. P. D. Whitmore and Sprowell Dean built a machine shop in Housatonic. Housatonic christened "Babylon" by Peter French. Isaac VanDeusen built a cotton mill in VanDeu- ^ senville. ' « ^» Postoffice established in VanDeusenville. Episcopal chapel built there. Corner-stone laid with Masonic ceremonies. Company of light infantry formed of Great Bar rington, Sheffield and Egremont men. David Ives, captain. Methodist society organized. John C. Coffing and Timothy Chittenden from Salisbury, Conn., put up a blast-furnace at VanDeusen ville. The old building of St. James' Episcopal church taken down and a new stone building erected on Main street, corner of Railroad street. The Berkshire Courier founded by John D. Gush ing. Housatonic Manufacturing Co. organized in Hou satonic. n % m III •If Hi •n mm, III III fsTfMtlKTTtS Ul ftp Berkshire Courier Office, 1854. The Old Berkshire House, Great Barrington. 1836 Berkshire Woolen Co. incorporated and factory built. 1837 A town house built on the site of the old meeting-house, costing $1,800. 1839 Trinity church organized at A'aiiDeusenville. The Berkshire House built by George R. Ives on the present site of the postoffice, and where the tavern stood, built by Josiah Smith in 1770. Distillery erected in Seekonk. 1840 Harrison and Tyler political rally; 15,000 people present. 1841 First band organized. Congregational society organized in Housatonic. Housatonic Agricultural society formed. Great Barrington academy erected (later occupied by W. W. Langdon). 1842 Congregational church built in Housatonic. Sept. 28. Railroad street opened. The first train brought passengers to the first "Cattle Show." ' Sept. 30. First shipment of freight from the town — two cases of goods from the Berk shire woolen mill. Methodist society organized. 1843 Railroad continued to State Line. 1844 Town hall burned. Southern burying ground named Mahaiwe. Richmond Iron Works Co. bought- blast furnace at VanDeusenville, remodelled and improv ed it. 1845 Methodist church built. Independent Press published by Kipp & Murray. 1846 The Housatonic Mirror published by Theodore Dewey. 1846-1848 Lieut. George Wainwright, distinguished in the Mexican war. 1847 Mahaiwe National Bank organized. 1848 Houraton c Agricultural Society incorporated. Telegraph line built by Ezra Cornell from Bridgeport through the town to Bennington, Vt. ; abandoned in two or three years. Centre school house burned. 1850 Monument Mills, Housatonic, incorporated by J. C. and A. C. Russell and John H. Coffing. 185 1 Centre school house re built. 1852 Miller House built. 1854 Great Barrington fire dis trict formed. St. Peter's Roman Catholic church erected. Sedgwick institute opened (Private school for boys). Hope fire company organ ized; hand engine bought by private subscription. Gas used by the Berkshire Woolen Co. Fire on Railroad street, the most severe ever then experi enced in the village ; stores and Irmber vad burned. West Side of Main Street in 1847. 1855 The Great Barrington Gas Co. formed. Housatonic Agricultural society erected buildings and laid out a track, on land purchased in 1854 and still used. 1856 Owen & Hulbert paper mills started in Housatonic. 1857 American Telegraph Co. built line from Pittsfield; Franklin L. Pope operator here. The present St. James' church built. 1858 First bridge built in Housatonic. 1859 Old Congregational church moved to Bridge street and used as town hall. i860 New Congregational church built on present site. 1861 Great Barrington Library association formed. First call for volunteers for the civil war. May 29. Volunteer company of 70 men, Capt. R. O. Ives, started for Springfield; joined Co. Aj loth regiment, and served three years. 1861-1864 Three hundred and fifty-seven additional volunteers. 1862 Owen Paper Co. organized in Housatonic. American telegraph line extended to Bridgeport; Aug. 28. Town voted a boutity of $100 for each volunteer; Miss Caroline Burghardt went as nurse to the soldiers. 1864 Town offered a bounty of $125 for each volunteer. J865 Town indebtedness $25,691, owing chiefly to war expenses. 1866 AA'aubeek mills, for the manufacture of counterpanes, started in Housatonic. 1867 Town out of debt. 1868 New "Great Bridge" built. A high school opened in the center school house. Great Barrington Water Co. organized. East Mountain reservoir built; hydrants installed. 1869 Great Barrington Savings bank incorporated. A high school (brick) building erected near the center school house. Antietam G. A. R. post organized in Housatonic. 1870 Eighty thousand dollars deposited in the savings bank. Cone Free Library opened in Housatnnic. Humphrey bridge built. Bridge street. District court established. Hon. Increase Sumner the first judge. He procured the seal for the use of the court. The Berkshire Courier removed to the block now owned by Charles N. Gilbert. Attempted robbery of National bank. 1871 Memorial Day first observed. Methodist church built at Housatonic. "Great burglary." $8,000 worth of goods stolen from M. E. Tobey's jewelry store. 1872 Antietam post, G. A. R., removed from Housatonic to Great Barrington. 1873 Unprecedented snow-fall, extremely cold ; sleighing in April, snow in May. Not an ear of corn came to maturity. New road built to Seekonk. 1874 Voted to buy land at the corner of Main and Castle streets and to erect a town hall. 1875 New town hall built. i8751876 18771878 1879 18801881 1882 1883 Co. Bold attempt to rob Naitional Bank. First survey of a railroad from Westfield to Boston Corners. January. New town hall dedicated^ with a concert by Camilla Urso ; a benefit for the pub lic library. Feb. 7. District court occupied rooms in the new town hall building for the first time. March 13. First town meeting in the new hall. July 4. "Centennial celebration; addresses, music, parade, collation. Cone Centennial paper mill built, which latei became property of the B. D. Rising Paper St. Bridget's Roman Catholic church built in Housatonic. Public library moved into a room in town hall building. Chapel and church parlors added to Congregational church. Monument Mills struck by lightning and partially destroyed by fire. Telephone line built to South Egremont; a few- local subscribers. Great Barrington Free Library incorporated. Charter of Antietam post surrendered. Housatonic Hall established. (A private school for girls. Congregational church destroyed by fire. Steam fire-engine bought. History of Great Barrington, by Mr. Charles J. Taylor, was published. New Congregational church and chapel dedicated. Dresser post, G. A. R., organized in Housatonic; c*y£ ^^^H ¦|j|A m ' - — fl < i^li^H H[ ^^m ^^^ m M^p B -r— rrfe p WKM ^mmim Town Hall, Great Barrington. j884 Congregational parsonage presented to the society by Mrs. Mark Hopkins. Electric lights first used in the streets. Long-distance telephone installed. 1885 Village Improvement society organized. The Methodist society purchased a house for a parsonage. 1886 Electric lights used in a few houses and stores. Transformer invented by William Stan ley used — first commercial use of a transformer in this country. A. M. E. Zion church built. 1887 Electric lights generally used. Water company's franchise taken b}' thye fire district. 1888 Electric Light Co. organized. Bryant school (primary) built. Barrington House finished. 1889 The Berkshire News, published and edited by Douglas Bros., started. Anderson post, G. A. R., organized. Central block built in Housatonic. 1892 St. James' rectory built. Upper Monument Mills in Housatonic rebuilt. Postoffice removed to corner of Main and Bridge streets (present location). The Berkshire Inn built. The Thursday Morning club organized. 1893 Riverdale Mills (now Barrington Mill,';) incorporated. Taghconic lodge of Odd Fellows organized. 1894 Central Block in Housatonic burned. New Congregational church built in Housatonic. East Mountain Park presented to the town by E. F. Searles. Olympian Meadows presented to the town by E. F. Searles. 1895 The Berkshire News discontinued. Central block built in Housatonic. Ladies' Picnic Grove presented to the town by E. P\ Searles. The Berkshire block burned 1896 Jan. 15. Southworth and Brewer blocks burned Oct. 12. Disastrous fire on Railroad street. Great Masonic cen tennial celebration, Cin cinnatus lodge. Locustwood Golf club organized. 1897 House built by Maj. Thomas Ingersoll bought for library ; library moved there from the town hall building. 1898 Stanley Instrument Co. organized. First superintendent of schools appointed. Jan. High school WS^ dedicated to Mrs. E. F. ^-' Searles. Given by Mr. Searles and the town. Central Block, Housatonic. ^O i899 1900 1901 19021903 1904 1905 1906 B. D. Rising Paper Co. bought and remodeled the Cone ^.^entennial mill, raised the dam and the highway was moved to the east in consequence. The presfent town seal adopted. The Barrington hotel built. The Ford tavern, occupied by H. L. Wilcox and family at VanDeusenville, burned. Jan. 29. The Berkshire block burned. March 10. Mahaiwe block burned. April 12. The Berkshire Annex burned. June 21. New railroad station opened. Castle street closed. June. The American Institute of Electrical Engineers held a meeting in town. Brewer Lumber Co.'s mills burned. Nov. 23. Berkshire street railway opened from Pittsfield. Southworth block partially burned. Money for free library in Housatonic left by Theo dore G. Ramsdell of that village. Nov, 29. The Barrington hotel destroyed by fire. Corner-stone laid of St. Peter's Roman Catholic church. July 31 to Aug. 5. Old Home Week observed. Mahaiwe block and theatre built. Stanley Instrument Co. buildings bought by Gen eral Electric Co. The Great Barrington free library became prop erty of the town by free bill of sale. Ingersoll House (1782). Later used as library The Railroad Street Fire. 1906 1907 1908 igog igio igii The Berkshire Daily Press started; M. P Foster, editor and publisher. The Justin Dewey school building erected. The Berkshire Daily Press discontinued. Reliable Knitting Co. organized. VanDeusen postoffice discontinued. Hallock school opened. Ramsdell library in Housatonic dedicat d. New schoolhouse at Housatonic built. Trolley opened to Sovith Egremont, Mrs. Mary A. Mason be queathed $50,000 to the town for a library building and about $100,000 for a hospital. Sheffield trolley opened, June. New Roman Cath olic church (St. Peter's) ded icated. New Roman Catholic church (Corpus Christi), in Housatonic, dedicated. Parish house built for St. James' society. Sept. 4. One hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the town cel ebrated. Ramsdell Public Library, Housatonic ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INCORPORATION OF GREAT BARRINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS, SEPTEMBER 3 AND 4, 1911. SUNDAY — Special morning services at the churches. 4.00 P. M., sacred concert, town hall lawn. MONDAY— 10.00 A. M., parade. 1.30 P. M., addresses and music, town hall lawn. Music, Pittsfield Military Band. Invocation, Rev. G. A. Pelton. Address of welcome, Mr. Parley A. Russell. Chorus, "Speed the Republic." Address, Rev. Thomas A. McGovern. Address and poem, Mr. Marcus H. Rogers. Address, Prof. Franklin H. Giddings. Chorus, "Star Spangled Banner." Address, Mr. R. Henry W, Dwight. Address, Mr. Ralph W. Pope. Music, Pittsfield MiUtary Band. 3.30 P. M., sports, Olympian Meadows. 7.30 P. M., band concert, town hall lawn. COMMITTEE HAVING CELEBRATION IN CHARGE. Board of Trade Town Thursday Morning Club Committee. Committee . . Committee. John M. Flynn John B. Hull, Jr., Chairman. Mrs. R. O. Harper Thomas J. Kearin John H. C. Church Joseph H. Maloney Mrs. Charles Giddings Rev. Joseph R. Lynes John Cronin, 2d T. Ellis Ramsdell Mrs. Margaret A. Maley Walter B. Sanford Harry Douglas Parley A. Russell Mrs. Howard M. Whiting Howard M. Whiting William C. Hinman John S. Stone Mrs. Orville W. Lane ORDER OF PARADE. Line of Horsemen. Police and Deputy Sheriffs. Pittsfield Military Band. Matthew Noble and Daughter, Hannah (Almon Culver and Mrs. C. E, Culver). G. A. R. Veterans and Sons of Veterans (Prize) Konkapot and Indians (Prize). Carpenters' Union. Samuel Hopkins, the first Minister (Dr. How ard W. Baldwin). Grange Float (Prize). Foresters' Float and Foresters in Line. Masonic Float. Odd Fellows in Line. Thursday Morning Club, Three Floats — Na tive Women, Colonial Women, Modern Women. Bricklayers and Masons. Pittsfield Veteran Firemen's Drum Corps, Pittsfield Veteran Firemen. Great Barrington Veteran Firemen and Hope Fire Company. Original Hose Cart. Hand Engine. Chief John P. Norton and First Assistant Dan iel W. Flynn. Steamer. Chemical. Hook and Ladder. First Division of Merchants' Floats. Italian Band. Italian Float (Prize). Italians in Line. Second Division Merchants' Floats. Indians (Miss Louise Durant, Edward Woods).. Boy Scouts. Third Division Merchants' Floats. Housatonic Concert Band. B, D, Rising Paper Co., Industrial Float. Ancient Order of United Workmen. Foresters of America Float. Foresters of America. Monument Mills Industrial Float (Prize). Housatonic ]\Ieat Dealers' Float. (Prize). Housatonic Tribe of Red Men Float. Housatonic Tribe of Red Men. Merchants of Central Block Float. Polish Residents, Historical Float (Prize). Polish Band. Polish Marching Delegation Boy Scouts. Judges- -Hon. H. C. Joyner, Hon. Allen T. Treadway, Mr, R. C, Taft, Mr. C, L Wetherbee and Mr. W, D. French, Prizes, Blue and Gold Banners, Colonial Women. Native Women. Modern Women. THURSDAY MORNING CLUB FLOATS. Masonic Float. .-^-,^,.^ •tvv '-¦W^'l >• =_,t4i^- i fe/'Ji M'<^ ¦»%' ' ¦¦¦ iVi%f''.d ii%' k -^}'4^ |M SuBS^^^T M',feferf''^^'%7''^^ "^m ^fo^. *Jw^^^ K 1^/7 BH^ 5^&. ^i Pittsfield Military Band. Historical Float. — J. B. Hull, Jr. ¦P'- w^ w^ 9 ^Biiri '^. lP ^Mlti..'^'^' K IL^^ m f-:*|:;.|. '% P^M«: ^^ 8.1 Matthew Noble and Daughter, Hannah. B. D. Rising Paper Co.'s Float. 4 1 £F *,v • 1 .^.J '''^'':- 4 i M ,^'"^&'»t ^^-' t Mi *^^;C/ i Italian Float. Grange Float. Boy Scouts. Polish Float. :w,- '^ 1^ K ; ••'*i- ¦i-^ngm H ^-^Wk Bj & ^KI 1 K Pl^t'^^MB Hill! i g ^^^S9S£^3ti^S i " - , '- -'-/ , .; ^q -*' ^ Anderson Post, G. A. R. Veteran Firemen. Monument Mills Float THE SPEECH-MAKING. Exercises on the Town Hall Lawn on the Afternoon of Long before the arrival of the hour about to leave the earth, he stood on for the exercises on the town hall , ,.„,.v • ..„ ,,, . t,, , „ lawn, people began to assemble there ^ '"'"t '" '^' 7^'" °* Thessaly. Be- and by 1.30 p m. when the exercises ^°^^ *"^ god-shepherd rolled the rich began, hundreds of spectators plains of Greece down to the Aegean thronged around the speakers' stand, sea. Its rugged mountains towered until all the benches placed for the above his head. Ajpollo's hand rested occasion were filled and hundreds upon a harp, and he played such ex- were standing in the rear listening to .quisite airs Uhat ever afterward the the stirring words of the various rock on which he stood murmured speakers. of music divine. And the legend P. A. Russell, as chairman of the goes on to say that when Phoebus occasion, introduced the speakers. Apollo had passed to heaven, the The Rev. Thomas A. McGovern of sons and daughters of Greece came Springfield was the first, from far and near to visit the spot He spoke substantially as follows: where he had stood — and they were This celefcration marks an import- filled with music from the munmur- ant epoch in your history, and the ing rock, so that no matter how fair enthusiasm of all concerned in it is they wandered from home the charm proof enough that you love your of Apollo's harp and Thessaly's vale home. It could not be otherwise; for was always in their hearts. No m^y- go where you will, the natural beauty stic god or magic wand wrought the of this valley,, and especially of this beauty of this old Berkshire town. ¦town, is rarely equalled, and some The Master's hand is here, and the say it is nowhere surpassed. Be that sweet memories of a home like this, as it .may, Great Barrington has a more real than the music of the mur- peculiar charm for those who have muring rock, cheer life's journey ever lived here; and it is their de- along the way, and give to the plaice light to often return to its lovely pre- itself a charm that is as eternal as cincts. the hills. The beautiful in Nature When Phoebus Apollo, according raises our souls to Nature's God, and to a legend of Greek mythology, was the world has always expected from Monday, Sept. 4, 1911. the inhabitants of the hills high thoughts and noble deeds. The people .of Great Parrington have been no disappointment. Strangers coming here find them honest, frugal, charitable aihd kind. These are the qualities which make men, and after all a nation's strength is in men, not in acres. These are the qualities which help a community to endure. One hundred and fifty years is a long span. Republics have (been born, have flourished and have falilen again within that time, but Great Barrington, like a youth of .good halbits, has grown strong and power ful with the years. After ¦ the many words of wisdom which you have heard today, I can do little except offer my congratula tions to the town that for seven years I was pleaseid to call my home. I wish you godspeed and every bless ing from above. If some words of advice are expected from m.e I would say: Continue in that simple honesty which has always character ized your dealings. The dangerous element of the business life of today is the mad rush to become rich quick ly, and this often means to get money without earning it. Go slow- ^ lyi but be sure of your ground. The the town which is a part of the na- the children. These with whom God world owes you a living, and will tion. Do not mortgage your house shares his great attribute of traternity give it, too, but men must take it in in order to buy an automobile. A must be sharers also in the attribute the proper way. The honest man is house does not depreciate in value as of his providence. They must steaay the man who will last, and if he is quickly as a machine. The posse- the footsteps of the totterin.g. ihey industrious his career will develop sion of wealth is dazzling, but the must guide the footsteps of the stray- opportunity. There is no. need of lack of it should not dishearten our ing. They must provide for the any man selling his soul with his young men. Sir Isaac Newton was needs of time and for those of etern- .merchandise His conscience must the son of a poor farmer. Moore had ity. Do not be afraid to speak to the test up to the standard, and so must no money to buy books, so he bor- little ones of God's goodness to them. his weights and measures, for one rowed what he could and copied When life is fresh it is an easy tass will not long remain true without them, Hugh Miller,, the noted geo- to form and shape and change their the other, logist, was a stonecutter. Arkwrigbt, habits and inclinations. There is Do not be afraid of work. Our the founder of the cotton trade of more bouyancy in the heart and more Lord himself and his apostles digni- England, began life as a barber. Ben agility in the will. All this will make fied labor. Men of every age have Jonson was a bricklayer. Stephen- for the good of the town. It will scorned the idler. How wonderfully son, the inventor of the locomotive, develop character in the right direc- ri'ch our country is in its natural re- was a fireman. Faraday — ^afterward tion. This land of ours needs men of sources.. The population of th.e earth lecturer on chemistry before the character and men who prize char- might be supported in America. We Royal institution of London — was a acter. "Character," says Prof. Smal- could today feed and clothe and heat bookbinder. With examples like ley, "is a coin that passes at .par value the world, so bountifully has God these before our young men there in all countries." It is like a gold provided for this land. Yet a few is no reason why they should be dis- monetary standard whose value is thousand Indians once owned it all, heartened or disicouraged even if their universally recognized. Posterity and nearly starved to death because fathers cannot supply money to send estimates men not so much by what they would not work. Besides ma- them to college. What is to prevent they did as by what they were. terial prosperity, the mind and the them from shaping their own destin- On this auspicious occasion of the heart and the soul may be enriched — . ies? Besides attending to your in- town's ISOth anniversary it may not (but not without work and constant dividual affairs, each one may do be amiss to scan our horizon from' watching. something for the common good, the mountain, to see that the atmos- See that wealth does not receive The world is as selfish now as when phere is clear, and that no germ of too much adulation among you. Be- the young man asked our Lord, "And disintegration is growing stron.;^ with- ware of the man who is simply rich who is my neighbor?" in our borders. And how can "we do and nothing more. No nation can Parents can do a great deal f-jr better than from full hearts return afford to lose its ideals, neither can the future of the town by training thanks to Almightv God for the bless- ings of these ISO years, and ask his light and grace for the years to come. R. H. W. Dwight's Address. R. Henry W. Dwight of Boston, a great, great grandson of Joseph Dwight, who presided at the first town meeting held in Great Barring ton, delivered an interesting histori cal address, Mr, Dwight spoke as follows: It is a compliment to me that on this interesting occasion, embracing historic memories, your committee should have selected me as one to be, (so to speak), taken up the centre aisle and given one of the front seats. While I am glad to be present, yet I wish for your sake that in my place, my ancient forbear, namely, Joseph Dwight, the handsome old judge and warrior, of stately pres ence, who was officially a "seater" in the original church at Great Barrington, could be with us to-day to fascinate and move you with his instances of olden times, when Great Barrington was young. I say stately because the painting by the noted Boston painter Blackburn, of General Dwight, shows him with a fine large judicial wig and long cuffs of lace, exquisite enough to excite the ladies. His grandson, Henry Williams Dwight 2, was also a striking looking man, who as you will recall, had served this district in congress for several consecutive terms, and had won the reputation of possessing not only an elegance of person and manner, but a quick ness of wit thought by many unsur passed in the state, finally getting "dubbed" by envious Boston as "the handsome colonel from Berkshire." And indeed there are not a few here who can personally recall Colonel James P. Dwight, that pleasant and gallant gentleman, not unlike his father and not unlike, too, his great-grand sire, to wit, our old General Dwight, whose name bulks so large and so decisively in the early military annals of Massachu setts, as well as in the social he- ginnings of our beautiful town of Great Barrington, of which few places rank higher in intelligence. Your chairman, whose name is svnonymous with latter day Great Barrington as it truly is, besides with right good fellowship, recently said to me: "Come and give us some facts; that's what folks like to have nowadays." Loving, as I do, every inch of old Berkshire, and inspired by a zealous dipping into Western Massachusetts annals, when chance afforded, it was; in me to respond with the cry of "Barkis is willin'!" When in Washington last spring, the genial congressman who repre sents this district, told me the fol lowing story: It seems that some brethren In this county, desiring to pay off a church indebtedness, wrote to Mr. Lawrence asking him to secure. If possible, the services of a certain western senator, to deliver a lec ture, to which admission was to be charged, and the profit from the entertainment were to be applied to a debt. The engagement was made, and proved a success and then a church in a nearby town in this county heard of it, and wrote their U. S. senator asking him to engage the same western senator and for the same purpose. (This western sen ator was a "spell binder." I regret that I am not.) The senator from the west replied to Mr. Crane that he could give them an open date. Our senator then said: "In order to reply to my friends, I must ask you a question or two. How much do you charge and when could you come, and how long an address could you give?" These questions were answered satisfactorily. The lecturer saying: "As to the length of my address, it can be one hour, two hours, more or less; just as they prefer; in other words, it is just like a string of sausage; cut off as much as you wish." You need not worry; mine to-day will not be over one hour. Time and your patience will not permit of too long dwelling upon one period, or upon any one person, in the shape of lengthy extracts from documents in the Dwight Col lection, so I must be brief, inasmuch as Great Barrington covers a stretch of a hundred and fifty years, and I wish, if I can, to speak of some kind good souls who are now living, as well as some of the noble ones past and gone. The first official survey in Berk shire county was made in 1730 by Colonel Timothy Dwight of North ampton The original drawing, bearing his and John Stoddard's signatures, is embalmed in the Dwight Collection. It is called "A Plat of the Upper Township on Housatannuck River." This survey antedates by several years the often referred to survey along the Hoosic river. I purposed bringing from my Brookline home to-day volume ten of the growing Dwight Collection, but had to forego that design. The title page of that particular volume reads; "The Dwight Collection, being pa pers of one kind and another 173 6- 1809, pertaining to that particular part of the original County of Hampshire, as described by Timothy Dwight in his Survey of 173 6, as the Upper Township on Housatun- nuck River, afterwards called North Parish of Sheffield, and, finally at a metting in 1761 presided over by Joseph Dwight, named Great Bar rington, Berkshire County, Massa chusetts, Vol. 10, 1909," This volume ten is crowded from cover to cover with records of the past. They are arranged chronolog ically. Let me read a very few. The first item is called a "Wheel Bar row Survey," its date 1738. Surely a wheel barrow used as an instru ment in a land survey would to-day seem a crude tool indeed. Now we come to one of the most honored New England surnames found in the Dwight Collection, namely, that of Sedgwick. It smacks of old time learning, integ rity, courtly manners, and an in stinctive love of country, combined with high ideals. More than once have I noted in my readings the fine intellectuality, credited to the English born Sedgwicks, running down the centuries. In the pages of Taylor's faithful account of Great Barrington, broad glimpses are given, with justifiable local pride, of the past importance of the Hon. Theodore Sedgwick, of high judicial fame, not merely as an interesting prepossessing man of masterly intellect, but as a solid valuable Great Barrington citizen for a considerable length of time. Following the example of George Washington, of whom he was an intimate friend, this Theodore Sedg wick gave himself over to the art of letter-writing. Some of his letters in the original manuscript form have come into my possession. They are addressed to "Thomas Ives, Es quire, Great Barrington," who was in his day a conspicuous lawyer. Some are marked with his franking privilege; some with memoranda on the face of envelope quaintly plead ing "To be left at the post office at Springfield, Mass.," in place of the present day unromantic "General Delivery." Later on, January 7, 1803, an in denture signed by Sedgwick shows he drew 1,280 acres of land from the official land lottery of Massachu setts; said paper also shows that he transferred a one-fifth interest to my great grandfather, Henry Wil liams Dwight, (the first treasurer of Berkshire county) the latter person a silent partner, may be! In the town of New York, 1786, where congress was then sitting, Mr. Sedgwick wrote Mr. Ives a se ries of letters, each too long to be quoted here. They mingle together political and financial aSairs. To me his statements are of great in terest. One of those epistles closes by saying: "Congress has resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole to take into consideration the state of the Nation." He continues on: "What will be the result, God only knows! but no assembly ever had greater and more necessary and important objects to deliberate up on." This passing fear is re-echoed by that most accurate of historical writers, John Fiske, in his "Critical Period of American History, 1783- 89," in a paragraph embracing these words: "It is not too much to say, that the period of five years following the peace of 1783, was the most critical moment in all the history of the American people. The danger from whicfh we were saved in 1788, was even greater, than the dangers from which we were saved in 1865." To you, who remember the trying days of the Civil War, it seems proper at this anniversary to show, that when Sedgwick of your town was writing to your Mr. Ives, the future of this country was even more uncertain than during the darkest days of the Rebellion and that while they had no Lincoln, they did have men who met every emer gency and as great problems as ever men met. Sedgwick was one of the very great men of his day. In those early days there was an absence of a sentiment of union and conse quent danger of anarchy. In March, 1795, Theodore Sedg wick, now a national figure, speaks of "Sam" Adams, but not by name. Here is what he wrote to Thomas Ives: "Respecting Governor, I shall not vote for the old dotard at present in the chair, but (rather) for either Gorham or Sumner, probably for the former." Gorham and that Sumner are to day both completely forgotten, but not forgotten is Mr. Sedgwick's "dotard." Samuel Adams may never ha-ve been a full-fledged statesman owing to a lack of moral balance, but he certainly was the most com plete politician of Massachusetts annals, perhaps, too, the most per fect of opportunists. Worthy of the attention of the student, anxious to get at begin nings are many other Sedgwick let ters that follow. From Philadel phia, under date of January 16. 1795, he pictures the period and acts of John Jay and Alexander Hamilton, but they are too long to quote at this time. Going back to the days before Great Barrington had become a town, we find Theodore Sedgwick ordering clothes from John Chand ler Williams of Pittsfield, and his not having a telephone to help hurry along that order, it is to be supposed the order itself failed to get filled properly. Assuredly so, for he writes on May 9th, 1760: "Wrote for trimmings for the black britches patern and not drawers; you sent Drawers, but not Trim mings which begg you would send by the .Barer. Your most humble Servent, Theodore Sedgwick." In the "Historical Memoir of the Western Railroad," printed in Springfield, Mass., 1863, it is shown that a committee of the Massachu setts House of Representatives, 1827, in a report made as to the advisability of having a line of com munication other than highway, be tween the Connecticut and Hudson river, was "unanimous of the opin ion, that it is practicable to con struct a railroad from Boston to the Hudson river at or near Albany. As to most eligible route, it does not devolve upon us to say, but one route, at least, a .survey has been made from the Connecticut river to the Hudson, by an intelligent and enterprising citizen of Berkshire (Theodore Sedgwick), and by him, a railway has been pronounced not only practicable, but highly expedi ent; and the committee are unani mous of the opinion that a railroad be far jmore useful to the public than a canal." Another interesting personage of Great Barrington was Elijah Dwight, son of General Joseph Dwight. This Elijah . stalks across the pages of Edward Bellamy's novel of "The Duke of Stockbridge," which re minds me that I have papers in the handwriting of every character in that interesting historical novel, in cluding signatures of Pered Hamlin, itp hero. Another of my interest ing possessions is a Royal Commis sion, early in the reign of King George the Third appointing Elijah Dwight a Captain of a Military Company of Foot in Great Barring ton, signed by Gov. Bernard as "Captain General and Governor in Chief, and Vice Admiral of Massa chusetts Bay," dated 1764, and so, too, is another Royal Commissioh to Elijah Dwight in 1771, making him Lieut. Colonel of the South Regi ment of Military, of Berkshire Coun ty. It was this Elijah who entertain ed in this town the fallen General Burgoyne, after his surrender at Saratoga, and who was passing through Great Barrington, under an escort of our victorious Continental troops. Speaking of grim war: Joseph Dwight's younger son, Henry Wil liams Dwight (1st) of Stockbridge ¦passed through Great Barrington as a youth of 18 in the Revolutionary war, and I have his diary kept daily during that period of service. The first item reads: "July 23, 1776. Marched from Great Barrington and joined the company at Sheffield. "July 24th; about noon marched with the company for New York as clerk to General Fellows." They marched into New York City on the 30th and were stationed according to the diary, in houses near the water at Burlings Slip. On a Sunday, Oct. 20, 1776, he tells of Maj. Hopkins' death and of the burial at night. This diary has never been published but will be, one of these days. Your Belcher's Cave in 1773 was the temporary habitation of coun terfeiters who were circulating imi tation New York paper currency. The story of their exploits has been described by Historial Taylor. To my delight, I have recently come into possession of an interesting document (verifying catching the rascals), signed by Ezra Hickok, Jr., reading: "I hereby cerify and will ing at any time to depose, that when the money makers were ap prehended and carried to New Ca naan that a horse was hired of Mr. Silas Bingham and that the said horse strayed away and was taken up by Mr. Elisha Parsons and that I received the said horse of said Par sons and paid him for his keeping pnd that I settled with said Bing ham for the service of said horse." The signed pay rolls of soldiers sent by Great Barrington to the Saratoga and Bennington battles, which original documents I possess, are of especial interest. Names ap pear there that are as familiar to day in this town as they were one hundred years ago: names such as Dewey, Kellogg, Whitney, Root, In gersoll, Pixley, Noble, Williams, Church and Hopkins, revealing in- stunter the Saxon English descent of Great Barrington. The Bennington fight, so-called, was picturesque; the Saratoga one, graver and more important. The latter being one ot the world's fif teen decisive battles; it is said that during more than twenty centuries ot war and bloodshed, only fifteen battles have been decisive of lasting results, and it is a proud heritage for you people of Great Barrington to have had ancestors who partici pated. Horatio Seymour, the one time Governor of New York State, said: "From the battle of Marathon to the field of Waterloo, a period of more than 2,000 years, there was no martial event which had greater in fluence than that which took place on the battlefield of Saratoga." The Great Barrington men fought as patriots and not as hirelings; listen to this quoted from an ancient document in the Dwight Collection: "At a town meeting in Janauary, 1778, it was voted to pay four shill ings per day to those non-rommis- stoned officers and soldiers that were sent up to Port Edward and Bennington in the Militia last Summer, but the town did not raise any money to pay them." As later on these patriots receiv ed remuneration, i don't see that you descendants who are here to day can ever 'hope to receive any back pay. Turning from war to a more peaceful occupation and of some what later time, let me read from a letter sent to my respected father by his sister, Mary Sherrill Dwight, and dated Great Barrington, June 15, 1836, written from within the precincts of Miss Kellogg's Semin ary, whose scholars were certainly required to put in a full day. "I suppose you wish to hear how I spend my time here. There is a large bell fastened in some way to the well, fixed so as to be rung with a rope; this rings, to say the least, 10 or 12 times a day. In the first place, at 5 o'clock in the morning for us to get up, and we have an hour to dress, make our beds, sweep our rooms and be ready for prayers, for which the bell rings at 6 o'clock. The next bell is for breakfast, and soon after for study. At 9, school begins and we are in until 12. The next bell is for dinner and again at half past 1 for school. The school is out in the afternoon at half past 4, when we take a long walk which makes us quite ready to obey the summons of the bell which calls os to supper. After tea we again hear the bell calling us to go to our books and study an hour. It is by this time 7 and sometimes nearly 8. It is not generally very long from that time to the time when the bell summons us to prayers. The schol ars in the different rooms have their recesses at different times and as the bell rings to call us in from them, I think if you count all that J have mentioned you will find that there are 12 bells besides which there are generally three others, for the second table, as we have two separate tables, there not being room for all at the first. There are about 35 scholars boarding in this family and eight at another place. My studies are French, Botany, 'Watts on the Mind,' Arithmetic and Alge bra. Besides this, I devote one hour to writing and parsing and writing sentences upon the slate as composi tion exercises. So you see that 1 have a plenty to do," Take the matter of Christian names; the earlier settlers of New England gave to their children the names of Biblical characters, tho prophets predominating; later on they insisted upon such prefixes ac George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. The boys of to-day are often given to carry as their sur names, not the saints or the prophets, nor of illustrious patriots, but the family name of the mother. Who can say w'hat will be the next custom? Why are we interested in all this? Fifty years ago, local history and genealogy were not generally considered a subject worthy of study on the part of the New Englander, save with the parson. Now, how ever, the man on the street can hardly be regarded as educated un less he knows or pretends to know something of his own family line, as well as something, too, of the large characters of history, local as well as distant. John Fiske, deep ever in matters of history, claimed that "without genealogy, the study of history is comparatively lifeless." It is to be recalled, too, that the otlier robust New England expound er, Jienry Ward Beecher, born in the Berkshire foothills, viz., Litch- ileld. Conn., said "the dry branches of genealogical trees bear many pleasant and curious fruits for tiiose who know how to search after them." In our broat land, it is, und should be, a democratic ex ploitation, not an inane matter of attempted caste, or of ignorant her- fiUlic emblazonment, or of self-con- fpitPri display. I confess that to me genealogy and local history prove cnnclusively that heredity is a vital, perceivable force, moving you and ini and to move those that come after us, as strong in men, shall I assert, as in the lower animals. On the other hand, a wit has recently said: "God gave us our relations; thank God, we can choose our friends." The study of one's geneaiogic tree and che study of local history cer tainly has raised up in the cities and towns eager advocates for the preservation of records, abounding either with pathos or the bitter ironies of fate, or instructive data. By reason of the same study, the old house going to decay receives a new covering of shingles because a peep into old records reveals its part in history. Again it brings back to the hilltown, the city daughter ard son, --eccnstructing the old build ings, find anxious to save from dewtrucli'-in, memories of ancestral days. Finally to pass along to more re cent times, as good, I believe, as the very old, and as good as the new, in so far as good cheer and real true hospitality are concerned. A boy of 17 secured a position with a wholesale concern to open its office in early dawn, keeps its books and be its general handy-man from early morn 'till dewy eve, for the princely sum of $200 per annum. As the character in "Pinafore" doth say, "He polished up the handle so carfulee" that he was soon com manded by the concern, but without a mention of extra compensation, to go "on the road." We called them drummers then; now, they are de.s- ignated as "Commercial Travelers." IMs first stop for the night was at Great Barrington. He was well supplied with the grit and deter mination peculiar to 17 years old, but be that as it may, that night he hesitatingly signed his name to a Great Barrington hotel register. In a measure, it was his first night spent away from home surround ings. After supper, and it was a mighty good supper, the youth "drummer" started out for a stroll under the snow-bent elms. He re turned soon to the hotel office. Was he lonely or was he homesick? Oh no! not under that hospitable roof, where a great wood-fire was burning briskly on the hearth, nearby a table ready for a four- handed game of innocent cards. Cider and nuts and apples came up from the cellar, and so I, as that "drummer" lad was as contented as I would have been at my own fath er's house, where the same condi tions were likely enough going on. Was I ever quite so contentedly sat isfied with everything as I was that night, passed in a Great Barrington hostelry? In all sincerity, I say "long life and continued prosperity to the pro prietor of the old Berkshire House;" he a knowing lover of nature, and not by any means one of his best traits is his love of the horse, of which he is, I presume, to-day, as he was surely of old, one of the keen est of judges. Prof. Giddings' Address. Mr. Giddings spoke, in part, as fol lows: "In the broad stream of migration which has been flowing for 300 years from Europe to America, and from the Atlantic shore to the Pacific, there have been local eddies and backward-turning currents. To one of these diversions of the population movement we must attribute certain characteristics of the peo.ple of this Housatonic valley, and not a few im portant events in their history." He reviewed briefiy the history of the early settlement of the region by both English and Dutch people, and con tinued. "By reason of the, conditions under which it came into existence, the CQimmunity which became Great Barrington was different from the New England communities of Mas sachusetts east of the Connecticut river and in the colony of Connecti cut. It became a more representa tive, a more typically American com munity than any of the eastern New England to>wns has been, and in its achievements for ISO years we may study more advantageously than wa could in the older New England towns the normal possibilities! and the actual promise of American life. "The mixture of nationalities dif ferent in temiperment, in habits, to some extent in ideals was in its small extent like that which, on a larger scale, had been taking place on Man hattan island with the transformation of Dutch New Amsterdam into the dominantly English New York; and it foreshadowed the composite char acter of village and town .populations throughout our vast American do main as the miscellaneous aggrega tion at Manhattan foreshadowed the composite character of Ameri.-an cities. This fact alone would have made Great Biarrington different from the eastern towns. To it was added another fact making for difference, which was not less interesting, and not less controling. "The English settlers of the Hou satonic townships, were of a different sort froim those that had" founded Plymouth, Salem, Dorchester, Rox- bury, Watertown, Charlestown and Boston. Pilgrims and Puritans in one sense of the word were pioneers; in another sense o'f the word they were not. They were eminently gre garious. Their social instincts were strong. They caime in companies or bands already organized, or made up before they left their English homes. To an astonishing extent they were related by blood and marriage, "Almost every family was in one or another way connected with near ly every other througout the settle ments that made a chain from Casco Bay to Rehoboth and Providence plantations. They came to the new world partly to improve their econo mic condition and partly to enjoy a kind and a degree of liberty which they could not get in England. The secondary motive has probably been both exaggerated and misconceived in popular tradition. In the first place Pilgrims and Puritans wanted liberty not merely because they were idealists, but also for the exceeding ly practical reason that their religi ous attitude as non-conformists and separatists had cut them loose from all the strings of political "pull" and of comimercial preferment, and had left them to the position o:f people who find it increasingly hard to get a living. In the second place the lib erty that they carfd about was not what we today understand by the phrase "personal liberty." They wanted group l-berty. They wanted to live as small theocratic communi ties without governmental control or outside interference. "Yet no community has ever been so unitdd that all its families have been willing to submit to the dicta tion of a ruling majority or of a few dominant minds. "It was inevitable that in cutting loose from organized society the pio neer should leave behind him some things besides the carved oaken chests and the silver plate of his an cestors. In too many instances he left also some of the amenities of life, and ambitions as well as re straints and disicipl'-nes, without which life cannot be maintained at a wholly satisfactory moral level'. That the little comtnunity growing up here between 1726 and 1826 suffered much from this cause we know from quo tations which Mr. Taylor makes from the 'Autobiography' of Rev. Samuel Hopkins and from the famous 'Trav els' of President Dwight, Mr, Hop kins wrote: " 'They have had no minister set tled am.on.g them except for a short time, since I left them. The church has dwindled, and come to almost nothing, or worse. They have not prospered in their worldly concerns, but the contrary. They are far from being respectable as a people or town in the sight of those who are acquainted with them, and their cir cumstances.' "And President Ti-wight, who had visited the town in 1798, said: " 'It is probable that there has been more horse racing in these two towns (Great Barrington and Shef field) 'than in all the state of Massa- chu-setts besides * * * The soil of Great Barrington is excellent, yet we saw very little marks of thrift or prosperity. The houses are in many instances decayed; the Episcopal church barely decent; the Congrega tional ruinous.* * * Few places can boast of a better soil, or more de lightful situation, yet I suspect few have been less prosperous or less haippy. Religion has had here, gen erally, a doubtful existence.' "The demoralization so unsparing ly described must in justice be at tributed partly to the Revolutionary war, and its consequent economic misery, which .caus'cd Shays' rebel lion. But pioneer habits and quali ties of character, partly good ana partly bad, must, I fear, be admitted to have been the original cause of ill-conditions, for Dwight makes ex ceptions of the des'cendants of the Dutch, whom he conamends as more indu-strious and well-to-do than their English neighbors. Furthermore, it was not an accident that on this spot where we are assemlbled was made the first undisguisedly defiant armed resistance to British authority in America, or that a few miles away occurred the last fighting of Shays' insurrection. "The economic and moral causes of the war for independence are bet ter understood today than they were a generation ago, and it was in com munities of which Great Barrington was fairly representative, that they were most clearly manifested. The shifting of population w.hich gave liberty-loving spirits to the frontier, left the conservative, order-loving souls in the older settlements, where many of them became rich and then aristocratic in opinion and demeanor. An important source of their wealth was the African slave trade. South ern planters bought the slaves and worked them, but it was thrifty New England shipmasters, who owned me best pewiS at Boston and Newport, who went after those wretched blacks, transported them with un speakable cruelties across the seas, and sold them for tobacco, or rum, or whatever else would bring a price. The first clergyman to raise a voice effectively a/gainst the business was Rev, Samuel Hopkins, who had gone from Great Barrington to the wealthy Congregational church at Newport, R. I. The delivery of his sermon on the moral guilt of slave dealin-, slave trading and slave holding, was the first act of real moral heroism in be half of the African negro slave. "It is unnecessary to offer further evidence that the earliest inhabitants of Great Barrington were men of strongly-marked excellence and al most as strongly-.m.arlced defects. Ex cellences and defects were those char acteristics of a secondary stage in the development of American civila- zation, a stage of exploration, of hard pioneer existence, of self-reliant individualism, of miscellaneous groupings, instead of compact, ho mogenous communities of old neigh bors and blood kindred. It built up industries and trade; it strengthened its churches and established schools. It became conscious of civic pride, and jealously regardful of its own fair name among towns of the com monwealth. The means by -which these aims were attained are not without their lesson for our o.wn gen eration. Mr, Taylor atributes the be ginnings of a new order of things to the arrival of new blood, which brought in thrifter habits and a higher regard for the standards and traditions of older communities." After enumerating a large list of men who settled in the town in the early days, many of whom became prominent. Prof. Giddings continued "Truly this was a congreigation of distinct personalities from wiany places, but the predominance of the Connecticut element, to which Mr. Taylor calls attention, is obvious. The interests and the talents which their arrival brought to.gether were not all of one kind, but they admit ted of harmonious combination in public and private enterprises. By their industry they created prosper ity. By their virtue and wisdom they made the name of Great Barrington respected and honored. In their pat riotism they gave to the nation in its hour of peril that long and unsur passed roll of soldier sons who re sponded to Lincoln's call. And by one among them (William Cullen Bryant) the romance and beauty of the mountains that encircle us, and the peace of this enchanted valley, through which flows the streams of sweet waters, were made known throughout the world wherever Eng lish verse is read. "The work which they beigan we who follow them must carry on. The standards to which they were loyal we must abide toy and respect. The traditions from which they drew inspiration must inspire us also, and and the sons that shall come after us. Moreover, the achievements that were found to be possible here have been possible in a thousand other towns as miscellaneous in composition as Great Barrington was. They will continue to be possible, and in this possibility lies our hope for the future of the American peo ple. "It is then not a small or unimpor tant matter that is revealed to us in the modest history of this represen tative American cown, whose ISO years of corporate existence we cele brate today. From the vantage ground of this history, a mere point though it may be, we may look con fidently into the long future of a mighty people, and across the vast spaces of a national domain that stretches 3000 miles beyond us 'over the mountain,' " Marcus Rogers' Remarks. Mancus H. Rogers, years ago edi-..- or of the Courier, spoke as follows: 'Tis no easy task for old boys like myself. Who. are out of the ring — sort o' laid on the shelf — To be summoned again, from ref .-esh- ment to labor. For .occasiion like this, where neigh bor meets neighbor; Where the speakers are called, in pre-ordained places. And, just for a dash, must "show off their paces." And while I had hoped to be once overlooked. Yet Walter, he wrote me that I had been "booked" To do a small part, with the subject left blank, With my rhyming imachine (which starts with a crank). When the course of one's life is traced on a chart. Strange leadings are found, which played a large part, In shaping Ms path, through some mystical sway. By forces no more than a zephyr's light play. As gentle as dew, or the turn of one's hand, Our pathways are changed and the future is planned For causes so slight as to force the conviction That Tiuth oftentimes is stranger than fiction. On the smallest of hinges sometimes turns the gate That opens for fortune, or may be, for fate, A chance word is spoken, or some sudden th'ought Supplies inspiration for work to be wrought. And every m^an here by this mysticaJ s'way. Can recall in his life some remarkable day When an act, or a word, wiith mys tery rife. Has changed in Siome way the course of his life. One summer day, just fifty years ago, I came over from Mill River to this town (when I became a member O'f Cinoinnatus lodge), and an idle thought, seemingly not more import ant than the fall of a leaf, prompted me to step into the Courier office to buy a copy of the paper. And that single act, by some mys terious leading beyond all human con- ceiptiion, not only changed the whole course of my life, but had some in fluence upon the affairs of this town. At the risk of imposing upon your patience and your kindness I will briefly relate the curious circumstan ces of how I came to be a printer, Hoiw I caime to take charge of the Courier, to which I gave the best ef forts of my life for seventeen years; and how it came to have a popularity (possibly somewhat advantageous to the town) and a circulation larger than any other paper in the county, and in fact, with, very few exceptions, larger than any other country weekly in a radius of more than a hundred miles. Nearly sixty-five years ago,- when a small boy, I visited a cousin in West Suffield, Conn,, who gave me, as a parting gift, a blue match-ibox partly filled with some old type. And these old type, which I have always preserved with great care, touched a responsive chord in my nature. I played with them for hours and days; they entirely chang ed the current of my life, and their influence clings to me yet, A few years later, during one summer vacation of the schools, fol lowing the mystical lure of the type, I became clerk in one of the village stores, including the post-office, and with the money I earned I sent to New York and bought $14 worth of type — which seemed a good deal of money in those days for a boy to pay for a plaything. After receiving the type I discovered that a press was necessary to do any priinting, and to buy one was much beyond me, for it was long before amateur printing outfits were evern thought of. A man might have been discourag ed under such circumstances, but a boy, pursuing a pet hobby couldn't be put out by a little thing like that. I had a picture of the press at which Ben Franklin had worked as an apprentice, and with my mother's ¦cheese press as a model, with a work shop and plenty o.f tools^ with which I was more or less familiar, I set to work with such, enthusiasm that in a short time I built a very good printing press of wood, which work ed almost perfectly, and is still pre served. And then some interesting inci dents and influences which I must not take time to relate, prompted me to undertake printing a little monthly paper, which was named "The Rising Sun," while I was attending a select school in the village, somewhat com parable to the present high school over there. And all this work was done and the paper published for a year before I had even so much as seen a printer, or been inside of a printing office. It was simply boy-play, like building kites or wind-mills, and I did not realize its significance. But It was that idle play which showed me the way Kind Nature decreed I should meas ure; And manhood's success was due to that press I built with such boyish pleasure. But an incident occurred while I was clerk in the postoffice which had a most im.portant influence, not only upon my life, but to a certain extent upon country journalism — though it was sure to be developed by some body. It was not the custom in those days for country papers to print much local news; only accidents, fires, im portant events, with deaths and mar riages, being deemed proper for pub lication. It is safe to say that far more local news from adjoining towns is now published in the Courier every week than was done in ten years fif ty years ago. There was a blacksmith in Mill River named Jonas Cone. His wife was of unusual size, and with a girl living in the family, he took them out in a row boat on one of the mill ponds for recreation. Jonas thought it a fine joke to frighten his passen gers by rowing the boat quite near the brink of the mill dam, but it did not seem quite so funny when the strong current carried them over with a splash. The boat did not capsize but fell flat upon the stones below, with out injuring the occupants, excc^'t by a harmless bump, and the drench ing they got under the falling water. The incident created much artijse- ment in the village and gave Jonas, who was a great talker, a fine .subject for exercising his linguistic abilities. A brief account of the incident was published in the Courier, which was an "event" almost as remarka!i1e as the blacksmith's adventure. Only a few copies of the paper came to the office^ and one of the number was not called for, and customers who came to the store from the regi.-jii r;>und about — ^for the store had a wide pat ronage in the busy place, with three paper mills running night and day — and all wanted to see the report of the accident, which was so honored and glorified by being printed in a newspaper. And the extra copy was worn out, by showing it to all who were so anxious to see it. This circumstance made a strong im,pression upon me, but I ha-1 then no glim'mering of its advantageous and far-reaching importance. In 1860 I was in Pittsburg, when the discovery and use of oil began to creat.; a local excitement, and I in vested a litle money in a project that L'ave promise of a fortune. There seemed to be "imilllons in it," The next March I concluded to visit Berkshire, and as I had taken the Ccurier, I proposed to stop it, and remitted four dollars for arrear ages in a .letter to Mr. Cushimg. A week later, I sent a communica tion to the paper, concerning the oil discoveries^ and asked as a favor if my motley had been received all right, that two copies of the paper containing my letter, be sent me. The papers were received in due time, and I supposed the account was closed, never thinkSng to refer to it again. But on that summer day in 1861, when I stepped into the low and dingy office on Railroad street, as 1 have said, to buv a copy of the paper just as I was turning from Mr. Cus.h- ing, whom I had never spoken to be fore some mystical influence, to which I have alluded, prompted me to turn back, and say to him, "I suppose my account was balanced all right?" Asking my ruame he took down a large book, and said, "no; you owe four dollars." Here was a mystery, ,and I related how I had sent the .money and of receiving the two papers, as a sort of receipt. But no trace of the money could be found, by interviewing the foreman, a Mr. Whittier, who only romiembered sending me the two papers. This conversation somehow prompt ed Mr. Cu'shing looking up at me as I stood by his desk, tb ask: "are you the young man who used to print a little paper over in Mill River?" When I admited it, after a mo ment's hesitation,- he startled me by asking, "how would you like to come into this oflSce?" I was uncertain of my aibility for the undertaking, and told him so not having learned the trade; but he became so 'much interested in me, that he not only .followed me out upon the sidewalk, bareheaded, but across the street, stopping to talk as we went into Horace H.olmes' hat store. I told him I must go to Pittsburg, to lo'ok after the oil coimpany I was interested in and perhaps I would not care to undertake the work. B'ut it wais agreed, after several in terviews, that if I desired to engage in the work, I would make a prop osition after I had returned to Patts- urg. And after going there, and realiz ing some unfortunate conditions I sold my interest in the company and then sought a position in the com posing room of the Pittsburg Post, to begin at the bottom, to really learn the printing trade'. And, by the wa38 it was a copy of The Rising Sun, which enaJbled me to get the place. And I worked about seventeen hours a day, wiith all the energy I possessed, and with such earnest ness, that when I left, after about three months, the proprietor kindly assured roe that if I ever desired to return, I would al'w,ays find a posi tion open for me and probable pro motion on the Pittsburg Post. I made a formal proposition to Mr. Gushing in October and as soon as he received the letter he put on a light overcoat which had been hanging in a closet during the sum'mer and went up to Valatie, in Kinderhook, to con sult with his son- in-law, John H. Corning about it. Promptly on arrival, he said he had received a letter from me, making a proposition^, and handed it to Mr. Corning, On talcing it, he said: "why, this letter has not .been open ed?" "Oh, yes it has, for I have read it." But the letter, really had not been opened, although from m.e and from Pittsiburg. And Wiheni opened) it was found to be my letter of seven months before, containing the four dollars I had sent for my subscription, thus veri fying my statement. My proposition was accepted, and I returned to Berkshire, only stop ping in New York long eniough to carefullly select a new heading for the paper — being the same which has now become its handsome and famil iar trade-mark, and I took charge of the paper with the first isue in 1862. After two or three years of hard work and small returns, when think ing how to increase the popularity and subscription list of the paper, and recaling how eager many people in my town were to see the paragraph .about Jonas Cone's adventure in print, when I was clerk in the post office, I thought it would be a good plan to have .a correspondent in eacn tCKwn or village, to send me the news weekly. That was a more difficult thing to do then than it seems now. But the first m>an I found to undertake it, for ex periment, proved to be a good one, for he developed into a first-class news gatherer — the late George A. Shepard, Montville; an honest and worthy man, and I am glad to pay just tribute to his mem'ory. It was an excelllent field for try ing the experiment, and the results more tha.n justified my expectations; for while I was sending only eight papers to the town, at the end of a year I was sending fifty-two. Then I began cultivating" the field of local correspondence, in the towns round about, which was at tended -wiith many difficulties. Cor- responden^ts, with no exarrtples be fore them, bad to be "educated" into \"seeSng" the news and then some people objected to having their names put in the newsipaptr. Of this I will tell you later. But the sub scription list grew, almost like Jack's bean-stalk — and the Courier build ing grew out of it, too. But .this matter of local correspon dence from neighboring towns, was carried on uietly, although apparent to all my exchanges; but the advan tages and benefits were not appre ciated or understood, and for awhile, I had the field to myself. Then something happened: I was invited to deliver an address before the New York State Editors and Publishers Association, in 1868, on the Practical Management of a Country Newspaper, I promptly de clined the honor, by telegrap'h; but the circular announcements of the convention were issued with my name in them, and so I had to consent, and the address, which told among many other things, of the methods and benefits of cultivating local cor respondence from adjoining towns, was afterwards printed in Geo. P. Rowe'M's Advertiser's Gazette, which went into every newspaper office in the country, and portions of it were copied into the London Newspaper World. This was really "letting the cat out of the bag," for so'me of my nearest newspaper neighbors began to follow my advice, but some of them endeavored to entice my local wr'.ters away from me. It was only proper to say^ that many newspapers improved upon the original ideas I had expressed,, and now there is hardly a country news- pamper in the entire land, from ocean to ocean, that has not adopted the praictice. While the country paipers are now filled with news from neighboring towns, it is hard to realize the op position it aroused among an "old fogy" dlement at that time, I once received an anonymous letter, bear ing the Glendale post-mark, warning me, that if I did not stop printing the news from that place, my buildings would be burned. Of course, I did not stop, and en deavored to get more news from that .and other places. Because, I realized, that the news from each town was the key to success. Thait seems easy now, but I happen to know It was not so easy forty-five years ago. Some people disl'iked it, and some (gave a hint Of what wou'ld occur if their names were in print. One dignified man came to pay us his dues And condemned the idea of printing the news; With bluff, icy 'manner, he said, whait's the sense Of saying some farmer has painted his fence? Or that some man in Sheffield has built a new shed. Or put up a hen-house and painted it red? He said for his part he cared not to know How long stalks of corn Jed Lewis could grow. "What's the sense," he exclaimed, as wise as a stork, "In saying John Russell has gone to New York?" And there were others holding simi lar views Of this innovation of priniting the news. But with courage unfailing the plan was proved true By the regular way the subscription list grew. And before these methods were fully revealed The Courier stood first in the news paper field. All these things were done — to boil it all down — The news was secured from village and town. And all country papers found a. new field of work Because of a hint to a postmaster's clerk. Or, as Hugo would say, in a brief epigram, "Because Jonas Jones went over the dam." R. W. Pope's Address. Ralph Wainwrig'ht Pope who dis cussed "The Relation of Great Bar- ringto.n to the Electrical Industry," spoke as follows: "What hath God wrought?" This brief message, die ated by Anna Ells worth and transmitted from Washing ton to Baltimore by the Morse tele graph on May ,24, 1844, was the first public dem.onstration of its practical success, and the year 1844 has been generally accepted as the beg-innin'g of the vast electrical development of the 19th century. About four years later a single iron wire was erected in Great Barrington which was part of a line between New York and Montreal. A station was estaiblished in th s village, with Theodore Dewey as operator. The enterprise was in advance of its time, the equipment crude, and the line was abandoned about ISSS,. This will not appear strange, considerinig that the line between New York and Boston earned a revenue in 1848 of only $34,- 835 with ex.panses of $36,034 showing a deficit of $1,199, In November, 1857, the American Telegraph Company 'finished a line between Pittsfield and Great Barring ton, which was equipped with the Hughes type 'printing instrument, Franklin L. Poipe was the fir '; oper ator. About two years later the H'Ughes printer was superseded by the Morse .system, and in 1862 the line was superseded by the Morse sys tem, ard in 1862 the line was ex tended along the railroad to Bridge port. The value of the. telegraph was n:t ge-erall'y atppreciated 'by the pub lic until the outbreak of the Civil war. Great Barrington, in c:mmon with other towns and cities, partici pated in the benefits derived fro.m the electrical development which event ually followed the telegraph. In 1880 a telephone line was built to Scuth Egremont, and in 1881 the first tele phone exchange wa.s installe'd, follow ed in 1884 by electric lighting of the streets. This was the first manifesta tion of the practical use of electricity to mankind since that original produc tion of electricity by chemical action in the voltaic battery. We have been drawing closer and closer to its source through burning coal and falling water. To get still nearer to ¦the heart of nature's laboratory - is the problem for future solution. In 1883 your fellow town.sman, Wil liam Stanley, became interested! in the proiblem of electrical distribution which confronted the engineer at that time. The area which could be served from a central station was then limited to about 16 square miles. European .engineers were grappling with the same problem. A British patent issued to Gaulard and Gilbbs had directed attention to the use of the alternatiing current and the well! known induction coil. The pro posed plan was not practical, but cm- bodied the theory to be subsequently v.orked out. This was the missi<^n of Mr Stanley, and in -1884 his y:-ar of experimenting at the Westinghcuse wcrks in Pittsburg was followed by his removal to Great Barring'.on, fully convinced that he was on the road to success. In 1885 he designed the transform er, which is notalble for its b'mplicity, and consequent reliability, and in this respect is a rival to the telegraphic sounder, the telephone receiver and the incandescent 'amp. The trans former was 'first kno'wn as a convert er, and nicknamed the "exhorter." Fortunately the name trc!n-,f 5rm-.;r is now universally accepted. /To make a practical demonstration jV|r. Stanley hired the old rubber fac tory for a station, equipping it with a; boiler steam engine, and alternating durrent generator, A line was run to the vil'age and about twenty stores, offices and hotels were wi'cd for incandescent lamps. On March 6, 1886, the plant was started, and on April 16th was vis led by Mr. George Westinghouse, who after satisfying himself of its success decided to explot the ^Itcrnacing current lighting system. In -,;!ite of determined opposition and disc-DMiage- ment, the growth of the alternating system was ra/pid and wide.-|>read. On May 4, 1911, Mr. St?nley was the guest of honor at the annual banquet of the Pittsfield section of the Amer ican Institute of Electrical F.n,4incei-s, when 135 electrical enf; ncrs and their friends gathered to of '.I'l-.Tate the 25th anniversary of the triumph of the alternating S'ystem. Such em- inen'» men in the electrical field as Elihu Thomson, Charles P. Stein- metz, Dugald C, Jackson, E W. Ri.^e, Jr , Frank J, Sprague, W. S. Moody, Charles F. Soott and Frederick Dr.rl- ington united in acknowledgment of the valuable pioneer work of Will'am Stanley. The distiibution of electric ity for lighting purposes was not, however, the finality for in 1894 .Mr. Stanley collaborating with Messrs, Kelly and Chesney, brough; out the S. K. C, system of power trans'mis- sion, and agan Great Barrington was the scene of another advance in elec trical transmission. The water power at Stockbridge Iron Works was util- i ed at Housaton'c and Great Barring ton, a distance .of aibout eight mi'es, through the agency of electricity. At this time the electric lighting system of the town was reconstructed and the steam plant superseded by the generat'on of the current at Stock- bridge Iron Works and its transmis sion to Great Barrington. This work was planned and supervised by Franklin L. Pope and was the sub ject of a paper presented by him at the Niagara Falls convention of the American Inst'tute 'Of Electrical En gineers, June 26, 189S. In 1906 the present power house iwas established on the property of Parley A, Russell, One must cross the continent, and n-te the installations for railways, mining, smelting and irrigation, in Colorado, Utah and California, or vis it the cotton factories of North and South Carolina, Alabama and Georgia to fully appreciate the revolution which has sprung from these small beginnings. Inventions may be important, use ful and beautiful. The Stanley elec- tr c meter was a useful and beautiful instrument, and esisentially a product of the town, and its maniu,facture here was fraught with bright promises for the future. Through an adverse de cision 'of the 'Courts it became neces sary to abandon the enterprise, and although this was a heavy blow tJ the inventor and his friends, the instru ment 'Was a worthy contribution to the art. Until 1902 Great Barrington had little conception of the personality of electrical eng'neers in general. The electrical engineers had even less knowledge -of the town and its peo ple. The 18th convention of the American Institu'e of Electrical En gineers held here afforded an oppor tunity to get acquainted. It was a case of love at first s''ght, mutual, true and enduring. Even today the event is cited as the best convention ever held by the Institute. The citi zens of Great Barrington look back upon it as the most enjoyable event in the history of the town. Last of all and perhaps of the greatest local importance as bearing upon the prosperity of the town is the advent of the electric rail'way. The last ten years have demonstrated its value, and with its extension to the Connecticut Valley, the metropolis of Southern Berkshire will become more familiar throughout the Common wealth. Although the actual relations of the town to various branches of the electrical industry have .been briefly outlined, it appears proper that there should be added some reference to the training and exiperience in other fields, 'by citizens and sons of Great Barrington, having a direct or indirect bearing upon electricity pro gress throughout the country. William Stanley, who has been so closely identified with various elec trical interesta in the town, was bora in Brooklyn, N. Y,, iNovemlber 22, 1858, and was prepared ifor c liege at the Williston seminary, Easthampton, Mass. He entered Yale in the class of 1881, but withdrew in the freshr man year, and took up the study of electricity at home. While engageii in nickel plating, in 'New York city in 1879, he became acquainted with Hiram Maxim, and subsequently be came his assistant. Mr, Maxim (now Sir Hiiam) was chief engineer of the United 'States Electric Light Company of New York city. Mr, Stanley continued with Ed ward Weston' in Newark. N. J,, and the Swan Electric Light Company, in venting and perfecting an improved method of exhausting incandescent lamp bulbs, Durinp- 1883 and 1884 he conducted a private laboratory at Englewood, N. J., where he dev ted himself to experimental work on stor age batteries and other apparatus. In 1884 he made a contract /ith George Westingho.us.e by which he agreed to make certain investigations, which if sucessful, were to be taken up as .bus^mess enterpri.es by Mr. Westinghouse, in which Mr. Stanley was to receive a share in return for his services. During that year he designed and equipped a factory for the manufacture of incandescent) lamps at .Swissvale, Pa. It was while engaged in the problem of increasing the area of distribution of electricity by the a'lternating .cuirentthat h^ be came ill and removed to Great Bar rington in the spring of 1885. His work in Great Barrington and vicinity has already been referred to, Franklin Leonard Pope was born in Gr,eat Barrington, December 2, 1840, and was educated in the south ern district school and the academie.s at Great Barrington and Amherst, Mass, He was recomm nded to Superintendent Lovett, 'of the Amer ican Telegraph Coimpany, as a suita ble person to be tra'ned to opera'e the Hughes printer, when the tele graph office was opened in Novem ber, 18S7. He had at that time at- ti acted attention for his interest in mechanics and his natural artistic ability. He was subsequently trans ferred to the more important office at Springfield, Mass, In the latter part of 1859 he made an engagement with the Scientific American where he not only developed his talent .for drawing, but became familiar with patent office practice. He re-entered the service of the 'American T-legra.ph Company at Providence, R. I., in 1861 and the following year was transferred to the executive ofifices in New York city, as assistant engineer. Upon the organization of the Collins Overland Telegraph Company in 1865 he was placed in charge of the ex ploration of British Columbia and Alaska, with the olbject of selecting a route for the proposed telegraph line through Asia and Europe via Behring Strait. In February, 1866 he completed a hazardous trip with dogs and .sledges from Lake Tatla north to the Sticken River and thence to the Pacific coast, a distance of about 500 miles. Upon the S'uccessful laying of the Atlantic cable, July 27, 1866, this entire project was abandoned. Upon his return to New York he was tem- porar'ly engaged as a telegraph operator, also as ¦ d'tor of t^e Tele- prap'-pr. in 1867 and 1868 He was then ai'pointed svper'ntendent of the Gold a-d Stock Report'ng Te'egra.ph, and in.^alled the first system for the distributing of gold quotations in the Wall street district. In 1869 he wrote and published ?. book entitled "Modern Practice of the Telegraiph," which he revised about 20 years later, and which is still in ithe market. He joined forces with Thomas A. Edison in 1869, under the 'firm name of Pope, Edison and Company, electrical ,en- gineers. Among their joint inventions was the Pope and Edison Printer, embodying a very important improve ment ii the printing instrument, which is still in use. They also in vented the rail circuit for railroad signals, an important principle which has come into very general use since the patent expired. Subsequently Mr. Pope devoted his time to patent law, as a solicitor and expert for the Western Union Telegraph Company, the American Bell Telephone Com'- pany, the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, and other important concerns. In May, 1886, he was elected President of the Amer ican Intstitute of Electrical Engineers in recognition of his ability as an en gineer, editor, author, in ventor, patent exipert and explorer. He practically retired in 1893 to his old home in Great Barrington, rwhich he remodeled and named Wainwright Hall. In the cellar of this house his useful life was prematurely ended October 13, 1895 by accidental contact with the primary wire of a transformer which had been improperly connected by temporary conductors during his absence from home. Ralph Wainwright Pope was born, August 16, 1844, and received a com mon school education ending with a term at the academy in 1858, He then learned to operate the Hughes Print ing Telegraph under the tuition of his brother Franklin, In April, 1859 he entered the services of the Housa tonic Railroad at Pittsfield and was transferred to Bridgeport, Conn., the follo'wing year. Meanwhile, having learned the Morse telegraiphic system, he returned to Great Barrington in the winter of 1860 and took charge of the office. After becoming suffi ciently exipert he was employed in the offices of the American Telegraph Company at New York, New Haven and Providence. He accompanied his brother to British iColum'bia in 1865, and establshed the telegraph 'office at Quesnel, B', C, where he wintered, returning to the East upon the aban donment of the proposed overland line to Asia and !E5urope. He entered the service of the Bankers and Brok ers Telegraiph Company, and was as sistant editor of the Telegrapher in 1868, He was appointed an inspector in the service of the Gold and Stock Telegraph Company in 1873, being subsequently promoted to the office of deputy superintendent. In 1885 he was elected secretary of the Amer ican Institute of Electrical Engineers, to which be was re-elected for 26 consecutive years. In order that -his duties might be lessened he resigned on August 1, 1911, and was appointed Honorary Secretary, with spc.ial supervision over the 25 sections and 36 branches in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Henry William Po'pe wa.= born i'u Great !B'arrington, November 2, 1848. After receiving a common school education he followe 1 in the footsteps of his two brother-), learned the Morse telegraph system, an! took charge of the Great Barrington office in 1862. The next year he wa.:, 'rans- ferred to New York office, where he was looked upon as the youngest and smallest "sound" operator in the ser vice. He was employed in the Bos ton office from 1866 to 1868, when he returned to New York and was ap pointed chief o'perator in the private line department of the Gold and Stock Telegraph Company, and sub sequently assistant superintendent of the American District Telegrap'h Company. While with the latter company he introduced the first tele phone service in New York city. From 1879 to 1882 he was superin- the Pittsfield Electric Light and answered. Of the one hundred and tendent of the Metropolitan Tele- Power 'Com,pany, and while there he fifty years it covers more than a half phone and Telegraph Company, He joined the American Institute of Elec- fentury. As one of the ever loyal organized and was president of the trical Engineers on Sep'temiber 16th, sons, whose heart is entwined with Citizens Illuminating Company of 1890. At a New York meeting of the fond recollections of the many iwho Brooklyn, which was the first com- Institute, October 21, 1890 he read a have passed away, and who has been pany to introduce electric lighting in paper entitled an "Investigation of inspired by the .greetings of those that city. He also organized the the Stanley Alternate Current Dy- now assembled, I thank you for this Elizatbeth (N. J.) Electric Light and namo," Mr. Toibey continued in asso- opportunity of_ participating in an Power Company, and the Morris- elation with the Stanley interests un- event which will forever .continue as town (N, J,) Electric Light and til his -untimely death on March 28th, an important chapter in the history Power Company, the stations of w.hich 1896, while engaged on a professional oi the town of Great Barrington, were constructed from, his plans and trip to South America, under his supervision. In 1896 he iHarry Willard Tobey w.i,s born in again took up telephone work, and Great Barrington, March 21, 1873, and in 1899 was appointed acting general after passing through the com'mon manager of the Bell Telephone and and high school ¦w'.as prepared for Telegraiph Com,pany of Buffalo, cover- college at the University Pi-eparatory ing the territory in the western por- School of Ithaca. H? graduated tion of the State of New York. He from Cornell university in June, 1897, returned to New York city in 1902, and entered the .service of the Stan- and has .continued until the present ley Electric Manufacturing Co., at time in the service of the American Pittsfield, October, 1897, and has con- Telephone and Telegraph Company, tinned at the Pittsifield works up to as special agent. Mr. Pope is no.w the present time. He is considered actively engaged in perfecting the an authority in transformet- work, organization of the Telephone Pion- and his papers and discussions are of eers of America, as chairman of the great value, Mr, Tobey has been organization co-rnmittee, who will secietary and chairm.an of the Pitts- meet in convention in Boston early in field section of the A, I, E, E, for November. several terms and has shown great Mr, William Boardman Tobey was interest and ability in the work, born in Great Barrington, January 16, Your call for a sketch of the re- 1869, and was graduated at .Cornell lation of Great Barrington to the university. He entered the employ of electrical industry has been feebly Date Due All books are subject to recall after two weeks. i?^S