admin – Page 81 – Historical Tours of Greater Holyoke

Bishop Block

The Bishop Block is a 1890 building. From its earliest days its was owned by a couple of dressmakers. They it had two consecutive owners that were dealers in produce and gents clothes.

The Conway Block is at 301 to 305 High Street having been built and designed from 1884 to 1889. Martin Conway a dealer in pianos was here. The building is very large as the footprint far onto the side street.

By 1900 and up to at least 1915 this was the Murlless Block and housed two dentist and a dental supply company. Woolworth was also here at that point. Daniel Murlless appears even in the 1869 directory.

From at least 1912 to 1922, there was a Woolworth’s here.

POSTCARD

Sanborn map analysis:

Sanborn 1884 map shows the righthand part is done

Sanborn 1889 map shows the southernmost of the two parts is being built

Rigali

The Rigali Building is one of the nicest on High Street. It was made for Louis Rigali and his sweet shoppe in 1887. He had the shoppe next door but wanted another building. This 341-343 High Street building is the result. Notice the name.

They had many retailers here during the years.

Sanborn map analysis:

Sanborn 1884 map the area is very empty

Sanborn 1889 map is greatly filled in

Sanborn 1915 map

Sanborn 1949 map

Sanborn 1956 map

YMCA Building

The YMCA Building at 345-347 High Street was built in 1884. It was made by Louis Rigali who had a building next to it too. By 1889 the YMCA had moved here. They left here in 1893 when they got their own block. Then the YWCA was here from 1893 to 1910. The facade of the 345 block has been painted at one time and hence the pale look.

The next YMCA Building was at the corner of Appleton and High two building away – 357 High Street. William Morgan invented the game in the winter of 1895. That building is no longer there but there is a wonderful image of its inside. There were so few indoor sports that he saw the need for such a game. Basketball was invented four years earlier in Springfield.

POSTCARD ONE – TWO – THREE – FOUR

On December 18 1943 the building burned to the ground and in 1950 was on Beech Street. Read their history on their web SITE.

From at least 1912 to 1915 on the ground floor there was the People’s Bank.

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and also the Home National Bank with James Newton as its president.

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Sanborn maps:

Sanborn 1884 map shows the area nearly empty

Sanborn 1889 map shows the YMCA on all three floors of the Rigali old building

Sanborn 1895 map shows the YMCA as new and the YWCA now in place

on the 1915 Sanborn map the YMCA is at the corner showing the gymnasium on the 4th floor

Sanborn 1949 map shows the three buildings with the two Rigali ones as normal but the YMCA one changed into a 2 story wooden one

Sanborn 1956 map

Calvary Cemetery of Chicopee and St Matthew Cemetery of Springfield

LOCATION

This is a walking tour of Calvary Cemetery of Chicopee and St Matthew Cemetery of Springfield.

Cemeteries of Chicopee

stop 1 – Cross

Daprato Rigali Company of Chicago made this cross and the statues in front of it. LINK They are a specialty firm that constructs religious implements. Their insignia are on the many items here on their bases – cross and 3 statues.

stop 2 – nuns

The nuns of the Holy Name School are buried there both in front of the cross and behind the cross.

stop 3 – oldest burials with stones

In the land in front of the work shed, there are many burials but few stones. The lack of gravestones is because there were wooden crosses here at one time but they have eroded away. The families were too poor to purchase stones.

In the Chicopee town death records of the 1850s, a burial in Calvary Cemetery was denoted as Chicopee Roman Catholic Cemetery (often Chic Rom Cath Cem) and a burial in Saint Matthews Cemetery was denoted as Roman Catholic Cemetery (often Rom Cath Cem).

stop 4 – Faustino Estanislau

Faustino is buried in the woods behind the main body of the cemetery. His daughter was later buried alongside him. Faustino was a suicide and the Catholic church did not allow a burial of a person that commit suicide within the consecrated portion of the cemetery. Thus he is in the woods. His wife and two very young children moved back to Portugal after this. His children would return to New England as adults. His daughter is buried with her father here.

Findagrave

stop 5 – John Conlin

John Conlin was the pastor of the Holy Name Church of Chicopee from 1905 to 1953. 48 years is the longest that I have seen of a pastor serving one church in the Pioneer Valley.

Findagrave

stop 6 – Frank Szot

Frank Szot was the first resident of Chicopee that died in WW1. He died in Apremont France with the Yankee Division in 1918.

Findagrave

stop 7 – potters field

To the back left, there are two adjacent potters fields. The back one is called All Saints Cremation Garden. This is filled with paupers’ graves. Any stones that once were here in this section have been moved to the Holy Innocence section. This works as a cremation area since the bodies are 6 feet deep and the cremation urns are 1 foot deep. The plots were never owned by the families of the deceased but rather by the diocese. Findagrave

stop 8 – babies section

Findagrave

Once this section was only for non-baptized babies. Since this was the diocesan cemetery for Catholics in all of Western Massachusetts, there are many babies here. This section was never consecrated on purpose so that the non-baptized could be buried here. There are stones for adults here now but their bodies are not in this section. The church want to add a cremation section to the cemetery. This was added into the potter’s field section in the section in front of this one. Any stones that once were here in this section have been moved to the Holy Innocence section.

stop 9 – Fr Frederick Bonneville

Findagrave

Frederick Bonneville was the pastor of the Assumption Church in Chicopee from 1893 to 1928. He is the only pastor of that church buried in this cemetery.

stop 10 – layout of the cemetery

MAP

stop 11 – gates

St Matthew’s Cemetery – LINK

stop 1 –

Saint Matthew’s Cemetery is the oldest Catholic cemetery in Western Massachusetts. It is a diocesan cemetery of the Springfield Catholic Diocese. It was established in 1845 as a parish cemetery for the Saint Matthew’s Church of Chicopee. This church was in the Cabotville section of Springfield until 1849 when Cabotville became the town of Chicopee. Catholics that died in Western Massachusetts before 1845 would have been carried in train to the Boston area to be buried.

This cemetery can hold 8000 burial and it thought to be filled. Notice that there are about only 400 names on the scarce amount of stones. Paupers could not afford stones.

The Saint Matthew Parish was started in 1840. It was the first Catholic church in Western Massachusetts and as such would have served all Catholics of Western Massachusetts. The Saint Matthew Church was built as a wooden church in 1843. It would be replaced as a parish and as a church in 1859 when Holy Name Church was built.

Catholic Cemetery tours in South Hadley walking tour booklet

The Catholic Cemetery tours in South Hadley walking tour booklet is available from me. They cost $6 for a black-and-white stapled copy. Each additional copy after that is $4 more when shipped together. For a color copy, the cost is $10 and each additional copy in color is $8.

Email me from my contact page for details. The booklets that you order will be mailed to you via USPS so I need a physical address. Other booklets are available at the BOOKLET page.

You can follow these tours HERE

Whiting Street Reservoir tour booklet

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The Whiting Street Reservoir tour booklet is available from me. They cost $5 for a black-and-white stapled copy. Each additional copy after that is $3 more when shipped together. For a color copy, the cost is $8 and each additional copy in color is $6.

Email me from my contact page for details. The booklets that you order will be mailed to you via USPS so I need a physical address. Other booklets are available at the BOOKLET page. Follow the tour at LINK

Ashley Reservoir walking tour booklet

The Ashley Reservoir walking tour booklet is available from me. They cost $4 for a black-and-white stapled copy. Each additional copy after that is $2 more when shipped together. For a color copy, the cost is $6 and each additional copy in color is $4.

Email me from my contact page for details. The booklets that you order will be mailed to you via USPS so I need a physical address. Other booklets are available at the BOOKLET page. You can follow this tour at LINK.

Tour Booklets of Holyoke, Chicopee, and South Hadley

Tour booklets are available for a few tours. These are at different prices so click on the needed tour below. If it is not clickable, then the booklet will be coming soon this year. For SOUTH HADLEY walking tour booklets. For CHICOPEE walking tour booklets.

HOLYOKE canals, streets, and reservoirs

HOLYOKE parks