Congregation Sons of Zion Synagogue

Congregation Sons of Zion Synagogue

The Sons of Zion Cemetery is in Chicopee. Read about it HERE.

This group started in Holyoke in 1904. They chartered at their present home and they added to it. The left is an addition and the right is mostly the old building. The building started out as Salle Canadienne and was mostly used as the home for the Society of Saint Jean Baptiste run by Quebec people. In 1915 the Sons of Zion would move into the building. They would expand it twice in the 1940s and it was officially dedicated during the week December 1 to 7 of 1950. This building is at the southeast corner of Cabot and Maple Streets.

First Congregational Church of Holyoke

First Congregational Church of Holyoke

It started its own cemetery in 1828 across the street at the corner of Hampden and Northampton Streets. That cemetery was moved in 1886 to mostly the Forestdale Cemetery. The church also changed location – this time to the church that now stands on Pleasant Street.

The first construction at this location was the chapel that was completed in 1887. It had a steeple. See the Sanborn map below. One can see the angled trim off the chapel’s steeple. This proves that the chapel and church were made at different times.

Sanborn 1895 map

The main church was built alongside it and was completed by 1893. The parsonage was from the 1820s to the 1886 changeover was adjacent to the Northampton Street church. It bordered it to the north.

The Second Congregational Church of Holyoke was opened in 1853 at the corner of Dwight and High Streets. It moved in the late 1800s to the corner of Appleton and Maple Streets. The churches began to unify and that recent history is at this LINK. The Grace Church (which started in the fall of 1878) is one of the churches that it unified with. [A fine book called Amazing Grace by Dr Stanley from 2012 is worth the read.]

Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church

Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church

(LOCATION) Their church web page is found HERE.

The congregation of this episcopal church started out in 1863. They had their own church by 1868 at the southwest corner of Suffolk and Maple Streets.

In 1904 they built this gothic style church. The back attachment is part of the original church. In 1955 the hall at its back right was added. The stone is granite. The red coloring is due to the staining from the mortar.

Saint Paul’s Episcopal Rectory

The rectory was built in the same time period as the church. It is made in the Elizabethan (or Tudor) architectural style. It was build for Henry Morrill their rector for a home in 1906 (at 475 Appleton). The second rector to use it was Franklin Knight who stayed here from 1915 to 1930. There is a social hall around the back of the church and rectory. This building was also used as daycare.

Sanborn map analysis of the St Paul’s Church

Sanborn 1949 map