Category: Uncategorized

LOCATION

Holy Name of Jesus Church and the 3 neighborhood churches is a walking tour of the Springfield Street area in Chicopee Massachusetts.

stop 1 – Sacred Heart of Mary Convent LINK

stop 2 – Holy Name Girls’ School LINK

stop 3 – Patrick Healy Gravestone

Holy Name of Jesus Churchyard

stop 4 – Holy Name of Jesus Church LINK

stop 5 – Henry Lorenzo Robinson Gravestone LINK

stop 6 – Rectory MY LINK

(LOCATION)

pastor	starts	ends	burial	burial
John D Brady	1840	1847	burial	St Augustine in Boston
James Strain	1847	1849	burial	St Mary’s in Lynn
William Aloysius Blenkinsop	1849	1864	burial	St Augustine in Boston
Patrick Healy	1864	1889	burial	this churchyard
Henry Robinson	1889	1894	burial	this churchyard
John J McCoy	1894	1905	burial	St Jerome’s in Holyoke
John F Conlin	1905	1953	burial	Calvary in Chicopee
Joseph Ryan	1953	1963	burial	St Jerome’s in Holyoke
Thomas Shea	1963		burial	unknown

stop 7 – Chapel LINK

stop 8 – Boys’ School LINK

stop 9 – Monastery

The Holy Name Monastary was made in 1881 in the back of the boys’ school. At first there were only two brothers here but it grew from that point.

stop 10 – Science School LINK

stop 11 – Cemeteries of Holy Name of Jesus

Notice at first the two priests that are buried on the campus. They are mentioned above. From 1845 to 1910s the churchgoers of this church used the Saint Matthews Cemetery of Springfield. John Brady the priest bought this land in Springfield (about a football field length south of the present Calvary Cemetery). The parish used this cemetery until it was mostly filled up. From the 1920s until now, the Calvary Cemetery of Chicopee was heavily used. Calvary Cemetery was a Springfield Catholic Diocese cemetery started in 1852. In 1868 Father Healey had purchased the cemetery from the diocese to have it has a parish cemetery.

For the remainder of the tour go to this LINK.

Cemeteries of Chicopee

Sanborn map analysis

Sanborn 1885 map

Sanborn 1896 map

Sanborn 1902 map

Sanborn 1910 map

Sanborn 1915 map

The nuns of Holyoke are varied since there are so many ethnic groups within the city. Below is a rundown of the orders and when and where they served.

order	location	years in Holyoke	local burial locations	motherhouse	external link to their history
Notre Dame	Notre Dame School	1869 -1910	Saint Jerome Cemetery in Holyoke	Waltham Massachusetts	HISTORY
Sisters of Saint Joseph	St Jerome – Rosary (1920 on) – Sacred Heart	1886 – today	St Michael’s Cemetery of Springfield and Mont Marie Cemetery of Holyoke	Springfield	HISTORY
Franciscan Sisters of Saint Joseph	Mater Dolorosa	1906 – 1994			HISTORY
Sisters of Sainte Anne	Precious Blood	1888 – 1971		Nicolet of Quebec Canada	HISTORY
Sisters of the Presentation of Mary	LINK Immaculate Conception – Perpetual Help	1891 – 1979			HISTORY
Sisters of Providence	LINK	November 1873 – today	Calvary Cemetery of the Sisters of Providence in Holyoke	Holyoke	HISTORY

Quebec ethnicity military men from Holyoke that died during the course of World War 1 are honored on plaques in Notre Dame Cemetery in South Hadley.

name	birth date	birthplace	death date	deathplace	burial
Arthur Joseph Perreault	5 Oct 1890	Holyoke	7 March 1918	Issoudun	FINDAGRAVE
Emile Jacob Henrye	28 Sept 1893	Fitchburg	8 July 1918	Brest	FINDAGRAVE
Georges Trembly	11 August 1896	Holyoke	16 June 1918	Royaumeix	FINDAGRAVE
Leon Bourgeois	10 Feb 1898	Springfield	5 July 1918	Belleauwood France	FINDAGRAVE
Ernest Arthur Parent	31 Dec 1898	Holyoke	15 March 1918	France	FINDAGRAVE
Narcisse A De Roy					FINDAGRAVE
Emile Bruder	7 Jan 1887	Hericourt France	8 June 1918	France	FINDAGRAVE
Wilfred W Paradis					FINDAGRAVE
Joseph Couture					FINDAGRAVE
William O Guillette	7 July 1894	Biddeford Maine	28 September 1918	Massachusetts	FINDAGRAVE
Albert J Ouimet	Oct 1895	Holyoke	22 July 1918	Epieds	FINDAGRAVE
Albert Rousseau					FINDAGRAVE
Avila Nolin	6 Dec 1894	Holyoke	1 Nov 1918	Alliepont	FINDAGRAVE
Albert Gendron			25 August 1917	France	FINDAGRAVE
Nazaire Demers					FINDAGRAVE
Louis Croteau					FINDAGRAVE
Emile Dagenais					FINDAGRAVE
Frank J Fortier					FINDAGRAVE
Edmond J Marion					FINDAGRAVE
Arthur A Goulet					FINDAGRAVE
Emile Colin					FINDAGRAVE
Joseph H Larivee					FINDAGRAVE
Ralph J Willemain					FINDAGRAVE
Joseph A Provost					FINDAGRAVE
Charles Verheyn					FINDAGRAVE
Herve P Guertin					FINDAGRAVE
Omer R Beauchamp					FINDAGRAVE
Desire A Joyal					FINDAGRAVE

The Spanish American War was fought from 1898 to 1899. Eight men from Holyoke lost their lives in the battles.

name	enlistment date	rank and notes	death date and age	death location	burial
Joseph Bonneville	3 May 1898	private	9 Aug 1898	Santiago de Cuba, Cuba	FINDAGRAVE
James Brady			27 Sept 1898 at 19
George Collier	3 May 1898	sergeant	23 Sep 1898 at 26	Holyoke, MA	FINDAGRAVE
Anatole Dugas	3 May 1898	private	2 Jul 1898 at 28	Santiago de Cuba, Cuba	FINDAGRAVE
William Dugas	14 July 1899	captured and murdered by insurgents	26 Sept 1900	Calmog Philippines	FINDAGRAVE
Patrick Fallon		malaria and pneumonia	5 January 1900		FINDAGRAVE
Frank G Mattice		sergeant	15 September 1898	Holyoke	FINDAGRAVE
Edgar R Train		quartermaster sergeant / malaria	27 August 1898	Montaul Point New York	FINDAGRAVE

• This is one of many Olmsted designs in Holyoke. Read about the rest at this LINK.
• Parks of Holyoke
• Private GROUP TOUR (COSTS) is two hours long for this Elmwood Park and Neighborhood walking tour. Also a one hour indoor presentation can be given.
• A free public tour comes up every five years.
• A self-tour is available for anyone using the maps and text seen below. – LOCATION
• A booklet is available for this tour in either B & W or color, go HERE for the information needed to buy it.

Elmwood Park of Holyoke is called the park that disappeared. Still if one looks they will see its remnants everywhere. Its land was purchased by the city over decades to make a unified park and then soon afterward it started to be divided up again.

• Park at the Fitzpatrick’s Ice Rink

stop	name	notes	LINK
1	Fitzpatrick’s Ice Rink	recreation	LINK
2	Ross Street and the Dingle	street	LINK
3	Sheard Park	park	LINK
4	Churchill	neighborhood	LINK
5	Roberts Sports Field	recreation	LINK
6	John Young Field	recreation	LINK
7	Oakdale	neighborhood	LINK
8	MacKenzie Field	recreation	LINK
9	Holyoke High School	school	LINK
10	Holyoke Medical Center	hospital	LINK
11	Yankee Peddlar	house	LINK
12	Crosier Field	recreation	LINK
13	Carlton Street School	school	LINK
14	Peck School	school	LINK
15	Elmwood	neighborhood	LINK
16	Parkview Street	street	LINK

The first mention that I can find of Elmwood Park in the annual city registers is that of the year 1899. In that year, the edge of the park along Jackson Street was graded, a walk built, and a tree belt seeded. Before that from 1895 to 1899, it is called Dingle Park in the city annual register. They are both fine names – there were 5 dingles in Elmwood Park at its height but only one in its infancy. The 1894 Richards map also has the park but without a name. This is the earliest ever reference to the park. The Holyoke TT references the park in 1895 and then onward more often.

In 1901, 100 trees, 500 shrubs, and new flower beds were added to the park. A new rustic bridge was added across the ravine. The Maple Street entrance was graded more. New walks and new settees were added.

From 1901 to 1909 design plans were drawn up for the park by the Olmsted Brothers of Brookline. These PLANS were extensive. The first image at the link is the 1902 look of the park before the design and any work was done.

In 1935, Elmwood Park received a beautification effort. The Beech Street Park portion of Elmwood Park got lily ponds, a rustic bridge, a stone lookout, steps, and a wall.

Hurricane Diane of 1955 caused major damage to Elmwood Park. The entire Dingle Drive was washed out and MacKenzie Field was entirely gone.

Movie Theaters of Holyoke

The Majestic Theater was a theater in Holyoke from 10 March 1913 to 1956. It was at 207 Main Street (store fronts from 205 to 209 Main). The EXTERIOR is viewable here. It is no longer there since it burned in a large fire in 1960. It held about 1000 people.

Sanborn map analysis:

Sanborn 1895 map shows it as a photographer’s studio

Sanborn 1915 map shows it as a one floor structure

Sanborn 1949 map

Sanborn 1956 map

The Saint Patrick’s Church of South Hadley is the first Catholic church in South Hadley. It opened at 7 Crescent Lane in 1867.

stop 1 – Rectory

	name	years	image	burial
1	Patrick Harkins	1867-1878		Saint Jerome Cemetery (Holyoke)
2	David McGrath	July 18 1878 to 1882		Saint Mary’s Cemetery (Milford, Massachusetts)
3	Lawrence Dervin	1882 to 1885		Saint John’s Cemetery of Lancaster	1895	22 of Nov
4	Eugene Toher	1885 to 1901		Saint Leo Cemetery (Leominster)	1930	7th of Feb
5	John Conway	1901 to 1913		Saint Rose Cemetery (South Hadley)	1913	1st of March
6	Dennis Sullivan	1913 to 1913
7	Humphrey Wren	1913 to 1933
8	James Casey	1933 to 1944
9	Martin Tracey	1944 to 1950
10	John Engstrom	1950 to 1969		Saint John’s Cemetery (Worcester)	1969	Sept 25
11	Thomas Price	1969 to 1982			1982	2nd of June
12	Brian Boland	1982 to 1994		Gate of Heaven Cemetery (Springfield)	1994	3rd of March
13	Richard M Turner	1994 to 2001
14	John Sheaffer	2001 to 2002
15	William Rousseau	2002 to 2003
16	Thomas Shea	2003 to 2015
17	James Nolte	2016

stop 2 – Saint Rose Cemetery

stop 3 – church

stop 4 – chapel

stop 5 – social center

stop 6 – statues

stop 7 – neighborhood

stop 8 – Crescent Street church

stop 1 – Arthur Bernier – The work shed behind you was for the workers in this cemetery.  Arthur Bernier built and designed it in 1935.  He was a home contractor that attended St Patrick’s Church.  His parents are buried 20 feet away on the other side of this entry road.  Arthur is buried with his wife west down this road.  He has a military stone since he fought in the US Army in the Coastal Artillery.  (Findagrave)

stop 2 – Patrick Hartnett – Patrick Hartnett was a Confederate veteran of the American Civil War.  He moved to Holyoke Massachusetts in 1864 and married to Ellen Shugrue at the Saint Jerome Church.  Nothing is known about his time in the war.  Notice the two marks at the base of his stone.  He is buried with his wife and children.  (Findagrave)

stop 3 – John Conlan gravestone – John died a month after his wife did.  He was a poor man with no family left.  The Bricklayers Union number 2 of Holyoke decided to expend some of their money on a nice gravestone for John and Mary Jane.  She might have been the first burial ever in Saint Rose Cemetery since they died that year of opening.  (Findagrave)

stop 4 – Robert Comeau – This is in the modern section of the cemetery.  He had 11 children and they are all listed on the back in order.  One of the children was deaf and hence the sign language symbol for “I Love You” is on the reverse.  St Rose bought the two large sections to the west of the old sections.  (Findagrave)

stop 5 – Potter’s Field and Children’s Graves

To the back middle of the cemetery, find the potter’s field. Most of the back row of this area is very old and most are pauper’s grave. The children’s area to the front left of this area is very nice to visit.

stop 6 – John Conway – Father Conway was the priest that helped Sainte Anne Church in Chicopee become a parish.  From 1891 to 1912 it was a mission church of St Patrick’s Church of South Hadley.  In 1912 the church was built that is still there.  The former chapel remained just in back of the church until 1964 when it was razed and an addition added to the church.  John is the only pastor from either St Patricks or Ste Anne that is buried in St Rose Cemetery.  (Findagrave)

stop 7 – Plains area neighborhood and Precious Blood Cemetery

The Precious Blood Cemetery is to the back of the St Rose Cemetery. It is an older cemetery and of the Quebec ethnicity. Click on their link to visit there with interpretation.

The Plains neighborhood is one of the newest of South Hadley. Walk a bit around. Old Willimansett Street was once part of Willimansett Street until the early 1970s. The Plains School is across Route 202 from you.

Movie Theaters of Holyoke

The Empire Theater (at 419-433 High Street) lasted from 2 November 1893 to 22 April 1915 when a very large fire destroyed it. A summer theater was across the street from the Empire. The  Don Caesar de Bazan was the first production ever at the Empire.

It did theater and then burlesque but by the end was a nickelodeon. In the photo the Empire is the ornate building in the middle and the Grand is two buildings to the right.

Sanborn map analysis:

Sanborn 1884 map shows all is empty

Sanborn 1889 map shows an empty lot

Sanborn 1895 map – design is visible – curved look to the upper seating area

Sanborn 1915 map – ruins of fire

Sanborn 1949 map – 2 floor building with stores on ground level and a hall on the 2nd floor

Sanborn 1956 map – 2 floor building with stores on ground level and a hall on the 2nd floor

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