Longmeadow Cemetery

Background Note
In 1870 the “Old Burying Ground” was filled to near capacity and a meeting was called to discuss the need for more space for the growing community. On July 12, 1872 the Longmeadow Cemetery Association was formed with capital stock of $,2000 divided into equal shares of $25 each. Its purpose was the establishment and subsequent care and control of a burial place divisible into lots for individual ownership in proximity to and within the same enclosing fence with the Parish Burying Ground, yet with separate control. Some of the original members of the Association included David Booth, William G. Medlicott, Stephen T. Colton, Thomas S. Cordis, and David E. Burbank.

Scope and Content Note
The collection includes correspondence related to bequests, interments, and grounds keeping; financial statements; minutes of meetings; articles of association and rules and regulations; records of interment and information on deeds to cemetery plots. The collection also includes lists of veterans of the American Revolution and Civil War buried in the Longmeadow Cemetery, several photographs, and a copy of “The Old Burying Yard”(1976), listing those buried in the original parish grounds.

The Longmeadow Cemetery Association has held on to some of their records. Board members maintain a website that includes some burial records: http://longmeadowcemetery.org/

 
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Background Note
From temperance societies to tennis clubs, Longmeadow has a rich history of community service and involvement. This collection documents the various clubs, associations, and organizations of Longmeadow and includes items from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, the American Legion Auxiliary, the Doane Orphanage, the Longmeadow Country Club, the Longmeadow Improvement Corporation, the Longmeadow Maternal Association, the Longmeadow Temperance Society, the Longmeadow Street Improvement Association, and the Longmeadow Women’s Club.

Much of the collection provides only a snapshot or glimpse of the various activities of these clubs and associations. The Longmeadow Women’s Club, however, has a more complete set of records. Organized in 1893 to “promote improvement in moral, social, and intellectual life,” early endeavors included leading Longmeadow’s effort in aid of the Spanish-American War, providing flowers to the ill, and food baskets to those in need. In 1935 the club began a scholarship fund to assist promising Longmeadow students. Other efforts included working with patients at the Northampton Veterans Hospital and entertaining convalescent children. The club also invited guest speakers, who addressed a variety of topics including literature and the arts, antiques, politics, and ecology. The club disbanded in 1997.

Scope and Content Note
The Longmeadow Women’s Club records include Secretary reports, minutes of Regular and Annual meetings and a nearly complete run of Yearbooks, which include lists of officers, committees, programs, brief biographies of program contributors, and lists of active members.

Other items in the collection include minutes from the Longmeadow Street Improvement Association, 1876-1938, which discuss mowing, sidewalk construction, the Elm tree beetle, and other issues pertaining to maintenance and upkeep. Minutes and a scrapbook from the American Legion Auxiliary provide information on various activities including election of officers, the annual “weenie” roast, poppy sales, suppers, and other activities in support of veterans and their families.
 
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Background Note
The first organizational meeting of the Longmeadow Historical Society was held June 3, 1899. Supper was prepared by the Ladies Sewing Society, and afterwards they gathered with interested friends around an old oak “study table” that had belonged to the first minister of First Church, Reverend Stephen Williams. A display of town artifacts inspired interest as a proposed constitution and bylaws were presented. In November of that year the Society had secured papers of incorporation and had elected its first officers. The stated purpose of the society was to encourage an interest in the history of the town by providing lectures, and collecting papers, furniture, and articles illustrating town life in past times. Dues were 50 cents per year.

The first exhibition sponsored by the Society took place in October of 1899. Besides special Longmeadow artifacts, it included a reproduction of an old kitchen with fireplace and spinning wheel. At its first annual meeting on October 31st, three ladies presented papers on historical subjects: Mrs. McQueen spoke on “Longmeadow of the Past;” Mrs. S.E. Meacham on “Old Home Life in New England;” and Mrs. C.S. Gates on “Legendry, Lore, and Superstition.” Members voted at that meeting to lend the society’s support to Memorial Day observances. In 1907 Miss Sarah Storrs, a descendent of Longmeadow’s second minister, the Rev. Richard Salter Storrs, died and left all her real estate and some money to be used to establish a library. The real estate included the historic Storrs homestead, which was built in about 1786.

In 1932 when the Storrs Library Association decided to build a new library, it offered the use of Storrs House to the Historical Society on the condition that the society restore, repair, and maintain it. The house was moved twelve feet to the south and about thirty feet back to make room for the library. In the process it was provided with a new foundation but lost its front porch, a glassed porch on the south side and two additions.

Since that time the Society has continued to encourage an interest in Longmeadow’s past through a variety of programs, events, and exhibits. Long Meddowe Days, a community fair focusing on history first held in 1979, is the primary fundraising event for the Society. Rooms and exhibits at Storrs House draw from the Society’s holdings to shed light on various periods of Longmeadow’s past. The Society also gives tours of the house, sponsors talks, and hosts “Ghosts in the Graveyard,” an evening tour of Longmeadow’s old burying ground at First Church, which includes dramatizations of former citizens. In addition to assisting those with inquiries about people or events associated with Longmeadow’s history, the Society also provides additional resources through its website with links to digitized materials including the Reverend Stephen Williams diaries; Town Reports; past copies of the “Town Crier,” the Society’s newsletter; Paesiello Emerson photographs; and genealogies.

Scope and Content Note
The Longmeadow Historical Society’s institutional archives document the Society’s efforts in preservation and outreach. Materials include minutes, guest books, Treasurer’s reports and records, papers relating to several past Presidents of the Society, Historian’s Reports, publications, and photographs. Papers related to Long Meddowe Days include: programs, committee lists, minutes, bills and expense information, and newspaper clippings. Of particular interest are the yearly Historian’s Reports (1908-1959), which include not only information on past Longmeadow families and homes, but also touch upon significant events of the preceding year. These include recent deaths, the 1938 hurricane, World War II, local real estate developments and public works. The Society’s newsletters and publications provide insight into the various programs and outreach undertaken by the Society.
 
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Scope and Content Note
The Longmeadow subject files include various materials relating to the town of Longmeadow and the surrounding area. The collection is arranged into several broad categories including businesses, general Longmeadow history, military history, transportation, and nearby towns.

Materials in the collection consist primarily of newspaper clippings, book and magazine articles, pamphlets, ephemera, written histories, and photographs. Primary source documents in the collection include several early 19th century muster rolls; a history of Civilian Defense in Longmeadow during World War II; and materials relating the Enfield Falls Dam, 1854-1856. The collection also includes materials related to Springfield, Deerfield, and Enfield, Connecticut, as well as an unpublished history of Longmeadow written in the 1960s.
 
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