Long before the steady glow of porch lights and streetlamps settled into Wilbraham’s evenings, the town, like all of New England, moved through the night by the flicker of whale-oil lamps, kerosene lanterns, or firelight. But in the late nineteenth century, a force unlike anything New England had known began sweeping across the region: electricity. Just months after Thomas Edison demonstrated a workable incandescent bulb in 1879, cities like Boston, Providence, and Hartford r

The roots of the American Revolution ran deep long before the first shots were fired at Lexington. Across Massachusetts, the growing protest against taxation without representation stirred ordinary citizens to action, none more so than in the small, young town of Wilbraham, barely seven years old when the crisis began. In 1769, Boston merchants organized an economic protest aimed squarely at Britain’s tariffs on imported goods. They pledged to stop importing taxed British mer

Throughout the nineteenth century, the Connecticut River Valley became world-renowned for one of New England’s most distinctive natural building materials, brownstone. Created over 200 million years ago from layers of sediment deposited in an ancient rift basin, this reddish-brown sandstone was quarried extensively from Portland, Middletown, East Longmeadow, and dozens of smaller sites along the valley. Its warm color, durability, and ease of carving made it a favorite materi

In the mid-1800s, long before cultured pearls reshaped the jewelry trade, New England’s quiet rivers and streams became the surprising focus of a widespread treasure hunt. Stories circulated from Massachusetts to Maine that freshwater mussels, lying in sandy riverbeds and settling in the shadow of old mill dams, sometimes held natural pearls of remarkable beauty. Pink, lavender, cream, or flawless white, these pearls occasionally sold for impressive sums. What began as a loca

When Alexander Graham Bell first transmitted the now-legendary words, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you,”  in 1876, he set in motion a technological revolution that would reshape communities across the United States. In the years that followed, telephone lines slowly crept across the nation, linking cities, towns, and eventually rural villages. While major metropolitan areas adopted the telephone quickly, smaller communities often embraced the new invention with equal

In the early 1950s, the Town of Wilbraham took a decisive step forward in emergency medical care, thanks to the dedication and foresight of the Wilbraham Grange No. 153. Recognizing the growing need for timely medical transportation, the Grange’s Home and Community Service Committee spearheaded a fund drive to provide the town with its very first ambulance. After extensive community support and fundraising, the effort succeeded in acquiring a 1952 Dodge Franklin Deluxe model,

In the late 1950s, a little slice of modern convenience and entertainment could be found right on Boston Road in Wilbraham. The Wilbraham Motel, at 2009 Boston Road, opened its doors in 1959 with just 24 rooms, but it was far from ordinary. Air-conditioning, a stylish lounge, and a sparkling swimming pool made it one of the most modern motels in the country. Yet what truly set it apart was its connection to the neighboring Parkway Drive-In Theatre: for the first time in Massa

Wilbraham Historical Tidbits began in 2021, inspired by a long-standing interest in the stories and history of Wilbraham. The project was created and written by David Bourcier, a 37-plus-year veteran of the Wilbraham Fire Department and retired Fire Chief whose roots in town run deep. Born and raised on Chapel Street, David was immersed early in the rhythms of the community, walking to local schools, exploring old neighborhoods, and absorbing the tales that gave Wilbraham its

The Connecticut River once bustled with steamboat travel, and one early example was the Agawam, launched in 1837 by Frink, Chapin & Co. of Springfield to ferry passengers over the Enfield Falls. Its hull, built by Longmeadow mechanic Erastus Reed, was unusually shallow, drawing only 13 inches of water, with a full-length promenade and a center-fired locomotive-style boiler flanked by separate ladies’ and gentlemen’s cabins. Although no image of the Agawam survives (the famili

There was a period in Wilbraham’s history when the rhythm of daily life in Center Village was marked not by pocket watches or household clocks, but by a single public timepiece mounted high above the street. This town clock, visible to anyone traveling along Main Street or approaching the corner of Mountain Road, became a familiar landmark, one that reflected both the aspirations and the cooperation of the village residents. Methodist Church in the 1890s. Wilbraham Monson Aca

There was a time when the very top of Wilbraham Mountain held a wonder, an unlikely beacon of timber and imagination that drew visitors from miles around. At 801 Ridge Road, where the wind still sweeps clean across the ridge, John Poteri once built a tower meant not only to rise above the treetops but to lift the spirit as well. High Tower Sandwich Kitchen. FB, You Know You Grew Up in Springfield, Massachusetts if.  Poteri dreamed of a structure that would bring people to t

Ghost stories have always drifted through Wilbraham, Dr. Damon’s House on Chapel Street, the shadowed rooms of the Morgan House, the old Collins Mill, the Tap Room with its eerie basement, the old Hollister Block, the academy buildings at Wilbraham & Monson, and numerous other places, to mention a few. Like towns and cities everywhere, we gather these tales, pass them along, and sometimes add our own shiver to the telling. But ghost stories aren’t just for fright. We share th

Bridges have long shaped the movement of people and goods in Wilbraham, though surprisingly few have ever crossed its waterways. Only two major road bridges span the Chicopee River into Ludlow, forming the northernmost connections between the two communities. Within Wilbraham itself, the earliest crossings were built over the town’s smaller streams, providing essential links between dispersed farms and early roads.  One of the earliest known structures stood on the old Bay Ro

Long before electric lines stretched across the valley, the bend of the Chicopee River at Red Bridge played a defining role in the growth of both Ludlow and the northwest corner of Wilbraham. In Ludlow, the manufactory first appeared around 1815, taking advantage of the steady current at a point once known as Putt’s Bridge, an area where Ludlow, Springfield, and Wilbraham merge, named for its builder, Eli Putnam. By 1821, the site had been reorganized as the Springfield Manuf

Much of what we know about Wilbraham’s earliest quirks, customs, and firsts comes from the notes of Calvin Stebbins and John Bliss, Esqs. Their observations offer a glimpse into how daily life in town slowly changed from the mid-1700s through the early 1800s. The first potatoes came to Wilbraham around 1754, brought by Deacon Nathaniel Warriner roughly twenty-three years after the town was settled. Not long after, broom-corn became an important local crop. Thomas Jones or Jos

By 1740, the “Outward Commons” of Springfield, what would later become Wilbraham, was a hardy little settlement of twenty-four or so families scattered over four miles of forest and farmland. These pioneers lived in small, simply built houses, furnished with only the essentials. Their fields were narrow, their fences questioned more by wandering wildlife than by neighbors, and their weekly errands were long hikes to the mill or the nearest store. But if anything tested their

Wilbraham’s 150th anniversary in June 1913 was remembered as one of the most remarkable events in the town’s history. For three days, June 17, 18, and 19, the normally quiet community swelled to twice its size as residents, former townspeople, and visitors from across the region gathered to honor the town’s incorporation in 1763. Every home was decorated, every organization contributed, and the entire community worked together to create an unforgettable celebration. June 17 –

In November of 2012, an experienced tree arborist was tending to his work in Glendale Cemetery when something happened that he could never fully explain. As he fed branches into the chipper, a man appeared in his peripheral vision, an older gentleman, moving quietly along one of the paths. His clothing struck the arborist immediately: it looked out of another century, the rough shape and color of Civil War–era attire. Startled, the arborist shut down the wood chipper so he co

East Wilbraham Cemetery East Wilbraham Cemetery. Martha Lyon Located on high ground between Boston Road and the Massachusetts Turnpike, a short distance east of Three Rivers Road, the East Wilbraham Cemetery has a long yet partly obscure history. Early town records provide few details, but a vote taken at a Wilbraham town meeting on August 10, 1829, refers to “the burying ground on the First Baptist Society in Wilbraham,” confirming its connection to the town’s early Baptist

The Merrick Tribe at Theodore’s graduation from Amherst College, 1929. L-R (Standing): Ruth Merrick, Charlie Merrick, Elizabeth Kidder, Harold Merrick, Stuart Merrick, Christopher Cole, Dorthea Kidder, Theodore Merrick.   INDEX James Merrick + Eunice Merrick (Jewell) Family James Merrick: Birthdate: December 11, 1823 Birthplace: Wilbraham, Hampden, MA, Death: May 02, 1898 (74), Wilbraham, Hampden, MA Place of Burial: Wilbraham, Hampden, MA, Immediate Family: Son of: Samuel F