I can guess what you are thinking, Lake George, the one that is located in upstate New York but the lake I am referring to is located in Wales, Massachusetts. This small lake of ninety-three acres is situated in southeastern Hampden County.
The lake itself started as a pond called Big Pond or Moulton Pond as it was known in colonial times. After the Village of South Brimfield separated from the Town of Brimfield in 1828, the Town of Wales was established. At some point in time afterward, the pond was called Wales Pond. A dam was constructed to furnish water power to the mills that were located downstream in the village. There were in the town at one time five woolen and several sawmills including other small manufacturers. It is said that one of the first settlers standing on the Old Burying Ground hill and looking off at the lake called it "a beautiful sapphire set in a ring of emeralds."
Rev. Harland P. Smith built a long building on the west side of the lake for a Christian Endeavor camp. It was later sold and used as a dance hall. Many years later the building was divided and made into two cottages. The pond's name was later changed to Lake Florence in honor of his oldest daughter.
George A. Needham, one of the town’s most distinguished citizens, realized how much more "lovely" the lake could be if it was kept at a more even level instead of being drawn off by the mills in the village. In 1914, he paid for a new dam with a gate that could be raised and lowered when necessary and would keep the water always at the same level. In addition, Mr. Needham completely renovated the Town Hall in 1925. In honor of Mr. Needham, the lake was renamed Lake George and the name stayed since.
After the First World War Heck’s Beach began to be quite an attraction as a place for picnics and swimming. Lunch could be bought there and there was an occasional musical band that would play music for the partygoers. This place operated until 1957.
It was not until the advent of the automobile that there were many cottages built. As transportation became more convenient, Mr. Harry Royce decided people from other communities might enjoy the beauty of the lake, so he erected the first cottage which he called “Wileban”. From this point on many cottages were built as summer getaways.
Many Wilbraham residents along with other residents from local communities made Lake George their summer home. The lake was only about a half-hour's drive from Wilbraham which made it very convenient. Growing up in the 1960s our next-door neighbors on Chapel Street, the Scotts had a cottage at Sichols Colony on Lake George. I remember my Mother driving my older brother and sister out to their cottage to spend some weekends during the summer. The Scotts also had children my brother and sister's age. I was too young to stay over so my mother and I would return back to Wilbraham. At the end of the weekend, we would travel back to Wales to pick them up. On the drive home, I would hear such great stories about their time being out at the lake and one interesting story of them going to the old cemetery on the hill that overlooks the lake and seeing "huge" black snakes crawling all over the graves, I was so jealous.
Many years later in 2002, my wife Kelley and I bought our first cottage at Sichols Colony on Lake George, just a few doors down from where the Scotts once had their cottage. You can see our cottage in the background, just in the back of Jane in the picture above. We named it Endless Summer. Sichols Colony was another popular development that started in the early 1950s. Joesoph Sichol purchased a large quantity of land and subdivided it into building lots in keeping up with the demand for people wanting to build cottages out here at the lake. He also had a sales office on Route 19 in Wales. At least two Wilbraham families and one Hampden family had cottages here at Sichols. The place we bought was built by a Wilbraham family, one of many. Having a place here brought back those memories of traveling to the lake many years ago.
Our daughter Lindsey was twelve years old at the time of buying this cottage, so it was a great opportunity to have a place on the lake close by so that we could enjoy ourselves with family and friends. This cottage was built in 1955 and in good shape but still took ten years to make it the way we wanted it. One memory I have was tearing off the old small deck and replacing it with a larger one. My daughter and I did all the demolition in a weekend and then I proceeded to install the piers on my days off.
One night at the firehouse I was talking with my crew about the project that Lindsey and I had started. The crew then said that they wanted to help us frame the new deck and would make quick work of it. So we planned it out and calculated that we could finish this job in one day. So we set the date for when we were off-duty next. I said I would have burgers and beers when the job was completed. So now the day comes, the lumber has already been delivered and the guys showed up early in the morning as planned. We got off to a good start but as the day warmed up we started to become thirsty, so as you can guess the deck was finished the following day.
In 2012 we were at our neighbor's cottage having a campfire and the subject was brought up of an open house for a cottage that was for sale on the lake close by. We all decided that we would attend the open house, but none of us had any intentions of selling our cottages. It is just something we all do at the lake when a cottage nearby is for sale. The next day we all walked over to look at it. While taking the tour, Kelley and I just fell in love with it. One huge benefit was having a boat dock only 5 feet from the cottage instead of the 140 feet that we have currently. Next thing we know, we have our cottage sold and had purchased this one. I made a promise to Kelley that we would have it all restored in four months, unlike the ten years it took with our first cottage. Truth be told, it took two years to completely restore this one. It was well worth the wait!
As you are all aware, I just love history. One of the cool things about this new place is that it was built in 1938 and is one of the "Indian" cottages. About a half dozen of these cottages were built around that same period on Fountain Road. They were all named in reference to Native Americans. Our cottage was called Hiawatha and still retains its name today. We have the original old outdoor sign hanging on the inside and a replica sign hanging outside, facing the lake as the original one did for so many years. The cottage next door was called Powhatan, the cottage two doors down was called Pauquuaukit, and the cottage on the point was called Pocahontas. We are unsure what the other two cottages were named back in the day. Again our cottage name has been retained along with our two close neighbors.
All these cottages were constructed in the same manner. They all feature a front porch, a fieldstone fireplace with rocks gathered from the surrounding area, open ceilings with seven-foot walls for room separations, an outhouse, and a rowboat. All the cottages had a central private beach and shallow wells nearby for drinking water. Today our cottage has all the modern-day amenities such as heat, air conditioning, and you guessed it, indoor plumbing.
Our cottage was built by the Royce family and most likely the others. Not long after, the Fountain Family took ownership of the entire property until the 1970s when the land was split up and the cottages were sold separately. We are the second owners of Hiawatha since the Fountain Family.
These cottages were rented out for the entire summer season, from the 1930s to the 1970s. Our next-door neighbor at our first cottage told us stories about his family renting these cottages throughout the 1950s and 60s when he was just a boy. His family, every year would move out to one of these cottages during the summer months from Springfield. His father would drive back and forth for work in the city. He has told us countless stories of the fun they had and the great family memories that were made at the lake. One story he told us was about the beach and the sandy bottom cove, just to the south of Hiawatha. Back in the day, the owners would dump a truckload of sand on the thick ice of the cove. When spring came and the ice melted, the sand would fall to the bottom of the cove providing a nice soft footing for your feet. Still today, this sandy bottom exists. It makes a great secluded spot for floats and swimming so that you are out of the way of boat traffic.
I was truly surprised to find out that many families in the past had cottages or rented places on Lake George from Wilbraham and other nearby communities throughout the years. Now we still have people from the immediate area like us but seems that we are attracting more people further out from Eastern Massachusetts, Connecticut, and even New Jersey, along with other distant places.
Today we take great enjoyment in keeping the history alive with our place called Hiawatha and the memories we make with family and friends just like many others before us.
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