What is now the town of Wilbraham and Hampden was once a part of the settlement of Springfield Plantation. William Pynchon and his associates purchased this land and more, known then as "Agawam", in 1636. In 1640, the name officially was changed to Springfield after Pynchon's home village, now a suburb of Chelmsford in Essex, England.
The lands making up the Town of Springfield were approximately twenty-five square miles, extending from the Connecticut River east to the present line of Monson and Palmer, west to the area of Russell, and from the southern town line of Enfield and Warehouse Point, Connecticut, to the mountains of Holyoke on the north.
The lands lying to the east of the established settlement of Springfield, which was along the eastern shore of the Connecticut River, were called the Inner and Outward Commons. These lands were part of the original purchase of Pynchon and had not been specially appropriated to any of the inhabitants of Springfield. These common lands could be used by all including the Native Americans for hunting, fishing, foraging, grass, herbage, and timber.
In and around 1684, there was fear that Sir Edmund Andros, Governor of Massachusetts, would take away the charter of the colony, as he threatened to do, causing all the unappropriated lands to revert back to the King of England, Charles II.
On February 3, 1685, a town meeting was held and it was voted to divide up the land among the one hundred and twenty-two heads of families after reserving acreage, to their revered teacher Pelatiah Glover, ministry and, school lots, making 125 in all for each of the three divisions. The grants to these individuals were made without compensation and upon no other condition than that the grantee should remain a citizen and use the land. The failure of this condition would end in forfeiture. A survey in 1726, resulted in the proprietor's portions that were allocated in 1685 having been definitely fixed. It was not until 46 years after the land was divided up that the first settlers occupied this area on a full-time basis.
A historical map was drawn up by Henry Edson in 1917 showing the divided numbered lots in the second and third divisions. Peck's 1913 history gives the names of those who were granted these lots. This map also contains much information and places of interest. To see the full map on Digital Commonwealth, please click the link. https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:66830k33x
As stated before, the Outward Commons on the east side of the Connecticut River was divided into three portions and on the west side of the river into two, making five portions in all. The eastern portions were numbered one through three. The size of the land totaling all three divisions was about twelve miles long, north and south, and four miles wide, east and west, thus making each of the divisions, four miles square.
The first division was in the north encompassing most of what is the town of Ludlow today. The second or middle division started from about a mile north of the Chicopee River in Ludlow and extended south into what is Wilbraham today to just south of Tinkham Road. The third division extended from this line south and encompassed what is Hampden today, to the Massachusetts and Connecticut border. At this period, there was some confusion about the proximity of the Connecticut line in the Outward Commons which they thought was about a mile north of the current line. The width, east to the west, was from the town line of Brimfield, now the towns of Monson and Palmer, and to about where Stony Hill Road is today. Parts of this road did cross into the Inner Commons. The Inner Commons was the territory that extended from the Outward Commons, west, to the settled portions of Springfield, sometimes called the "Plains."
Each one of the grantees would be allowed one track of land, a lot, in each of the five divisions. These lots are numbered, beginning at the north side of each division; the north lot is one, the next two, and so on up to one hundred and twenty-five. At the south end of each division will be land called the overplus land. This land was extra in case it was needed due to survey errors.
Each lot granted in all five divisions will be in accordance with estates and polls. In the three divisions on the east side of the river, all lots will be four miles long, east to west, and the width will be determined by one's wealth. There was much disparity in width sizes, for example, Colonel Pychons lot 2 in the second division was 2,143 feet and 9 inches wide while William Brooks's lot 111 in the second division was 8 feet and 9 inches wide, both lots four miles long. It was said that a wagon could not turn around on these small lots without trespassing on another property. One could imagine how it would be possible to build a home and farm the land on a lot of this size. But you would have to remember this was all done to save the land from reverting back to the King. Most of these lots were purchased many years later by other settlers who purchased multiple lots to gain more width. It would take another forty-five years until the first settler, Nathaniel Hitchcock established his part-time homestead here in the Outward Commons in 1730, and in May of 1731, he would permanently reside here with his wife whom he married that year. Nathaniel Hitchcock purchased lot number 123 located in the second division that was originally granted to Nathaniel Burt. This lot was 368 feet 4 inches in width and four miles long. He built his home at what is now 603 Main Street, Wilbraham.
On April 1, 1717, a committee was chosen to fix the line between the Inner and Outward Commons. No record can be found of a survey until Roger Newbury completed one in 1729.
Lieutenant Roger Newbury a surveyor, was hired by the Committee for the Proprietors of the Springfield Eastern Outward Commons. The committee members were Colonel John Pynchon. Lieutenant William Pynchon, Mr. Glover, and Mr. Parsons. Roger Newbury was tasked to determine the length, north to south of the Outward Commons and then divide them into three equal parts. In addition to setting the line between the Inward and Outward Commons. This survey was completed between May 20th and 22nd, 1729.
In marking the bounds of each division and between the Inner and Outward Commons, stone heaps and ditches were dug. These ditches marking these boundary lines became known as Newbury Ditches. Today one still might find these ditches and stone heaps on untouched land in Wilbraham and Hampden.
