Jonah Beebe was born on 14 April 1750, in East Haddam, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America. He married Ruth Dowley on 14 April 1772, in Lyme, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America. At some point in time, he and his wife moved to the newly formed South Parish of Wilbraham and built a beautiful federal-period home in 1783 on the East Road, (now 421Glendale Road, Hampden). They were the parents of at least 6 sons and 2 daughters. Jonah also built a school house just down the road from his home (now 320 Glendale Road, Hampden) Jonah died on 25 March 1831, in South Wilbraham at the age of 80, and was buried in the South Wilbraham Cemetery (now Old Hampden Cemetery, Chapin Road).
In 1795 Steven Newell and his wife, Louisa (Sikes) bought the property. They had ten children. Steven was the son of Abijah Newell, born on January 9, 1731, who moved to the area in 1775 from Dudley, Massachusetts. Abijah was drafted in the Revolutionary War. He was unable to serve because of his large family (11 children) and offered his son, Steven, born on 7 June 1758 as his replacement. Steven served “Faithfully and with Courage”. He fought at Fort Ticonderoga New York from March 1, 1777, to April 11, 1777, and enlisted again in 1780 for five more months. He was also a fifer.
Steven and Louisa’s sixth child, John Newell, born 10 May 1792 became the third owner of the home. He and his wife, Pauline Sophronia Bigelow, had eleven children. John served in the Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives in 1841. He died on 3 January 1875, in South Wilbraham, at the age of 82. John’s son, Alonzo B. Newell took over the property and became the fourth owner and third generation to have farmed this land. On March 28, 1878, the South Parish of Wilbraham took the final step in the division of the town, and South Wilbraham became the Town of Hampden. The Newells were now residents of Hampden and kept that property until 1923 when it was sold to the Gerrish family who maintained it until 2016.
Now we come to the story of the wrecking ball. This property was sold to a developer in 2016 and the home was going to be demolished and new homes were to be built. As we see so many times in our communities, old historic homes are facing this dilemma. But in this case, the home was saved. It turns out, that friends of ours bought this house and property. Randy and Kim painstakingly restored the home and live in it today. It is absolutely beautiful!
Randy recalls an interesting situation while restoring the home. “The cellar was soggy, the house had been abandoned, it was dark, the windows were boarded up, and I was thinking, ‘What did my wife and I get ourselves into here’ when I happened to see a little beam of light coming in and I could see there was a horseshoe on the wall. If you believe the legend, if a horseshoe is upside down your luck spills out. It was upside down when I found it and I reached up and turned it right-side up and that very moment I took one step back and my son yelled, ‘Hey dad I just found a bag of silver coins dating back to the mid-1800s!’ Needless to say,three-bounds I was upstairs in three bounds. We’ve had good luck ever since.”
This would have never been possible if not for the tireless effort of certain individuals’ passion for saving history from certain destruction. Will D’Angelo & Connie Witt of the Hampden Historical Commission relentlessly pestered the developer, who finally in exasperation put the property back on the market. At one point, when the house was on the verge of demolition, Will was prepared to handcuff himself to a post inside the home using historical handcuffs that once belonged to Arthur H. Gerrish, a former town constable who had once lived in the home. He felt this act would be a fitting tribute to save this historic home.
The others who also aided in the cause were Congressman, Richard Neal & his office, Stacia Caplanson of Preservation Massachusetts, Pamela Courtney, Hampden Board of Selectmen, Hampden Historical Society, Author A. Booth Hampden VFW, Tyler S. Witkop Editor of the Hampden /Wilbraham Times, The Hampden Library, Sergeant Mike Cooney, Hampden Police Department, Jonah Keane, Mass Audubon Society Laughing Brook Wildlife Sanctuary and I’m sure there were photos others. Thanks to all!
To read more about the restoration efforts of Randy and Kim, the home was featured in the Fall 2020 edition of Living Spaces magazine.
The following photos were taken after the restorations.
Opmerkingen