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Witness Stones: Phillis & Peter
On May 29, 2024 a special ceremony unveiled Witness Stones honoring the lives of two people enslaved in 18th century Longmeadow took...
Melissa M. Cybulski
Apr 51 min read
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Fridays with Zoe- Documenting Early Black Lives in Longmeadow (updated, 2023)
Editor's Note: This article first ran in August 2021. Since then our work on this important topic has continued. Zoe Cheek is now...
Melissa M. Cybulski
Aug 24, 20234 min read
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“… poor & unprovided for…” – The Indentured Simonds Children
In the early days of the Commonwealth, children of parents who, for one reason or another, were unable to care for them became public...
Beth Hoff
Mar 9, 20237 min read
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“…lot shall not be re-sold to a colored person, an Italian or a Polander”
1920 Map of Longmeadow showing the area of the Brookline development “…lot shall not be re-sold to a colored person, an Italian or a...
Tim Casey/ Beth Hoff
Feb 23, 20235 min read
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Diggin' in The Meadows
The Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge, colloquially known as “The Meadows,” is a stretch of meadows and wetlands that dominate the...
Tim Casey
Nov 20, 20224 min read
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Say Their Names
Anyone who knows and loves the soundtrack from the musical Hamilton knows how haunting the final verse of the final song is, “who lives,...
Melissa M. Cybulski
Nov 19, 20222 min read
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Longmeadow's Irish
Today's History Note takes a look back at the history of the Irish in Longmeadow in honor of St. Patrick's Day. "Irish emigrants leaving...
Melissa M. Cybulski
Nov 18, 20224 min read
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Duncan vs. Flynn- A Story of Mid-20th Century Housing Discrimination
During the years that followed the second world war, many white Americans experienced unprecedented prosperity in large part due to...
Tim Casey
Nov 16, 20226 min read
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Designing To Get An Apprentice Boy
On October 31, 1774, Rev. Stephen Williams of Longmeadow wrote in his diary, “this day, my son Samuel set out on a journey for Boston...
Beth Hoff
Nov 13, 20223 min read
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John Akley and Sarah Forbus
Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze Who were John Akley and Sarah Forbus? They are pauper children from Boston whom Ensign...
Beth Hoff
Nov 13, 20227 min read
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Caring for Longmeadow's Poor
Longmeadow Historical Society Archives Anthropologist Margaret Mead famously identified a healed human femur as the first sign of...
Beth Hoff
Nov 12, 20224 min read
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Fridays with Zoe- Documenting Black Lives in Longmeadow
This summer the Longmeadow Historical Society has been participating in a project called “Documenting the Early History of Black Lives in...
Melissa M. Cybulski
Nov 12, 20224 min read
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Peter Pease- "... if he should be living..."
Indenture of Peter Pease to Noah Ashley “…if he should be living…” Sometimes, research leads you to more questions than answers, and this...
Beth Hoff
Nov 11, 20224 min read
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Searching for Susan Freedom
Susan Freedom d.1803, Springfield Cemetery (image courtesy of Betsy McKee) Under the shade of evergreen trees in a section of Springfield...
Melissa M. Cybulski
Nov 11, 20227 min read
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Miss Storrs, Professor Storrs and the American School for the Deaf
From the 1840's to the 1880's the connection between the American School for the Deaf in Hartford and the Storrs family of Longmeadow was...
Melissa M. Cybulski
Nov 11, 20223 min read
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Stockbridge Indians and Rev. Stephen Williams
Stockbridge Indians and Rev. Stephen Williams Stockbridge, Massachusetts is the quintessential New England town. Norman Rockwell, who...
Beth Hoff
Nov 4, 20225 min read
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Defective, Dependent and Delinquent Classes: The Care of Two Longmeadow Residents
***Today's History Note is part of our Hidden Voices Series that looks to highlight the stories of people often overlooked in history....
Melissa M. Cybulski
Nov 2, 20226 min read
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Rachel Lawton: Suffragist
This History Note shares the story of one Longmeadow woman's role in the fight for women's right to vote. Recent reminders that 2020...
Melissa M. Cybulski
Oct 24, 20222 min read
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Sarah Storrs, 1832-1907
Today's History Note tells the story of an unsung hero of Longmeadow's cultural life, Sarah Storrs. The Storrs name is a recognizable one...
Melissa M. Cybulski
Oct 24, 20222 min read
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