Grassy Gutter

Our town of Longmeadow is filled with street names that reflect its history such as Bliss Road, Williams Street, King Philip Drive, and Cooley Drive. Other names invoke a somewhat idyllic notion such as Greenacre, Forest Glen, Morningside, and Bellevue. It is not clear where Grassy Gutter fits in. An older definition for "gutter" is a furrow or channel made by running water: “A small stream flowing between eroded banks of its own making and amounting to a mere trickle in dry seasons, but a torrent in the time of melting snows.” This is different from a dingle which has higher sides and perhaps a deeper depth of erosion. “Grassy Gutter” is referred to in town records from 1791 as an eastern boundary for the middle school district, a deed from 1799 from Thankful Colton to Joanna Coomes, and also a deed from the Coltons to Orrin Cooley in 1874. 

The gutter was located within a large tract of land “on the plains northerly of Hale’s Meadow bounded by the highway that leads from Hale’s Meadow to the meeting house in East Longmeadow and southerly by the highway that leads from Hale’s Meadow to South Wilbraham.” South Wilbraham became Hampden in 1878. Grassy Gutter is identified on an 1854 map and is present but unnamed on an 1894 map. 

In 1912 a plan was put forth to connect the Grassy Gutter Brook to the town water supply to increase what was stored in the standpipe situated in what is now Laurel Park. The Grassy Gutter land was largely undeveloped for years.

In 1915 there was a Longmeadow musical group performing as the Grassy Gutter Trio.

The Grassy Gutter Brook apparently was a great spot to fish and at one time was stocked with trout in the Spring during the 1930s. In 1950, it was voted to accept the so-called Grassy Gutter right of way as a public way or street. It ran between Bliss and Williams Streets. It was initially called Grassy Gutter Lane but became Grassy Gutter Road.

In 1950 there was a push to establish a high school in town. At that time 198 students were being sent to Springfield and 41 students were enrolled in private high schools. According to the Springfield Union on March 3, 1950, “It was estimated that a building to accommodate 600 pupils would cost $900,000 and operating costs would be $90,000 per year.”

It was eventually decided to build the high school on land adjacent to Grassy Gutter Road and the town approved the plan in November 1953. The land that had been purchased from Arthur and Selma Arenius.

In November 1953 approval for the construction of Longmeadow High School was obtained. It was also suggested that the road be renamed Remy Road, named after retired school superintendent Ballard Remy, or Wilkin Road, named after Longmeadow Medal of Honor winner Edward Wilkin. Neither change was approved.

Ground-breaking ceremonies were held on July 1, 1954.

The high school at 95 Grassy Gutter Road was completed in 1955.

The Grassy Gutter no longer exists and the large undeveloped tract of land that surrounded it has dramatically changed over the years. Longmeadow High School and the fourteen homes located on Grassy Gutter Road, which were all built between 1954 and 1957, are all the ties that remain. 

 Sources

Longmeadow Historical Society Archives

Longmeadow Town Reports

Springfield Republican

Springfield Union

Duckert, A. R. (1956). Gutter: Its Rise and Fall. Names, 4(3), 146–154.