Storrowtown Village in Massachusetts
by Patricia Cummings
photos by James Cummings
Nestled in a tranquil corner of West Springfield, Massachusetts, is the Storrowton Village Museum, a re-created nineteenth-century village comprised of nine early American buildings. Neatly arranged around a traditional green, the structures are not original to the site, but were moved there from various towns in Massachusetts and New Hampshire after they were scheduled for demolition.
The village itself was the brainchild of Helen Osborne Storrow (1864-1944), a wealthy woman from an affluent New England family that manufactured farm equipment during the nineteenth century. Storrow's dream was to assemble a representative collection of old buildings, which could be used to display arts and crafts.
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Union Meetinghouse
A typical tour of the village might begin at the Union Meetinghouse (built circa 1834), which was originally located in the Smith's Corner section of Salisbury, New Hampshire. It is interesting to note that, architecturally, the minister's area in the front to the meetinghouse does not coincide with the rest of the plain structure. The ornately decorated raised pulpit was most likely a later addition. A unique feature called a sound board, located above the area where the minister stands, helps to carry his voice all the way to the back pews.
At one time, the building served four different congregations on rotating Sabbaths. The pews are long and are divided into two sections by a wooden panel, with a small door at the aisle end of each pew through which worshippers entered. Members of the church owned their pew, paid pew rent, and were allowed to decorate their pew as they pleased. Since services often lasted for hours and the meetinghouse was not heated, some individuals even installed carpet for warmth. Others brought a dog or cat to hold on their laps or to snuggle at their feet. Sometimes a punched-tin box full of hot coals accompanied the attendee.
Today, the Union Meetinghouse is rented out for wedding ceremonies, and the on-site Storrowton Tavern has banquet facilities to accommodate large groups.
One-Room Schoolhouse
The North Center School was a one-room schoolhouse built in 1810 in Whately, Massachusetts. The entry way was modified to resemble one that had been seen by Helen Storrow in Vergennes, Vermont. A compass with four directional points has been painted onto the ceiling of the belfry. As was the custom of the day, blackboards surrounded the room. These boards are not slate, but are composed of a treated plaster that occasionally had to be "refreshed." Over the years, descendants of family members who attended this school have visited Storrowton to look for carved initials of their relatives, which an be seen on some of the wooden benches.
A photo taken to show the "quilt cranes" that allowed quilts to be draped so that the area in front of the fireplace, where the family bathed, would be protected from drafts at Saturday night bath times.
Potter's Mansion
A yellow mansion, with a faux-masonry exterior that is actually constructed of wood, was the residence of John Potter, who built the dwelling in 1776. Potter served under George Washington at the battles of White Plains and Valley Forge and was a captain in the Continental army. This very formal and well-equipped house features a parlor that has representations of various pastimes of the day, including a bobbin lace-making project in progress and a piano with a fiddle atop it.
In an adjacent room, a long piece of decorative wood extends outward from other wall on each side of a huge fireplace. Our tour guide informed us that these are "quilt cranes." A quilt would be hung from each crane to afford warmth and privacy to family members during their Saturday night baths.
The entire family would take turns sharing about five gallons of hot water that was held in a vessel which resembles a man's hat turned upside-down. Father would bathe first, followed by mother. Then each of the children, from the eldest to the youngest, would have their turns. The familiar idiomatic expression, "Don't throw the baby out the with the bath water," dates from this time, we were told.
The Potter mansion also has a large open space on the second floor, originally used for dancing. Just before the dance, an extra support pole would be placed in the middle of the dining room, below the ceiling, to keep it from caving in.
F.A. Potter, Storekeeper
A shop attached to the Potter mansion was operated by John Potter's son, whose name, F.A. Potter, is prominently displayed on a sign on the front of the building. The window shutters of the shop were used to advertise various goods that were sold there, such as stoneware, pails, cloth, and buttons.
During Colonial times, a business sign was a mandatory component for conducting business, the equivalent of a license today. If any charge of wrongdoing was levied against the storeowner, the authorities could confiscate the business sign and the shop could conduct no more business. Parking consisted of a horse trough and hitching posts. Customers would know if the shop were open for business, if the window shutters were open.
Eddy Law Office
Next to the store is the Eddy Law Office, circa 1810, which was moved from Middleboro, Massachusetts. Here Zachariah Eddy, considered to be one of the foremost attorneys of his day, conducted his legal practice. Like many other attorneys, Eddy worked in a small building apart from his residence so that clients could be afforded some privacy. Displayed in a glass cabinet is a day book from 1847, that lists items that were sold in stores, along with the names of the customers and the transaction dates.
Day books were typically used by attorneys as evidence in debt-collection cases. The book on display lists many sewing-related supplies, including pins, lace, buttons, and ribbon. Some of the prices recorded are quite interesting: black lace at 25 cents, eight buttons for 16 cents, and a black silk hat for only $3.50. This gives us a glimpse into the value of goods during the mid-nineteenth century!
Gilbert Farmhouse
The Gilbert Farmhouse, built by Levi and Pelletier Gilbert in 1794, was moved from West Brookfield, Massachusetts. This house has a formal sitting room and a large kitchen with fold-down rope bed, a precursor of the Murphy bed. The bed is located near the central hearth and came in handy for sick family members or elderly parents.
The quilts in the farmhouse are not associated with any of the original inhabitants, but they certainly add a homey ambience. Dennis Picard, director of Storrowton, explained that the quilts were donated when little emphasis was placed on keeping good museum records, so, in some cases, information about their provenance is sketchy.
In the room next to the kitchen, a "strippy" style quilt lies crumpled on the bed, while another small quilt has been placed in a doll cradle. Two fabric colors, chrome yellow, (sometimes referred to as "cheddar," in later years), and cadet blue, indicate that the date of the doll quilt is circa 1885.
As we climbed the steep, narrow stairs to the second floor, we spotted a wool scrap quilt with pieced rectangles. The quilt was hanging from a bannister. This may have been made from mill samples.
Wool was a primary textiles during the first two hundred years of North American settlement. Depending upon the type of sheep which yielded the wool, some woolen goods were coarse. Wool from Merino sheep, which were imported from Spain, was highly prized.
Upstairs, the first bedroom features a four-poster bed that is covered with a wool plaid counterpane. A trundle bed, a type of short bed that is meant to slide underneath the larger bed, during the daytime, features a pieced quilt.
An Herb Garden Tribute to Helen Storrow
Our town of Storrowton ended behind the Gilbert farmhouse at an herb garden established in 1935 for Helen Storrow by the Girl Scouts, a group permitted to use the buildings at Storrowton over the years. All of the original herbs have been maintained throughout the decades and some have been used for seasoning the food sold at Storrowton Tavern, a restaurant in the village.
Storrowton Village Museum (www.thebige.com/storrowton.html), on the grounds of the Eastern States Exposition, is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday from the middle of June to the end of August and for special events and programs. It is also open year-round to groups, by appointment only.
We would like to thank Bob Delisle for the educational tour, and Dennis D. Picard, director of Storrowton for allowing us to photograph the items shown here, and for filling in some historical details.
©Copyrighted 2005. Patricia and James Cummings, Quilter's Muse Publications, Concord, NH. Questions or comments? Write to: pat@quiltersmuse.com