The Pioneer Valley History Network will bring together historical sites in Agawam and West Springfield for a day of open houses to showcase women’s history in the region.
The Women of Western Mass. History Trail, part of the network’s “History on the Go” series, will consist of five open houses from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2. Visitors can stop in at any of the five sites: the Captain Charles Leonard House in Agawam, the Thomas Smith House in Feeding Hills, and the Josiah Day House, Eastern States Exposition Museum and Storrowton Village Museum in West Springfield.
The Captain Charles Leonard House at 663 Main St., Agawam, was built in 1805 as a stage tavern to serve travelers between Hartford and Boston. The house was in a state of disrepair when Agawam resident Minerva Davis bought it in 1938 and had it restored as Agawam’s Community House, so there would be a place for people to meet and have functions.
David Cecchi, a Leonard House trustee, said, “At that time, there weren’t all the restaurants and banquet [halls] that we have today, so that served a need in the town. It’s something we still do. We have a lot of showers, receptions and business meetings at the house, so it’s still serving the purpose that Mrs. Davis intended.”
He continued, “We’d like for people to come out to see the house and what we have to offer. We’re hoping people can learn more about Minerva Davis, an amazing woman who did so much for Agawam.”
The Thomas Smith House at 251 N. West St., Feeding Hills, is known to many as “the little red house.” It was built in 1757 and is one of the oldest houses in Agawam. The house was purchased in 2002 by members of the Agawam Historical Association.
“It’s fantastic to be a part of the tour,” said Judy Anderson, chair of the committee that oversees the events and maintenance of the Smith House “We feel this is another experience for us to share with community, to tell them a little bit more than just riding by and seeing this lovely little gambrel house, to see the inside and to know the history of the people who lived in the house. Any opportunity like that we feel is a gift not only for the Agawam Historical Association, but a gift we could give back to our community.”
Volunteers will tell visitors about the Thomas Smith family, in particular Thomas’ wife Esther and the duties she would have had as a housewife of the time, which Anderson said are extensive. Women in the colonial era were responsible for feeding the family — including both cooking in the 18th century oven and tending to small gardens, harvesting and storing food — as well as making and maintaining the family’s clothing.
At the Thomas Smith House, visitors will see how Esther’s duties would have followed the calendar. In the spring, Esther would be gardening and sewing. In the summer, she would make butter and cheese, and tend to the herb garden. In the fall, she would be storing and drying food for the winter. And in the winter, she’d be salting meats and making candles.
“We want to show how the women of the house were the keeper of the key,” Anderson said. “The women of the time were the ones in charge of everything. There were no stores that they could go and buy things, so they had to provide those things on their own. The women were the mainstay during that time period of keeping the family together and providing for all these things.”
The Eastern States Exposition Museum and Storrowton Village Museum are both on the exposition grounds on Memorial Avenue in West Springfield. They will highlight the contributions of women to the Big E and to local historical preservation, including Helen Storrow’s role in assembling a traditional New England village as a living history museum.
The Josiah Day House at 70 Park St., West Springfield, was built in 1754 and is the oldest known surviving saltbox brick house in America. Volunteers there will highlight the lives of the four Day sisters: Lucinda, Amanda, Eunice and Lydia Day. They lived in the house as children, and Lucinda Day lived there her entire life. Lucinda died first, and it was after her death that the remaining sisters got nervous for the future of the house. They did have other siblings, but they moved out of Western Massachusetts and were too far to do anything with the house.
Amanda, Eunice, and Lydia sought out a new future for the house after their sister’s death in 1897, and in 1903, the Ramapogue Historical Society was formed to purchase the Day House with the purpose of it becoming a museum. Society President Samantha DePergola said, “I hope the Western Mass Women’s History Trail shines a light on these incredible museums that can be found right in our backyards.” She continued, “These influential, impactful, and philanthropic women such as the Day sisters, Helen Storrow and Minerva Davis rarely get mentioned in the history books. This history trail highlights not only them, but how women truly lived in the 18th and 19th centuries. I hope that by telling these stories of women so often put into the shadows, they will continue to have a light shone on them.”
For more information or to download a brochure, visit pioneervalleyhistorynetwork.org. For questions, email pioneervalleyhistory@gmail.com.
