East Longmeadow . a look at the early years

Date: 10/4/2010

Oct. 4, 2010

By Amanda Butcher

Special to Reminder Publications

My last article ended with the ex-parish of Longmeadow breaking from its mother town and becoming its own entity. This is no way to end a story, for a new story was just beginning! I have therefore decided to write a follow-up about the origins of East Longmeadow.

The first few years of anything are often hectic and confusing. It took four years for the United States to create a constitution and set in place the type of government we still use today. It was no different in East Longmeadow.

The first town meeting was held on July 9, 1894. A new government had to be quickly established before chaos could arise due to a lack of leadership. Townspeople elected selectmen, a moderator, town clerk, treasurer, and other such necessary offices.

Less than two months later, another town meeting was called. The selectmen had to give the treasurer the power to borrow money to pay for municipal government expenses. East Longmeadow and Longmeadow each had to pay to lay out the line between the towns, and East Longmeadow hadn't paid its share yet.

Also at this point, it was decided that the treasurer should be given a safe to keep the town money protected. That implies that East Longmeadow, up to this time, kept their money elsewhere that must not have been safe. Can you imagine when people could trust their money outside of a safe or bank?

The 1895 federal census, the first census that East Longmeadow was a part of as its own entity, showed that East Longmeadow's population was 1,591 people. Five years later, the population was down to 1,187 -- a drop of over four hundred people. This may have happened partially because of the drop in the need of brownstone. The brownstone quarrymen, many of whom were Canadians working the quarries in East Longmeadow, stopped coming around because the stone wasn't in demand so much anymore.

On top of the population, finances were also unsteady. Many people left their homes without paying mortgages, so when the man holding the mortgages died, the houses were sold at a fraction of the original price often to their original owners!

In 1896, a committee was appointed to change East Longmeadow's name, mostly because "East Longmeadow" was much too long and mail to East Longmeadow ended up in Longmeadow and vice versa. The committee of three decided to put a few names to vote, said names including but not limited to Stoneage, Eastmont, Freestone, Gladstone, and Savon. The most popular choice was Freestone, but no definite choice was made and the committee was dropped.

Imagine if we lived in the town of Stoneage! The name makes me think of the Flintstones! Any complaint that East Longmeadow is too long a name has been squashed by the thought of the alternative!

By the end of the first five years of East Longmeadow's existence, the government was established, finances were becoming less shaky, and everyone was getting the hang of being a part of a new town. After 116 years, we citizens of East Longmeadow are pros at being a town of our own.