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Date: 1/11/2024
HUNTINGTON — At the Norwich Cemetery on Littleville Road, next door to the Gateway Regional School High School, a single gravestone in a large plot surrounded by a marble border reads Parley Hutchins, “Died April 12, 1880, Aged 69 years.”
While unusual for being the lone stone in a family plot — the border is engraved with the name Hutchins — most visitors to the cemetery might pass it by, not being familiar with the man’s name.
Local author Steven Victor Cormier, who has written “Life and Times of Parley B. Hutchins: The Mystery Continues …” is looking to change all that and restore Hutchins’ fame as a successful manufacturer of wooden bowls, a cemetery trustee and a murder victim to the history of the town.
Cormier moved to Huntington in 2016, purchasing acreage down the road from the cemetery, a portion of which is along the middle branch of the Westfield River. As he started to explore the river, he saw indications of a former mill there — a couple of beams in the water, metal hoops and an aqueduct for a water wheel.
As a retired paper mill representative from Connecticut, Cormier was intrigued, and started to look into the history of the land he had purchased. At the Huntington Historical Society, he met with President David Norton, who had a large map from 1864.
“I found where my property was, and I saw a wooden ware mill and a saw mill that ended up being where Parley Hutchins made his wooden bowls. Across the street, where my property is, was the name of ‘P. Hutchins’ on the map,” Cormier said.
He then went to the Hampshire County Registry of Deeds, and verified that Hutchins did live on the property and owned a wooden ware mill. At the genealogy bank, he found out about the bowls and the patents Hutchins had on the machinery to make them. He also discovered that Hutchins had been murdered.
“That led me to do the book, and the rest is history,” Cormier said.
Cormier said the mystery was never fully resolved. Hutchins was a recluse, who supposedly made a lot of money with his bowls, plates and flowerpots, and was involved with buying and selling land and a grist mill. Cormier said after Hutchins was killed, there wasn’t as much money discovered in the safe or in the bank as was expected.
He said the Springfield Republican newspaper, back in 1880, helped to spread a rumor about a $100,000 bag of gold that may have been taken by the murderer or buried. Cormier said because of that mystery, newspapers in Seattle, Canada and New York state ran the story.
“It really was a big to-do back then. I was surprised how many people in Huntington weren’t aware of it,” Cormier said, adding, “I don’t know if there’s a treasure. It was a good concept for the book.”
A local man from a prominent family was identified as the murderer but never sentenced, as he was deemed not fit for trial, and was sent instead to the state asylum in Worcester. The book goes into detail about the circumstances of the murder and the man who was accused, pulling from court transcripts and newspaper articles.
In Cormier’s mind, not all of the questions surrounding the murder were answered, but he believes Hutchins’ story should be told.
“Parley Hutchins is a forgotten man. I feel strongly about being able to bring him out in this community for who he was, a manufacturer and trustee of the Norwich Cemetery,” Cormier said.
Toward that end, the author is doing a tour of area libraries talking about the book and sharing a presentation on the history behind his writing it, including what he discovered on the property that got him started.
The “meet the author” library tour begins at the Huntington Library on Jan. 16 at 6 p.m., then goes to the Westhampton Library on Feb. 8 at 6:30 p.m.; to Montgomery Town Hall on March 16 at 1 p.m.; and to the Russell Public Library on May 11 from 2 to 4 p.m., with future dates to be determined in Worthington and Chester. Books will be available for sale at each venue for $9.99.
“The Life and Times of Parley B. Hutchins” is also available for sale on Amazon. The book is Cormier’s second. His first book, “Oil Change,” a murder mystery with political overtones, is also available for sale on Amazon. Cormier said he is currently doing research for a third book.