South Hadley Historical Society
Joseph Goodhue Chandler (American, 1813-1884)
Third Meeting House, South Hadley, oil on canvas, 1876.
Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, South Hadley, Massachusetts.
Gift of Mrs. Thomas E. Brown, Jr.
The Sycamores and the Rawson House
The South Hadley Historical Society has undertaken efforts to restore and preserve two of the oldest homes in the community: The Sycamores and the Rawson House, which are located within the Woodbridge Street District, a Federally-designated historic district.
The Sycamores
The Sycamores is one of South Hadley's oldest and finest homes, built for Colonel Benjamin Ruggles Woodbridge in 1788. The building served many purposes during its long life, including a dormitory for Mount Holyoke College during much of the 20th century. It is currently under restoration and occasionally open to the public.
Sycamores was the home of Colonel Benjamin Ruggles Woodbridge, a man of many parts. He was a physician, shop-owner, owner of a potash
refinery, a sawmill, a still, and the town's only chaise-all by the age of 33. He was South Hadley's representative in Boston for 12 years,
and led a regiment at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Upon his death in 1819 the house became The Woodbridge Scientific School for
about 40 boys from well-to-do families from New York and Hartford. At that time the house had so many wings it was said it could
fly. The Montague family lived here for the remainder of the 19th century. In 1900 the mansion was purchased by a wealthy Bostonian,
Rose Hollingsworth, who undoubtedly had the water tower constructed. (The tower was recently renovated by the Adams Family Foundation)
Ms. Hollingsworth also planted renowned gardens around the home.
Joseph Skinner purchased the Sycamores in 1915 and turned it into a private dormitory for Mount Holyoke College students. The College purchased the building in 1937; it continued to be a dormitory until 1971. For most of this time it was inhabited by 15 women, usually sophomores, a housemother, a maid and a cook. It later became a home for inner city girls who attended South Hadley High School under the 'A Better Chance' program. The house then served as accommodations for the male guests of Mount Holyoke College students. Eventually it served as a warehouse until in 1996 it stood vacant and neglected, unpainted, with holes in the roof.
The Sycamores Committee purchased the house and the 3.7 acre lot on which it stands from Mount Holyoke College in 1999 for $50,000. Simultaneously a $107,000 matching grant from the Massachusetts Historical Commission was matched with $157,000 from the Sycamores Committee. The stabilization and restoration of the exterior was completed in 2001.
Rawson House
Rawson House, built in 1733, is South Hadley's oldest house. The house was originally built for Grindall Rawson, South Hadley's first minister. Following its rescue, the Rawson House was moved a short distance down Woodbridge Street and joined to the Sycamores mansion.
The eight mile trek to Hadley for church was too much for
the early occupants of South Hadley, the majority of whom did not have horses.
So South Hadley was allowed to split from Hadley (founded in 1659) on the completion of three requirements: that they build a meeting house,
which they startedd in 1732 and completed in 1737 (the current Yarde House restaurant), that they hire a minister, Grindall Rawson, and that
they build him a house. This home - Rawson House - was built in 1733 from logs felled in the winter of 1732, as proved by dendrochronology,
on the lot now occupied by the Sycamores. Disgruntled parishioners removed Grindall from the pulpit in 1741, because they considered him too
conservative; he did not embrace the Half-Way Covenant. Benjamin Ruggles bought
the house in 1787 after which the Rawson House was moved up the street and attached to the rear of 40 Woodbridge St (built 1787). Sophie
Eastman, author of 'In Old South Hadley,' lived in the house in 1884. When she died in the early 20th century Joseph Skinner bought the
house and divided it into three units. The back (west) ell, Rawson House, was used to house his extensive collection of Americana, now housed
in the Skinner Museum. Mount Holyoke College acquired 40 Woodbridge St with
Rawson House attached in 1948. Joseph Brodsky, Mount Holyoke's only Nobel laureate,
lived there.
Rawson House was sold to Kay Bernon in 2004 who generously gave it to the Sycamores Committee on the condition it be moved within three months. It did not fit into her plans for the renovation of the remainder of the house at 40 Woodbridge St. Rawson House started its move on October 19, 2004, when it got stuck in the mud as it was coming on to this property. A week later it was in place on cribbing; a foundation was poured under it and it was subsequently lowered into place behind the Sycamores.
Location
28 Woodbridge Street
South Hadley, MA 01075