File:"Our county and its people" - A history of Hampden County, Massachusetts. (1902) (14596753687).jpg

Identifier: ourcountyitspeop01cope (find matches)
Title: "Our county and its people" : A history of Hampden County, Massachusetts.
Year: 1902 (1900s)
Authors: Copeland, Alfred Minott, 1830- ed
Subjects: Hampden County (Mass.) -- History Hampden County (Mass.) -- Biography
Publisher: Boston : Century Memorial Pub. Co
Contributing Library: UMass Amherst Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: UMass Amherst Libraries

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when the agricultural lands were all occupied, andwhen other and more modern means of travel had been provided,the old system became unpopular and soon afterward the gateswere removed. Following close upon the opening of the toll roads across thestate there came a new era of progress and prosperitj in the his-tory of Hampden county. As early as about the year 1818 aline of stages and transportation wagons for passengers and mer-chandise began running on the Boston road )>etween ihe capitalcity of Massachusetts and Albany; and within the next score ofyears at least half a dozen lines of stages were operatingthroughout the state. This was the most prosperous era in theannals of the towns of Massachusetts, and one in which everybranch or calling in business life was fostered and made better.From 1820 until the advent of the railroad every farmer founda ready market for all the products of the soil. Good prices pre-vailed and money was plenty; and in the general distribution of ( 159 )
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u ^ d < © TJ ?^ c A a c tn O •<-» CQ +J INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS cash the farmer received his full share. This can hardly besaid of auy period during the last half century. In those daysthe farmer was indeed thriftless who did not pay for his landsand lay by at least a small store of wealth for the future com-fort of his family. Again, during the first quarter of the nineteenth century,the towns of Massachusetts were contributing their populationto southern and western New York and also to Ohio, andthroughout that period down to about 1845 the warm months ofevery year witnessed a constant stream of travel across the statefrom east to west, and it is doubtful if there was any ten milesof the old Boston road that had not its wayside tavern where re-freshment and good cheer were offered to the traveller. Andwhat is true of the Boston road is also true of nearly all the otherturnpike roads. During that period Springfield was an impor-tant center of travel and trade, and the scenes

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