Main Street in the center of Williamsburg, Mass., circa 1910
Main Street in the center of Williamsburg, Mass., circa 1910
Item Information
Title:
Main Street in the center of Williamsburg, Mass., circa 1910
Description:
This is a view northwestward along Main Street in the center of Williamsburg village, from the intersection of South Street and Main Street (which is now, in 2011, Route 9) toward the Meekins Library and Congregational Church, both of which are hidden by foliage. At right, in the center of the intersection, is the watering tub for horses given by the Women's Christian Temperance Union, which evidently felt that horses so watered would set a fine example for the tipplers of the town. It is now in the adjacent front yard of the Helen E. James School. Tracks for the trolley or street railway that connected Williamsburg to Northampton, Holyoke, Springfield and beyond from 1894 until 1926 appear in the foreground, and in the distance the trolley car itself can be seen parked in front of the Williams House, just to the left of the buggy coming down the street. At far right behind the watering tub is Handfield's blacksmith shop. At far left is the then high school, soon to be replaced by the Helen E. James School (on the lot behind the photographer of this picture). The old high school, which graduated its first class in 1893, was extensively remodeled by the local Grange chapter in the 1950s and has served as the Grange hall ever since. Receding into the distance beyond it are the old Town Hall (in 2011, the Williamsburg Historical Society's museum) and beyond that, the Methodist Church (now gone, on the site of the present Veterans' Memorial Park) and the Williams House hotel (now the Brewmaster's Tavern). The Dutch Elm Disease that was to decimate towering elms like those seen here did not arrive in New England until 1928.
Permission to publish the image must be obtained from the Meekins Library by writing to ddarienzo@cwmars.org or Meekins@cwmars.org. Meekins Library, Williamsburg, Mass. must be credited as the original source of the item for all use.
Contact host institution for more information.
Part of the Meekins Library, Williamsburg, Mass., Local History, Historic Photographs Collection. http://www.meekins-library.org/
Identifier:
Meekins Library - Local History - Historic Photographs Collection - Williamsburg - Main Street
main_street_in_the_center_of_williamsburg_mass_circa_1910
![Group [A.O.C.?] portrait on Meekins Library steps, 1900](https://bpldcassets.blob.core.windows.net/derivatives/images/commonwealth:fb494v61c/image_thumbnail_300.jpg)
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