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Early 20th-century postcard.

A "Brief" History of the Town of Worthington from 1762 to 2018

by Diane Brenner and Pat Kennedy

In the 1760s the wilderness that became Worthington was largely unpopulated. Although an ethnic community lived downwardly the Westfield River valley in Norwich (at present part of Huntington), the higher summit of Worthington was probable only frequented seasonally by hunters passing through. The French and Indian Wars, which concluded in 1763, probably discouraged settlement besides. On June 2, 1762, a bare ii years later George Iii became King of Great U.k., Aaron Willard of Lunenburg, merchant and entrepreneur, attended an auction in Boston at which ten hereafter towns in Western Massachusetts were sold past the colonial government on behalf of the King. Such sales were normally held when the Crown needed cash. Earlier the sale, each approximately six-acre square plantation was casually surveyed. Willard won Plantation No. iii (Worthington and a small part of Middlefield), paying 1,860 pounds sterling for 24,000 acres.

Willard was interim on behalf of a 5-man syndicate that included himself, John Worthington and Josiah Dwight of Springfield, Timothy Dwight Jr. of Northampton, and Selah Barnard of Deerfield. They put downwards 20 pounds as security and promised the remaining £1,840 through a bail. Nathaniel Dwight Jr. surveyed the plantation into 100-acre sections, divided by lot among the v proprietors. By law, sections were set aside for the church, a government minister, a school, and a grist mill. The proprietors hired Nahum Eager, an adventurous young man from Westborough, to serve as their agent. Eager (who snapped upwardly several hundred acres effectually the present-day intersection of Erstwhile Mail service and Radiker Roads, including what is now Chucklebrook Farm) and Samuel Clapp (whose log cabin was purportedly where the Woodbridge Business firm is located on Buffington Hill Road) were among the first settlers. The proprietors, none of whom e'er chose to live here, paid the early settlers to build roads and bridges but retained responsibleness for building a mill and hiring a clergyman. The records of these early transactions and the related accounting are preserved in the Edgerton Papers.

The first pioneers came as a grouping from Preston, Connecticut, in 1762. Like many, they left a boondocks that felt overcrowded, seeking new opportunities and cheap land. Nigh of the new settlers were men. Wedlock records show that many Worthington residents went back to Preston after a period of years to notice spouses, while newcomers continued to migrate during the adjacent decades. Amid the pioneers responsible for molding the early Worthington (and giving their names to our roads, streams, and landmarks) were Reuben Adams, James Benjamin, Stephen and Davis Converse, Asa Cottrell, Beriah Curtis, Joseph and Sam Follet(t), Joseph Geer, James and John Kelly, Joseph Marsh, Daniel and Moses Morse (the latter the town'southward first doctor), Jonathan and Joseph Prentice, Seth Porter, Samuel Whiting, Gersham Randall, Samuel Tower, and John Watts. Alexander Miller'southward tavern was the first in town; his Tory sympathies and role as tax collector made him less than pop.

Although at that place were 35 families past 1765, efforts to contain failed. Still, on June xxx, 1768, the Massachusetts Bay Colony legislature passed a declaration allowing for the cosmos of a boondocks named Worthington in Hampshire County. Reverend Jonathan Huntington, the commencement government minister and also a doc, braved the move to the Worthington wilds from Connecticut accompanied by his wife, Sarah. His church and parsonage were congenital on West Street.

The Huntington parsonage, 1885.

The first Annual Town Coming together was held on July eleven, 1768. The kickoff mill was built by Luke Bonney and David Bronson in the surface area that came to exist known equally Stevensville. Nathan Leonard was named first town Moderator, Nahum Eager was Town Clerk, and Leonard, along with Nathaniel Daniels and John Kinne, were elected Selectmen. During those early years, the focus was on building and sustaining roads and bridges, including a direct road through Worthington between Boston and Albany (Rte. 143 and Old Post Route). All appurtenances came from the surrounding towns, primarily Northampton. In 1771, Jeremiah Kinne purchased belongings at what is now the corner of Cole and Old North Roads.

Past 1770 there were 639 town residents, many of whom took a bully interest in the political activities occurring in Boston and elsewhere in the years leading up to the Revolutionary State of war. A call to arms on June 28, 1774, led to the establishment of a "committee of correspondence" to support the colonists nether siege in Boston. This committee was chaired past Ebenezer Leonard, with Nathan Leonard, Nahum Eager, Nathaniel Daniels, Thomas Kinne and Moses Morse as members. Several joined the Minutemen while others joined General Washington in New Jersey. The Town Meeting voted to financially support soldiers past providing wear (£120) simply refused to buy ammunition (£15). There was also some relief for the soldiers' families. Many Worthington farms provided horses and other support for the soldiers, and were run primarily past the women and children left behind. In 1777 some prisoners from Burgoyne's army were marched through town and billeted on Eager'south holding; it is said, though documentation is scarce, that several escaped to settle and raise families in Worthington. At least 42 Worthington men served in the war, and Jeremiah Kinne and Samuel Cole died. Kinne'due south house (on Cole and Old North Streets) passed to his brother Daniel and Daniel's 2nd married woman, Patience. Parts of the abode they built remain today. Major Samuel Buffington and Samuel Follett played major roles, Buffington at Saratoga and Follett at Bunker Hill. Jonathan Brewster arrived in 1777 from Preston, Connecticut, with his wife Zipporah, settling on the road to Huntington (now Rte. 112) at what became Worthington Heart. They founded a dynasty of Brewsters, many lawyers and judges amongst them, who figured prominently in local and state politics. Kingman Brewster, whose name reflects the marriage of two early Worthington families, served as the president of Yale.

Buffington, forth with Helm Elisha Brewster, saw service over again on behalf of the regime during Shays' Rebellion in 1787. Buffington congenital a grand habitation in the Federal style at the top of the colina that now bears his proper noun; it remains today one of the town'due south most elegant homes. Jonathan Woodbridge, a local lawyer, besides served in the war as a captain; his Federal home, a more lavish rival to Buffington's, was completed in 1806. Both Buffington and Woodbridge suffered fiscal difficulties associated with their expensive lifestyles. Woodbridge died in 1808 and never lived to enjoy what he had built; his home became the residence of lawyer Samuel Howe, with whom William Cullen Bryant apprenticed.

Jonathan Woodbridge firm, Worthington.

Life was difficult in the early years of the at present-independent nation, peculiarly when currencies were in flux and coin for business organization investment scarce. Much business was done on credit. Nonetheless, the town grew substantially. In 1780, Samuel Buck built a fine Georgian house at the Corners, visible today every bit the "Worthington Inn at 4 Corners Farm." By contrast, Joseph Tower and his son Abner traveled past ox cart from Hingham, building a rude log motel in the area that came to be called "Tower Hill" (northeast intersection of Rte. 143 and Rte. 112). Arriving around this time from Northampton was the family of Deacon Azariah Parsons, and, standing the tradition of migrating from Preston, Connecticut, Dr. Ezra Starkweather and his wife Esther Brewster, who built a large, nonetheless-standing Georgian house at the intersection of Thatcher Hill, Harvey, and Old Post Roads. Starkweather was the boondocks's second physician, town clerk, and for twelve years, a state representative. Sometime effectually 1787, James Blackmar and his wife Sarah arrived from Gloucester, Rhode Island. In 1791, well-nigh the southern function of Westward Street, he congenital a linseed oil mill, one of Worthington's commencement successful businesses.

At the first federal census in 1790 Worthington had over 1,100 residents. In 1796, to serve the growing customs's needs, William Gove opened the beginning general store on land purchased from Nahum Eager at the intersection of Radiker and Quondam Post Roads. That aforementioned year, a 14-year one-time William Ward moved from Cummington and went to piece of work for Gove, eventually marrying Gove'southward girl Betsey in 1805. That year, the at present-experienced Ward opened a new general store on Buffington Hill Route near the Corners (at #11, as well known as "The Heritage"). He and his married woman ran a prosperous business. Ward too had a political career, representing the town on the Land Constitutional Revision Committee. The first mail office was built in 1796, and Asa Bigelow became the first postmaster. He was quickly succeeded by Ward, who located the role in his shop.

Sometime before 1790, Luther Granger arrived from Suffield with his 2nd wife, Ruth Goodwell, from Chester. About of his eight children were born in Worthington. Grangers continued to live in Worthington through the next two centuries. Near of today's Grangers descend from Luther's son, Abraham, born in Worthington in 1799. State of israel Burr's name appears in the census of 1790. He migrated effectually 1788 from Bridgewater, MA, joined past his mother, several sons, and before long thereafter by two of his brothers. The Burrs bought land and developed into prosperous farmers serving the town in many different means. William Rice moved from Conway in 1803, marrying Wealthy Cottrell in 1806 and edifice a house on the southeast corner of Old Mail service and Buffington Roads, an intersection known by then as the Four Corners. He became a wealthy merchant. Aaron Stevens arrived in 1811 from Brookfield, MA, and that yr married Sarah Spelman in Worthington. Together with their sons, Nathan and Lafayette, they congenital a sawmill at the east end of the road to Chesterfield (now Rte. 143). The sawmill developed into a thriving business based on wooden hoops. The Stevens family unit not only contributed their name to the surface area where they lived (Stevensville) only participated actively in church and town activities for many decades.

Following the British surrender, boondocks delegates to the contentious Ramble Convention in Boston voted in favor of Massachusetts' ratification of the 1789 Federal Constitution. In 1812, by contrast, Worthington officials voiced opposition to the idea of going to war against Smashing U.k.. All the same, 24 residents served in that war, with William Ward and William Rice receiving commissions. Thank you to stage coach lines and other advanced means of transportation, the town continued to grow. In 1810, the population of Worthington reached a loftier of one,391. Eleven separate ane-room schools provided a bones elementary education and in 1833 were arranged into districts, each with its own schoolhouse board. The brusk-lived Mount Seminary (1834-1849), located in Worthington Corners, attempted to add higher educational activity to the town'southward educational offerings.

On June 13, 1825, General Lafayette, on a triumphal return to America, spent the dark at the Pierce Tavern, at present the site of the Worthington Library. The occasion was festive, marked past parades and celebrations. A centennial reenactment in 1925 was described by Katharine McDowell Rice. Her male parent, William Rice, lived in a prime number location across from the Inn and was one of the original celebrants.

Industrial growth connected during this period thanks to the next generation of Worthingtonians and the inflow of new families. Past 1820 in that location were five blacksmith shops and three distilleries (distilling tree oils, not liquor), though there were several taverns besides. The general shop at the Corners was run past Seth Porter's son, Edward, the progenitor of many later Worthington Porters. Daniel Hewitt came to town after marrying Mathilda Parrish in 1822, and settled in Worthington Middle across from the Brewsters. He opened the first full general store in that area, in improver to farming and providing material finishing and leather-working services on his holding along what is now Sam Hill Road. Sydney Brewster congenital the Greek Revival house on Huntington Road that became known equally the "Doctor's House," next door to the Congregational parsonage. A succession of physicians and their families lived there until the mid-xx^th century, including William Lyman, William Parmalee, and Erastus C. Coy (who married Isora Burr, girl of Franklin and Persis Knapp Burr). The leading farmers of the period were the Burr family in Worthington Middle, the Thrasher family in South Worthington, and Nahum Eager'southward son Jonathan. Ezra Starkweather'southward firm on One-time Post Route was sold to chairmaker Elijah Drury. Taking advantage of the abundant woods, the Watson Tannery was built near Due west Worthington Falls. The tannery of Spencer Clark (formerly of Chester) and his brother-in-law Joseph Bardwell was nearby. To meet the needs of the burgeoning West Worthington community, Andrew Medbury built a general shop that eventually became a Methodist meeting house that served as the model for the present-day edifice of the Worthington Historical Society. Medbury's firm on River Route endures, eventually becoming the belongings known as "Brookstone." The West Worthington post role, the 2d in town, was created in 1839.

The Congregational Church, established by the founders of Massachusetts Bay Colony, dominated in most New England towns. Establishment meant that a portion of anybody'south taxes supported the Church building and its minister. The outset church was formally organized in 1771, and in 1780 a pulpit was added to the leaky building on W Street. By 1790 the building was no longer functional and a 2nd meeting house was congenital on the north side of Harvey Road, immediately due west of the Brewster house on the corner. It was abandoned in 1825, and a new building was constructed on the site of the present church.

The early decades of the nineteen^th century were marked by religious turmoil and the evangelical fervor of the Great Enkindling. The evangelical Rev. John Bisbee became head of the Congregational Church. An influential minister, his passion sparked a revival of devotion, especially among the town'due south youth. The same fervor led to new religious groups prepared to splinter from the principal church building, notably the Baptists and Methodists. In Southward Worthington, the Methodist Episcopal Gild was established in 1828, with services conducted past itinerant ministers on property that at present hosts Sevenars. In 1848, a more formal Methodist coming together firm was built across the street. The original meeting house was and then purchased by a lay preacher, James Wright, who turned information technology into a full general shop, the outset in that part of boondocks. The parsonage was completed in 1850. Non-adherents of the Congregational Church began to vox objections to its establishment.

Methodist Church in South Worthington. Photograph past Kate Ewald.

The 1840s and 1850s saw the arrival of a new form of transportation: railways. An effort to bring i of the lines through Worthington failed. Although a train station was built in Huntington, many Worthington families despaired well-nigh the future and began selling their farms and moving to western New York State, Ohio and further west in search of cheap land and new opportunities. And once again, times of loss were also times of gain. The sheep farmer-turned-entrepreneur, Horace Cole, settled hither in 1845, ownership the general store at Worthington Corners. Tired of the travel time needed to accomplish agricultural events in distant communities, local farmers formed the "Worthington Agricultural Society." Offset in 1852, they held fairs and sales events on the commons next to the Church. The new boondocks hall, dedicated in 1855, was a Greek Revival building, reflecting the country'due south pride in its democratic heritage. The benighted Woodbridge House inverse easily yet again in 1852, when lawyer Chauncy Rise sold it to cotton fiber merchant Dwight Rock, whose mother came from Worthington'south Benjamin family. Dwight'south brother Albert also moved to Worthington at that fourth dimension. The Stones, who came from Columbus, Ohio, were traders on the New York Cotton Exchange and manufactured cotton fiber goods from cotton produced on family-owned plantations in the South. They were among many Northern merchants who profited from slavery, even during the Ceremonious War, when they received a contract to produce Wedlock uniforms. Not long after, their widowed sister, Adelia Benjamin Rock, came to Worthington and married Cyprian Parish Hewitt, who had inherited the Daniel Hewitt belongings on Sam Hill Road.

Post-obit a fire, Horace Cole and his son Samuel rebuilt the Corners Store in 1859, in the Greek Revival style it retains today. Cole was the postmaster as well as a real-estate developer. He and his son created a shoe and kicking mill, a handbasket mill, and a cheese factory. Horace Cole'south brother, Consider Cole, purchased the general store in South Worthington. He operated it with his partner, Isaac Thrasher, until Thrasher opened his ain store a decade later on south of the bridge over the Piffling River, on what became Thrasher Hill Road.

Elkanah Ring and his brother Thomas were sons of Jonathan Ring, who settled in boondocks after the Revolution. Their jointly owned mill in the area that became known as Ringville produced heavy wooden sledges, called Ringers, that helped carry goods for settlers moving to the West. Eventually, Ringers were superseded by the more popular Conestoga wagon. Ring factories in Worthington and Knightville burgeoned in the period before the Civil War. Their popular sleds for children were a smaller version of the earlier Ringers. They also created many tools combining woods and metal that remain cherished for their fine workmanship. The Ringville postal service role was first staffed in 1851 past Ethan Ring (a afar cousin, maybe).

By the 1860s, Worthington's population had declined to 925. These were years marked by deep disharmonize and rapid technological change. Many Worthington residents were opposed to slavery; every bit businesslike farmers they identified primarily as Unionists willing to serve in the war against the Secessionists for the short periods of time required by Lincoln'due south typhoon. Not a few, though, pleaded disability and a need to run their farms, or, as was allowed by law, hired others to take their identify. General James Clay Rice, son of William, was killed in action during the 1864 boxing at Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia. Though no longer a resident of Worthington at the time, he is considered a valiant "native son." Sixty-2 Worthington men (mostly boys) served in that brutal war, and 23 died, primarily from affliction. Their names, besides many to list hither, are memorialized in the Papers on the History of Worthington.

The Methodist congregation in S Worthington was staunchly abolitionist, supporting the anti-slavery work of John Brown and the Hush-hush Railroad. Their delivery to this cause led to a break with the Methodist establishment and a new identity every bit a Wesleyan Coming together. Among the strongest proponents of this course were Martin and Maranda Conwell. Their son, Russell, became a Helm, heading a regiment he helped raise. Following an undistinguished military career that ended in a courtroom martial, Conwell became a Baptist government minister, settling eventually in Philadelphia. Honing his considerable oratorical skills, he gave his "Acres of Diamonds" spoken communication more than than 6,000 times. This speech is considered a cornerstone of the "Gospel of Wealth." Information technology provided funds that immune him to plant a hospital as well as The Temple, a identify of worship that eventually developed into Temple University. Conwell summered at his home in Due south Worthington until his death in 1925, alluring many visitors and admirers to military camp meetings on his backdrop. The Conwell Elementary School is named for him.

Russell H. Conwell at his dwelling in Southward Worthington.

The Greek Revival-style Lyceum Hall, built in 1860 with funding from Horace Cole, would serve the town for the next hundred years as a grange hall, elementary and loftier school, location for Cosmic services, and center for dances, weddings, musicales, speeches and other town events. It was also briefly the library, and, for over a decade, the health center. In 1865, after contentious argue, the Town formally separated from the Congregational Church building – one of the concluding communities in Massachusetts to practice so. This resulted in the cosmos of the First Congregational Parish. The house beyond the road was purchased past the church in 1867 to serve as the parsonage.

Reflecting slap-up pride, Worthington's centennial celebration on August xx, 1868, was a festive affair, including a dinner, many speeches (including 1 by William Cullen Bryant), a centennial sermon, the singing of a "Centennial Ode," and return visits to the town by some of the early pioneers. That aforementioned year, Charles Powers tapped and sold the production from 1200 maple trees on his property on Quondam Northward Road, and while the past was celebrated, a new industry came into being. Also living in Worthington at this time were George and Lucy Osgood (West Worthington), Abner and Eunice Witt (Worthington Centre), Clark and Lucy Bates (Worthington Corners), and Edwin and Nancy Dodge (Ringville). All these families had a babe built-in in 1860.

The population continued to decline – 818 in 1875, 763 in 1885, 569 in 1910 – still in these same decades many town institutions we know today were established. Samuel Follett Hills, grandson of the Revolutionary War hero Samuel Follett, ran a highly successful farm w of West Street on the route that came to bear his slightly mangled proper name. He served several terms as a cantankerous but careful and informed selectman. Horace Cole's failed tobacco enterprise at the Corners was turned into a cheese factory, which also failed and was taken over by Horace Bartlett, who produced baskets in partnership with John Kinne. Bartlett eventually turned the building into a private home known as "The Spruces," and many generations of Bartletts take lived in information technology continuously since then. Arthur Capen was built-in on Dingle Road (now Capen Street) in 1881. He lived to the age of 99, serving the town showtime as a teacher, and afterward equally the town librarian, organist at the Congregational Church, and loyal member of the Grange. Bessie Ames, who had trained as a nurse, discovered Worthington in 1883. She found she could live here independently and purchased i of the Brewster homes on Harvey Road, converting it to a boarding firm. She as well worked regularly in Springfield, providing nursing services to the homeless and to women considered of ill repute.

Worthington's Congregational Church.

In 1887, the 2d Congregational Church burned. The third and electric current church, including a steeple, bells, organ, and new stained drinking glass windows, was congenital on the same site and dedicated in 1888. The parsonage was handed over to the Church's Women's Benevolent Lodge, and to facilitate edifice ownership, the WBS incorporated in 1894. That same year, the Hewitts built a large white barn with cupola on their Sam Hill Road property, using columns from the burned-out church for its horse stalls. Such reuse of building materials was typical, and many a Worthington abode addition used parts from earlier structures. The well-built barn still stands. At the southward end of town, Russell Conwell founded and funded the Conwell Academy, a co-educational establishment dedicated to providing high-quality education to all, regardless of ability to pay. It was located across Republic of ireland Street from the Methodist Church. Although it closed in 1900, the Conwell family continued to use the building as an opera house and theater.

The start library was created from books donated by the much-beloved Reverend Frederick Sargent Huntington in 1884. Initially housed over the Corners Grocery, it was briefly moved to Lyceum Hall and so permanently housed in a building named in Huntington's honor. Grange #90 (the Pomona Grange), an organization designed to provide farmers with community, education, and money-saving opportunities, was formed in 1904 and established at Lyceum Hall. Peter Radiker purchased land on Old Northward Road, planning to create a "Pleasure Park" for ball games, trotting races and other public recreation. Radiker's 1892 dream resulted in financial ruin inside six years. As well during this era, William A. Rice Jr. a descendant of the showtime William Rice, purchased the old Kinne belongings at the corner of Cold Street and Sometime North Road, near the intersection with Cummington Road. He named information technology "The Subcontract," and, with his family unit, enjoyed it as a summer escape from Albany. A quarry on the holding had provided foundation stones for the third Congregational Church. A special limited edition of John Greenleaf Whittier's Snow-Leap (1866), commissioned past another Rice of that period, provides views of the property both within and out.

Guy Thrasher, youngest son of George and Hattie (Lyman) Thrasher, was built-in in 1900, on what was known as Thrasher Hill Road in South Worthington. He was from a long line of South Worthington Thrashers and trapped his first beaver in 1908. Trapping became his special passion and he lived in accord with the seasons, supplementing his income through sugaring and running his family unit's general store. Many members of the Higgins and Myrick families worked for and with him over the years. He remained a much-loved fixture, and is fondly remembered. In 1906 the Fairman dynasty was established when Fred Fairman of Brookfield married Eva Cudworth, a Worthington native. Franklin H. Burr served every bit longtime town clerk, and his wife, teacher Helen Gilmore Burr, was town treasurer. Their son Franklin G. Burr, born in 1912, was town selectman for a few terms, and along with his wife, Harriett, served the community in multiple means.

While the permanent population of farmers and small manufacturers declined steadily, Worthington gradually gained a reputation as a summer resort. J. Ross Stevenson, a wealthy New Yorker, purchased the former Cadet place near the Corners in 1901. He renovated the house and had locals Noyes and John Bartlett build a round barn and race rails on the due east side of the belongings. The Golf Guild was established in 1904, and a phone substitution was installed at the Corners Store the following twelvemonth. A public water system serving the Corners and Center areas became operational in 1911. The Worthington Transportation Visitor, incorporated in 1909, provided transport from the Huntington Railway station to boondocks, though their efforts to develop a trolley line failed. Ground was broken on August 18, 1914, for the new Frederick Huntington Sargent Library on the site of the one-time Pierce Tavern. The land was donated by the Rice family and the building was designed to face their business firm across the street. The library structure required all-encompassing volunteer effort and local funding, as the boondocks had refused a grant from Andrew Carnegie considering of the many strings fastened. The library was defended ceremoniously on September two, 1915.

Dedication of Worthington Library in 1915.

The maple sugaring manufacture expanded into a commercial enterprise during this period. Arthur Johnson, who lived on Westward Street, became known every bit the "Maple Sugar King," and the Belfry family (Henry, his wife Eurma, and their son Walter) developed a thriving business at their home along the Chesterfield Route. Isaac Thrasher's son George, Guy'south brother, began a grocery delivery service from his father'south Southward Worthington store.

The Bartletts Hotel.

These amenities, as well equally the casino on Buffington Loma, a hotel, several boarding houses, and summertime homes brought many visitors also as much-needed income to the town. The Worthington Inn at Worthington Corners was specially prominent. Later on the Bartlett Hotel burned in 1898, the Inn was rebuilt on the same site and then expanded by Jacob Bartlett's daughter Ida Bartlett Trow and her husband, Alfred. The Worthington Inn reopened formally in 1913 and was operated initially by the Trows and their three daughters. They sold the Inn later on about half dozen years, and the new owners expanded it farther. The casino was moved and attached to the Inn as a dining hall and ballroom. Fifteen rooms were added. The Inn was renamed the Lafayette Lodge and heavily advertised under a variety of owners.

The Worthington Inn viewed from the due south.

The heyday of the Worthington Inn/Lafayette Society coincided with the Start Globe War and its complicated aftermath. 20-six Worthington men served during that war, though Russell Shaw is the merely recorded casualty. The boondocks also seems to have been spared the worst of the 1918-1920 Spanish flu pandemic that killed 20 million people globally. Worthington seems to have been quite lively effectually this time. Henry Snyder, born and educated in Cummington, moved to Worthington and in 1917 established the thriving "Snyder Express" trucking business organization in partnership with his wife, Eva Decelles, of Adams. Among Snyder'south long-fourth dimension employees was Ernest Fairman, son of Fred and Eva, born in 1910. Playwright Katharine McDowell Rice, whose light comic plays were popular and often performed, was prolific in this catamenia. Her plays did not reflect her more serious anti-war activism and interest in numerous peace groups. Meanwhile Emerson Davis arrived in Worthington, fleeing the degradations associated with being a conscientious objector in his hometown, Adams. A man considerably ahead of the times, "Emmy" Davis promoted simplicity, environmentalism, and peace, and lived in accord with his principles. He created and ran the disposal surface area, and provided numerous services at the Town Hall, the church building, and the school. He died in 1978 at the age of xc, his fame and influence enduring to this day.

Other arrivals included Nathaniel Glidden, a New York stockbroker who purchased the property at the corner of Kinne Brook Road and Rte. 112 once owned by Leonards and Eagers, and now known as "Denworth Subcontract." Another newcomer, Harry Mollison of Goshen, forth with his new wife Lucy, began a successful farming business concern in the Ringville area they named "Repeat Valley." In 1924, the golf course was expanded to its current nine holes. Merwin Packard of Cummington purchased the Corners Store in 1925 from East.J. Bligh, revitalizing a local nugget in serious decline; Packard became postmaster at the same fourth dimension. In 1926 he installed a gas pump, a frontwards-looking motion every bit Worthington had only 10 automobiles. Farther modernization came with electrification in 1928. The Vaughn family purchased Rice's "The Farm" in 1927, and eventually it became the belongings of Margaret Vaughn, a musician and patron of the Cummington School for the Arts. Vaughn was i of the contained women and men who institute Worthington a good place to thrive.

Worthington's population sagged during the 1930s and 40s, reaching its low signal of 363 in 1945. This was a sad and difficult time, as was true for then many communities. With fewer people, Worthington's one-room schools closed and post offices were consolidated. The Grange was forced to merge with its neighbors. The numerous small village country stores shuttered and became homes or were torn down. The Neat Depression meant fewer people could travel, then many boarding houses closed likewise. During the winter of 1931, the Lafayette Inn burned to the ground and was non rebuilt.

But Worthington has regularly proved itself to exist a plucky niggling town, and undertakings of this menses still impact united states of america today. Equally function of a federally-funded WPA projection, the Town Hall was expanded. In 1931, Alberie Albert moved here with his family and began his potato farming performance. Fred Liston settled hither the same yr, starting out as a seller of bottled gas, and then with his wife Joan, opening a bar and store along the route to Peru – the highest bar in Massachusetts! Liston operated it until his decease in 1976. In 1933 the Historical Social club was organized, and its members started to collect stories and artifacts related to Worthington's past. The year before, Florence Berry had arrived to serve the town and surrounding region every bit a Cherry-red Cross nurse. She rented the WBS Parsonage on Huntington Route and fix a nursing home/rehabilitation facility that she managed for many years. In 1936 she married widower Harry Bates – a carpenter, bricklayer, musician and Worthington native – moving into his dwelling house on Buffington Hill Road, side by side door to Lyceum Hall, where his dance ring oft performed. Harley Stonemason was born in 1936, the son of Stanley Smith and Ethel Mason, who ran the Mason Farm (at present Sawyer Farm) on Cummington Road. Stanley'due south parents, Howard and Edith Smith Mason, lived on the aforementioned farm, providing dairy products for the Lafayette Inn. The Mason women likewise worked at the Inn during the summer season. The hurricane of 1938 left destruction throughout the Connecticut River Valley, and Worthington was non spared.

Ice storm in Worthington c. 1940.

The Consolidated Schoolhouse (later named the Russell H. Conwell Elementary Schoolhouse) was built in 1940, and Florence Bates left the Crimson Cross to go the town'due south first school nurse. The Conwell Parent Teachers Organization (PTO) came into being in Oct 1948, then began decades of creative fundraising for PTO-sponsored activities from mini-classes to trips and picnics. Carl and Ida Joslyn, retirees from Maryland, purchased the quondam Adams business firm on the corner of Radiker Route in 1944. Ida became a teacher at the simple school, and Carl was agile in numerous town activities as well as the Wellness Middle and Historical Guild. Joe and Esther Sena's sale house began operations in 1946. Around the same time, Ralph Moran purchased Henry Snyder's trucking business organization, Emerson Davis opened the disposal expanse on his Dingle Route belongings, and the Rod and Gun Guild and Volunteer Fire Department were incorporated. Despite our pocket-size population, 53 Worthington men and women served during World War II; William Coffey, Norman Boil, and Donald Mollison lost their lives. During the War, Charles Eddy gear up the Air Raid Warning Service. With fuel deficient, the Town Hall and School were closed for four weeks during the icy wintertime of 1943. Carl Cederholm, a mechanically inclined Swedish immigrant, manufactured pocket-sized parts for the armed forces in his South Worthington workshop, where Theron Higgins had previously operated a basket manufactory. Cederholm hired many locals, including Russell Conwell'due south granddaughter, Jane Tuttle. Cederholm went on to invent and patent the Cederholm measuring wheel in the early 1950s. Shortly after the War, Henry Dassatti and his wife Bea settled in Worthington on Sam Hill Road. Dassatti worked for many years as a manager with Albert Farms. In 1948, Beverly (Bee) Fairman, a Cummington native, married Richard (Dick) Smith. They moved virtually the golf grade and made major contributions to the town and Historical Gild.

During the 1950s and 60s, the town began to grow once again, a reflection of improved roads and a more than optimistic and flexible economy. In August 1949, a special town coming together appropriated $6,800 to build a new fire house, which was completed the following year. The Worthington Health Association, spearheaded past Florence Bates with the generous aid of Roy McCann, Carl Joslyn, Clarence Pease and others, was incorporated in 1950 and began to provide medical and dental services using facilities in Lyceum Hall. The goal was to provide an existing practise that would attract young doctors who were financially unable to set up practices of their own. Barbara Dunlevy joined the practice in 1951; she had arrived a few years before with her husband, Raymond, and their children. John Modestow arrived in 1957, becoming the kickoff total-time dentist. He and his wife Nanette raised their children here and participated in numerous community activities. In 1950, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lane purchased and restored the former Starkweather-Drury Firm on Old Mail Road. This house became infamous in the late 1950s equally the site for a counterfeiting ring. Kenneth (Ken) Pease Jr. and his married woman, Barbara, moved into the Pease family homestead in 1958. The outset Pease, Dan, had settled there in 1802. The potato business expanded exponentially under Ben Albert's management, equally the potato chip business blossomed. Albert bought many backdrop throughout the surface area and hired both migrants and locals for harvesting and processing. The migrants' living atmospheric condition caused a good deal of concern, resulting in the formation of an Ad Hoc Committee for Migrant Justice, headed by local pastor Jerome Forest.

The Palettes and Trowels Gild met for the get-go time in 1950 and became a haven for several Worthington artists, some of whom gained wider fame. Included among them were Frederick Lyder Frederickson, Ann Rausch (who led the organization), Guy Bartlett, and Mary Burr. The group sponsored exhibits amongst other activities. Esther and Robert Mason purchased and operated a subcontract at intersection of Kinne Brook and Adams Roads. They opened a maple sugar firm in the late 1950s, aided by their sons Jeff and Bob and daughter Linda. In 1953, the boondocks garage came in over-upkeep ($1,500) and was completed with donations from Roy McCann and Nathaniel F. Gliddens. Lois Ashe Chocolate-brown and her husband, Harold, brought much-needed new energy to the town; equally a prolific writer, Lois served as a booster and organizer for many town activities. The 14 Worthington men who served during the Korean War all survived. Leroy Rida sold farming land on Cudworth Road to Alan and Shirley Rida. Their farming operation, begun in 1957, continues today, guided by their children. Past the mid-1950s, sugar houses along routes 112 and 143 – including Guy Thrasher's "Old Saccharide House" in South Worthington, Echo Valley Farm run by Walter and Joyce Mollison in Ringville, and the Tower family unit sugar house in Worthington Corners – attracted spring visitors lured by the syrups and candies. In 1934, a gallon of maple syrup had sold for $0.85 retail; past 1955, maple sugar sold for $1/pound and a gallon of syrup cost $five.50.

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"Carbohydrate eat" at Town Hall. Maple sap was boiled downward to soft balls, then served on snow with sour pickles and saltines.

Ted Porter, son of Daniel and Ethel (Parsons), married Shirley Smith in 1959. His brother, Dan Porter, authored many of the Worthington Historical Society's books. The Gateway Regional School Commune was formalized and named in March 1960, uniting the Worthington school commune with those of Huntington, Middlefield, Chester, Russell, Montgomery, and Blandford. The new regional loftier school in Huntington opened a few years later. Harley Mason married Althea Sanders in 1959, and they eventually ready their domicile on Huntington Road. Also in 1959, Shirley and Charles Sampson bought land and settled on West Street. And that aforementioned year, Pat and Bert Nugent arrived in boondocks, and Bert's brother Ernie followed presently afterward. Ernie met Worthington native Eldeen (Deen) Brooks and they married in 1965. The Nugents built homes nearly each other on the road to Huntington (Rte. 112), almost Witt Hill Road. In 1967, Bert and Ernie'due south sister Jane Nugent married Clarence Witter; they moved into the Witter family unit home at the intersection of Dingle Road and Rte. 112, in the area known as Christian Hollow. At that place they opened a saw mill that they still operate today.

In 1960, Pete (officially Cullen) Packard assumed ownership and operation of the Corners Store from his begetter, taking over the postmaster duties also. Too in 1960, the town decided to sell the deteriorating Lyceum Hall to the Worthington Health Center (as it was at present called) for one dollar. Post-obit some expensive renovations, it was decided that a new, stand-alone facility would be a meliorate investment. Roy McCann donated the land and startup funds, and the Worthington Medical Center was built and dedicated in 1965. Floyd and Priscilla McAuslan celebrated the birth of a baby daughter on the 24-hour interval they moved to Worthington in 1965. Ted and Shirley Porter moved into their new Worthington Center habitation that same year. Also among the newcomers were George Powell and his married woman Evelyn, who moved to the Goss Hill area. In 1961, Dr. Pierre de Beaumont and his married woman Mary purchased the River Road home that was named "Brookstone" by its previous owners, Dr. and Mrs. Harold Rock. With an initial investment of $500, the de Beaumonts created a company named after their subcontract and began mailing catalogs of "hard-to-observe" tools to thousands of hobbyists. Brookstone's success followed in the wake of a single classified advert in a 1965 issue of Popular Mechanics magazine. Ralph Moran and his wife had purchased the former Cederholm holding in South Worthington. In 1965 they sold it to Charles Emerson, who, later on extensive renovations, reopened information technology equally the Drummers Club. As well in 1965, Margaret Vaughn sold "The Subcontract" to Springfield residents Henry T. and Margaret Downey, who visited often with their five children. In 1966, Jerrilee Cain (then Bunce) purchased the erstwhile Jonathan Huntington parsonage on West Street from Esther and Joe Sena. Over the side by side decade she repaired and worked to restore it to the way it might take been when starting time built. The Swim Guild was formed in 1967. In 1968, Franklyn Hitchcock and his married woman, Mary Burr Hitchcock, purchased the Hewitt house on Sam Hill Route, converting it to a restaurant/tavern they named "The Aureate Horse."

Parade scene at Worthington bicentennial, 1968.

The town'south bicentennial commemoration in 1968 was an eight-day extravaganza, held from June 29 to July 6. Events included a parade, an antique fair, an exhibit of photographs, a bout of Worthington homes, a play entitled "Bicentennial Quilting Political party" by Eva Fairman, a beard-growing contest (won by Emmy Davis, Larry Mason, and Joe Sena), a ball, and the crowning of the bicentennial queen, Kristin Majkowski. After that summertime, new arrivals Robert and Rolande Schrade, along with their talented children, established the Sevenars Music Festival in the Methodist Episcopal Church in South Worthington. The home they purchased, "Hilltop Rest," had served both as an inn and equally a rehabilitation home for displaced persons following World War Two. In 1969, Beverly and Grant Bowman purchased their home from the Senas, who had bought information technology a few years earlier. The property was part of what was called the "Edna Witt Farm." During the same catamenia, Kerry Zach (Corky) and Ginger Donovan prepare their household almost the Center and merely downward the street, Gary and Janice Sheldon brought their large family unit to settle in i of the Brewster homes forth Huntington Road.

The belatedly 1960s and early on 1970s brought an infusion of industrious new pioneers, some considered hippies at the time, but all, equally earlier, lured by cheap land, new opportunities, and Worthington's "quality of life." They settled to raise families, develop their artistry and skills, get-go new businesses or work in nearby communities. Among these were Cornelius and Julia Sharron, Judy and Doug Small, Steven and Elizabeth Whyte Schultze, Barbara and Thomas Quinn, Don and Connie Dorrington, Marilyn and Bob Payne, Roger and Lynda Gunn, Steve and Suzanne Kulik, Donald and Shirley Newton, Donald and Sara Ives, Peter and Helen McLean, Camille and Daryl Smith, and Sandy and Bob Epperly. New part-time residents included Muriel and Ted Claydon,and 1987 arrivalsSara and Joel Upton. Chris Powell, son of George and Evelyn Powell, and his wife Carol moved into their home near Worthington Corners.

The Water District was expanded to Ringville in 1969, and a 2nd reservoir and well opened. Thirty Worthington residents, all men, went into military service during the Vietnam War. No casualties are reported in town histories. The Snowmobile Guild was established in 1970. Races held on a special track on 1 of the Albert potato fields attracted several hundred participants and spectators over the side by side several years. Arriving in the early 1970s, Karin and Bob Cook undertook the challenge of living "off the grid" in their home on Bashan Hill. Some other newcomer, Joan Mendelsohn, purchased a habitation on Rte. 143. At her expiry it passed to her son David, now a part-time resident. Her other son, Jim Mendelsohn, as well recently bought belongings in boondocks. Brad Fisk took over the Corners Grocery shop at the showtime of 1971. That year, Frank Brownish, owner of Frankie'southward Café in West Worthington, was robbed of $5,600 at gunpoint. The perpetrators were arrested and tried. Several rooms were added to the Conwell Elementary school in 1972 to provide for a kindergarten, meetings, and administration. That year the Gateway District sued Worthington for the $4,000 the Town Meeting had cut from the school budget. Residents reported seeing a tornado funnel during a freak hailstorm in May 1973. At a special town meeting early in 1974, the town rejected an FAA proposal to build a radar tracking station on Bashan Loma. Later that summer, Steve Magargal, aged sixteen, competed in the USGA National Junior Golf Tournament.

Arlo Guthrie's concert to enhance funds for the Worthington Health Center, held on the Senas' field on Ridge Route in Oct 1975, brought thousands to the town and remains a fond memory for the many who were at that place. Ron Kievett headed the organizing committee. The side by side year the Health Center became eligible to receive federal funding, allowing it to expand services to other communities in the region. In 1976, the Schrades expanded their festival and moved it across the road to the onetime Conwell University building. Their festival brought many visitors to the town, and many accomplished musicians enjoyed the opportunity for a working vacation in beautiful surround. Newlyweds Jeff and LeAnn Parsons Stonemason built the Red Bucket Saccharide Shack at the south end of Kinne Beck Road. Darrell Shedd and Jim and Michele Dodge purchased their homes in West Worthington from Fred Liston's estate. The disposal surface area and landfill on Dingle Road was closed in 1977 per state police, and a new compactor and recycling facility established next to the town garage. Susan and George Ulrich purchased the one-time Starkweather-Drury Business firm that same twelvemonth. Hickory Colina Ski Touring Eye, operated by Tim and Catherine Rude Sena, opened in 1978, providing much-needed opportunities for winter activities. Rowena Humphrey competed in the Miss America Pageant as Miss Massachusetts. At the 1978 Annual Meeting, the town – having added a kindergarten room to the schoolhouse half-dozen years earlier – voiced strong opposition to a plan by the Gateway Regional School District to bus kindergarteners to a schoolhouse with more students. An bilious, 85-year-quondam Emerson Davis sold his land to the town to pay his medical expenses.

Church building floral decoations by Emerson Davis, 1940s.

In 1980, the total boondocks upkeep was $472,675, an 8% increment over the previous year. Jeff Fowler led a group protesting Ben Albert's use of aerial spray on his tater farms, post-obit a failed regionwide effort. Likewise in 1980, Antonia and her husband Anthony Lake purchased the Kinne Brook Subcontract from the Masons. Tony Lake somewhen served as President Clinton's National Security Advisor. David Dimock and his married woman Janet set up housekeeping on Thayer Hill Road in 1981. 5 years after, his mother, Georgette Dimock, sold her holdings at the end of Harvey Road to George Brimmer, who established a campground on the property. Construction of "The Maples" senior housing circuitous began in 1982, next to the Health Center on land donated by Kenneth Paul. Numerous Worthingtonians participated in its institution, including Esther Sena, Harriett Burr, Connie Sharron, Judy Spiess, Elizabeth Payne, Chris Powell, Bob Cook, and Barbara Porter.

George Shultz, Secretarial assistant of State under Reagan and a Cummington summer resident, shopped at the Corners and played golf at the Golf Social club. His golfing partner was Ralph Moran. Steve Magargal continued his distinguished golfing career; his parents, Ray and Helen Bartlett Magargal, ran their home, the Spruces, every bit a B&B. Helen Magargal was also a skilled golfer and a love teacher at the Conwell Uncomplicated School. Master carpenter Greg Donovan, son of Zack and Crystal Donovan, was featured in a 1983 Springfield Republican article. Steve Kulik won his bid to become Selectboard member, serving with Bert Nugent and Julia Sharron, one of the few women elected to that position.

The highly toxic and carcinogenic pesticide Temik was banned, and testing of wells nigh farms throughout the Commonwealth began. A fire at the storage barn on the Albert subcontract potato facility along Huntington Route released large amounts of contaminated water into the soil forth Radiker Road. Temik was constitute in several Worthington wells, and their owners were advised not to use the water. Tests for another pesticide, ethylene dibromide, began soon after. Findings of ongoing contamination led to a further expansion of the Water District to serve homes along Radiker Road.

During the 1980s, the Hilltown Artisans Guild was established, reflecting Worthington's long tradition of fostering the arts. Semi-annual shows accept brought residents and visitors alike to adore the artistry of its members. In 1983, Marie Burkhart and Scott Heyl purchased the old Pease property on Huntington Route from Archer Fitzgerald and others. The house was built around 1886 by New York City piano manufacturer Chauncy Pease. In 1987 they sold it to Wil and Joan Hastings, having purchased the former Woodbridge House at the Corners, where they applied their architectural and design skills to restore its onetime beauty. The Hastings were instrumental in establishing the Hilltown Land Trust in 1986, an organization devoted to preserving and protecting open and wild spaces in the region.

To promote international understanding, many Worthington residents, including students at the elementary school, sent letters, drawings, and photographs about Worthington to Sarmany, a similar minor town in the Soviet Union. The people of Sarmany replied in kind. Materials related to this exchange are in the library archives. In another reflection of concerns about nuclear proliferation, following three hours of debate nigh diction (not untypical at Town Meetings) guided by moderator Connie Sharron, the 1984 Annual Town Meeting voted to express to the federal government the town's "preference" to become a nuclear-free zone. They too passed a $540,00 budget. Every bit the year ended, the Hilltown Community Development Corporation, headquartered in Chesterfield merely serving Worthington and other communities, started its offset marketing endeavor. Charles and Yoko Kendall purchased land from Winnie and Joan Donovan, producing natto (a femented soy production) and establishing Kendall Foods. A 1985 newcomer, Sue Lewis, was named chairman of the Berkshire Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club. She and her husband, Ed, settled almost Cummington Road. Also in 1985, John Sullivan purchased holding from Catherine Rude and Tim Sena on Witt Hill Road, setting up his woodworking business on the site. The Kaminsky family unit arrived and then also, buying the one-time Higgins farm near the intersection of Goss Hill Road and Rte. 112. The Corners Store inverse hands once again in 1988, when Thomas Cizek took over from his sister and brother-in-law, Judy and Brad Fisk. Peter Eastman, one of the principles of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, purchased a large dwelling at the top of Cudworth Route that he and his married woman, Apr, proceeded to make even larger. Other new arrivals during this flow were Steffen and Hattie Plehn, Kathryn (Kate) Ewald and Evan Johnson, Pat Kennedy and John Novo, Mari Hall and Roan Katahdin, Ron and Elodi McBride, Joan Livingston and her married man Henry, and artist Bob Sweeney and his married woman, Barbara. Potter Mark Shapiro settled in South Worthington, joined shortly after by Pam Thompson. Native Ben Brown, son of Lois and Harold Brown, fix up a household on Scott Road and Helen and David Croke purchased the McAuslan home on Patterson Road. Helen later on married Ed Pelletier. Ron Sampson married Robin Sheldon and began operating the Sampson subcontract.

The 1986 Town Meeting voted down the Gateway District budget, later the District in one case once again took Worthington to court demanding a $ten,000 payment to brainwash a student the boondocks believed was not a resident. The Worthington Gardeners met for the start time in 1986. They turned out to be an enduring and active presence, beautifying the Boondocks Hall amidst other areas. The death of Marvis (Peg) Rolland, Henry and Ethel Snyder'southward daughter, led to the creation of the Rolland Fund in 1989, a munificent souvenir that continues to support many efforts and organizations, including the Library, the North Cemetery, the Historical Society, and the Council on Aging. Money was too provided to institute maple trees. Many of the recipients invested their compensation and go on to depend on it for operations. New to town that twelvemonth were Frances and Bob Crossman. The Country Cricket Village Inn, a eatery with a store selling specialty foods and crafts, began operations on Huntington Road in 1987.

Twenty-yr summer residents Paul and Eleanor Grafstein were forced to demolish their River Road home (#485) because of a huge oil spill in their cellar – the 1990 delivery had gone into a asunder stand up pipe. They sold the country to Susan and Chester Kellogg, who rebuilt a domicile now owned past the Archambault family unit. That same year, Sue Tallon and Kent Hicks purchased Red Rose Cottage on Ridge Road. Joe and Jeanne Boudreau moved to their habitation in 1992, while Nancy and Stephen (Steve) Smith purchased the one-time "Doctor's House" in Worthington Center. Jan Roby and Diane Brenner bought the nearby Newton house (originally the Hewitt business firm) 2 years after. In 1994, Jim Downey purchased his uncle Jim Sear's property across from "The Farm" on Cummington Road. The next twelvemonth Cynthia Magrath bought a property on the road to Chesterfield, where she was before long joined by Sara Jonsberg. A 1995 proposal by Ben Albert to catechumen the airstrip on his belongings into a development for small airplane owners (with hangars as well as garages) failed to receive town approval. In 1996, Carolyn Jacobson purchased the Berkshire Campground from the Brimmers. Also in 1996, members of the Arthen EarthSpirit Community established their communal abode off Dingle Road and Jane Christensen purchased Harvey Lederman'south house. Lederman was a pop doc at the Wellness Eye for many years before leaving to practise elsewhere.

In 1999, the Hastings sold the Pease business firm to Helen Sharron Pollard and her husband, David; Mary and Richard Pulley retired to their home outside of the Corners; and Leslie Picard and Thomas Poudrier bought what had been the Country Cricket, renaming information technology the Ruddy Duck. On June xiii, 1999, the new Worthington Historical Lodge building was dedicated on land donated by the Packards beyond from the Corners Grocery store. Scott Heyl designed the edifice, and construction was spearheaded past Ted Claydon and Bob Epperly with money from the Rolland Fund and private donations.

Worthington Millennial Quilt on display at the Worthington Historical Guild.

Alison and Bruce Todd became Worthington residents in 2000, the same year John Dearie and Vati Strieberg arrived. In 2001, the town voted a large bond issue for extensive renovation and modernization of the R. H. Conwell Elementary School. April Eastman sold her belongings to musician Aaron Lewis and his married woman, Vanessa. In 2004, Charley and Melinda Rose moved to the Middle, and Jerry and Betty Mollison began operating the Windy Hill Sugar Firm on Sam Hill Route. In 2007, "The Subcontract" passed to Jim Downey and his siblings. Downey and his long-time partner, Kevin O'Connor, an builder, are now revitalizing the property. A freak December ice storm brought 2008 to a crashing and savage close. Many homes remained stranded without heat, h2o, or electricity for over a week. In 2009 what remained of Albert Farm was sold at sale (parts had previously been sold in 1998 and 2007). But as the one-time generation of farmers left the state, there were new arrivals. In 2010, Eliza Lake and her husband Bart Niswonger purchased Kinne Brook Farm, sustainably raising Highland cattle for beef, among numerous other activities. The Sawyer Farm (earlier the Mason Farm) on Cummington Road was purchased that same year past Lincoln Fishman and Hilary Costa, who describe their performance as "a pocket-sized, diverse, family unit farm…100% horse-powered and way beyond organic." Other small agricultural businesses operate on sustainable principles, including the organic Blank Roots Farm run by Chris Reid and Anna Maunz; Tripp Shaw's organic farm at the Four Corners Farm; sugaring operations at Justamere Farm, run by Marian and J.P. Welch; the Snowshoe Farm collective run by Paul Sena, Richard Gage, and Richard Mansfield; and Jackson Mansfield'southward sustainable chicken-producing performance. Mariam Massaro began Wise Ways Herbals in 1988, raising and blending herbs organically raised on her Worthington Heart land. All these entrepreneurs sell locally as well equally regionally.

The Gateway Regional School Committee in 2009 appear plans to close the R. H. Conwell Elementary School, citing depression enrollment and proposing to bus children to the Littleville Unproblematic school in Huntington. Conwell was one of iii schools then targeted. Afterwards a series of hearings, the schoolhouse was closed in 2010. The boondocks reacted with outrage, and customs members and boondocks officials began what would turn out to exist a long and expensive process to withdraw from Gateway, reestablish an independent school commune, and reopen the simple school. In the interim, the school became the R.H. Conwell Community Education Middle, a private elementary schoolhouse with major funding and support from singer Aaron Lewis and his wife, Vanessa. This act of generosity provided local children with a quality education throughout a period of doubtfulness. Efforts to work with the Gateway District to outcome an go out failed, and the town eventually turned to a home rule petition brought before the state legislature. In May 2014, Governor Deval Patrick signed special legislation allowing Worthington to withdraw from the Gateway district. Information technology took another yr to "dot the i'south and cross the t's." The R. H. Conwell Unproblematic School, now part of the Worthington School District with links to the Hampshire Regional School District, reopened every bit a public school in September 2015.

In 2008, Joseph Best and Raeph Laughinwell purchased the former Dorrington home. In 2009, Norm and Natalie Stafford purchased the one-time Modestow abode nigh Worthington Corners. Non long later on, with Mary Caster and many others, Natalie helped establish Hilltown Arts Alive, at present the Hilltown Arts Alliance. The group sponsored several successful summer fairs in Worthington as well equally talks and shows by local artists, and is currently enlarging its regional scope. David and Adele (DeDe) Shiffer purchased the Cerise Duck in 2011, renaming it the Blackburn Inn. Co-owners Tom Cizek and Brad Fisk sold the Corners Grocery in 2014 to Mike and Doris Frazier. The Quinns sold the former Drummers Order building, which they had used to run their Worthington Assembly business concern, to Gloria Conwell in 2016, marking the return of a Conwell to the family's S Worthington roots. In 2018, afterward a period of struggle, the Worthington Golf Club was sold to David and Helen Pollard. And at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, Republic of korea, Matt Whitcomb – the son of longtime Ringville residents David and Kath Whitcomb – coached the Usa women's cross-country ski team to a gold medal. In their youth, Matt and his siblings Kate and Jake participated in the Western Mass Pecker Koch League at the Hickory Hill Ski Touring expanse and the Junior Olympics. The fiscal 2018 town budget exceeded $2.v meg.

A new generation is arriving, many with young children, bringing new energy with new skills and interests. These are the people who will shape the Worthington of the time to come.

This "brief" history can simply be frustratingly superficial, with many important names and events unmentioned, and the richness of Worthington'southward distant and contempo past merely skimmed. While Worthington's population has never exceeded ane,400, tens of thousands have lived here during these 250-plus years, and their lives are not neatly describable in a few pages. They have married, divorced, had children and raised families, labored, worshipped, planted and harvested their fields, feasted and partied, hiked and skied, meditated, boiled gallons and gallons of sap, served in regime, gone to war, held fundraisers, farmed, gotten drunk, participated in endless meetings, helped neighbors in demand, shoveled snowfall, committed crimes, mowed lawns, played their instruments, gossiped, painted paintings, driven endless miles over roads that always seem to demand mending…and in that location is so much more than. Then much item gets lost, and while our Historical Society is lucky to have a substantial archive, the existent history of a town – even a modest 1 – is its people. At that place is much to gloat.

Note: This history was extracted from previous histories, news manufactures, census data, the Worthington Assessor'south database, the Registry of Deeds, and the memories of numerous helpful residents. Please become to world wide web.WorthingtonHistoricalSociety.org for more Worthington history, and to view our athenaeum. Special thanks to Evan Spring for his excellent editing of this history.

Kip Porter logging, 2007. Photo by Kate Ewald.

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Source: https://www.worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org/wordpress/?page_id=64

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