A Residential Street. solved. One of the ancient schoolhouses stood near the "dry bridge," above Ingleside, where the Holyoke & Westfield railroad crosses the street. Displaced by the match of improvement, the old house gave place to the present brick house farther down the street. One school-house, not now in existence, stood opposite the Dibble place, at the lower end of Ashley pond. Another schoolhouse was located south of the Francis Ball place on "Back" street, just north of the present school house and another was located until The Soldiers' Monument. within a few years on the east side of Northampton street, a few rods above the end of West Hampden street. An academy was built for and kept by Rev. Mr. Rand, just south of his residence on "Back" street. The academy was subsequently removed to the southeast corner of the lot now occupied by the Timothy Merrick homestead on Northampton street. Here a select school was kept in one part of the building and a public school in another. Upon the establishment of the homestead the house was removed and the brick structure substituted on Mechanic street, now known as the "Old Elmwood" schoolhouse. Another school house stood near the John Chapin place, now partially covered by the Wauregan paper mill property. Chester Previous Page | Next Page | HolyokeMass.com | Hampden County Page | | Western Mass History & Genealogy | © Laurel O'Donnell 1998 - 2006, all rights reserved This document is an edited adaptation of the original publication and may be downloaded for personal non-commercial use only. These pages should not be reproduced or distributed in any format without permission.