Petersham Massachusetts

II am always amazed at the beauty of the small New England towns that are built around the village "green" or common. Petersham, Massachusetts is one of those places.  I have passed through this quiet Westerm Mass. village many times but did not know of its historical significance until now. Neither did I know until today, via Wikipedia, that the proper pronunciation is Peter's Ham.

 

I did not know that Shay's Rebellion ended here.  Neither did I know that as the plaque states, ...."This victory for the forces of government influenced the Philadelphia Convention which three months later met and formed the Constitution of the United States".  Who knew that this beautiful little town played such a significant part in the history of our country?  See picture of the plaque below.

 

I would strongly recommend a visit to this pleasant place.

Wikipedia also provides the following information.

 Petersham was first settled by Europeans in 1733 and was officially incorporated on April 20, 1754. On February 4, 1787, it was the site of the second battle of Shays' Rebellion. The town is noted for its common, part of the Petersham Common Historic District. About 45 buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Country Store, an 1842 Greek Revival structure that has housed a general store on its main floor since its opening, sits just to the East of the common.

The town's lands were expanded greatly by the building of the Quabbin Reservoir in 1938. When the towns of the Swift River Valley were disincorporated, Petersham and neighboring New Salem benefited the most, with Petersham receiving all of the former town of Dana, much of the town of Greenwich, and a small portion of the former town of Prescott east of the Middle Branch of the Swift River. Its modern southwestern borders lie along the former East and Middle branches of the Swift River, and includes lands that were once part of Hampshire County.

See more info from Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petersham,_Massachusetts

  ^{https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMFHGN_Shays_Rebellion_The_Battle_of_Petersham_Petersham_MA}

^{More about Shays's Rebellion from www.britannica.com} 

Shays’s Rebellion, (August 1786–February 1787), uprising in western Massachusetts in opposition to high taxes and stringent economic conditions. Armed bands forced the closing of several courts to prevent execution of foreclosures and debt processes. In September 1786 Daniel Shays and other local leaders led several hundred men in forcing the Supreme Court in Springfield to adjourn. Shays led a force of about 1,200 men in an attack (January 1787) on the federal arsenal at Springfield, which was repulsed. Pursued by the militia, on February 4 he was decisively defeated at Petersham and fled to Vermont. As a result of the rebellion, the Massachusetts legislature enacted laws easing the economic condition of debtors. Though small in scale and easily repressed, Shays’s action became, for some, a persuasive argument for a stronger and conservative national government, thereby contributing to the movement for the Constitutional Convention.

 

Horse Caves     At the base of Mount Norwottuck, in the Holyoke Range near Amherst, is a rock formation known as Horse Caves.  These are a group of overhanging ledges with some good scrambling and people sized cracks to explore. The Horse Caves are also a site of historical significance, dating back to Shays’s rebellion in 1787, when Massachusetts farmers revolted against crushing taxation by the Massachusetts government. It is said that some of the farmers camped at the Horse Caves after being defeated by the Massachusetts Militia.  I have been with a group that hiked there to see the "caves".

 

 

 

 

View of the beautiful, peaceful, Petersham common.

 

This well maintained building borders the common.

There are many beautiful, well maintained homes in this community.

 

One of the churches bordering the green.

 

View of the Country Store from the green

The Petersham Country Store was built in 1840 and I believe has been operated as a store continuously since then.  http://petershamstore.com/index.html

This gazebo is to the left of the green as looking from the Country Store.

A memorial was erected in the town in 1927 by the New England Society of Brooklyn, New York. The memorial commemorates General Benjamin Lincoln, who raised 3,000 troops and routed the rebellion on February 4, 1787. 

 

For those who may not be able to read directly from the plaque, the words are shown below.

IN THIS TOWN
ON SUNDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY FOURTH
1787
DANIEL SHAYS
AND ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY OF HIS FOLLOWERS
IN REBELLION AGAINST THE COMMONWEALTH
WEE SURPRISED AND ROUTED BY
GENERAL BENJAMIN LINCOLN
IN COMMAND OF THE ARMY OF MASSACHUSETTS
AFTER A NIGHT MARCH FROM HADLEY
OF THIRTY MILES THROUGH SNOW
IN COLD BELOW ZERO.
THIS VICTORY
FOR THE FORCES OF GOVERNMENT
INFLUENCED THE PHILADELPHIA CONVENTION
WHICH THREE MONTHS LATER
MET AND FORMED
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
----------
OBEDIENCE TO LAW IS TRUE LIBERTY
----------
ERECTED BY THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY
OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
AS A GIFT TO
THE PETERSHAM HISTORICAL SOCIETY