LEMUEL HAYNES

PATRIOT - ABOLITIONIST - AUTHOR

RAISED IN GRANVILLE 1754-86

FIRST BLACK MAN ORDAINED AS

CONGREGATIONAL MINISTER

PREACHED HERE 1781-1785
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Dedication

This document is dedicated to the Granville citizens no longer with us who tirelessly honored and kept the memory of Lemuel Haynes alive in this town for nearly 200 years, including Rev. Timothy Mather Cooley, Rev. Howard Short, Leona Aldrich Clifford, Helena Duris, Henry Miller and Rose Miller.
]]> West Granville Historic District
West Granville Congregational Church
Timothy Mather Cooley]]>


Created to allow views of Cobble Mountain Lake, Sweetman Mountain, and Cobble Mountain, the Lower Meadow was designed by the current owner:
'My vision for clearing the forest was simple," wrote John L. Ré, "create a beautiful, pastoral vista. I took a gamble that worked out beyond expectation. A complementary reason was to create a hillside pasture for Scottish Longhorn cattle or a peach tree orchard. Over time, I came to the conclusion it looked best as is – simple and unadorned. A local bulldozer operator who lives across from the Meadery pushed all the stumps to the bottom of the hill to create a berm that I presumed would eventually be covered in wild roses. And it partially turned out that way. After the work was done, we planted winter rye seeds by hand, like in a Bruegel painting, to stabilize the soil and prevent erosion.' (John Lawrence Ré, Personal communication, 1 Dec., 2025)

[Excerpt from Zavodszka, Katarina, 'THE COPPER BEECH ESTATE, GRANVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS - History and Historical Present', 2025 WIP]]]> Photo 2: Police cruiser "Rudolph"]]> Almira and James were the parents of James Parsons Cooley (co-founder of Noble and Cooley) and Rev. Timothy Mather Cooley.]]>
Thanks to Bryan Roy, Richard Battistoni called Granville History on Jan. 14, 2025 to provide additional information about the Battistoni sawmill. Richard recorded a YouTube video for Southwick Stories. Rather than try to recap the remarkable Battistoni story here, you can view it in its entirety at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5p6P8OZOCU  The history of the sawmill is covered in fascinating detail.

According to Richard Battistoni, his grandfather hired Guerino "Reno" Campagnari to run the sawmill in 1934. Richard had never seen the photo but unfortunately was not able to tell whether the person in the photo was his grandfather or Reno Campagnari.

Community results from Facebook post:

1. From A.F., D.A.G-L, and D.B.: The name is "Battistoni" not "Battistons" (this page corrected).
2. From A.F.: Battastoni lumberyard was at 61 Granville Rd in Southwick from 1927.
3. From J.B.: I think that is Battistoni. I remember a Battistoni lumberyard in the Berkshires growing up. There were Battistonis in Southwick - so it may be something there.
4. From B.R.: Im guessing that is Richard Battistoni's grandfather. He was a logger. His father owned the lumber yard and hardware store. I work for Richard at interstate building supply and he has lots of history packed away in his head. 5. 5. 5. From A.F.: There was a sawmill on North Loomis right below the gorge in Southwick. This is on the 1894 map. [the sawmill on the 1894 map predates the arrival of the Battistoni family from Italy].

Thanks to the Granville and Southwick history detectives, this one is a home run!]]> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5p6P8OZOCU]]> Unfortunately the card notes do not cover every property in Granville but include a wealth of information for the 18th to 20th centuries.
The notes here were gathered at the request of Barbara Cooley in connection with her research on Junius H. Hatch. It may be useful to other Hatch researchers. 
The handwriting is not always easy to read but it is what it is!]]> "FATHER PHILANDER'S PROVIDENCE PANACEA & VEGETABLE ELIXIR OF LIFE"]]>
It has been posted on the Granville History Facebook page to crowdsource more of the history of this intersting structure.]]>
The barn still standing in the photo is the current home of Cooley & Co., open seasonally, with arts, crafts and other goods produced by local artisans.

This image was posted on the Granville-Tolland Community page (Facebook) on March 22, 2024. The following additional information about the collapse was provided:

CB: "Wow I never knew there was a building there. A little before my time. My Aunt says it was the horse barn but doesn't remember what happened to it. The silo you can see in the picture, the overhang over what is now the deck area and part of the front of the barn all came down in the blizzard of 78'. We didn't rebuild the silo since no cows where still there. Mr. Woodard had move his herd to thier farm by then."

CB: "A little digging ang the mystery has been solved! My aunt,and 2 cousins all were able to piece the picture together. The barn was actually a tobacco barn leased by one of the farms in Southwick to house broad leaf. It went down and was witnessed going down by May Nobbs and her sister when a tornado hit Granville the summer of 52'. Her dad Stub Hunt wanted the roof saved so she and her sister Ethel Brown spent much of the summer collecting and stacking the remains. 3 years later the hurricane of 55' flooded the meadow and barn to the 2nd floor where the hay was stored."

KL: "Grandpa Trygve Petersen stored his boat in the new barn one year when he was working on it."

DAB: "Trygve was so friendly and positive to all; a wonderful man."

Sincere thanks to all who contributed to the recollection of Granville's people and history!]]>
Use "Search" to see other photos relating to the Gibbons Store.]]>