Battistoni Sawmill on the Road to Granville, Southwick, MA, June 9, 1934

Battistoni Sawmill on the Road to Granville, Southwick, MA, June 9, 1934

This image was featured on the Granville History page (Facebook) on Jan. 12, 2025 to see if anyone has more information about this sawmill.

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!

09 Jun 1934

Digital Image: 2025, The Mabel Root Henry Historical Museum, Granville, MA.