The records of the Western Massachusetts locals and district councils of the UBCJA documents the rise of unionization among carpenters in the Connecticut River Valley since the 1880s. This collection represents a merger of separate accessions for the District Councils in Springfield (MS 110), the Pioneer Valley (MS 231), and Holyoke (MS 108), along with post-merger records for Local 108. In general, each has been maintained as a distinct series.
Oral history with the Gagnon family, part of the Franco-American community in Springfield since 1953. Topics include their participation in Franco-American activities at St. Joseph’s Church, their interest in Franco-American studies, and what nationality means to them, as people with roots in America, Canada, and France.
Collection includes statutes and by-laws, minutes, administrative records, correspondence, financial records and receipts, scholarship records, publications, records of programs and events, and artifacts and ephemera.
Among the businesses that flourished in Whitehall, thanks in large part to the presence of the Champlain Canal and the availability of "cheap labor" from Quebec, was the Champlain Silk Company. The Champlain Silk Mills located in Whitehall in 1874 and produced silk ribbon and fabric until the 1940s. The mill closed in the 1950s, and a fire in 1966 destroyed its buildings. However, one of the remnants of the once vibrant industry is the smoke stack featured in these photos. The railway crossing in one of the photos dates to 1909.
Work on the Champlain Canal began south of Whitehall in 1817. The Canal would open officially on September 10, 1823, allowing boats to travel a distance of 66 miles from Cohoes to Whitehall, thereby linking a variety of businesses and varied products.
Champlain Street is one of the streets in a neighborhood in which the majority of inhabitants were French-Canadian in origin. The street is located in an area that featured housing built by the Champlain Silk Mills for its workers.
