Captain Chapman's Curious Household
— A Quirky Southwick Time Machine Original
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Jonathan Fassett Chapman was born in Champlain, New York, on Christmas Day in 1848. In his earlier years, he became captain of the "Whitehall," a steamer on Lake Champlain.
In 1877, Captain Jonathan “John” Chapman came to Southwick, Massachusetts. That year, he purchased fifty acres of land at Congamond Lake from Henry H. Saunders. He also bought land from Saunders on Sheep Pasture Road, near where Our Lady of the Lake church stands today. At Congamond, where the North and Middle Ponds meet, he built a small shanty and boat house along the banks of the old canal. The bridge connecting the two ponds became known locally as Chapman’s Bridge.
Captain Chapman rented flat-bottomed boats for pleasure by the hour or by the day. From his shanty, he sold soda and ice cream. In April 1889, he purchased two steamers, the "Josephine" and the stylish side-wheel "Ida Lee," which he operated on Middle Pond.
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An illustrative image of a lakeside shanty. |
Several times each year, Captain Chapman offered free moonlight excursions on Middle Pond. The rides were immensely popular, filling his boats to capacity each time, so much so that it was surprising they did not capsize. These outings became his most effective form of advertising, and the payoff was clear: people wanted to do business with such a generous man. When the excursions and summer season ended, Captain Chapman stored the steamers at Point Grove. He operated the steamers regularly until about 1900.
Life at the Chapman household held its own surprises. The family gained an unusual resident: a squirrel and her three brothers were caught in a trap in the attic. The brothers were released, but the female squirrel
was kept because of her friendly disposition. She lived with the Chapman
family for approximately six years. They called her Mrs. Squirrel. Mrs.
Squirrel played like a kitten until she was about four years old, after
which she became more serious. Captain Chapman bored a hole in the
kitchen door so she could come and go as she pleased. She slept in a
kitchen drawer, but sometimes she would sleep on top of a pile of rags
on a shelf. She did not seem to mind when Captain Chapman or his
daughter, Edith, came to look at her while she slept, curled into a
small furry ball.
At times, Mrs. Squirrel would jump onto the
table, but she never attempted to get into the dishes. She occasionally
took a small amount of salt. The Chapmans kept a bowl of cracked nuts on
the table for Mrs. Squirrel, and sometimes, when she felt generous, she would
place a piece of nut into the captain’s open palm.
Later, an
epidemic struck squirrels in Southwick. The squirrel kept by the Chapman
family contracted the disease and was found dead. Though her life was
brief, Mrs. Squirrel remained a fond memory for Captain Chapman and his
daughter. (Captain Chapman's wife, who was Edith's mother, died on July 4, 1916.)
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| Illustrative image of a squirrel. |
In addition to boat operations, Captain Chapman rented cottages to summer tourists at Congamond Lake. During the off-season, deserted cottages were broken into repeatedly, creating an ongoing problem for cottage owners throughout the area.
Around 1919, Captain Chapman devised an invention to prevent burglaries, which he planned to patent. It could be attached to a door or window and was designed to give a warning when someone attempted to gain entry. A gun-like mechanism was arranged so that when a door or window was opened, it would discharge with enough force to sound a warning some distance away.
Before filing for a patent, Captain Chapman tested the device himself. On April 26, 1919, it was placed inside the window of one of his cottages on the outskirts of Southwick. When he opened the window, the device discharged directly into his face, rendering him unconscious.
Deputy Sheriff Timothy Malone was called to the scene. After examining the invention, he remarked it would be effective “if you have suicidal intentions,” but as a warning system to prevent burglaries, it was still incomplete.
Captain John Chapman passed away in Southwick on June 5, 1938.
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| Chapman's Bridge - Point Grove Road, Southwick, Massachusetts |
Captain Chapman’s daughter, Miss Edith T. Chapman, never married and lived to the age of ninety; she died two days after her birthday. In her later years, she became widely known for her devotion to birds and wildlife on the Chapman property along Sheep Pasture Road.
At one point, Miss Chapman kept a pet mourning dove. When the bird died, she transformed her property into a sanctuary for birds. She allowed vines to grow freely over her house and did not mow the grass, letting the land return to a more natural state. Bushes and trees filled the property, providing food and nesting places for many species.
Some of the outbuildings fell into disrepair. One barn, reduced to little more than a frame and roof, became filled with wild birds that nested inside. At times, so many birds gathered in the trees that the branches could not bear their weight and crashed to the ground.
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| The Chapman home, circa 1910 |
Miss Chapman often sat outdoors beneath one of the largest trees on her property, watching and listening as hundreds of birds gathered around her. She was also an artist. One of her most cherished possessions was an oil painting she created of her late mourning dove.
Birds had been part of the Chapman family story long before Edith’s sanctuary. As a boy, Captain Chapman had caught pigeons using a “pigeon bed.” Along with the Fowler family on College Highway, he captured massive amounts of pigeons. The birds were shipped by the thousands to city markets, where they were sold as a delicacy and served on the tables of gourmets.
In later years, under Miss Chapman’s quiet care, birds returned to the Chapman land not as commodities, but as welcomed residents.
— A Southwick Time Machine original, keeping local stories alive- even the quirky ones.
Jonathan “John” Fassett Chapman: December 25, 1848 — June 5, 1938.
Eliza J. (Taylor) Chapman: March 12, 1840 — July 4, 1916.
Edith T. Chapman: April 16, 1868 — April 18, 1958.
Henry Harrison Saunders: December 7, 1841 — May 8, 1913.
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Edited Out/Author’s Additional Research Notes
The normal round trip cost per person on a steamer on Congamond was 25-cents.
Chapman's property was on the east side of Sheep Pasture Road. Before him, Henry Saunders owned all of the land on both sides of the road in that section. Henry moved to Westfield in 1878.
Henry Harrison Saunders was a longtime farmer. He also was a whip salesman.
The Chapman's brick house is still standing.
The Whitehall is sometimes misspelled as White Hall. Whitehall appears to be the correct name.
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