Can you imagine West Springfield as a stop along the old Boston Post Road? On the grounds of the William A. Cowing School will be found a weathered sandstone mile marker. It is encased in cement and looks more like a cemetery stone than a marker for the Post Riders and Stagecoaches of days gone by but it appears to be a form of “Franklin Marker”. Although difficult to read due to decades of weathering, the inscription on the milestone has been translated as, “STAGE ROUTE MILESTONE OF COLONY DAYS – 11 MILES TO SPRINGFIELD”.
In 1753, Benjamin Franklin, one of two deputy postmasters general for the American Colonies, spent ten weeks visiting New England post offices, including those along the Boston Post Road. His aim was to establish a fair postal fee system; Franklin devised a technique, using an odometer attached to the wheels of a wagon that enabled him to mark one-mile intervals along a highway. His men placed “Franklin Markers” at intermittent ‘stages’ along the way.
Prior to the building of the first bridge over the Connecticut River in 1805 the “Old Post Road” crossed the Connecticut River at “Springfield Ferry” which had its landing point in West Springfield at Ferry Street, now called East School Street. This is said to be the same ferry that George Washington used as he traveled to Boston to take command of the army at the beginning of the Revolution.
Through the years various groups have attempted to preserve the milestone. It was encased in cement through the efforts of the Chamber of Commerce in 1930 and in 1974 The Bicentennial Committee provided the funding for beautification of the site.
BEHIND THE MILESTONE IS LOCATED THE FORMER WEST SPRINGFIELD HIGH SCHOOL NOW KNOWN AS THE WILLIAM A. COWING SCHOOL
This building, on the corner of Park and Elm Streets, has been home to students of all ages. Originally built as a high school in 1915 at a cost of $127,000, it replaced the one on the upper floor of the Old Town Hall, which had opened in 1869.
In the main hallway hangs on old painting of William A. Cowing, the first principal for whom the school is presently named. A frieze depicting Greek figures can be found on the walls, along with paintings and a plaque “dedicated to the students who served and in memory of those who died defending our country in World War II”, a gift of the class of 1942.
Following the war, the town was increasing in population and the schools were becoming inadequate. Parents of high school students formed a Parent Teacher Association, which met for the first time in 1949. The building was deemed unfit because of the aging heating system and unsanitary physical education facilities. A committee was formed in 1950, plans were finally accepted by Town Meeting in 1953 and the present high school on Piper Road was opened in the fall of 1956.
Several interesting facts were noted in the 1956 yearbook. When the school was built gaslights were located in all the corridors to be used as emergency lighting. The piano in the auditorium was bought with money collected at weekly Friday afternoon dances held in the gym. The clock on the front of the school had a chime, which struck the hour and half-hour. A bell, located in the “Old Town Hall” next door, was connected to the school clock by wires but the principal felt that the ringing was a disturbance to the students and the bell was disconnected.
The building, originally scheduled for demolition, was renovated and reopened within two years of its closing to accommodate increased enrollment within the community. In recent years the old high school has been used for a grade 6 program, a second junior high, an elementary school, and finally an early childhood program in 2003.