When Amanda Whipple received her daughter’s frozen body on February 10, 1877, the New England winter had preserved the young woman’s remains in the vault where they had been temporarily placed following her death at the Tewksbury Almshouse in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. What Amanda discovered upon examination would transform her grief into a quest for justice. Living in the remote western reaches of Southwick, Massachusetts, under the shadow of Sodom Mountain, Amanda was known throughout the hilltowns and the Pioneer Valley as the fortune teller of Sodom Mountain. She had not foreseen this tragic fate for her daughter. Ellen Jane Whipple was only twenty-one years old when she died on February 1, 1877. Far from the quiet shelter of her mother’s hillside home, her final days were spent in the stark, unwelcoming halls of Massachusetts’ institutions, a world far removed from the life she had known. Those who remembered her spoke of a young woman “rather pretty,” though some whispered she w...

Saturday, August 14, 1886, was meant to be a day of celebration at Southwick Ponds. The New Haven & Northampton Railroad had organized a grand excursion that day, offering free passage to railroad employees and their families. Twenty passenger cars pulled by two engines brought an estimated 1,550 people to the popular tourist destination. Among the excursionists were John Donovan, who worked in the New Haven railyard, and his fiancée, Miss Nellie Barry. The couple, both residents of New Haven, Connecticut, had postponed their wedding from the previous Wednesday and were planning to marry the following week.     A Day of Merriment The atmosphere at Southwick Ponds that August afternoon was one of pure joy. An orchestra filled the air with lively music as crowds of railroad workers and their families enjoyed their day of leisure. Laughter echoed across the grounds as children played games and athletic competitions drew enthusiastic spectators. On Congamond Lake, swimmers spl...

Sweltering heat blanketed New England on July 10, 1881. In the Longyard section of Southwick, Massachusetts, an unmistakable stench filled the air, leading to a grim discovery. High above the ground—more than thirty feet—the partly decomposed body of a middle-aged man hung from a tree, suspended by a single foot wedged between the branches. The head had long since rotted away, rolling some distance from the tree, and around the discolored neck was a blue silk handkerchief , tied tightly—a grim, silent witness to the man’s final act. Investigators believed they could reconstruct what had occurred. Weeks earlier, the man had apparently climbed into the tree, fashioned a noose from the handkerchief, and ended his own life. Over time, the weight of the body caused the upper knot to gradually slip. When the body fell, one foot became trapped among the branches, leaving him suspended in the air until someone discovered the scene. The question remained: Who was this desperate soul who had cho...

The Spring family of Southwick, Massachusetts, carried a burden few families could bear—two generations marked by sudden, violent death involving firearms, separated by half a century but forever linked by tragedy. Sunset - Ashland, Massachusetts Before the Storm On August 28, 1852, eighteen-year-old William Spring died instantly when his brother Henry accidentally shot him through the heart. For Henry Spring, the weight of that accidental shot would follow him through the decades. He would marry, build a life, and raise a family in Southwick, but the memory of that August day surely haunted him until his final breath. A Son's Promise Henry's son, Milo Spring, was born in Southwick and grew into a man of apparent stability and success. By 1898, Milo and his wife had made their home in Ashland, Massachusetts, where opportunity beckoned.  In 1901, his reputation earned him an appointment as resident manager of the sprawling Charles H. Tilton estate—a position of considerable resp...

On the afternoon of November 14, 1911, a grim discovery was made in the Longyard section of Southwick, Massachusetts. A farmer found a man’s body lying on sloping ground near an old cart road, about a quarter mile from Fletcher’s Mill. The man was positioned with his head pointed downhill, his face and one hand covered in blood. Scratches marked his arms, ankles, and shins. At his feet lay a coat bearing the label of Haynes & Co. of Springfield. He wore an outing shirt, Shirley President suspenders, and size six shoes. Fletcher's Gristmill in Southwick was renowned nationwide for its high-quality “Old Mill Brand." An Envelope, Bottles, and Other Finds Scattered belongings surrounded the scene, and the grass was trampled. About thirty feet away, searchers found a pouch of tobacco and a pipe. Forty feet away lay a couple of matches and an empty bottle. Several hundred feet farther, in a plowed field, investigators discovered a black derby hat—made by Chamberlin & Shaughn...