Sunnyside Ranch Chronology
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| Crane Bros. Mill |
He continued his buying spree well into 1897, paying $250 for 24 more acres and 42 rods, according to a deed dated March 8.
Crane accumulates hundreds of acres. Wasting no time, he contracts George W. Smith, a stone mason in Westfield, to excavate and lay the foundation for a large barn to be built at his newly named Sunnyside Ranch. Smith starts the project around the week of March 22.
In addition to crops, Crane’s enormous, state-of-the-art ranch specializes in sheep and other high-grade stock. The farm is known for producing superior products. Even with the passing of its visionary founder, Sunnyside’s reputation for quality remains shown when its lambs, unequaled for their excellence, are featured at W. O. Sheldon’s State Street market in Springfield in 1910.
Over the years, Sunnyside has attracted several potential buyers. It is said that prolific golf course designer Geoffrey Cornish, then a lawn specialist at the University of Massachusetts, wanted to build a course on Sunnyside in the early 1940s. Other interested parties included Daniel Willard, president of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, who, arriving by train in his private car in 1915, was looking to buy a $25,000 farm in New England for his son. But after seeing the sheer size of Sunnyside, he passed on the opportunity.
In the beginning, it was common for folks passing by the ranch to help themselves to the fruits of the land, such as taking an apple or two. But as you will read, someone learned the hard way that the practice ended when the property changed hands.
Different owners had different ideas for the farm and the property as a whole.
To understand the rich history of the origins of Sunnyside Ranch, we have to take a step back and look at the life of the visionary who created it.
Sunnyside Ranch Chronology
1868: In buying the Horton mill in Westfield, brothers J. Arthur Crane and Robert B. Crane establish Crane Bros., which becomes an award-winning paper and belt manufacturer.
1870: The Crane brothers make a fortune by producing their now famous high-grade ledger and record paper and “Japanese Linen.” Demand is so high that they buy and renovate a second mill upstream.
1893: Robert Crane buys a large piece of property in Westfield. Rumors swirl that he plans to build a $100,000 home to rival his brother’s fine estate.
1894: Robert Crane and other wealthy men open Woronoco Park in Westfield on June 27; the Crane brothers enter their horses to run the half-mile track that quickly becomes famous - as do the Crane’s winning horses. They raise the horses at their Wolf Pit Stock Farm, also in Westfield.
1897: Although still a partner, Robert Crane takes a less active role in the daily activities of the mill as he shifts his focus on building what will become a state-of-the-art farm on his newly acquired property in Southwick. He hires noted Westfield architect Augustus W. Holton to design his ranch. By December, he erects several fine buildings - to the tune of $12,000.
1903: The Westfield Grange’s annual corn husking is held inside the big barn at Sunnyside Ranch on November 4. Electric light, powered by Robert Crane’s private generating plant, illuminates the festivities, which include many refreshments, music, and dancing. The barn offers plenty of room as the event attracts 300 members of the Grange and their families who, at the event, husk more than 200 bushels of corn in less than an hour.
1904: With his head bleeding, a man walks into the police station in Westfield on Christmas Day. He tells officers he was beaten by a man who lives at Crane’s Sunnyside Ranch. Police issue an arrest warrant for the unnamed man, and court is scheduled for the 27.
1906: The Crane brothers take over ownership of Woronoco Park’s track, pavilion, and horse stables.
1909: Robert Bruce Crane (b. June 10, 1845) dies unexpectedly on June 21. As manager of his vast estate, his brother James allows the massive Sunnyside Ranch to continue normal operations.
1910: James Arthur Crane (b. December 24, 1847) dies on July 2. With no interest in managing such a large farm, James’ heirs offer Sunnyside for sale.
1911: Augustus Holton (b. June 26, 1850) dies on February 14.
1912: A pack of dogs kill more than 20 sheep and injure and maim 32 others at Sunnyside Ranch on the night of October 30; the following day, a veterinarian surgeon is brought to the farm to relieve the suffering, with the badly injured sheep put down.
1914: George W. Smith buys Sunnyside; he focuses on growing potatoes. As she leaves Sunnyside Ranch on her express wagon, loaded with about two bushels of apples on August 12, Kate Ziemba is arrested and charged with larceny. Appearing in court, the judge sends a message to would-be fruit thieves when he fines her $10. However, in a sign of leniency, he gives her until October 10 to pay the fine or go to jail.
1915: George W. Smith (b. January 8, 1860) dies on January 4. With 100 acres of potatoes in excellent condition, the 550-acre Sunnyside Ranch is listed for sale at a quarter of the cost it took to build it. Under consideration as a possible site for a newly proposed school for the feebleminded, a representative from the Massachusetts State Board of Insanity visits Sunnyside Ranch at least twice. Wealthy whip company owner and hotel proprietor H. M. Van Deusen buys the ranch and immediately stocks it with several hundred white leghorns and other premium livestock.
1916: Area residents feel relieved when the Insanity Board rules out Sunnyside Ranch and starts looking at Belchertown for its new state school for the feeble-minded. A 16-pound lamb is born at Sunnyside Ranch on February 1. Weighing 38 pounds, he is butchered on March 30 and sells for $15.20.
1917: For several weeks, Sunnyside places the following help wanted ad in Vermont: “VT. MEN- Potato, general farming. Single teamsters. Work whole families; houses to live in. No dairy. Sunnyside Ranch, Southwick, Mass.”
1919: Ground is broken in Belchertown for the new state school.
1920: H. M. Van Deusen’s Sunnyside Ranch hits the auction block. Included in the two-day, no reserve, cash sale, held on December 8 and 9 with free lunch provided all day each day, are 80 head of Holsteins, six fine work horses (sold in pairs of 2), 30 pigs, 150 tons of the best hay (taken as wanted), a potato planter, corn cutters, gas engines, horse-drawn sleighs, milking machines, an International tractor, plow, and much more.
1921: H. Peter Hall buys the badly eroded Sunnyside Ranch.
1922: The Belchertown State School for the Feeble-Minded opens.
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| Belchertown State School Complex |
1930: Henry M. Van Deusen dies on March 27.
1937: Citing production costs, Sunnyside owner Philip K. Hall and other dairy farmers pressure the Massachusetts State Milk Control Board to pass a one-cent per quart increase in the price of milk.
1939: The Fox Hound Club holds its annual derby at Sunnyside Ranch on October 9.
1944: Suspicious of farmhand James E. Lipperman, Mrs. Hall, wife of Sunnyside Ranch owner Philip K. Hall, calls the police, who in turn contact military police who arrest him on February 9 for being allegedly AWOL from Camp Mackall, N.C.
1947: To help resolve draining issues, the U.S. Soil Conservation Service starts blasting operations at Sunnyside Ranch in April. It is estimated that they will use one-half ton of dynamite to reopen the bed of an old filled-in brook.
1949: Sunnyside Ranch introduces free ski instruction for beginners; trails “Rattlesnake Run” and the tricky “Canterbury’s Dream” open for more advanced skiers.
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| Belchertown State School's First Patients |
1951: A herd of cows stampedes when engine loss forces a Piper Cub to make an emergency landing in their field at Sunnyside Ranch on August 7.
1955: The Massachusetts Department of Agriculture awards Philip K. Hall as the farmer of the year.
1961: The Holstein-Friesian Association includes Sunnyside cow Sunran Fobes De Kol Maid in its list of outstanding production records when she produces 13,990 pounds of milk and 486 pounds of butterfat in 305 days. Sunnyside makes the chart again in 1962 when Sunran Larro Inka produces 15,380 pounds of milk and 603 pounds of butterfat over 302 days; two other Sunnyside cows also make the list.
1981: Philip Kenneth Hall (b. October 11, 1903) dies on February 5.
1982: Cattlemen push for tighter leash laws as stray and unleashed dogs plague herds around Southwick. Dogs are spotted harassing the stock during a night check at Sunnyside Farm; rocks are thrown to break up the pack and scare off the dogs.
1992: After four generations of farming at Sunnyside, the Hall family decides they cannot continue in New England’s declining dairy business. California architects Robert Muir Graves and Damian Pascuzzo (reportedly along with golf legend Sam Snead) plan to turn the century-old dairy farm into a golf course. After decades of what is described as patient abuse, including Medieval torture and other horrors, the Belchertown State School closes.
2001: Reportedly passing on names “The Farm,” “The Old Farm,” and “Sunnyside Ranch,” the award-winning Ranch Golf Club opens in July.
More from the Southwick Time Machine's chronology series
Consolidated School Chronology