[Illustration: THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH.]
The impression which Holyoke makes upon its visitors is of modern thrift
and growth. Travellers by railway who enter the city from the north,
look with interest at the great dam, crossing the river from the Holyoke
to the South Hadley Falls shore. Rounding the curve, the large brick
buildings, spires and chimneys of the city come suddenly into view, the
tall tower of the granite city hall rising high above the rest. The
buildings are modern in structure and architecture. Little is found here
that bears the moss and rime of age.
Less than forty years ago, when the railroad was still a novelty in the
Connecticut Valley, a party of capitalists came to view the water-power
along the rocky bed of the Connecticut River at the point called the
Great Rapids, or Falls of South Hadley, which extended over a mile and
a half and had a total fall of 60 feet. The volume of water was gauged
and found to aggregate a power equal to 30,000 horse-power. This was in
1847.
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