Front:
THE FIRST CHURCH ROOSTER 162 years young.
Emblem of COLONIAL SPRINGFIELD.
I am the New Baby, PROGRESSIVE SPRINGFIELD
"JUST WATCH ME GROW."
100th Anniversary of Hamp-
den County.
Court House built 1874, and
its Italian tower.
THESE CLASSIC MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS now
THE HISTORIC FIRST CHURCH SOCIETY
founded 1637, the second year of the town's settlement, being finished at a cost of $1,500,000 are typical of the
celebrates its 275th anniversary this year, 1912. Its first "CITY OF PROGRESS."
meetinghouse was built 1645, when but 30 families lived famous, will elevate the standard of architecture, publie
here. The present edifice is the fourth one ereeted 1819, and private, and teach new and beautiful ideas.
They will make Springfield
(See other side.)
A 551
Back:
PHOTO-TYPE
One Cent for
Island Possessions,
Cuba, Canada and
Two Cents for
Hy Geo. S. Graves, Springfield, Mass,
THE ROOSTER ON THE SPIRE
To many people a picture of the First Church is not com-
plete without the rooster on the spire. In England for centuries
weather cocks have adorned Church steeples to remind members
of Peter's warning, and constitute a enll to repentance. The
founders of this church coming from England quite naturally
followed tradition, and imported their copper rooster from
London in 1750. His crop being filled with records of the
church, he is never hungry. He stands 169 feet from the
ground, is 4 feet long and weighs 19 lbs. Poems galore have
been written about him. A member of the church offers the
following:
How dear to our hearts is the old First Church rooster,
When near or when far he's presented to view;
For years he has stood there with never a murmur,
And never a whisper of tales that he knew;
How much he has seen from the top of the steeple,
So true to his post as the scer of the church:
The bright shining rooster, the patient old rooster,
The dear faithful rooster that ne'er leaves his perch.
