Our Neighbors: Two Men & Four Buildings
 The Kimbell Livery can be seen in 1865 behind two buildings on Main Street. The New Kimbell Building is across the street from that spot. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Looking around North Adams today, it's easy to forget how important horses used to be. You can get a taste of this importance by walking around certain residential districts, where any number of barns have been converted into garages and/or consigned to slow decay.
But these barns were important structures at one time. In days gone by, the three ways to get around town were on foot, on horseback and riding in a carriage or sleigh. Both of the last two involve horses and people who could afford them preferred to keep their horses and horse-drawn vehicles conveniently close to home. But what if you couldn't afford it or just didn't have the space? You turned to one of the men described in this essay.
But first, some terms: Both of these men ran livery stables. "Livery" in this sense means "boarding," which in essence means that the stable was like a boarding house for horses. And since boarding houses have, for the most part, gone the way of the Dodo, it requires some explanation as well.
A boarding house is (or was) a privately owned home with lots of bedrooms. For a reasonable fee one could rent a room and a seat at the table (or board) when meals were served. It was cheaper than renting an apartment and you didn't have to do any cooking or cleaning. It might serve as a temporary residence while one looked for work or saved up to buy a house, though some people boarded for years at a time. Hence, a livery stable was a place where they would keep and feed your horse or horses for you. Much cheaper than building your own barn and keeping it stocked with hay, and no manure to shovel.
Jenks Kimball was connected with the stagecoach line that used to run over Hoosac Mountain, as both a driver and an overseer. He was also the founder of the first commercial stable in North Adams, pre-1865. His livery barn was on the south side of Main Street, set back some distance. Only one photo of it remains, taken circa 1865. It's not an impressive structure; but then, it didn't need to be.
In 1902, two of his daughters erected a magnificent brick block on Main Street, with a stone facade. Built on top of a quicksand pit — talk to the janitor; it's still down there — it was the first building in North Adams to be built on steel pilings. It had a wonderful elevator that was in use through the 1960s. On the first floor was a gorgeous wrought-iron cage, with blank panels on the floors above. The building's staircase looped around the shaft. Inside the car was an accordion gate. You pushed a button to call the elevator and the operator brought it to you, moving it up or down using a lever.
For carrying freight to and from the upper floors, the building's two wings each had a beam sticking out of the rear wall above a line of doors. A block and tackle hung from each beam so cargo could be hoisted up and maneuvered inside. But the building has four other features as well.
The first is visible on the west wall, just below the roof. There, a shallow wooden construct extends out of the wall. What was it for?
In 1902, it was common for office buildings to have a ballroom on the top floor, and this one is no exception. Looking at the building from the rear, it is plain that the sixth floor has a much higher ceiling than the floors below. That was the ballroom. It was rented for many years by the Freemasons, who used it as their lodge room. Common belief is that the wooden addition is where they put their organ.
The remaining three features are only visible from the front. On the fifth floor, there are four lion heads carved in stone. These are repeated in greater quantity on the facade at the very top. Today, no one knows why the Kimbell sisters wanted the lions. But while we're on the subject of the facade, it's worth noting that — unlike the rest of the building's face — it is not built of stone. It looks like stone, but it is actually tin. Take a look at the swashes in the center and you will see that the metal is crumpled there.
The third feature of significance is carved in stone above the second-floor windows. Everyone calls this building the Kimbell Block, but it's not. Read the inscription. It says "The New Kimbell." An odd name, except when you consider that the original Kimbell block was still standing in 1902. The first Kimbell building was a small (three stories), narrow (four windows wide) brick block, erected on the south side of Main Street in front of the lot where Kimbell Livery was located.
 The old Kimbell building circa 1893. The sign to the left indicates passage to Flagg Stables. |
It had a feature that was common at the time; a passage to the rear. But look just above the entrance to that passage. There was a sign there, but it said nothing about Kimbell Livery. Rather, it read "Flagg Stables." This is because of James Flagg. If you know Brian Flagg or any of his children, you know a direct descendant of James Flagg. Mr. Flagg was also associated with the stagecoach and worked for some years for Jenks Kimbell.
Then he married one of the Kimbell daughters, bought out his father-in-law, tore down the old barn and built a new one in its place. But what a barn! It was a massive brick three-story L-shaped structure, large enough to both board horses and store carriages and sleighs. Alas! Mr. Flagg did not stay in the business as long as his father-in-law did. With the turn of the century, cars began to appear on the streets of North Adams and horses began to disappear. In the 1960s, the former Flagg Stables was the home of Isbell Electric Co.
If you want to stop by and visit these two businessmen, go first to the Tinker Vault on the north side of West Main Street. From the vault walk south, toward the street. Just past the Wells lot is the Kimbell lot, about four feet lower. Mr. Kimbell is in the southwest corner of the lot. His stone has been (badly) repaired and his name was spelled "Jencks." But don't make a fuss about it; he is there and his legacy is secure.
To find Mr. Flagg, go back to the path behind the Tinker Vault and head west into what I call "the Dell." As you reach the foot of the slope, the Flagg lot will be to your right. And once you've paid your respects, go over to the Isbell lot and admire their tree. They are not the Isbells of the Isbell Electric Co., though they are related. And their tree? It's one of the jewels of the cemetery.
This series is an attempt to help us get to know a particular community of neighbors, without whose vision and efforts this city would not exist. These neighbors are the residents of Hillside Cemetery. As part of our effort to restore and maintain this, the city’s oldest municipal cemetery, we hope to generate interest, funding and volunteer labor in an effort to restore it. This work is an important step in maintaining our city's heritage and civic pride. But more than this, it's a way in which we can help our neighbors; neighbors who laid the foundations of North Adams and paved the way for us.
Tags: hillside cemetery, historic buildings, Main Street, our neighbors,
