Westfield, Massachusetts is, well, just to the west of Springfield, Massachusetts. It was settled in the 1600s and, until 1725, it was the westernmost settlement in Massachusetts Bay Colony. In colonial days, Westfield was an agricultural center, but in the 19th Century it was transformed by the Industrial Revolution. The population grew from 2,185 in 1800 to 5,055 at the time of the Civil War.
At the unveiling ceremony, Major General Judson Kirlpatrick delivered the dedicatory address. One of the things that the Union general told the audience is that they should dedicate themselves to preventing the Lost Cause view of the war from taking hold. Kilpatrick said:
“ I am willing, for one, to forget the past when the rebels cease to remind me of it, and not before. Comrades, the time may come when an ungrateful public may forget all those bloody years of war, when the traitor will be applauded and his crimes forgotten…when no distinction will be made between the traitor and the patriot…when towering monuments rear aloft from the Capitol Square erected by Southern pride to honor the memory of her false-hearted sons…this may come with time, but by the eternal God, not if we can prevent it!”
The Westfield Library was chartered in 1864 and opened its doors in 1868. The library has been in its present building since 1899. The building is across the street from the Civil War monument.
