Indian Orchard village history

Everywhere you look around Indian Orchard there's history. The street names recall the early trend of naming trees and functional directives such as elm or centre. Early settlers were also included in the mix. Montgomery and Healey to name some. The native tribal names can also be added, Pequot and Michigan are just some examples.
The story of the Indian Leap may not be unique to the village, but it has survived in local folklore in written and verbal forms.
The Chicopee river, which flows westerly past the aforementioned Leap, has been the heart and motor of the urban development of the village.

The river was dammed and partly diverted into a canal that has provided energy to the present day and allowed for the construction of the I.O. Mills.

http://www.indianorchardmills.com/

The employment opportunities in the mills allowed for exponential population growth.

Early employers did not have to worry about labor laws and child labor was practiced.

Until labor reforms were instituted nationwide, you could see that machine operators were very young .

The I. O. Mills helped build up the population which in turn needed schools for its children. 

The Myrtle street grammar school was built in 1868 and the building is still used

 presently as a senior housing project.

The 1900s brought most of the downtown area development and laying out

 the street map still in use today.

Main st. in 1907 still had horse buggies as the main private transportation. Public transportation between the village and the Springfield downtown  was possible through the cable  rail cars.