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to the City Of Westfield's Official Web Site. This site was developed to serve the citizen's of Westfield by providing them with:
- as much information as possible relative to the functions and activities of their city government
- vital information available right at their fingertips, to be accessed from the comfort and convenience of their homes and places of work
- "One Stop Shopping" where they can have their questions answered, and from which city applications, ordinances and other materials can be downloaded or viewed
- a means of keeping abreast of all of the current activities of the city's Committees and Boards
To access all of the City Officials, Offices, Departments, Boards, Commission and Committees, simply click on the "Departments" space listed on the red band above.
This site is best viewed using Internet Explorer web browser. Some of this web site's pages/documents are in a pdf format and require Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing (which can be downloaded for free at the ADOBE READER website). |
| Westfield City Hall |  |
59 Court Street
Westfield, MA 01085
The Municipal Building is the first Westfield structure to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was opened in 1892 as the State Normal School for the purpose of training public school teachers and in 1932 it became the Westfield State Teacher's College.
The exterior of the building has been altered little since the structure was completed in April, 1892. It has a solid granite foundation and is made of red, water struck brick with brownstone trimming. The east and west ends are three stories high on the street side and the central portion of the building has two main stories. There are two entrances in front, recessed behind massive Romanesque arches.
Although Richardsonian Romanesque in appearance, it is not the work of H.H. Richardson or his firm. It was designed by Hartwell and Richardson of Boston and is characteristic of the wave of imitation that followed the great architect's death.
The State Teacher's College relocated to a new campus on Western Avenue in 1956, and the City acquired the building, converting it to the Municipal Building. It now houses the various city departments. |
| Westfield City Seal | Cities, towns, states, countries and nations all have seals which distinguish them from their counterparts. Without the seal on a letterhead, check or some other such instrument, the document oftentimes is not considered being "legal."
At the request of Westfield's first mayor, George Searle, work on a city seal was begun in 1921. About the only limitation that Ralph M. Sizer of King Street Extension had when requested to design the seal was that Major General William Shepard appear on it someplace.
Louis B. Warfield of Westfield was the engraver for the seal which was accepted by city ordinance in April 1921. |
| General William Shepard Memorial |  |
One of the highlights of Westfield's 250th Anniversary Celebration was the dedication of the General William Shepard Monument on September 3, 1919. The imposing statue stands in a small triangular park, just south of the Green, and looks down Broad Street.
Henry Fuller, one of Westfield's leading attorneys, died in 1913 and left a bequest of $1,000 in his will for the purpose of erecting a memorial to Westfield's Revolutionary War hero, Gen. William Shepard.
Many Westfield citizens had long felt that a suitable memorial should be erected and this bequest of Mr. Fuller's gave the necessary impetus to start the movement. A committee of J. C. Greenough, Henry W. Ely, and A. D. Robinson was appointed to investigate and report on the matter. Some of the town citizens felt there were other pressing needs for the town funds so action was deferred on several occasions. However, the committee by its own initiative secured pledges to the amount of $4,000 from descendants of General Shepard, both here and elsewhere, and from other interested citizens. When the town voted an appropriation of $3,500 in 1917, the original committee, together with Arthur S. Kneil and William T. Smith, was empowered to erect and dedicate the monument. Mr. Augustus Lukeman, a student under Daniel French, and one of America's most distinguished sculptors, was selected to design the statue.
"In the statue of General Shepard, Westfield possesses not only a dignified and worthy memorial to her distinguished son, but a valuable and enduring work of art which she may always regard with pride and satisfaction.
"It is placed on our beautiful town green; co-eval with our earliest life, where he gathered and drilled his minutemen and whence he led them out to Dorchester Heights and the great Revolution. It stands upon a spot interwoven with all our history and tradition-" Thus spoke Arthur S. Kneil at the dedication.
Over the years, the question has been asked a thousand times: Why does General Shepard stand with his back to the Green . . . looking up Broad Street? He was so placed because the town fathers anticipated that Westfield would expand along the Broad Street area. At various times, there has been agitation to have the General turned around but at this writing, he still stands with his back to the Green.
In the late Forties, much concern was expressed because of the condition of the monument - it had not been oxidized. After extensive investigation by the Park Commission, it was found that the copper content in the statue was very low. It had been made during World War I, when copper was extremely short. In 1951, a special acid was applied to the bronze and gradually, General Shepard was wearing his proper shade of green. |
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