in marriage; it is he who baptizes their children it is he who buries their dead.
      Perhaps the three most active churches in the city are the First Church, Hope Church, and the State Street Baptist Church. The latter has properly been called a "beehive." It was organized in 1864, and has always been a body of active young business men, led by untiring, aggressive pastors. Hope Church began in 1865 as a Sunday school of sixteen scholars. The first session was held in a colored woman's parlor. It was on "the Hill," and no religious services had been held in that section. The numbers grew, until a barn was secured to accommodate the increase. This proved too small, and in 1870 Hope Chapel was built and dedicated. In 1876 a church organization was formed. The chapel proved too small, and in 1883 the present edifice, costing about $44,000, was dedicated. The Rev. R. W. Brokaw is the present energetic pastor. The phenomenal growth of this church is due to the fact that it is situated in a growing section where homes are rapidly multiplying. About twelve years ago the McKnight Brothers begun to build up "the Hill." They laid out streets of generous width, putting in a little square with a fountain here and there; and first and last they have erected over five hundred houses, many of them very valuable, calling in a large population of the better sort.
      Trinity, the largest Methodist church, was organized in 1844. The present building, in Romanesque style, was erected in 1869, at a cost of $73,000. The membership is about five hundred.
      Springfield is the episcopal city of the Roman Catholic diocese of Western Massachusetts. This diocese was created in 1870, with Rt. Rev. P. T. O'Reilly, D. D., as bishop. St. Michael's Church, on State Street, was made a cathedral, and the bishop's residence built beside it. The cathedral is an imposing structure of brick, with sandstone trimmings, with a seating capacity of two thousand. The new Sacred Heart Church, in process of construction, will be the most imposing, if not the finest, church in the city. Bishop O'Reilly did much for the diocese during his life; and his successor, Dr. Beaven, is an able man, well fitted for his large responsibilities.
      Springfield is pre-eminently a city of homes. Strangers are impressed by the number of houses owned by their occupants. These homes are the abodes of the comfortable, well-to-do people, the backbone of American life. Great attention has been given to the general appearance of many of the best residential streets. These are of good width and bordered by boulevards set with elms. The city is fortunate in having a class of builders with a commendable public spirit. A large number of little parks are scattered about in various parts of the city, and in many of them are fountains and flowers. These have generally been given to the public by men who have opened and built up the different sections. Springfield is especially a residential city, and not in a marked degree a manufacturing place. A large number of mill owners and the better class of operatives of surrounding towns reside here. Every Springfielder and the residents of neighboring towns are especially interested in the city's pleasure ground. Ten years ago, Mr. 0. H. Greenleaf gave to the municipality a large tract of woodland for park purposes, on condition that $6,000 should be expended the next year in improvements. The tract is divided by a ravine, consists of upland, woodland and hills, and is well watered by a small stream running through its entire length. It is a strikingly beautiful spot. The Park Commissioners have added to it from time to time until, with the gift of Mr. E. H. Barney's magnificent estate and other gifts since made, Forest Park comprises a tract of about four hundred acres. There are now seven or eight miles of carriage drives. The street railroad tracks run to the entrance, so that the poorest can have a taste of woodland, lake, meadow, hill and stream. Mr. Barney's generous gift was in memory of his only son, and that part of Forest Park is to be known as the George M. Barney Memorial Park. In it are five lakelets filled with Egyptian lotus and the different varieties of water lilies