THE STORRS HOUSE was built in 1786 by Richard Salter Storrs, the second pastor of the First Church of Christ in Longmeadow. It was built on ministerial property and stood on the land in front of our present library.

Three generations of the Storrs family lived in the house and the last members, Richard Salter Storrs, III and his sister Sarah Storrs, left the property in 1907 for a library.

In the 1860’s a granddaughter of Richard Salter Storrs. Lucy Storrs Barber, conducted a private girls’ school in the southeast room which we call the Music Room. The girls probably used the outside south door to come and go.

The north aide of the house was rented for a period of years and the south side rooms, two upstairs and two downstairs, were used to store all of the furniture, paintings and many other things belonging to the past.

Stephen Williams, the first pastor in Longmeadow, started building his house before he was ordained in 1716. It stood about where the Community House now stands. He died in 1782. The house burned in 1846 and many of the Williams’ possessions were lost. Fortunately, many things were saved including town records, his diary and two beautiful chests which his wife, Abigail Davenport. brought with her as a bride.

Richard Salter Storrs’ second wife was Stephen Williams’ granddaughter. Therefore, most of the contents of the house belonged to the Williams and Storrs pastors and their descendants.

The Longmeadow Historical Society was organized in 1899. and in 1911 the president, Mr. John Harding, called an annual meeting at which time it was voted to purchase the entire collection.

When the present library was built in 1930, the Storrs House was moved to its present location. A bedroom and kitchen on the north side were removed including the east wall of the dining room, so the present dining room is smaller than the original. There are two photographs in the hall showing two views of the original house - front and rear.

When the house was redecorated we found, under many layers of paint, the original colors which coincided with the colors used at that time in Connecticut Valley homes. The parlor on the right as you come in the front door was usually blue, the parlor on the left yellow, and the dining room green. Any paint left over was mixed together for the hall.