This year's Town Report cover painting by Peggy (Leete) Godfrey is the house built in 1827 by Calvin Cooley at 418 Longmeadow Street, corner of Cooley Drive. It is the present home of the N. Saxton Eveleth family.

Calvin Cooley's former home burned down. This was located just south of the present home. The story is told of how he came home one noon to find the roof of his house on fire with the women working in the kitchen, all oblivious of their danger. The old buttonball tree, which still stands south of their house, had a hole in it large enough for a tall man to stand in - which was caused by that fire. In 1937, this hole was filled in with ten tons of sandstone and rock and held together with metal tie rods and nuts on the outside of the trunk, but since then the trunk has covered the rods and nuts with growth.

No further records, at this time have been found on the old house.  However. after the fire, the Cooleys went to live in the large brick house of David Booth at the corner of Greenacre Avenue, which they liked so well that they copied it and built their new house of bricks made on their own place.  One of these bricks with a child's footprint in it was taken out by the Eveleths to preserve, but unfortunately it was broken.

This lovely home has five fireplaces with only one not functional. The old Dutch oven is still in the house. The wide pine boards and hand- made nails are still on the upstairs floor.  However, the downstairs floors had been renewed prior to the Eveleth's occupancy in 1937.  At this time the tin roof was leaking and they bought the old slate roof of the Springfield Town Hall at State and Market Streets in Springfield, as it was being torn down. and it was dated about the same as the house. The slate roof was reinforced and has replaced the old tin one.  Many hand-blown glass panes remain in the twelve over twelve-paned windows.

All direct descendants, including the Eveleths, of Benjamin Cooley who built the first meadow house in 1644 have continued to live in this house since it was built.  One of Calvin's sons, James, was appointed first Charge-d' Affaires of the United States to Peru. He died at a very young age and was given a State Funeral in a Protestant cemetery in Peru.  His widow returned home. His sword has been preserved by the family and is in the possession of the Eveleth's son, John.