by Laurel | May 1st, 2013
01 May 2013
Stephen Holman, First Principal of Holyoke High School
Stephen Holman, son of Stephen and Hannah (Fuller) Holman was born in Royalston, Massachusetts, December 28, 1820. When he was twelve years of age, his father died and he made his home with his brother, a clergyman in Saugus. He attended school in Saugus Center, Lynn Academy, and Worcester Academy, matriculating at Williams College from which he was graduated A.B. in 1840. Entering the teaching profession, Mr. Holman was principal of the high schools at Winchester, N. H., Gardner, Athol, Phillipston, and Fitchburg, Massachusetts. He came as first principal of the Holyoke High School in June 1852, and in later years he served as a member of the town school committee.
Stephen Holman, son of Stephen and Hannah (Fuller) Holman was born in Royalston, Massachusetts, December 28, 1820. When he was twelve years of age, his father died and he made his home with his brother, a clergyman in Saugus. He attended school in Saugus Center, Lynn Academy, and Worcester Academy, matriculating at Williams College from which he was graduated A.B. in 1840. Entering the teaching profession, Mr. Holman was principal of the high schools at Winchester, N. H., Gardner, Athol, Phillipston, and Fitchburg, Massachusetts. He came as first principal of the Holyoke High School in June 1852, and in later years he served as a member of the town school committee.
Upon leaving the high school, Mr. Holman became paymaster of the Lyman Mills. In 1860 he bought a controlling interest in the Holyoke Paper Company which he managed with such ability that his material success in life is said to have dated from that time. In 1865 he sold his interest in the paper mill most advantageously and established the Holyoke Machine Company, with a branch in Worcester, and later the Deane Steam Pump Company. He was also heavily interested in a large number of cotton mills.
For many years, Mr. Holman resided in Worcester but spent most of his time each week in Holyoke and was known as Holyoke’s leading citizen.
Mr. Holman’s physical and mental activities continued throughout his life. Amid all the cares of business, he constantly kept alive his intellectual interests, particularly the German language of whose literature he was very fond. He made three trips to Europe after he was eighty years of age, and at the age of 92, had returned to this country less than a week when his sudden death occurred on October 13, 1912. He was buried in the historic Mt. Auburn Cemetery at Cambridge, Mass.
