The Franklin County Fair Museum’s chilly confines are filled with posters, brochures, ribbons and other pieces celebrating the history of the cherished event that started as a cattle show 177 years ago. But in December the museum added to its collection a first of its kind – an antique silver pitcher that made its way home from England, having been bestowed upon one of the Fairgrounds’ founding fathers on Jan. 3, 1863.

James S. Grinnell, a lawyer and original member of the Franklin County Agricultural Society, which owns and operates the Fairgrounds, was awarded the item as a parting gift from his peers as he moved to Washington, D.C., to become a bureau chief of President Abraham Lincoln’s recently-established U.S. Department of Agriculture. Michael Nelson, the Society’s current president, purchased the pitcher when it was auctioned by Roseberys Fine Art Auctioneers in London.

“He was clearly quite an important figure, if Abe Lincoln reached out to him and asked him to come work for him,” Nelson said of Grinnell.

The pitcher sold for 1,000 British pounds, with a 312-pound auction premium, for a total the equivalent of $1,691. Nelson, who polished the artifact himself, said it cost roughly $300 “to get it across the ocean” and it arrived in one week. Georgina Agnew, head of the silver department at Roseberys, reached out to the Agricultural Society to offer a chance to participate in the Nov. 27 auction after reading the pitcher’s engraving, which states the trophy was given to Grinnell “as testament of his valuable services in the cause of Agricultural Improvement.”

“I feel when you see these amazing pieces you have a responsibility to help the pieces find their way to where they’re meant to be,” she told the Greenfield Recorder.

She is not allowed to divulge information about the vendor who consigned the item, and doesn’t know how it wound up in the United Kingdom, but said it was crafted by the former Gorham Manufacturing Company. 

“Unfortunately, we don’t know anything about what it’s been up to in the 150 years since,” she said.

Agnew said Gorham was known for making items out of melted-down coin silverware.

“It was in good condition, and collectors always like it when these pieces have the original engravings on them,” she said, mentioning that it has the added bonus of being a presentation piece that is also usable.

The pitcher will be on display during the Green River Festival in June and the Franklin County Fair in September. When it is not out for public viewing it will be securely locked away in an undisclosed location.

Nelson had to wake up at 5 a.m. the day before Thanksgiving to attend the hybrid auction held in person, online and via telephone, but said it was worth it.

“It’s just so neat reading things like, ‘James Grinnell … recently received a high appointment within the new Department of Agriculture in Washington,’” he said. “Our generation thinks of the Civil War as a really, really long time ago, and then when you think about it – in terms of the Fair was already 30 years old when the Civil War took place and that this pitcher is from that era – it’s just mind-blowing to really realize how close that history is to our current timeframe.”

Nelson also learned through his father-in-law’s genealogical research that Grinnell, who died in 1900, is buried in the Green River Cemetery, across the street from the Fairgrounds he helped build.

According to online sources, Grinnell was born in Greenfield on July 24, 1821. He graduated from Amherst College in 1842 and then studied law, getting admitted to the bar four years later. He worked in Orange before joining his father’s practice in Greenfield, where he made partner. The younger Grinnell did not particularly enjoy law and devoted much of his time to studying agriculture, eventually being appointed the USDA’s chief clerk. He reportedly remained with the department three years before resigning to work in the U.S. Patent Office.

He returned to Greenfield in 1876 and served on the board of judges for agricultural implements at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the American Revolution. He was a trustee and vice president of Massachusetts Agricultural College (now the University of Massachusetts Amherst) and for many years, by appointment of the governor, a member of the state Board of Agriculture.

Grinnell was a Democrat when Franklin County was predominantly Republican, but his popularity among farmers got him elected to the state Senate, where he gave his attention to matters relating to farming interests. He was reportedly a strong advocate for the raising and keeping of sheep, and sought to legislate against the keeping of dogs, so that his favorite industry might better thrive.

He was the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor and was nominated for Congress. He was married twice – his first wife died in 1857. Twenty-two years later, he married Katherine (Russell) Denison, who outlived him.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.