For more than a century, the Horace Smith Fund has helped Hampden County students finance their dreams of higher education. Award opportunities are available to residents of Hampden County who have graduated from eligible local secondary or private schools.
About Horace Smith
You can’t tell the Horace Smith Fund history without Horace Smith. In 1893, our namesake (of Smith & Wesson fame) passed away and left behind a large estate. After bequests to family and institutions, he dictated that the remainder of his wealth be used for public purposes at the discretion of his executors. Thus, the Horace Smith Fund was born.
About Walter S. Barr
Walter S. Barr was a West Springfield businessman whose widow, upon her death in 1950, left the remainder of the family estate to The Horace Smith Fund in her late husband’s name. The Barrs wanted to assist young Hampden County students in the pursuit of a higher education—they are subsequently the namesake of three of our scholarships.