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Our History

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Chase, Clarke, Stewart & Fontana has a long history in the Western, MA area.

Our agency was founded in 1871 by William Fuller and was later acquired by Samuel Sherwood and William Cone.  It grew with them for many years and continued with Sherwood’s son Malcolm.  Raymond S. Redfield then added the business to his own agency, along with the Oppenheimer Agency which had started about 1880.

In 1957 Mr. Redfield invited the Russell D. Chase Agency and Arthur H. Clarke Agency to merge together as Redfield, Chase & Clarke.   In 1965 Robert W. Clarke joined the agency.   In 1966, the agency merged with Robert A Stewart Sr., owner of Lewis J. Stewart Insurance Agency, forming the Chase, Clarke, Stewart Agency.

Robert A. Stewart, Jr. joined the agency in 1973, and his brother James H. Stewart followed in 1980.

In July 1995, the agency merged with Dan Fontana of the R.J. Fontana Agency, forming Chase, Clarke, Stewart & Fontana.

In 2000 Chase, Clarke, Stewart & Fontana purchased the Mutual Insurance Agency of Springfield, Inc. whose origin dated back to 1827. Owners Andrew D. Hayes and Lisa F. Clewes became principals in the extended agency.

In 2004 Chase, Clarke, Stewart & Fontana purchased the Lukas Insurance Agency of Springfield.  Raymond A. Lukas became a partner in the agency.

Raymond C. Beattie, Jr. was a Commercial Insurance Producer with the Agency from 2007 to May 2014.

In January of 2021 Mark Lambert, owner of the Lambert & Pryor Insurance Agency merged with Chase Clarke Stewart & Fontana Insurance.

In January of 2022 Deborah Buckley, owner of the Goss & McLain Insurance Agency of Holyoke, MA merged with Chase Clarke Stewart & Fontana. The combined agencies have similar core values and a strong commitment to their customers. This merger has allowed the agencies to provide a broader range of insurance products at the most competitive prices.

In August of 2023 Chase Clarke Stewart & Fontana relocated all locations to their new address, 59 Bobala Road, Holyoke, MA 01040.

As our history shows, Chase, Clarke, Stewart & Fontana is one of the area’s oldest and largest independent insurance agencies. We are committed to Western, MA and believe in its future. The agency offers a full array of personal and commercial insurance products as well as benefits and financial services.