North Farms Road 549.pdf
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form. FORM B − BUILDING MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220MORRISSEY BOULEVARD BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Photograph Topographic or Assessor's Map Recorded by: Bonnie Parsons Organization: Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Date (month /year):
March, 2011 Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number 7-27 Easthampton NTH.7 Town: Northampton Place: (neighborhood or village) North Farms Address: 549 North Farms Road Historic
Name: William Judd House Uses: Present: Single-family residence Original: Single-family residence Date of Construction: 1784-1800 Source: Registry of Deeds and Antiquities Style/Form:
Federal Cape Cod Architect/Builder: Exterior Material: Foundation: stone Wall/Trim: clapboards Roof: wood shingles, asphalt Outbuildings/Secondary Structures: Two barns Major Alterations
(with dates): Condition: good Moved: no | x | yes | | Date Acreage: 6.16 acres Setting: This farmstead is located in a still-rural section of Northampton that is largely composed of
open fields.
INVENTORY FORMB CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON] [549 NORTH FARMS ROAD] MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation
sheet 1 NTH.7 ___ Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form. Use as much
space as necessary to complete the following entries, allowing text to flow onto additional continuation sheets. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION: Describe architectural features. Evaluate
the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community. This Cape Cod form house could date as early as 1784 or as late as 1800 as the Cape Cod house form
remained consistent during these decades. Its consistency was due to the suitability of the form to house a large family and keep it relatively warm during long winters. It is one-and-a-half
stories in height under a broad, side-gable roof on which is a large center chimney. The wood shingle roof is one of the few examples of what originally was used to roof houses of this
period in Northampton. The house of five bays wide and in the gable field of the north elevation is a small fixed light window that marks the early Capes of the region. It would have
been one of a pair in this gable and similar windows would have been found in the south gable field, but have been sided over. The center entry on the west façade is tall and quite narrow
– a Federal feature – and it has an architrave surround with a projecting cornice. The clapboard siding on the house has narrower exposure above the foundations, which was an early practice
to protect the clapboard siding and extend its life. Attached to the main block of the house is a one-and-a-half story ell that connects to a two-story secondary building under a front-gable
roof. The first ell has a projecting pedimented portico on posts providing shelter to a secondary entry to the house. The second ell of two stories is three bays long and its windows
have 12/12 sash. In the main block of the house first story windows have 12/12 sash and second story windows have 8/12 sash being somewhat smaller in scale. This is one of best-preserved
Federal period houses in Northampton. There is an English style barn north of the house and a New England style barn east of the house. HISTORICAL NARRATIVE Discuss the history of the
building. Explain its associations with local (or state) history. Include uses of the building, and the role(s) the owners/occupants played within the community. From Form B of 1980:
“North Farms is a small section of Northampton, located about four miles from the center of town. Originally called Horse Mountain, the settlement (until recent suburban development)
consisted of about a dozen farms and a small schoolhouse. The first settlement was about 1759, at the end of the French and Indian Wars. This cessation of hostilities enabled out districts
to be settled, with North Farms and Florence the first areas that are still within the city limits. William Judd, Jr. settled at North Farms in 1784. He reared a family of eleven children
and died in 1807 at the age of 75. The year before he died he sold 15 acres to his son William, who probably erected the house, which is still standing today.” BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Beers, F. W. County Atlas of Hampshire Massachusetts, New York, 1873. Hales, John G. Plan of the Town or Northampton in the County of Hampshire, 1831. Miller, D. L. Atlas of the City
of Northampton and Town of Easthampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, Philadelphia, 1895. Walker, George H. and Company. Atlas of Northampton City, Massachusetts, Boston, 1884. Walling,
Henry F. Map of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, New York, 1860. Registry of Deeds: Bk. 421-P.171, 405-385, 300-488, 91-107, 90-347, 87-469, 67-100, 38-178, 34-406, 25-338
INVENTORY FORMB CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON] [549 NORTH FARMS ROAD] MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation
sheet 2 NTH.7 National Register of Historic Places Criteria Statement Form Check all that apply: Individually eligible Eligible only in an historic district Contributing to a potential
historic district Potential historic district Criteria: A B C D Criteria Considerations: A B C D E F G Statement of Significance by _____Bonnie Parsons___________________ The criteria
that are checked in the above sections must be justified here. The William Judd House is eligible for the National Register as one of the several remaining homes of late 18th century
settlers to the northwest section of Northampton, and the homestead of the Judd family who farmed the area for generations. Architecturally, the house is significant as an example of
what western Massachusetts settlers were constructing in the late 18th century in response to the weather and terrain, a building conservative in form. Stylistically, it is equally conservative
reflecting the experience of its builders who chose known architectural proportions and decorative features to carry on a building tradition that suited the families for whom they built.
This building has integrity of materials, workmanship, setting, and feeling.