1 Denniston Place ( formerly 130 North Eln
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.
FORM B − BUILDING
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Photograph
Topographic or Assessor's Map
Recorded by: Bonnie Parsons
Organization: Pioneer Valley Planning Commission
Date (month / year): March, 2010
Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
24C-23 Easthampton NTH.277
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village)
Address: 1 Denniston Place ( formerly 130 North Elm
Street) Historic Name: A. Perry Peck House
Uses: Present: hospital/apartment
Original: Single-family residence
Date of Construction: ca. 1865
Source: Maps and Directory
Style/Form: Italianate
Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
Foundation: brick
Wall/Trim: clapboards
Roof: asphalt
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Major Alterations (with dates):
Ornamental access ramp added, ca. 2005
Condition: good
Moved: no | x | yes | | Date
Acreage: 0.517 acres
Setting: This building occupies a corner lot at the
edge of a large hospital property.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [1 DENNISTON PLACE]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH.277
___ 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.
The Peck House is a two-and-a-half story house with a side-gable roof. It has a pavilion centered on its north façade, a house
form that was repeated on several other Italianate style houses in Northampton. The house has a one-story wing on the west
and an access ramp on its east elevation, both of which were later additions. There is a two-story ell on the rear. The
clapboard-sided house is three bays wide and in the north façade there is a pair of 1/1 windows under a single Italianate
bracketed lintel on the west and a single window on the east with 6/6 sash. Lintels on both first and second stories are
bracketed. The entry consists of a glassed-in portico centered on the pavilion. It has glass filled, elliptical arches.
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: “The area near the junction of North Elm and Prospect Streets was first called Springdale by Dr. E.E.
Denniston, who opened a water cure establishment here in 1848. This house is thought to have been built for A. Perry Peck
during the mid 1860’s, as he’s listed at ‘Springdale’ in the 1868-1869 directory and this house appears as his on the 1873 atlas.
However, a house does appear near the site on the 1860 map and it’s possible that Mr. Peck remodelled the older house for his
own residence.
Mr. Peck was a prominent local citizen who had begun business as a druggist and grocer in 1849. In 1853, he
purchased the Lower Mills (on Clark Street) and engaged in the flour and grain business. This was succeeded by his becoming
an insurance agent in 1860. He also served as Register of Probate from 1855-1859 and was appointed a trial justice in 1860.
After Mr. Peck’s decease around 1880, the property was purchased by the Rev. George Webber, a professor at Smith College.”
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.