21 Franklin Street
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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
31A-32 Easthampton NTH.463
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village)
Address: 21 Franklin Street
Historic Name: Henrietta H. Mather House
Uses: Present: Single-family residence
Original: Single-family house
Date of Construction: 1871-1873
Source: Registry of Deeds & Atlas
Style/Form: Italianate
Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
Foundation: brick
Wall/Trim: brick
Roof: not visible
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Attached garage
Major Alterations (with dates):
South addition made, ca. 1990.
Condition: good
Moved: no | x | yes | | Date
Acreage: 0.863 acres
Setting: House faces west on a quiet residential street.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [21 FRANKLIN ST]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH.463
___ Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Alterations to this house would make it non-contributing to
the North of Elm Street Historic District.
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.
Probably one of the earliest houses to appear on Franklin Street, the Mather House is Italianate in style although a recent
addition to its west façade has compromised the original appearance of the building. It is a two-story brick building under a flat
roof with wide eaves overhang in Italianate fashion. A wide frieze encircles the building including a two-story wing on the north
elevation. There are decorative grilles in the frieze at attic level. The main block of the house appears to have been thre e bays
wide with a side entry. It has a full-width porch on chamfered posts and a three-step brownstone entry. Brownstone forms the
windows’ sills and lintels and their sash is 2/2. A clapboard sided garage is attached to the north elevation.
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: “In 1871, Henrietta Mather, the widow of William Mather, bought ¼ acre of land from Jared Clark for $800.
Mr. Clark owned a large homestead on Elm Street that had originally included much of that land that Franklin Street cuts
through.
Mrs. Mather had two sons, Dwight, a carpenter, and John, a mason. John Mather learned that mason’s trade with
Daniel R. Clark, beginning in 1868. Mr. Clark lived at the corner of Franklin and Elm Streets in a house very similar to this one,
and both houses were probably built by these masons. John Mather later became very active in politics, serving three terms as
mayor of Northampton around the turn of the century and three terms in the State Legislature between 1913 and 1915.”
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. 373-P. 347, 286-187