76 Gothic 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
31B-188 Easthampton NTH.665
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village)
Address: 76 Gothic Street
Historic Name: Asahel A. Abell House
Uses: Present: Two-family residence
Original: Single-family house
Date of Construction: c. 1839
Source: Registry of Deeds
Style/Form: Greek Revival
Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
Foundation: brick
Wall/Trim: brick, vinyl, clapboards
Roof: asphalt
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Major Alterations (with dates):
Rear two-story ell added with exterior stairs.
Condition: good
Moved: no | | yes | | Date
Acreage: 0.317 acres
Setting: This is an east-facing house on a corner
lot bordered by a picket fence.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [76 GOTHIC STREET]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH.665
___ 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 is an unusual Greek Revival style house with a two-story porch across its front-gabled façade. The brick house is two-and-
a-half stories in height and the main block is three bays wide and the equivalent of four bays deep. It has paneled corner
pilasters and its pediment rests on a two-story porch that has four paneled posts at both first and second story levels. Second
story posts are connected by a square baluster railing. The pediment above the porch is vinyl-sided but in its field is a single,
pointed window of Gothic design. The house has a center entry and first floor windows are elongated. The rear ells are
clapboard-sided.
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 1839, Asahel Abell, a local carpenter, purchased a half acre of land from the trustees of the
Northampton Female Seminary. In the deed the land is described as that on which Mr. Abell ‘recently erected a dwelling house.’
Mr. Abell and his brother Ansell operated a combination saw and planning mill on lower Pleasant Street during the 1840’s, but
little else is known of their business practice. In 1842, Ansell sold the homestead on which both he and his brother were living,
to his brother.”
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. 227-P.81, 205-278, 170-459, 96-329, 84-13