58 Hawley 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: Jayne Bernhard-Armington
Organization: Pioneer Valley Planning Commission
Date (month / year): June, 2010
Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
32A-167 Easthampton NTH.2067
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village)
Address: 58 Hawley Street
Historic Name: William Butler House
Uses: Present: Four-unit residence
Original: Single Family residence
Date of Construction: c. 1800
Source: Registry of Deeds
Style/Form: Federal
Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
Foundation: Stone
Wall/Trim: Vinyl
Roof: Asphalt
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Major Alterations (with dates):
Condition: Good
Moved: no | x | yes | | Date
Acreage: 0.184 acres
Setting: House faces west onto Hawley Street on what is
now a corner lot. Up and down the western side Hawley
Street, parallel to the railroad tracks, are commercial, office,
and industrial businesses. The eastern side of Hawley
Street is predominantly comprised of residential uses. This
house sits at the western edge of a turn of the century
residential subdivision. Shrubbery and plantings line the
foundation of the home and mature trees can be found in
the rear.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON] [58 HAWLEY STREET]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH.2067
_X__ 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 a two-and-a-half story Federal style home with side gabled roof. The home is five bays wide and four bays deep. At the
center of the front façade is an entrance portico with open triangular form and classical entablature and it is supported by
unfluted columns on high pedestals. The elegant front entrance is framed by fluted pilasters and has a fanlight. The home has
two brick chimneys that are equally spaced along the ridgeline of the principal block of the house. The twelve over twelve sash
windows are vinyl replacements and the house is now covered in vinyl. There is a large two-story addition to the rear of the
home. On the northern elevation of the rear ell, there is a side entrance covered by a hipped roof porch with simple entablature
and tapered columns. On the southern elevation of the rear ell, there is a two-story porch of no architectural distinction that
provides access to the second floor. The house has a brick foundation and an asphalt roof.
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 1975 & 1980: “The house was probably built near the end of the 18th century. William Butler obtained 1 ¼ acres
‘with the house thereon standing’ in 1803. He possibly rebuilt at this time, but most likely the house dates back to the last two
decades of the 18th century when the property was owned by Quartus Pomeroy.
William Butler, a printer from Hartford, Connecticut, settled in Northampton in 1786. He was the first of three Butlers
who settles in the town. In the same year, he established the Hampshire Gazette, the oldest continuously published newspaper
in Massachusetts, and one of the oldest in the country. He also established a paper mill on the Mill River about the same time.
This was one of the first in western Massachusetts, and was operated by him until 1817. From 1817 to 1836, his younger
brother Daniel operated the mill. In 1815, owing to ill health, William sold the paper. Simeon Butler, William’s cousin, continued
the other facets of the Butler business: a job printing office, a book bindery and a book store.
The house continued in the Butler family through most of the 19h century.”
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. 20- P. 596, 18-117, 13-327, 11-184 and 407, 2-177