31 Ladd Avenue
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
30B-82 Easthampton NTH.440
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village) Bay State
Address: 31 Ladd Avenue
Historic Name: James Mantor House
Uses: Present: Single-family residence
Original: Single-family residence
Date of Construction: 1860-1867
Source: Map & Registry of Deeds
Style/Form: gable and wing
Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
Foundation: brick
Wall/Trim: clapboards
Roof: asphalt shingles
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Major Alterations (with dates):
Windows replaced, ca. 2000; porch railings altered, and
side porch glass-enclosed, ca. 1920.
Condition: good
Moved: no | x | yes | | Date
Acreage: 0.686 acres
Setting: This house faces north in a mixed
neighborhood of factory buildings and residences dating
from the end of the 19th century.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [31 LADD AVENUE]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH.440
_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 one-and-a-half story house under a front-gable roof with a one-and-a-half story wing on its west elevation. It is one of
the most common house forms in Northampton constructed for workers’ housing during the second half of the 19th century,
being compact and adaptable to families of varying sizes. It is three bays wide with a side hall entry behind a full-width porch,
and the wing has a glass-enclosed porch across its north façade as well. At the time of its construction the building was
probably more evidently Italianate in style. Remaining today of that style are the relatively wide eaves that are thinly boxed and
make returns in the gable ends and the full-length windows on the first story of the north façade. The windows have lintels with
crown moldings, which are repeated above the main entry and the house has a relatively wide frieze beneath the cornice and
moderate cornerboards. The porch was altered in the 20th century. It rests on heavy posts above solid railings that are battered
in Craftsman style, being wider at the base than at their top.
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: “This one and a half story house was built during the 1860’s for the Bay State Hardware Company, which
was located just north of here at the curve in Riverside Drive. The Hardware Co. owned most of the land in Bay State north a nd
east of Riverside Drive and filed a subdivision plan in 1867 for the development of residential lots. Many of the houses were first
owned by the company (or their successors, Northampton Cutlery Company), and sold to individual owners later on. This house
and lot was purchased by James Mantor, a mechanic, in 1867, for $2000.”
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.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [31 LADD AVENUE]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 2
NTH.440
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 Mantor House would contribute to a potential Bay State Village Historic District as a representative of the
village’s workers’ housing from the 19th century when the village was a cutlery manufacturing center. In this and
several neighboring houses, residents worked as polishers, shippers, mechanics and other trades in the factories
making up Northampton’s working class residents.
Architecturally the buildings in this potential historic district are late 19th century in style and modest in scale. They
were mostly privately owned and have been well-maintained. The district has integrity of design, association,
workmanship, materials, setting and feeling.