61 Liberty Street
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
30A-52 Easthampton NTH.426
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village) Bay State
Address: 61 Liberty Street
Historic Name: Towhill House
Uses: Present: Single-family residence
Original: Single-family residence
Date of Construction: c. 1895
Source: Atlas and Directories
Style/Form: Queen Anne
Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
Foundation: brick
Wall/Trim: clapboards, shingles, vinyl
Roof: asphalt.
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Garage
Major Alterations (with dates):
Eaves vinyl-sided, ca. 2000.
Condition: good
Moved: no | x | yes | | Date
Acreage: 0.358 acres
Setting: This house is located near the top of a
hillside on Liberty Street on a lot that slopes down towards
the south.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [61 LIBER TY STREET]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH.426
_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.
The Towhill House like its neighbors at #s 14 and 15 is a two-and-a-half story Queen Anne style house under a front-gable roof.
It has a cross-gable bay on its south elevation and a one story ell under a shed roof on its east elevation. The house is
clapboard sided on first and second stories and has shingles in its gable fields. Stringcourses separate the stories and the
materials. It is three bays wide on the west façade and has a wrap around porch from the west to the south elevation. In the
gable field of the west façade is a pointed arch window, a feature that is sometimes seen on other contemporary Northampton
houses.
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 house was built on lot #23 of the Bay State Hardware Company’s subdivision plan. Patrick Towhill,
an employee of the Northampton Cutlery Company (successor to the Bay State Hardware Company) is shown as owning lots
#19, 21, and 23 on the 1884 atlas. The house was probably built during the early 1890’s.”
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. 240-P. 190
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [61 LIBER TY STREET]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 2
NTH.426
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.
This property would contribute to a Bay State Village Historic District as the home of families who worked in the local cutlery
factories that dominated the industry of the village from the middle of the 19th century into the 20th century. Architecturally the
house is a fine example of the Queen Anne style.