17 Lilly 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
17C-276 Easthampton NTH.133
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village) Florence
Address: 17 Lilly Street
Historic Name: William A. and Phebe Cunningham
House Uses: Present: Single-family residence
Original: Single-family residence
Date of Construction: c. 1850
Source: Registry of Deeds
Style/Form: Raised Cape
Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
Foundation: concrete
Wall/Trim: clapboards
Roof: asphalt shingles
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Attached garage
Major Alterations (with dates):
Condition: good
Moved: no | | yes | x | Date ca. 1890
Acreage: 0.263 acres
Setting: This house occupies a corner lot and faces west
on a residential street.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [17 LILLY STREET]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH.133
__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 house form that became popular in western Massachusetts after mid-19th century, the raised cape. By extending the
height of the wall studs and thereby raising the roof, the house achieved additional headroom in the attic to create a second floor
for additional sleeping space. The house is five bays wide and one bay deep and there is a one-story, shed roof ell on the
northwest and a one-and-a-half story ell section on the northeast to which is attached a garage. These ell additions were
presumably made after the house was moved. Sash in the house is 6/6, which is consistent with its pre-1860 date. The center
door surround has been altered and a new version of a trabeated surround has been applied.
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 small cottage first appears on this site on the 1895 atlas. It was owned and occupied by Frederick
Stockwell II, an employee of the Florence Machine Company. However, it is reported that the house was moved from Park
Street, when a new house was constructed for Albert Shumway (no. 63) about 1890. Park Street is shown as a connecting
route on the 1831 map, but wasn’t developed until E.W. Eaton’s plan of 1846-47 for ‘Village Lots’ on Park, Maple, Pine and West
Center Streets. This house probably dates from that period.” The house on Park Street on the 1860 map was owned by W. A.
Cunningham. On the federal census for 1860 William and Phebe Cunningham were living in Northampton and William was a
laborer. They owned their own house in that year.
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. 116-P.360
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [17 LILLY STREET]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 2
NTH.133
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 Florence Center Historic District. The potential historic district of Florence
Center is significant as the commercial, residential, institutional center of the village that developed from 1657 when
it was set off as Northampton’s “Inner Commons” as agricultural land and 1681 when the first sawmill was erected at
a falls on the Mill River. The agricultural and industrial village developed through the 18th and 19th centuries around
industry on the Mill River, agriculture on the alluvial flood plain and the Strong Tavern and later Cottage Hotel at the
intersection of Main and Maple Streets. It is significant for the silk industry that flourished through the Civil war as
an alternative to slave-picked cotton and for the establishment of the Northampton Association for Education and
Industry, a utopian community that existed 1843-1847. Association members after its close continued in Florence
their principles of equality by running the Underground Railroad through the village and harboring fugitive slaves. It
is significant as the home of Sojourner Truth. 19th century industry in the Center included the Florence Sewing
Machine Company, which built its own housing.
Architecturally the Center is significant for the range of Gothic Revival, Italianate, Stick Style, French Second
Empire, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival style homes, for its commercial blocks and library in the Revival styles of
the late 19th century. Gothic Revival and Italianate style churches are architect-designed in high style versions. The
potential district has integrity of workmanship, design, feeling, association, and materials.