51 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-269 Easthampton NTH.131
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village) Florence
Address: 51 Lilly Street
Historic Name: Stephen Fuller House
Uses: Present: single-family house
Original: single-family house
Date of Construction: 1870-1873
Source: atlas of 1873, registry of deeds
Style/Form: Gothic Revival/Italianate
Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
Foundation: brick, concrete
Wall/Trim: vinyl
Roof: not visible
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Major Alterations (with dates):
East wing added after 1980, and windows replaced.
Condition: good
Moved: no | x | yes | | Date
Acreage: 0.224 acres
Setting: This house is on a tree-shaded lot on a quiet side
street in Florence.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON] [51 Lilly Street ]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH.131
_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 one-and-a-half story, vinyl-sided house with a steeply pitched, side-gable roof has a centered cross-gable following a form
that was very popular in the Italianate and Gothic Revival styles. In this case, the cross-gable has scrolled bargeboards, giving it
a Gothic Revival denomination and in the gable of the east end is a scrolled truss of Gothic inspiration. The house is three bays
wide and has a center entry sheltered by a portico on chamfered posts with respondent pilasters flanking the door. On the
hipped roof portico is a low balustrade. The center bay of the second story has a round-arched window, an Italianate style
feature. Twin chimneys are centered on the roof ridge about four feet apart. The vinyl siding has altered the appearance of the
window lintels and the door surround.
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 cottage was constructed in the early 1880s for Stephen Fuller, a Florence insurance agent.
However, Mr. Smith lived on Maple Street. The house was occupied during the late 19th century by Henry Fuller, a civil
engineer.”
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. 603-P….illegible.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON] [51 Lilly Street ]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 2
NTH.131
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.