17 Linden 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: Bonnie Parsons
Organization: Pioneer Valley Planning Commission
Date (month / year): March, 2010
Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
25C-207 Easthampton NTH.408
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village)
Address: 17 Linden Street
Historic Name: Nelson Hebert House
Uses: Present: Single-family residence
Original: Single-family residence
Date of Construction: possibly 1860-1873
Source: Map and Atlas
Style/Form: Raised Cape form
Architect/Builder: attr. builder: Nelson Hebert.
Exterior Material:
Foundation: parged brick
Wall/Trim: shingles
Roof: asphalt shingles
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Major Alterations (with dates): deck added on south
façade, ca. 2000.
Condition: good
Moved: no | | yes | | possibly Date ca. 1880
Acreage: 0.327 acres
Setting: This house faces south and away from the street
on which it is located towards a large open space.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [17 LINDEN STREET]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH.408
___ 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 raised Cape house under a side-gable roof with an off-center chimney behind the roof ridge. It is one-and-a-half stories
in height and is three bays wide and two deep. There are two knee-high windows on the south façade. The entrance to the
house is off-center and between two windows with 6/6 sash. There is a one-story wing on the east elevation. As a house form,
the raised Cape became less popular once the Greek Revival’s front-gable houses with side hall entries were introduced
commonly about 1830, as the side hall floor plan was more economical and the layout was an improvement for family living. If
the construction date is accurate, this house was a conservative design.
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 predates Linden Street, which wasn’t opened until 1893. It was reached by a small avenue
off Walnut Street and was built between 1860 and 1873, most probably by Nelson Hebert, a carpenter who is listed as owning
the property on the 1873 atlas. The house also faces southerly, away from Linden Street.”
The location of this house according to the atlases cited above is not as clear as the text suggests. Further research is needed
to ascertain whether the house was moved to its present location or not. Construction of the house would suggest an earlier
date.
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.