216 Locust 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
23B-48 Easthampton NTH.239
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village) Florence
Address: 216 Locust Street
Historic Name: Converse House
Uses: Present: Single-family residence
Original: Single-family residence
Date of Construction: 1868-1878
Source: Registry of Deeds & Atlas
Style/Form: Gothic Revival
Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
Foundation: brick
Wall/Trim: vinyl
Roof: slate
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Garage
Major Alterations (with dates): vinyl siding applied over
brick, 1980-2005; windows replaced ca. 2000; porch
enclosed pre-1980.
Condition:
Moved: no | | yes | | Date
Acreage: 0.37 acres
Setting:
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [216 LOCUST STREET]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH.239
___ 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 Converse House was one of the brick Gothic Revival houses that were built in the 1880s (see 10 Allen Place, 11 Allen
Place, 13 Finn Street) in Northampton and which collectively contribute to its late 19th century architectural richness. Well-built, it
has a steeply-pitched, slate roof that is side-gable with a centered cross-gable. The use of the cross-gable was a popular
feature of both Gothic Revival and Italianate style houses in Northampton at the turn-of-the-century. The house is three bays
wide and one bay deep and has a one-and-a-half story ell on the south elevation. The north façade is obscured by an enclosed
porch. Between 1980 and about 2005, the house was vinyl-sided thereby obscuring its Gothic Revival brickwork. Its windows
were replaced with vinyl 1/1 sash, which further detracts from the integrity of the house.
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: “In 1868, a subdivision was filed for a sizeable edition to the Florence village plan. This was for the land
between South Main Street and Locust-Main Streets, bounded on the east by the terrace drop-off for Broughton Brook. By
1873, nine houses had been built. This was the only brick house built and was also the first one to be built on Locust Street.” On
the map of 1873 it is called the Converse house.
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. 249-P.110