44 Massasoit 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
24C-74 Easthampton NTH.288
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village)
Address: 44 Massasoit Street
Historic Name: John W. Draper House
Uses: Present: Single-family residence
Original: Single-family residence
Date of Construction: 1889-1895
Source: Registry of Deeds and Atlas
Style/Form: Queen Anne
Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
Foundation: brick
Wall/Trim: clapboards
Roof: asphalt shingles
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Major Alterations (with dates): Wing added, carport
added, windows added at attic level, 1980-2000.
Condition: good
Moved: no | x | yes | | Date
Acreage: 0.444 acres
Setting: This is an east-facing house on a
residential street of similarly-dated houses.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [44 MASSASOIT STREET]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH.288
__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 Draper House is a two-and-a-half story house under a side-gable roof with a centered dross-gable bay on the east façade.
In the south angle between the main block and the cross-gable bay is a shed-roofed porch that rests on a single turned post.
Full-length French doors open on to this porch. In the north angle between the main block and the cross-gabled bay is a flat-
roofed porch and a one-story added wing that may originally have been a wrap around porch that was enclosed for use as a
room. The cross-gable bay is angled on the first story and rectangular on the second story creating chamfered corners.
Windows are paired throughout much of the house and all have replacement 1/1 sash. There is a shed-roofed carport on the
north elevation. This house has been modernized and much of its original trim has been removed, but in form it retains its
Queen Anne styling.
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: “Massasoit Street was laid out in 1869 but most of the development took place between the mid 1880’s
and mid 1890’s. In 1889, John W. Draper, co-proprietor of a firm which did tinning plumbing, and steam and gas fitting,
purchased lot no. 8 of the subdivision plan for $425. This house was constructed by 1895 when it appears on the atlas, and
served as Mr. Draper’s homestead.”
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. 424-P. 53, 406-33, 402-144
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [44 MASSASOIT STREET]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 2
NTH.288
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.
The Draper House would contribute to a potential historic district that extends north of Northampton’s primary
corridor, Elm Street, encircling and encompassing the primary feature of that landscape, Round Hill. The potential
historic district is significant for its 19th century development from a few gentlemen’s farms to a neighborhood dense
with the homes of its most prominent residents and educational institutions that shaped the character of Northampton
for several hundred years to the present.
Architecturally the potential historic district is significant for the mix of high style late Gothic Revival, Italianate, and
Queen Anne style houses, the Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival styles of the 20th century that were often architect-
designed by the region’s most well-known designers. The Draper House is a fair example of the Colonial Revival
style and would contribute to the historic district. This potential historic district has integrity of workmanship,
feeling, setting, design and materials.