51 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, 2011
Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
24C-90 Easthampton NTH.296
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village)
Address: 51 Massasoit Street
Historic Name:
Uses: Present: Single-family residence
Original: Single-family residence
Date of Construction: 1895-1915
Source: Atlases
Style/Form: Colonial Revival
Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
Foundation: brick
Wall/Trim: vinyl
Roof: asphalt shingles
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Major Alterations (with dates):
Vinyl siding applied and windows replaced, ca. 2000.
Condition: good
Moved: no | x | yes | | Date
Acreage: 0.365 acres
Setting: This house faces west on a lot with a
large side yard.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [51 MASSASOIT STREET]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH.296
___ 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 two-and-a-half story house follows a common Colonial Revival plan and elevation. It has a pyramidal hipped roof with a
hipped cross-gable bay on the south and a centered front dormer with a hipped roof. A chimney rises behind the roof peak.
There is a one-and-a-half story ell on the east. This house is three bays wide at the first story with an off-center entry flanked by
a large, fixed-light window under a transom light and a single window with 1/1 sash. At second story level the house is two bays
wide. Traversing the west façade is a Colonial Revival style porch with a hipped roof that rests on Doric columns. It has a
turned baluster railing. This house form was popular at the beginning of the 20th century for its simplified floor plan and large
spaces that adapted well to family life.
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 1880s
and mid 1890s. By 1895, most of the present residences had been constructed, and any further building took place by filling in
the gaps.”
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.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [51 MASSASOIT STREET]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 2
NTH.296
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 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 house is a fine 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.