186 North Main 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
16D-8 Easthampton NTH.59
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village) Florence
Address: 186 North Main Street
Historic Name: Edwin Mason House
Uses: Present: Two-family residence
Original: Single-family residence
Date of Construction: 1888-1889
Source: Registry of Deeds and Directory
Style/Form: Queen Anne/Colonial Revival
Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
Foundation: brick
Wall/Trim: clapboards
Roof: asphalt
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Major Alterations (with dates):
Windows replaced, ca. 2000
Condition: good
Moved: no | x | yes | | Date
Acreage: 0.174 acres
Setting: This is a north-facing house that occupies a
corner lot in a neighborhood of late 19th c. houses.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON] [186 NORTH MAIN STREET]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH.59
___ 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 house like its neighbor at 172-174 North Main Street, is a well-preserved example of the Queen Anne style. It is a two-and-
a-half story house with a front-gable roof. It has a two-and-a-half story wing on the east and a two-story ell on the south for a T-
shaped plan. The main block of the house is three bays wide and has a side hall entry with a pedimented portico on Doric
colonettes. The wing is three bays wide and has an altered window on the first floor and a secondary entry sheltered by a
smaller, pedimented portico. Windows in the house have capped lintels and replacement 4/1 sash. In the gable end of the main
block is a pointed window, found in a number of Queen Anne style houses in Northampton, and a diamond shaped window in
the gable end of the wing. Although the house is primarily Queen Anne, its all-clapboard exterior and simple trim, along with its
colonettes supported portico are transitional to the Colonial Revival style.
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 large two-and-a-half story house was built in the late 1880’s for Edwin Mason, a gardener.”
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. 425- P. 59, 298-237