84 North Main 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
17C-262 Easthampton NTH.127
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village) Florence
Address: 84 North Main Street
Historic Name: Clarissa and Calvin Torrey House
Uses: Present: Single-family residence
Original: Single-family residence
Date of Construction: 1886-1888
Source: Registry of Deeds, Atlas, and Directory
Style/Form: Queen
Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
Foundation: brick
Wall/Trim: vinyl
Roof: asphalt
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Garage
Major Alterations (with dates):
Windows replaced and siding added, post-1980.
Condition: good
Moved: no | x | yes | | Date
Acreage: 0.259 acres
Setting: this is a north-facing house on a residential
section of Route 9.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON] [84 NORTH MAIN STREET]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH.127
___ 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 Torrey House is a good example of the popular gable-and-wing house form of the mid- to late-19th century. It is one-and-a-
half stories in height and the front-gable section is three bays wide with a full-width porch across its north façade. The wing is
two bays wide and also is preceded by a porch. Both porches have post supports with solid brackets at their eaves. Two
dormers have been inserted at the angle of the gable and the wing. One is front-gabled and the other is a shed roof dormer and
both were added to provide space on the second floor. An unusual detail that is also space-providing is the angled bay window
on the second story above the north porch roof. The house has been vinyl sided and its original 2/2 wood windows have been
replaced with 2/2 vinyl windows. The house has a separate garage.
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 1872, John Eager bought a ¼ acre lot on North Main Street for $500. This was the old ‘road to
Williamsburg,’ and in the section between Bridge Road and the center of Florence, the street runs close to the terrace drop-off
into the Florence Meadows through which the Mill River runs. During the last third of the 19th century, this street became lined
with modest residences of the Florence working class. Mr. Eager, who never seems to have lived in Northampton, did not
develop this lot and sold it in 1886 for the same $500 to Calvin and Clarissa Torrey. The 1888 Directory lists Mr. Torrey on
North Main Street and describes him as a boot and shoe merchant on North Maple Street in Florence.”
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. 405-P. 63, 293-409, 264-255