116 North Maple 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
17A-210 Easthampton NTH.75
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village) Florence
Address: 116 North Maple Street
Historic Name: J. Van Slyke House
Uses: Present: Single-family residence
Original: Single-family residence
Date of Construction: circa 1870
Source: 1884 Atlas of Northampton
Style/Form: French Second Empire
Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
Foundation: brick
Wall/Trim: clapboards
Roof: asphalt shingles
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Garage
Major Alterations (with dates):
West porch enclosed
Condition: good
Moved: no | x | yes | | Date
Acreage: 0.572 acres
Setting: This is an east-facing house that occupies a wide
lot on a residential street.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON] [116 NORTH MAPLE STREET]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH.75
___ 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 is one of the more ornate of the French Second Empire style houses in Northampton, though it is relatively small in scale. It
is a one-and-a-half story house whose second story windows extend through the lower slope of a mansard roof. The roof
arches over each of the windows in an uncommon fashion that allows the upper story to be nearly full-height. The main block of
the house is L-shaped in plan and in the angle made by the two house sections is a three-story tower beneath a mansard roof.
A full-width porch on turned posts crosses the east façade and turns on to the south elevation where it ends at the tower to
shelter the main entry. The house has a one-story wing at the southwest corner, which appears to have been a porch that was
later enclosed. There is an angled bay window on the south elevation as well as an added exterior wall chimney of concrete
blocks. Brackets of varying sizes ornament the roof eaves as they flare beyond the exterior walls, as they arch over the
windows and as they extend above the porch. The ornament extends to first floor windows with crown moldings supported on a
row of small brackets. This combination of features is repeated over the main entry as well. The highly individual architectural
features of this house make it unique in Northampton.
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 1976: “Today, General William P. Hurley resides here. He has occupied the dwelling for a number of years.”
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.