54 North Maple 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, 2011
Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
17C-138 Easthampton NTH.95
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village) Florence
Address: 54 North Maple Street
Historic Name: Watson Wilcox House
Uses: Present: Two-family residence
Original: Single-family residence
Date of Construction: 1867-1873
Source: Map and Atlas
Style/Form: Italianate
Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
Foundation: parged brick
Wall/Trim: clapboards
Roof: slate
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Studio
Major Alterations (with dates):
Windows replaced ca. 2000 with vinyl
Condition: good
Moved: no | x | yes | | Date
Acreage: 0.375 acres
Setting: This east-facing house sits on a slightly
raised lot in a dense, residential neighborhood.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [54 NORTH MAPLE STREET]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH.95
___ 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 a one-and-a-half story house with a front-gable roof and represents housing for the developing middle class of
Northampton. It is three bays wide and its side hall entry is sheltered by a flat-roofed, Italianate hood on carved consoles with
pendants. This is one of the most common house forms in Northampton but stands out from many by the extra detail of its
elaborate entry hood. The house is clapboard sided and has parged brick foundations and a slate roof indicating the high quality
of its initial construction. It was given additional floor space with a one-story bay window on the north elevation and a one-story
ell on the west that has a one-story wing on its north elevation. Window sash has been replaced with vinyl 1/1.
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 small Victorian cottage was probably built in the late 1860’s. The Williamsburg line of the New
Haven and Northampton Railroad was opened in 1867, and a freight house and depot were erected on North Maple Street. This
spurred industrial development in the area north of Main Street in Florence. The house first appeared on the 1873 atlas and was
owned by Watson Wilcox, who was listed in the directory as Express Agent and Telegraph operator. Mr. Wilcox maintained this
residence through the end of the 19th century.”
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