10 Park 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): April, 2011
Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
23A-17 Easthampton NTH.164
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village) Florence
Address: 10 Park Street
Historic Name: Amos Eldridge House
Uses: Present: Single-family residence
Original: Single-family residence
Date of Construction: 1857-1860
Source: Registry of Deeds and Map
Style/Form: Italianate
Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
Foundation: brick
Wall/Trim: vinyl, wood shingles
Roof: asphalt
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Barn
Major Alterations (with dates):
Rear ell and side porch added, ca. 1910. Vinyl siding
added and window sash replaced, ca. 2009.
Condition: good
Moved: no | x | yes | | Date
Acreage: 0.769 acres
Setting: This is an east-facing building on a residential
and tree-shaded street.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [10 PARK STREET]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH.164
_x__ 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 two-and-a-half story, Italianate style house with a bracket-supported, front-gable roof with wide eaves. It has a wide
frieze beneath the eaves and wide cornerboards. Siding is vinyl. The house is three bays wide and its east façade has a
wraparound porch that crosses to the south elevation. The porch has a low hipped roof that rests on turned posts and its sta irs
are marked by a roof pediment that has a wood shingled tympanum. The porch eaves are decorated with scroll-cut brackets.
There is an ell on the west elevation that has a one-story enclosed porch on its south side. The porch is Colonial Revival in
style. The main block of the house has a two-story angled bay on its south elevation to give added volume and light to the
interior.
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 1857, Amos Eldridge purchased a little more than an acre of land from Samuel Hill for $200. As Mr.
Eldridge was a carpenter, he probably built this house himself. He resided here through most of the 19th century. The house is
shown in a ‘View of Florence and Residence’ dated about 1865 and reprinted in Sheffield’s book.”
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. 173-P. 393
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [10 PARK STREET]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 2
NTH.164
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 property would contribute to a Florence Center Historic District. The potential historic district of Florence
Center is significant as the commercial, residential, institutional center of the village that developed from 1657 when
it was set off as Northampton’s “Inner Commons” as agricultural land and 1681 when the first sawmill was erected at
a falls on the Mill River. The agricultural and industrial village developed through the 18th and 19th centuries around
industry on the Mill River, agriculture on the alluvial flood plain and the Strong Tavern and later Cottage Hotel at the
intersection of Main and Maple Streets. It is significant for the silk industry that flourished through the Civil war as
an alternative to slave-picked cotton and for the establishment of the Northampton Association for Education and
Industry, a utopian community that existed 1843-1847. Association members after its close continued in Florence
their principles of equality by running the Underground Railroad through the village and harboring fugitive slaves. It
is significant as the home of Sojourner Truth. 19th century industry in the Center included the Florence Sewing
Machine Company, which built its own housing.
Architecturally the Center is significant for the range of Gothic Revival, Italianate, Stick Style, French Second
Empire, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival style homes, for its commercial blocks and library in the Revival styles of
the late 19th century. Gothic Revival and Italianate style churches are architect-designed in high style versions. The
potential district has integrity of workmanship, design, feeling, association, and materials.