105 Prospect 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): April, 2011
Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
31B-015-001 Easthampton NTH.
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village)
Address: 105 Prospect Street
Historic Name: T. Parsons House
Uses: Present: Single-family house
Original: Single-family house
Date of Construction: ca. 1750-90
Source: map of 1794
Style/Form: altered Georgian
Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
Foundation: parged stone
Wall/Trim: shingles
Roof: asphalt
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Major Alterations (with dates):
Ell and chimney attached, n.d., entry hood added, siding
added, n.d.; center chimney removed
Condition: good
Moved: no | x | yes | | Date
Acreage: 0.163 acres
Setting: This house is set close to the street in
alignment with neighbors. Its lost slopes down to the east.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [105 Prospect Street]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH.
_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 house under a steeply pitched, side-gable roof. The house rests on parged foundations , is rustic
shingle sided and has an asphalt roof whose center chimney has been removed. The house is four bays wide and two deep and
has a two story ell on the east with an exterior chimney. Although the house is sided, its early date is signaled by its four bay
west façade, whose asymmetry is characteristic of some 18th century houses, as is the steep roof pitch. Windows are relatively
large for an 18th century date, but they are set close to the eaves at the second story. The off-center entry has an added small
hood on brackets suggesting a 19th c. date. The entry itself is rather tall and narrow suggesting a post-Revolutionary date.
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.
Prospect Street first appears on the map of 1794 though that map does not identify houses and owners. The first map on which
the house appears is that of 1831 and is unnamed in 1860. In 1873 it is the house of T. Parsons and remained in that ownership
through 1895. By 1919 the house was occupied by John Gleasner who was a plumber. He was followed in 1930 by Smith
College professor Merle Curti. In 1940 Professor John Duke and Dorothy Duke occupied the house. Duke was also a Smith
College faculty member.
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.
Northampton Street Directories 1919-1940
U.S. Federal Censuses 1900-1930
Walker, George H. and Company. Atlas of Northampton City, Massachusetts, Boston, 1884.
Walling, Henry F. Map of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, New York, 1860.