Middle Street 58.pdf
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form. FORM B − BUILDING MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220MORRISSEY 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 23A-132 Easthampton NTH.200 Town: Northampton Place: (neighborhood or village) Florence Address: 58 Middle Street Historic
Name: Mrs. Lucinda H. Smith House Uses: Present: Single-family residence Original: Single-family residence Date of Construction: 1873-1884 Source: Atlases Style/Form: eclectic Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material: Foundation: brick Wall/Trim: vinyl Roof: asphalt shingles Outbuildings/Secondary Structures: Garage Major Alterations (with dates): House sided and windows replaced,
ca. 1990 Condition: good Moved: no | x | yes | | Date Acreage: 0.155 acres Setting: This is a north-facing house near the corner of Middle and Maple Streets.
INVENTORY FORMB CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON] [58MIDDLE STREET] MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation
sheet 1 NTH.200 _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 one of a number of similar, compact houses on Middle Street that are one-and-a-half stories
in height under front-gable roofs. Though they are not identical as to proportions and details, they represent a common house form for workers’ in Florence’s factories. This is a modest
version of the form with a relatively shallow roof pitch. The house has been expanded with a one-and-a-half story rear ell and enclosed west porch. It has a shed roof dormer on the west
side of the roof and a square bay window on the west as well. The house has a full-width porch across the north façade. It is supported on Colonial Revival style columns which are probably
of later date than the house and replacing earlier posts. 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 one-and-a-half story cottage was built on the rear of the Maple Street homestead
which bordered Center Street (now Middle Street). The 1884 atlas shows the house on Maple Street and this house in the rear, facing Center Street. Both were owned by Mrs. Lucinda H.
Smith. The 1885 directory lists Mrs. Smith, the widow of Pomeroy Smith, as living on Center Street, while James E. Smith, a clerk at W.H. Smith’s grocery on North Main Street in Florence,
is listed as living on Maple Street, corner of West Center Street. By 1895, Mrs. Smith was listed at the Center Street address.” 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.
INVENTORY FORMB CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON] [58MIDDLE STREET] MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation
sheet 2 NTH.200 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. On Middle Street many of the houses are further
distinguished as being among the earliest workers’ housing made of concrete in Northampton. The potential district has integrity of workmanship, design, feeling, association, and materials.