North Maple Street 28-34.pdf
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form. FORM A -AREA MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220MORRISSEY
BOULEVARD BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Photograph Assessor’s Sheets USGS Quad Area Letter Form Numbers in Area 17C-232-239, 308 Easthampton NTH.117. 2538 and 2539 Town: Northampton Place
(neighborhood or village): Florence Name of Area: Norwood Engineering Company Present Use: Commercial Construction Dates or Period: 1870-1930 Overall Condition: good Major Intrusions
and Alterations: Acreage: 5.47 acres Recorded by: Bonnie Parsons Organization: Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Date (month/year): March, 2011 Topographic or Assessor's Map ___ see
continuation sheet
Continuation sheet 1 __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, structural
and landscape features and evaluate in terms of other areas within the community. The mill buildings of Norwood Engineering Company consist of three buildings, two of which are made
up of multiple sections. Two buildings extend along the former railroad line on their north elevations; the third building is located on the south side of the property. The easternmost
building fronts on North Maple Street. It is composed of an oldest section that was built between 1884 and 1895, is two and a half stories in height beneath a gable roof. This section
is red brick, is thirteen bays long at the second story level, five bays deep, and has three vent stacks spaced along its roof ridge. Its windows are segmentally arched and have 12/12
wood sash. On the first story level of the north elevation there are two vehicle bays and a pedestrian door. The first addition to this building is at its northeast corner: a red brick
building under a flat roof. It is eleven bays long on its north elevation and on its other exposed elevation, the east elevation of North Maple Street, it is four bays wide. A parapet
wall extends above the flat roof to divide this addition into a four by three bay office building and a ten by four bay manufacturing portion. The office section has 2/2 wood window
sash on both its east and north elevations. The north and east walls do not meet at a right angle. Rather, the north wall is angled at greater than ninety degrees for a trapezoidal plan.
This addition to the building was made between 1895 and 1902. Between 1902 and 1910 two more additions were made to the building, both fronting on North Maple Street. They are two stories
in height under flat flat roofs with low, stepped parapet walls, but were clearly built at different times as the middle section is recessed further from the street. The first section
that is the southernmost is seven bays wide and about three bays deep. At the first story of the east façade, it has a large vehicle bay occupying two bays under a steel lintel followed
by five bays that include a pedestrian entry. This section of the building is asymmetrical too with an angled west elevation. The windows of this section of the building have 12/12 wood
industrial sash in segmentally arched windows. The setback middle section is also seven bays wide and about three bays deep and has segmentally arched window openings as well. Its windows
have 12/12 wood sash. The second building is yet more complex than the first and contains the first factory built on the site ca. 1873. That particular section of the building is largely
unexposed in its elevations but its gable roof is visible rising above the additions that have been made around it. It is likely that this early building is one-and-a-half stories in
height. This building is separated from the first by a narrow alley. On the south side of the second building is a boiler room with an attached chimney stack. Between 1903 and 1930 this
building was added to with brick and concrete additions that range between two and one stories, then ca. 1960 a large corrugated metal addition was made, which doubled the size of the
building. The third building is a brick and asphalt shingled garage/office. It is one-story in height under a gable roof and has three garage bays with roll-up doors, separated by a
center door and two windows of varying size. The gable ends of the garage are sided in asphalt shingles. HISTORICAL NARRATIVE Explain historical development of the area. Discuss how
this relates to the historical development of the community. From Form B of 1980: “The 1860 map of Florence shows a small village with industry on the Mill River and a residential area
between Main Street and the river. In 1867, the Williamsburg line of the New Haven and Northampton Railroad opened, connecting mill villages of Williamsburg and Northampton to the main
north-south railroad in the center of Northampton. The tracks ran parallel to, and just north of, Main and North Main Streets in Florence, and a freight house and depot were built on
North Maple Street. The railroad encouraged growth in this area, with industries and commercial activity centering on Main and North Maple Streets near the tracks, and residential development
in the area north of the tracks. The first buildings erected on this site were put up about 1870 for Sheffield Manufacturing Company, which proposed to convert iron into a metal resembling
steel. The attempt was a failure, however, and the buildings were soon after purchased by B.M. Couch, who used them for a foundry and machine shop. After Mr. Couch went out of business,
A.G. Hill continued the shop for a few years. In 1892, the Norwood Engineering Company was formed. This company took over over the existing works and continued the general foundry and
machine business. Early in the 20th century, the buildings on North Maple Street were added for the expanding business. By 1929, the Company occupied nearly fifteen acres and employed
200 operatives. Their specialty was designing, manufacturing and installing water purification or filtration plants for towns, cities, and large manufacturers. The
Continuation sheet 2 Company went out of business during the Depression of the 1930’s, and the buildings are now used for a variety of industrial and commercial activities.” 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. South elevation of Building Two. North elevation of Building One.
Continuation sheet 3 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.
Continuation sheet 4 Data Sheet for Area AD 28-32 North Maple Street Building Name Inventory Number Building 1 NTH. 117 Building 2 NTH. 2518 Building 3 NTH.2519