Category Archives: Westfield

William C. Clark House (1887)

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Daniel

William C. Clark House (1887)

The house at 52 Broad Street in Westfield was built in 1886-1887 for William C. Clark. He served as town selectman and his son, Frederic, was a surgeon who used the house as his home and office.

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79 Broad Street, Westfield (1820)

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Daniel

The origins of the building at 79 Broad Street in Westfield are uncertain and complicated by the fact that the house has been completely altered inside. It was built between 1810 and 1830 and is said to have been a blacksmith shop. It was later converted into a residence and is now used as offices. The building is transitional in style from the Federal to the Greek Revival and has an addition and a projecting pediment and brackets that were added in the later nineteenth century. The front doorway was added in the late 1970s.

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Clapp Tavern (1743)

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Daniel

The Clapp Tavern in Westfield has gone through many changes over the years. Ezra Clapp came to Westfield in 1743 and built his house in 1747. From 1766 to the 1790s, the house was used as a tavern and was a meeting place for Westfield patriots during the Revolutionary War. General Henry Knox is said to have stayed at the Clapp Tavern while on his epic journey hauling artillery from Fort Ticonderoga to Cambridge in 1775-1776. In 1800, the house was bought by Samuel Fowler. In 1838, his son, James Fowler, first President of the Hampden National Bank, moved the house west from the corner of Elm and Court Streets to its present site at 53 Court Street to make way for a new house. Judge Homer Stevens had his home and office in the Tavern from 1870 to 1902. He made a number of alterations, including replacing the original central chimney with two smaller ones. A later owner, Zebina Caldwell, a carpenter, added the pent roof in front and the side porches.

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Watson-Steiger-Loomis House (1858)

Posted on December 21, 2012 by Daniel

At 28 King Street in Westfield is an octagon house, built between 1858, when Joseph H. Watson purchased the land, and 1864, when he sold the property, which by then included the house. Octagon houses were popularized by Orson Squire Fowler in his book, The Octagon House, A Home for All. A two-story rear extension was added to the house in the early 1870s. The front porch was added around 1900. Albert Steiger, founder of Steiger’s Department Stores, owned the house in the 1880s. After 1908, it was owned by the Loomis family. I’ve featured many other octagon houses on my Connecticut website.

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Silas King House (1780)

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Daniel

At 150 Main Street in Westfield is a colonial house, built c. 1780 for Silas King by his father Aaron, who lived across the street. In 1780, Silas King married Sally Eager Noble. (more…)

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Hampden National Bank (1825)

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Daniel

The building at 6 Main Street in Westfield has gone through many changes over the years. It was built in 1825 as the Hampden National Bank on land provided by James Fowler, who served as the bank’s president until 1842. Originally, the building had a Federal or Greek Revival style facade with four freestanding columns supporting a large pediment. In 1853, the facade was completely altered to become an Italianate brownstone. The expanding bank moved to a new building next door in 1924. Since then, other businesses have occupied the original bank building. The building was damaged by fire in 1974. At some point, the facade on the first floor of the building was completely altered to its present appearance and the bank sign atop the building was removed. (more…)

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J.D. Bartlett House (1865)

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Daniel

The Italianate residence at 27 King Street in Westfield was built around 1865. In 1870, J.D. Bartlett is listed as the owner. This may be the same J.D. Bartlett who is mentioned in several sources as a local historian. Vol. 2 of “Our County and its People” A History of Hampden County, Massachusetts (1902) mentions “J. D. Bartlett, of Westfield, who has spent much time in gathering facts for a history of the town,” and Rev. John H. Lockwood, in Vol. 1 of his Westfield and Its Historic Influences (1922), mentions “the historical notes of J. D. Bartlett, gathered with such patience and at such personal cost.”

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