December 2011 – Historic Buildings of Massachusetts

Capt. Samuel Trevett House (1717)

by Dan/December 22, 2011December 21, 2011/Colonial, Houses, Marblehead

The house at 65 Washington Street in Marblehead was home to members of the Trevett family, a prominent Marblehead shipping dynasty. The sign on the house states that it was built in 1717 for Capt. Benjamin Trevett and his wife, Elizabeth Russell Trevett, as a gift from her brother, the merchant Samuel Russell. They had married in 1710 and their son, Russell Trevett, had been born in 1714. Russell was the father of Capt. Samuel Russell Trevett, who was born in 1751 in the house (the house is named for him, although in the past it was mistakenly called the Capt. Richard Trevett House). Capt. Samuel Trevett led the Marblehead artillery company at the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Bolton Friends Meetinghouse (1796)

by Dan/December 22, 2011January 1, 2012/Churches, Sturbridge, Vernacular

Quakers in Bolton formed the Friends Meeting in 1779 and constructed the Bolton Friends Meetinghouse in 1795. By 1930, membership had dwindled and the Friends joined the Unitarians and Baptists and formed the Bolton Federated Church, known as the First Parish of Bolton. In 1952, the Friends deeded their former meetinghouse to Old Sturbridge Village. It was moved to Sturbridge in 1953 and restored to its original 1796 appearance, necessitating the removal of an 1818 addition.

District School, Old Sturbridge Village (1810)

by Dan/December 21, 2011January 1, 2012/Schools, Sturbridge, Vernacular

The District School at Old Sturbridge Village is a one-room Schoolhouse, originally built in Candia, New Hampshire, c. 1800-1810. It was moved to Sturbridge in 1955.

Edgar F. Crooks House (1886)

by Dan/December 21, 2011/Houses, Northampton, Queen Anne

The house at 28 Pomeroy Terrace in Northampton was built in 1885-1886 by C.H. Jones of Springfield for E.F. Crooks. C.H. Jones was a painter, artist and architect who designed other buildings in Northampton, including the Lilly Library in Florence. Edgar F. Crooks was the superintendent of the factory in Northampton of Belding Brothers & Co., silk manufacturers.

6-8 Pomeroy Terrace, Northampton (1895)

by Dan/December 20, 2011/Houses, Northampton, Queen Anne

The only double house on Pomeroy Terrace in Northampton is located at Nos. 6-8. It was built around 1895 as a rental property by Henry Staplin, on land he had acquired in 1886, when the Pomeroy Terrace development was being established. Staplin was a milliner, with a business at 157 Main Street.

Amherst College President’s House (1834)

by Dan/December 20, 2011/Amherst, Colonial Revival, Greek Revival, Houses

The house of the President of Amherst College was built in 1834-1835. An earlier house, built in 1821-1822, had been considered too damp and unhealthy, so the current house was then built on higher ground, across South Pleasant Street from the main campus buildings. The house, originally designed in the Greek Revival style by Warren Slade Howland, was remodeled in 1891 and again in 1932, with a Georgian Revival style entryway on the north side. The above picture was taken while the most recent renovations on the house were underway this past summer.

Old First Baptist Church, Amherst (1835)

by Dan/December 19, 2011/Amherst, Churches, Greek Revival

The building at 79 South Pleasant Street in Amherst was built in 1834-1835 as the First Baptist Church. The Baptist Society in Amherst began in 1827 as a branch of the New Salem Baptist Church, becoming a branch of the Northampton Baptist Church in 1830. It became an independent organization in 1832. The South Pleasant Street church, designed by Warren S. Howland, was used by the First Baptist Church until 1957, when it moved to a new location at 434 North Pleasant Street. The former church was then used as offices and retail space and was acquired by Amherst College in 2009.