The house at 51 Court Street in Westfield was built in 1845-1846 for Merwin Loomis, a prominent grocer, and his wife, Lydia. Later, the house was the residence of his granddaughter, Florence, and her husband, Harold Stevens, a former bank treasurer for the Hampden National Bank. Today, the house is home to Lydia’s Gathering Place, a by-reservation-only dining alternative for Small Group Gatherings named for Lydia Loomis.
The Greater Westfield Chapter of the American Red Cross is headquartered in a Greek Revival house at 48 Broad Street in Westfield. Known as the Cobb-Norton House, it is believed to have been built by Cephas Cobb around 1830. Cobb‘s son, Gilbert, was a newspaper publisher and town clerk of Westfield. Gilbert Cobb‘s sister Clara married H.B. Smith, a boiler manufacturer. In 1855, the house was sold to Lewis K. Norton, a hardware merchant and bank president. The house was converted into a Red Cross headquarters in 1945 through the gift of Frederick L. Parker and his wife. Parker was president of the United States Whip Company.
The Greek Revival-style Town Hall of Hadley was built in 1841. It was constructed by William Pratt, a builder who was the father of architect William Fenno Pratt.
The house at 342 Essex Street in Salem, designed by Gridley J.F. Bryant, combines Greek Revival and Italianate elements. It was built in 1846 for Henry Laurens Williams, a partner in the merchant firm of Williams and Daland and president of the Five Cents Savings Bank. He served as mayor of Salem in 1875-1876.
The double house at at 38-40 Chestnut Street in Salem was built in about 1845 and architecturally represents the transition from the Federal to the Greek Revival style. The original resident of the west half of the house (until 1859) was Rev. James W. Thompson, while the other half was the residence of Captain Nathaniel West, Sr. As described in History of the Military Company of the Massachusetts, Now Called the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts. 1637-1888, Vol. III.-1822-1865 (1898), by Olver Ayer Roberts:
Rev. James W. Thompson, D. D., of Salem, delivered the Artillery Election sermon of 1833. He was a son of Rev. James Thompson, D. D., of Barre, Mass., and was born in that town Dec. 13, 1805. He graduated at Brown University in 1827, and at the Theological School of Harvard University in 1831. Prior to his graduation he was ordained to the Christian ministry. He settled first in Natick. An invitation to settle over the Independent Congregation Society, in Barton Square, Salem, was accepted by him, and he was installed March 7, 1832. He remained in this ministry twenty-seven years, and resigned March 7, 1859. He left Salem, and accepted an invitation to the Third or Jamaica Plain Parish Church, in 1859, where he continued as sole or senior pastor until his decease, which occurred Sept. 24, 1881. The funeral services were held in the Unitarian Church at Jamaica Plain, and his remains were buried in Salem.
The eastern half of the double house was later home to Joseph B. Andrews, mayor of Salem in 1854-1856. As described in Historical Sketch of Salem, 1626-1879 (1879), by Charles S. Osgood and H.M. Batchelder:
Joseph Andrews served as mayor in 1854-55. He was born in Salem Dec. 10, 1808, and died in Boston Feb. 8, 1869. He was captain of the Salem Light Infantry and brigadier-general of tho State militia, which position he held in 1861, at the opening of the Rebellion. He commanded at Fort Warren, in Boston harbor, and had charge of the State troops sent to that station prior to their departure for the seat of war, and until it ceased to be used for that purpose. He was a bank official.
Captain John B. Silsbee owned the western half of the house in the late 1850’s and 1860’s. The bay window above the left entrance is an early twentieth-century addition.
Appleton Hall, on the campus of Amherst College, was built in 1855 as Appleton Cabinet to house the college’s growing natural history collection, which was expanding beyond the the space provided by the 1847 Octagon. In 1925, the building was renamed Appleton Hall and remodeled as an academic building with lecture halls and offices. In 1999, Appleton Hall was converted into a first-year dormitory.
At 13 Chestnut Street (corner of Cambridge Street) in Salem is a Greek Revival house built around 1832 by carpenter William Lummus for Miss Elizabeth King. From 1884 to 1923, it was the home of Dr. Thomas Kittredge, surgeon general of the Commonwealth. The bay window above the front door is a later addition.
