Category: Federal

East Arsenal, Springfield Armory (1836)

by Dan//Federal, Military, Springfield

Another of the early arsenal buildings at Springfield Armory is the East Arsenal, constructed in 1836. Originally a storehouse for arms, the East Arsenal, like the neighboring West and Middle Arsenals, was converted to other uses after the completion of the Main Arsenal in 1851. The former East Arsenal was later enlarged and attached to the Armory’s administration building, thus enclosing the southeast corner of Armory Square. The building is now known as Garvey Hall South and is part of the campus of Springfield Technical Community College.

Middle Arsenal, Springfield Armory (1830)

by Dan//Federal, Military, Springfield

The Middle Arsenal at the Springfield Armory was constructed in 1830 and was the first three-story building on the Armory grounds. Used to store arms, it was here that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow visited during his second honeymoon in 1843 and that his wife, Fanny, compared the stored arms in their racks to a pipe organ. Encouraged to write an anti-war poem by his wife, Longfellow was inspired to use her imagery and write the poem, “The Arsenal at Springfield” (1845). After the completion of the Main Arsenal, in 1851, the Middle Arsenal was converted to other purposes, including being used during the Civil War, along with other earlier arsenal buildings, as part of an assembly line, leading to the Main Arsenal, where finished weapons were stored. The building is now part of the campus of Springfield Technical Community College.

West Arsenal, Springfield Armory (1808)

by Dan//Federal, Military, Springfield

The oldest surviving building at the Springfield Armory is the West Arsenal, the first two floors of which were constructed in 1808 as a storehouse for completed weapons. The third floor was added in 1863. After the completion of the Main Arsenal, in 1851, the West Arsenal served other purposes over the years, becoming a barrel house, storehouse, recreation building, barracks and, during World War Two, an officer’s club. Today it is part of the campus of Springfield Technical Community College.

Henry Sterns House (1827)

by Dan//Federal, Houses, Springfield

At 48 Madison Avenue in Springfield is a brick home built in 1827. It is located on Sterns Hill which, according to An Historical Address, delivered by Charles H. Barrows in 1911:

is bounded south and east by the Springfield Cemetery, west by Central street and north by Thompson’s Dingle. The brick house, No. 48 Madison avenue, afterward removed easterly to make room for the great mansion of Charles L. Goodhue, now occupying the center, was in the middle nineteenth century the residence of Henry Sterns, Treasurer of the Springfield Institution for Savings. Of his three daughters, two joined the Roman Catholic communion and made their permanent abode in the Eternal City.

According to Charles Wells Chapin, in Sketches of the Old Inhabitants and Other Citizens of Old Springfield of the Old Springfield of the Present Century, and its Historic Mansions of “Ye Olden Time,” Henry Sterns (1794-1859) was

[a] merchant, was born at Halifax, Nova Scotia, May 11, 1794. He came to Springfield about the year 1803, and for many years was a merchant on Main street opposite Court Square, having formed a copartnership with William Sparhawk, under the firm name of William Sparhawk & Co. On the death of Mr. Sparhawk, June 27, 1834, the late Joseph C. Parsons became a partner under the firm name of Sterns & Parsons. […] He was treasurer of the Springfield Institution for Savings, from December 24, 1849, until May, 1858.

Signet Society, Harvard (1820)

by Dan//Cambridge, Federal, Organizations

Founded in 1870, the Signet Society is an artistic and literary club at Harvard University. After initially utilizing space on University property, the Society moved off campus to 46 Dunster Street in Cambridge. In 1902, the 1820 Federal-style house was remodeled by Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson, a firm more usually associated with the Gothic style. The centerpiece of the remodeling is a two story pavilion displaying a heraldic crest of the Signet arms by Pierre LaRose.

Old Pease House (1830)

by Dan//Federal, Houses, Longmeadow

The Old Pease House in Longmeadow is usually listed in records with a date of 1830, but was actually built much earlier. It’s first owner was Skinner Coomes, who was mentioned by Dr. Frederick Colton in his Address, delivered on October 17, 1883, at the centennial celebration of the incorporation of Longmeadow. According to Dr. Colton:

Glancing over to where the Goss house used to stand, opposite the station, upon the river bank, my heart beats quicker; for I recall how, one April day thirty-six years ago, a little fellow with pockets bulging with base balls and hands clutching tightly his cap lest it be lost, struggled hopelessly in the swollen river, until a brave man of the town periled his own life and saved mine. I would that he, the old parish sexton, Mr. Skinner Coomes, were alive, that he might know how gratefully I still cherish the memory of his heroic deed.

Skinner Coomes’s daughter married a Pease, from whom the house gets its name. At some point, the original first floor was raised up to become the second floor and a new first floor was constructed above.