The house at 9 Park Street in Florence (Northampton) was built circa 1871-1873 for Eliphalet Bray, a lather (lathe machinist), and his wife Sarah C. Tilton Bray. In the 1880s, the house was home to George Hoadley, principal of Florence High School.
In 1871-1872, on the site of the Benjamin Marston House, James S. Putnam erected an elaborately and eclectically ornamented house, known as Greymoor, at 329 Essex Street in Salem. From 1881 to 1921, it was owned by Frank Balch and then the house served as the headquarters of American Legion Post 23. The house was restored in 1979-1981. The house was recently restored to its 1872 color scheme.
The Clovis Robert Block, at 338-348 Main Street in Holyoke, is a stylistically Eclectic Victorian commercial structure, with apartment space on the upper floors, completed in 1888. The the building‘s front facade has a distinctive Queen Anne-style three-story projecting central bay made of copper. It was constructed during a period when many French-Canadians were immigrating to Holyoke and seeking housing. Main Street was being extensively developed at the time. The Clovis Robert Block, designed by G.P.B. Alderman, was constructed originally in 1881 and expanded in 1888. It was built by Clovis Robert, a French-Canadian, who came to Holyoke in 1872. He worked as a blacksmith and became wealthy in the real estate business, encouraging other French-Canadians to save their money and do the same.
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. Continue reading “Hampden National Bank (1825)”
The house at 260 Church Street in Clinton was built in 1852 by Oliver Stone, a local contractor, for Henry Kellogg, director of the Clinton Gas Light Company. Alfred A. Burdett, a local druggist, bought the house in 1867. As related in The Spatula, An Illustrated Magazine for Pharmacists, Vol. VIII, No. 10, June 1902:
To Alfred A. Burdett belongs the distinction of having been the longest in business of any man in Clinton, Mass. Mr. Burdett, who recently passed his 75th mile-stone, opened the first drug store in Clinton in 1849, and still retains his connection with the business, which is carried on by his son Oscar A. Burdett at the old stand on High street. His son Henry is likewise a pharmacist, with a store on the same street. Mr. Burdett and his wife observed the 53d anniversary of their marriage not long ago. He has served a term in the Massachusetts Legislature, and has held many positions of trust in his own town, having been selectman, town treasurer and a member of the school committee. Mr. Burdett has carefully preserved the record of his very first day’s business, on Feb. 25, 1849. On that day his total sales were $1.08, divided as follows: candy, 14 cents; cigars, 9 cents; medicines, 31 cents; fancy goods, 44 cents; valentines, 10 cents. The profits were reckoned at 55 cents.
The building at 627 Main Street in Waltham was built by George Miller in 1856 and was designed by his son-in-law, architect Henry Hartwell. The building was briefly the Waltham Hotel, but after the civil war the upper floors were remodeled for offices and club rooms with commercial shops continuing on the first floor. Called Miller’s Block, it originally had a central arched passageway leading to livery stables in the rear (the ground floor facade was much altered in the 1940s). In 1867, Miller sold the building to Samuel B. Whitney, who renamed it the Central Block. Alvin Jewell, a pioneering weathervane manufacturer, was killed while erecting a new sign on the building when the scaffolding collapsed. The selectmen of Waltham met in he building until 1875 and Waltham’s first telephone exchange was located on the first floor.
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.”
