Houses – Page 8 – Historic Buildings of Massachusetts

Asa Colton House (1775)

by Dan/February 24, 2015/Colonial, Houses, Longmeadow

The various sections of the house at 44 Colton Place in Longmeadow were built at different times, but its earliest section, dating to 1775, is attributed to Asa Colton. He was a veteran of the Colonial Wars who fought at the Siege of Louisbourg in 1748. Some sources say the house was later the home of Daniel Burbank, a veteran of the Civil War, while another states that it was sold out of the Colton family in 1865 to D. Erskine Burbank, son of Daniel Burbank (died 1865), the local butcher. Erskine Burbank served in the state legislature during the Civil War and was Justice of the Peace for 28 years. Around 1900, the house was moved from its original location, at the current site of the Center School Annex on Longmeadow Green, to its present address.

Albert A. Sawyer House (1893)

by Dan/February 18, 2015February 18, 2015/Harvard, Houses, Queen Anne

The house at 9 Elm Street in Harvard was built in 1893 by Albert A. Sawyer. He served as Town Selectman from 1885 to 1890 and as assessor in 1893. The house was later home to his sister-in-law, Mrs. Eli Hosmer, and Mrs. George Morse. In 1952 the house became a two-family residence but is now single-family again.

E. A. Dexter House (1898)

by Dan/February 9, 2015January 21, 2020/Houses, Mission Revival, Springfield

The E. A. Dexter House at 194 Sumner Avenue in Springfield is an example of the Mission Revival/Spanish Colonial Revival style featuring a tile roof and wide overhanging eaves.

Joseph Willard House (1730)

by Dan/February 2, 2015February 2, 2015/Colonial, Harvard, Houses

The house at 175 Still River Road in Harvard was built around 1730 with a saltbox form, but was later altered to a full two stories. Standing at the northern edge of Still River Village, the house was built by Joseph Willard (1685-1761) and remained in the family until it was sold to other owners in the early nineteenth century. It was bought back by Luther Willard in 1830 and it passed to Luther’s son, Frederick, in the 1860s. Frederick served as town selectman in 1876, and later operated a brickyard. Following his death, the farm passed to his brother, Rev. John Barstow Willard (1822-1900), and two sisters. Rev. Willard served as minister in Westford from 1848 to 1850 and his background is described in the History of the Town of Westford, in the County of Middlesex, Massachusetts, 1659-1883 (1883), by Rev. Edwin R. Hodgman:

Rev. John B. Willard was born in New York city, April 1, 1822. His parents, Luther and Mary (Davis) Willard, were born in Harvard, Massachusetts. He graduated at Brown University in 1842, and then studied law three years, partly in Syracuse, New York, and partly in Boston, but never entered the legal profession. He studied theology with Rev. Washington Gilbert, then of Harvard.

As related in the History of the Town of Harvard, Massachusetts, 1732-1893 (1894) by Henry S. Nourse:

The guests at the first Harvard ordination in 1733 were entertained at the house of Joseph Willard, son of the first Henry. This dwelling stands in excellent preservation, in North Still River, at the junction of the Groton and Harvard roads, being now the home of Reverend John B. Willard and his sisters. They are direct descendants of the first owner. The roof at the rear originally sloped to a single story, and other alterations have given the house a somewhat modern appearance. In making these changes it was found that the outer walls were lined with brick laid in clay; and upon beams and joist were several memoranda dated between 1730 and 1740, and one or more dates of the previous century. The south-west room was known as the “dower room,” being fitted for the residence of the dowager with a special stairway to cellar, and oven and closet conveniences. This feature was quite usual in old country houses. The mansion, if a new one when Joseph and Elizabeth Willard began housekeeping, was built about 1712; but there is some reason to believe that it dates from about 1730, though very probably in part a reconstruction from the materials, or built upon the site, of an older edifice.

In the early twentieth century the house was acquired by James Murchie, a cattle dealer, and in the early 1920s by H. E. Drury, a retired navy paymaster.

Pickering-Mack-Stone Double House (1814)

by Dan/January 22, 2015January 22, 2015/Federal, Houses, Salem

The three-story brick double house at 21-23 Chestnut Street in Salem was built in 1814-1815 by master builder Jabez Smith for the brothers John Pickering VI (1777-1846), the linguist and polymath who lived in the western half of the house, and Henry Pickering VI, who lived in the eastern half of the house. Judge Elisha Mack and his son Dr. William Mack owned the eastern half from 1837 to 1896. Dr. Mack bequeathed his later home, a house built in the 1850s, with a 25 acre property to the City of Salem as a park. Pickering Dodge lived in the western half while his house at 29 Chestnut Street was being constructed, selling it to the Stone family in 1822. President Andrew Jackson was entertained in the house in 1833. Continue reading “Pickering-Mack-Stone Double House (1814)”

Deacon Luke Pollard House (1806)

by Dan/January 8, 2015/Federal, Harvard, Houses

One of the Town of Harvard’s most impressive houses, topped with a distinctive belvedere, is the Pollard House at 14 Fairbank Street. It was built around 1805-1806 by Luke Pollard (1774-1866), a deacon of the town’s Congregational Church who became a founder of the seceding Evangelical Congregational Church. Later owners of the house included William and Regina Howerton and Homer F. Harman.

Samuel L. Hill House (1845)

by Dan/December 17, 2014/Gothic, Houses, Northampton

Samuel L. Hill was one of the founders of the Northampton Association of Education and Industry (NAEI), a nineteenth-century utopian community located in the village of Florence in Northampton. In the 1830s, S. L. Hill had worked as an overseer in a cotton factory in Willimantic, Connecticut. He came to Florence in 1841, where he became a leading citizen and established the Nonotuck Silk Company. An abolitionist, Hill actively aided slaves on the Underground Railroad. Among his other acts of philanthropy was the founding of the Florence Kindergarten, now the Hill Institute. His house, at 29-33 (or 31-35) Maple Street in Florence, was built around 1845. The south wing is the earliest section of the house, which is Arthur G. Hill, his son, also became one of Florence’s leading citizens and lived in the house until the 1920’s.