February 2009 – Page 3 – Historic Buildings of Massachusetts

Hampden County Courthouse (1874)

by Dan/February 7, 2009December 30, 2012/Public Buildings, Romanesque Revival, Springfield

Built between 1871 and 1874, the Hampden County Courthouse was designed by H.H. Richardson and represents a stage in the development of his distinctive style. Located on Elm Street in Springfield, the structure replaced an earlier courthouse of 1822. In the 1860s, the county commissioners had resisted popular pressure to construct a new courthouse, but when the commissioners were threatened with an indictment in 1869 for not safekeeping deeds and public records in fireproof rooms, they relented and a new building was constructed. Between 1908 and 1912, a large addition was built, designed by the firm of Richardson’s successors, Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge.

Rev. John F. Moors House (1848)

by Dan/February 6, 2009September 17, 2016/Deerfield, Gothic, Houses

The home of Rev. John F. Moors in Deerfield was built in 1848. Rev. Moors was the minister at Deerfield’s Brick Church and later at the Greenfield Unitarian Church. He was also Chaplain of the Fifty-second Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers in the Civil War and wrote the unit’s regimental history.

Severance-Hawks House (1712)

by Dan/February 5, 2009September 17, 2016/Colonial, Deerfield, Federal, Houses

Built on Old Deerfield Lot 36, the Severance-Hawks House was probably built in 1712 by Joseph Severance, a tailor who fought in the Deerfield Raid of 1704. Severance was later seriously wounded by Indians in 1713. In 1762, the house was bought by Zadock Hawks, who died in 1821. In 1824, Zadock’s son, Zur Hawks, bought out his brothers’ shares in the property. As sole owner, he updated the house in the Federal style. Both father and son were tanners and shoemakers. In 1920, the house was purchased by Grace A. Bement, who founded the Bement School in 1925. Now called Bement House, it one of four buildings used as boarding houses by the school.

Stebbins-Wright House (1824)

by Dan/February 4, 2009September 17, 2016/Deerfield, Federal, Houses

The Stebbins-Wright House is a brick Federal-style house in Old Deerfield. It was built in 1824 by Asa Stebbins, for his son, Asa Stebbins, Jr.. Asa, Sr. had earlier built his own house of brick in 1799. The house was owned by Stebbins’ heirs until 1908, when it was acquired by George and Jane Wright. In 1948, it was acquired by Henry and Helen Flynt for Historic Deerfield. They continued to use the name “Wright House” and restored the house to display a collection of high-style furniture. The house is no longer open to the public.

Hinsdale and Anna Williams House (1730)

by Dan/February 3, 2009September 17, 2016/Colonial, Deerfield, Federal, Houses

The Hinsdale and Anna Williams House in Deerfield was originally built in 1730 by Ebenezer Hinsdale, who founded Hinsdale , New Hampshire. It later passed through other owners until it came into the possession of Hinsdale’s grandnephew, Ebenezer Hinsdale Williams, whose mother was from Deerfield. In 1816, Williams extensively altered the house in the Federal style, raising the structure in order to install a fanlight above the door, raising the roof and doubling the size of the house with the addition of a two-story ell. Hinsdale Williams lived in the home, with his wife Anna and two children, until his death in 1838. From 1866-1981, the Williams House was occupied by members of the Cowles family. Russell Cowles worked to preserve the house and when the original French scenic wallpaper depicting Venetian scenes, installed by Williams in 1816, was damaged in the Flood of 1936, Cowles went to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston to learn how to restore it. The building was restored in the 1980s as part of Historic Deerfield.

Asa Stebbins House (1799)

by Dan/February 2, 2009September 17, 2016/Deerfield, Federal, Houses

The Federal-style Asa Stebbins House, now one of the museum houses of Historic Deerfield, was built in 1799 and was the first brick house in Franklin county. Stebbins, a wealthy farmer and mill owner, was on the building committees for two other brick structures: the original building of Deerfield Academy (now the Memorial Hall Museum) and the town’s “brick church“. He was also a town selectman and state representative and built and decorated his house in the popular Federal style. Inside, the house has French scenic wallpaper by Joseph Dufour depicting the voyages of Captain Cook.

Old Town Hall, Deerfield (1842)

by Dan/February 1, 2009February 1, 2009/Deerfield, Greek Revival, Public Buildings

Deerfield’s Old Town Hall was built in 1842. The columned front portico was added in 1925. It served as Town Hall until 1955 and housed the town library until the 1990s. Today it is owned by the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association. As part of the Acropolis Project, the former Town Hall will become a Museum of American Democracy.