Historic Buildings of Massachusetts

Porter-Phelps-Huntington House (1752)

by Dan/November 20, 2008September 17, 2016/Colonial, Hadley, Houses

Built in 1752, the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House was the first to be constructed in Hadley outside the town’s fortified stockade, on land known as “Forty Acres and its Skirts,” which had earlier been farmed communally. The original owners were Moses Porter and his wife Elizabeth Pitkin Porter. Moses was killed in 1755 in the French and Indian War, at the “Bloody Morning Scout,” the first engagement of the Battle of Lake George. Elizabeth was left alone to raise their daughter, also named Elizabeth, who married Charles Phelps of Northampton in 1770. Phelps greatly expanded the family’s property and enlarged the house, although no significant structural changes have been made since 1799. Phelps was a lawyer as well as a farmer, supported the Revolutionary War and served as a representative to the General Court of Massachusetts. Charles and Elizabeth Phelps’ daughter, Elizabeth Phelps, married Dan Huntington in 1801. Huntington was a minister in Litchfield, CT and his growing family lived there for a time, before settling in the Hadley homestead in 1816. Their son, Frederic Dan Huntington, became a Unitarian minister, but later became an Episcopalian and the first Bishop of Central New York state. In 1855, Bishop Huntington inherited the house and used it as a summer home. The house continued to be owned by the family until a grandson of Bishop Huntington, Dr. James Huntington, who had studied the family’s history and first opened the house to the public in 1949, donated it the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Foundation in 1955. It has been open as a museum ever since.

Eddy Law Office (1810)

by Dan/October 20, 2008December 31, 2008/Commercial, Federal, West Springfield

The Eddy Law Office, originally built around 1810 in the town of Middleborough, was later moved to the Eastern States Exhibition grounds in West Springfield to become part of the historical Storrowton Village. The building was the law office of Zachariah Eddy, one of the foremost lawyers of his day. In Middleborough, it stood not far from the Eddy Family Homestead, built in 1803. In town is also the later Zachariah Eddy House of 1831, now a Bed & Breakfast.

Deerfield Inn (1884)

by Dan/October 14, 2008September 17, 2016/Colonial Revival, Deerfield, Hotels

Built in 1884 by Edward and Frederick Everett, to replace an earlier inn on the village common, the Deerfield Inn was enlarged for the first time the following year and, adjacent to the buildings of Historic Deerfield, continues to serve visitors today.

Levi Gilbert House (1794)

by Dan/October 13, 2008September 17, 2016/Federal, Houses, West Springfield

The Levi Gilbert House was built in West Brookfield around 1794. It is one of the buildings to be moved in the twentieth century to the Eastern Stares Exposition grounds, in West Springfield, to form part of Storrowton Village, a recreation of a nineteenth century village. The Gilbert House displays for visitors the life of an eighteenth century farmer.

Connecticut Building (Eastern States Exposition) (1939)

by Dan/October 7, 2008September 25, 2009/Colonial Revival, Public Buildings, West Springfield

The Connecticut Building was the fifth New England state building to be constructed on the “Avenue of States” at the Eastern States Exposition fairgrounds in West Springfield. The cornerstone was laid by Governor Wilbur C. Cross on September 20, 1938 and the building, designed as a replica of the Old State House in Hartford, was completed the following year. Edit: I’ve taken a better quality image of the building; below is the old one… Continue reading “Connecticut Building (Eastern States Exposition) (1939)”

Harvard Hall (1766)

by Dan/October 7, 2008/Cambridge, Collegiate, Colonial

The first building to be called Harvard Hall was completed in Cambridge in 1642 and is more commonly known as Harvard College or the Old College. This structure eventually collapsed in the 1670s. The next Harvard Hall was built in Harvard Yard between 1672 and 1682. This building was destroyed in a fire in 1764. A new Harvard Hall, often called the second Harvard Hall, designed by Sir Francis Bernard, was built in 1766 at the same location as its predecessor. This building first divided the Yard into two quadrangles. Substantial additions have been made over the years: the original building was augmented with a central pavilion in 1842 and two wings on either side of the pavilion in 1870.

Phillips School (1824)

by Dan/October 7, 2008September 17, 2016/Boston, Federal, Schools

The former school building, built in 1824 at the corner of Pinckney and Anderson Streets in Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood, originally served as the Boston English High School. In 1844, it became the Phillips Grammar School, named for John Phillips, Boston’s first mayor. It became the first integrated school in Boston in 1855. In 1861, the Phillips School moved to a larger building and was renamed the Wendell Phillips School. The old building was then used by the Sharp School, a public school. In the 1980s, the building was adapted to house condominiums. Today, it is on the Black Heritage Trail.