The Manse (Northampton, Massachusetts)

The Manse
The Manse, 54 Prospect Street
Location 54 Prospect St., Northampton, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°19′20″N 72°38′12″W / 42.32222°N 72.63667°W / 42.32222; -72.63667Coordinates: 42°19′20″N 72°38′12″W / 42.32222°N 72.63667°W / 42.32222; -72.63667
Area 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built 1744 (1744)
Architect Unknown
Architectural style Georgian, Other
NRHP reference # 76000263[1]
Added to NRHP October 14, 1976

The Manse is a historic church manse at 54 Prospect Street in Northampton, Massachusetts. With a construction history dating to 1744, it is in part a good example of vernacular mid-18th century architecture. It has also had a procession of locally notable owners and residents. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.[1]

Description and history

The Manse is located in a residential area north of downtown Northampton, on the west side of Prospect Street at its junction with Trumbull Road. It is a two story wood frame structure, with a gambrel style roof and twin interior chimneys. Three dormers pierce the steep slope of the gambrel, the center one with a rounded arch roof, the outer two with hip roofs. A square cupola rises at the center of the roof. A 2-1/2 story ell, the oldest part of the building, extends to the rear.[2]

The property's history begins in the 17th cemtury, when it was part of a land grant to Reverend Solomon Stoddard, whose parsonage was built here in 1684. Stoddard was the pastor of the first church in Northampton and the grandfather of Jonathan Edwards, a leading force in the First Great Awakening who briefly lived in that house. In 1744, Stoddard's son John built what is now the rear ell as a replacement for that house. John Stoddard was active in a civic affairs, serving in the provincial militia and the provincial legislature. His son, also named Solomon, built the front portion of the house in 1782; he served as sheriff of Hampshire County.[2] Other notable residents include Josiah G. Holland, writer and founder of Scribner's Monthly, and Dr. Benjamin Barrett, a prominent local politician.[3] The house was purchased in 1940 by Dorothy Douglas, a professor at Smith College, who oversaw its restoration. She also commissioned a series of murals that now adorn its walls; these were executed by Oliver Larkin.[2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 3 "NRHP nomination for The Manse". National Archive. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  3. ↑ "MACRIS inventory record for The Manse". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
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