Architecture

Albert W. Fulton House, Springfield, Mass

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The house at 76 Spruceland Avenue in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The house in 2017:

When the land on the south side of Sumner Avenue was developed in the last decade of the 19th century, one of the main focal points of this area was a traffic circle around a small floral park. This house, located at the corner of Spruceland and Beechwood Avenues, is diagonally opposite the park, and it was built in 1895 in the early years of the development. Its original owner was Albert W. Fulton, who lived here with his wife Rena, their two young children, and a servant. Fulton was involved in the publishing industry, and by the early 1900s he was the treasurer and agricultural editor of the Springfield-based Phelps Publishing Company. He would eventually go on to become the company’s president, many years after the family had sold this house and moved to a more spacious home at 5 Ridgewood Terrace.

By 1910, the house was owned by Dr. William Goodell, a physician who lived here for many years with his wife Ethel and their daughter Elizabeth. Born in Amherst in 1878, Goodell was the grandson of prominent missionary William Goodell, and the son of Henry H. Goodell, who served as president of the Massachusetts Agricultural College from 1886 to 1905. The college later became UMass Amherst, and Henry Goodell remains the longest-serving president in the school’s history. Despite his father’s position, though, William attended the more prestigious Amherst College, before earning his doctorate from Harvard Medical School. He graduated in 1905, and two years later moved to Springfield, where he opened an office on Chestnut Street as an ear, nose, and throat specialist.

The Goodell family was still living here into the 1930s, but later in the decade they moved to nearby Longmeadow. By the time the first photo was taken, the house was owned by James F. Dillon, who lived here with his wife Alice and their four children. At the time, James was the treasurer and manager of Dillon’s Package Store, but both he and Alice died only a few years later, in 1944. The house was subsequently sold, but his former business still exists today as Dillon’s Liquors, which is still located in the same building on Main Street in the South End.

In the nearly 80 years since the first photo was taken, this scene has hardly changed at all. The balustrade above the porch has disappeared, but otherwise the house and the other surrounding homes have remained well-preserved. The tree on the left side appears to be the same one in both photos, and even the street signs have not changed, although a couple extra signs have been added. Today, the entire area is now part of the Forest Park Heights Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Charles T. Seaverns House, Springfield, Mass

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The house at 53 Firglade Avenue in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The house in 2017:


This house was built in the late 1890s as part of the large-scale development of the Forest Park neighborhood. One of the distinguishing features of the development is that nearly all of the homes are unique, although most reflect the Colonial Revival style that was popular during this era. The original owner of this house was Charles T. Seaverns, the general manager of the Easthampton-based Kemo Paper Company. He appears to have only lived here for a couple years, though, because by the 1901 city directory he was living a block away on Magnolia Terrace. Five years later, the paper company was out of business, and Seaverns found himself in court, charged with stealing over $1,000 in company funds.

By 1910, the house was owned by George H. Chamberlin, a longtime employee of Smith & Wesson whose roles over the years included bookkeeper, assistant superintendent, and foreman. He and his wife Carrie lived here until the late 1920s, when they sold the house to Wallace E. Dibble. He was an architect, and his works in the area included the Merriam-Webster headquarters on Federal Street, the Federal Land Bank Building at the corner of State and Byers Street, and the former Agawam High School building on Main Street in Agawam. Along with his wife Edith and their five children, Dibble lived here for a few years, but the family had moved by the mid-1930s.

When the first photo was taken in the late 1930s, the house was being rented for $60 a month by John J. McCaffrey, a liquor salesman who lived here with his wife Bridget, two children, and Bridget’s sister, Margaret. They lived here into the early 1940s, but they later moved to 49 Firglade Avenue, which is the house next door on the left side of the photos. Since then, neither of these houses have changed much, and overall this neighborhood has remained remarkably well-preserved, more than a century after it was developed. This area now forms the Forest Park Heights Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Charles F. Wilkins House, Springfield, Mass

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The house at 59 Firglade Avenue in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The house in 2017:


When this house was built in the late 1890s, Colonial Revival architecture had become a common design for new houses, particularly in upscale residential areas such as Forest Park. There were many different styles that fell into the Colonial Revival category, and this particular house was largely inspired by Dutch Colonial architecture, which made ample use of gambrel roofs. The original owner of the house was Charles F. Wilkins, although he does not appear to have lived here long. The 1900 census noted that the house was closed at the time, and in 1902 the property was listed for sale in the Springfield Republican.

By the next census in 1910, the house was owned by William C. Marsh, who lived here with his wife Clara, son Charlie, step-son Francis, and a servant. At the time, William worked as the city auditor, having previously served as the treasurer of Hampden County. However, he died in 1913, and the house was later sold to Charles B. Ring, who was living here by 1920 with his wife Agnes, their five children, and Agnes’s sister. Charles was, like many other entrepreneurs of the era, involved in the burgeoning automobile industry, and in 1915 he became a partner in the Turner-Ring Company, a Boston-based company that manufacturing commercial bodies for Ford vehicles.

A subsequent owner of this house, Samuel Dietz, also had a connection to the automobile industry. Born in Poland in the late 1890s, he came to the United States as a teenager in 1912, and eventually became manager of a tire company. He and his wife Esther were living in this house by 1930, along with their five children. They were still here when the first photo was taken later in the decade, but around the mid-1940s they moved to a house on Forest Park Avenue. In the meantime, though, very little has changed with this house since the Dietz family lived here, and the property is now part of the Forest Park Heights Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

77-79 Firglade Avenue, Springfield, Mass

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The house at 77-79 Firglade Avenue in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The house in 2017:


This two-family home was built in 1899, with that year’s city atlas indicating that it was owned by William Cutler. However, he appears to have used the house as a rental property, because during the 1900 census it was rented to Leander Day, a traveling salesman who lived here with his wife Nellie, two daughters, Nellie’s mother, and a servant. A decade later, the house was owned by Robert and Mary Studley, who occupied the unit on the left. Robert was a contractor, and he rented the unit on the left to Samuel Chamberlin, a clothing store owner.

The Studley family later moved to a different house, located a block away on Magnolia Terrace, and by 1920 their former home was owned by Leon Harwood, a manufacturer of gold leaf. Like the Studleys, he lived in the unit on the right and rented out the one on the right to Jeremiah H. Whitehouse, who worked as a superintendent of a paper mill. By the next census, though, the ownership of the house had changed again, with William I. Barton owning it and living on the left side. He rented the unit on the right to Wendell Jay, a salesman who paid $72 for monthly rent in 1930.

When the first photo was taken in the late 1930s, Barton was still living here, along with his wife Gertrude and their 47-year-old son Sidney. However, they appear to have sold the house at some point in the 1930s, because the 1940 census indicates that they were renting the property for $30 per month. Despite no longer owning the property, though, the family continued to live here for over a decade. William died in 1944, but Sidney remained here, presumably with his mother, until around 1954, when the house was sold yet again.

In the years that followed, the property would continue to change hands a number of times, but despite all of this the house has retained its original appearance. Even the scalloped shingles, which were on the house when the first photo was taken, are still there, giving the house its distinctive appearance. Today, the house is, along with the rest of the neighborhood, a part of the Forest Park Heights Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Alex C. Eastman House, Springfield, Mass

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The house at 111 Magnolia Terrace in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The house in 2017:


This house was built in 1907, and according to the state’s MACRIS database its first owner was Alex C. Eastman. However, if this was the case, he did not live here for very long, because the 1910 city atlas shows that it was owned by an E.A. Granger. He apparently used it as a rental property, because during that year’s census it was rented by Benjamin Franklin. Not to be confused with the 18th century statesman, this Franklin worked for a paper mill, and he lived here with his wife Jeannette, their two sons, and a servant.

By 1920, the house was owned by Adolf A. Geisel, a district manager for the Federal Motor Truck Company who here with his wife Angia, their two daughters, and Angia’s mother, Lizzie. They were not the only Geisels who lived in the Forest Park neighborhood during this time; Adolf’s older brother, Theodor, lived on Fairfield Street, and among his children was Theodor Seuss Geisel, who in later years would become the author Dr. Seuss.

Adolf Geisel was still living here in the mid-1920s, but by 1930 the family was living elsewhere in the city. The house appears to have been used as a rental property throughout most of the 1930s, but in 1938 it was sold to Harold and Mary Redden. The first photo was taken around this time, when the Reddens were living here with their son and five daughters. The family remained here for more than 20 years, until finally selling it in 1961.

In the nearly 80 years since the first photo was taken, the house has remained well-preserved. When Magnolia Terrace was developed over a century ago, it was intended to be a centerpiece of the neighborhood and it remains so today, with some of the finest homes in Forest Park. All of these homes, including this one, are now part of the Forest Park Heights Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

George H. Wight House, Springfield, Mass

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The house at 101 Magnolia Terrace in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The house in 2017:


This house was built in 1909, and was originally the home of George H. Wight. He only lived here for a short time, though, because by the late 1910s the house had been sold to Fred I. Bemis, an insurance clerk for Massachusetts Mutual. He was the grandson of Stephen C. Bemis, the founder of the Springfield-based Bemis & Call Tool Company, and he and his wife Flora had one child, Anna. Fred and Flora were living here by themselves during the 1920 census, but by 1930 they had moved to nearby Spruceland Avenue, where they lived with Fred’s cousin. However, this house remained in the family, because in 1930 Anna was living here with her husband, Preston T. Miller, and their two sons.

Anna and Preston lived here until the late 1930s, around the time that the first photo was taken. They moved to Canaan, New Hampshire, where they were living by the 1940 census, and they sold the house the following year. Nearly 80 years later, the house has hardly changed, and still stands as one of Forest Park’s many historic upscale homes from the turn of the 20th century. Along with the other homes in the neighborhood, it is now a contributing property in the Forest Park Heights Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.