Rufus Winsor House, Springfield, Mass

The house at 175 Forest Park Avenue in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The house in 2017:

This house was built in 1902 as the home of Rufus and Clara Winsor and their daughter Harriet. Rufus was originally from Dorchester, where he was born in 1843, but he later entered the textile industry. He worked as paymaster for several different mills, including the Ludlow Mills, which were located just across the Chicopee River from Springfield’s Indian Orchard neighborhood. He and his family lived in Ludlow until 1898, when they moved to Forest Park, and four years later they moved into this house.

Rufus and Clara had four children, although Harriet was the only one to survive to adulthood. Two of their children, Anna and Rufus, died a week apart in 1885 at the ages of eight and five, and their youngest child, Helen, died in 1891 at the age of four. Harriet never married, and she inherited the house after her parents died in 1918. She was still living here when the first photo was taken, and remained here for another decade or so, until her death in 1949 at the age of 74.

Like so many of the other houses in this neighborhood, the house has been well-preserved, and still retains its original turn-of-the-century Colonial Revival appearance. It is now part of the Forest Park Heights Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Leslie Anderton House, Springfield, Mass

The house at 155 Longhill Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The house in 2017:


This house was designed by prominent local architect and builder Napoleon Russell, and it was completed in 1902. At the time, Colonial Revival architecture was the dominant trend for new homes, and this house includes common elements such as a Palladian window above the door and Corinthian-style pilasters on the corners. It was originally the home of traveling salesman Leslie Anderton and his wife Josephine. Leslie was from Ohio, and Josephine was from Michigan, and they apparently did not live here in Springfield for very long, because the house was sold sometime before 1910.

By 1910, this house was owned by David and Ellen Clark. David was a Civil War veteran, and after the war he earned his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and began working as a physician here in Springfield. He served for many years as a surgeon in the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, while also working as an obstetrician at Springfield Hospital. David died in 1926, and Ellen was still living here a few years later, although by the 1930 census the house was being rented by a different family.

By the time the first photo was taken, the house had become a two-family home, with one unit being rented for $60 per month, and the other unit for $35 per month. Since then, the exterior of the house has remained unchanged, and it is one of many historic early 20th century homes along Longhill Street. Along with the rest of the neighborhood, it is part of the Forest Park Heights Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

Charles C. Spellman House, Springfield, Mass

The house at 80 Sumner Avenue, at the corner of Fort Pleasant Avenue in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The house in 2017:


Architect G. Wood Taylor designed many of the homes in Springfield’s Forest Park neighborhood, including this one, which was completed in 1895. It is an excellent example of Colonial Revival architecture, and was even featured in the April 1900 Scientific American Building Edition. With a prominent gambrel roof, dormer and Palladian windows, and shingled exterior, it incorporates many common Colonial Revival elements, and it bears resemblance to some of Taylor’s subsequent Forest Park designs, including one on Maplewood Terrace that was also featured in Scientific American.

The house was built for attorney Charles C. Spellman and his wife Jennie. Born in nearby Wilbraham, Spellman attended Yale, later graduated from Harvard Law School, and then began practicing law in Springfield in 1868. During his time as a lawyer, he also served in several different public offices, including serving for many years as clerk of the police court in Springfield. In 1887, he served a one-year term in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and the following year he served in the Massachusetts Senate.

A year after the family moved into this house, Charles and Jennie’s son Charles graduated from Yale. He was subsequently admitted to the bar, and he became his father’s law partner in the firm of Spellman & Spellman. He lived here with his parents until around the time of his marriage to Alice M. Malley in 1903, and by the 1910 census Charles and Jennie were living alone in this house. Charles died in 1920 and Jennie in 1925, and by 1930 the house was the home of Harris L. Judelson, a Russian immigrant who owned a meat market.

At some point in the mid-20th century, the house was covered in asbestos siding, and the porch was altered. It was later converted into medical offices, and today it is still used as a chiropractor’s office. However, the exterior has since been restored, with wood shingles replacing the old siding. Like the other surrounding houses, it is part of the Forest Park Heights Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.