The house at the northwest corner of Longmeadow Street and Emerson Road in Longmeadow, on August 1, 1924. Image courtesy of the Longmeadow Historical Society, Paesiello Emerson Collection.
The house in 2023:
This house was the subject of the past two posts, including one that provides a detailed account of its history. The house was built around 1760, but it was significantly expanded around the 1820s or 1830s. This included raising the earlier saltbox-style roof to create a full second story, along with building an addition to the north side of the house, as seen on the right side of these photos. The 6-over-6 windows were also added during this time, as were the shutters in the first photo, and the front doorway was probably also installed as part of this project.
By the time the first photo was taken, the house was the home of Annie Emerson, a retired schoolteacher who was also the town’s leading historian. She also lived here with her older half brother Paesiello Emerson, a Civil War veteran and retired boot manufacturer. In his later years, he became an amateur photographer, and he extensively documented life in early 20th century Longmeadow. Their house was a frequent subject of his photographs, including the first one here at the top of this post, which he took in 1924 when he was 92 years old.
Since then, the house has undergone some exterior changes in the past 99 years, including the removal of the shutters and the “coffin door” on the left side of the house. Overall, though, the house still retains much of its 18th and early 19th century material, including the 6-over-6 windows here in the front, along with many of the original 12-over-12 windows in the back of the house. It is one of the many historic homes on Longmeadow Street, and it stands as a good example of a colonial New England home.