The house at 664 Longmeadow Street in Longmeadow, around 1908. Image courtesy of the Longmeadow Historical Society, Paesiello Emerson Collection.
The house in 2024:
This house was built in 1856 as the home of Ethan Ely (1791–1875) and his son, who was also Named Ethan Ely (1835–1906). It was constructed on the site of an earlier house, the Thomas Bliss House, which was moved across the street to accommodate the new construction. The Ely house was built of brick with stone trim, and it features an Italianate design that stands out among the predominantly colonial and Federal-style homes that line this part of Longmeadow Street.
Shortly after the completion of this house, the younger Ethan Ely married his wife, Charity Bush (1836–1867). The 1860 census shows the elder Ethan Ely as the owner of the property, which was valued at 17,000 in addition to a personal estate that was valued at $23,000. The younger Ethan was living here with Charity and their one-year-old son Mason. They had at least one other child, Ethan, who died in infancy in 1862, and Charity died in 1867 from consumption (tuberculosis) at the age of 30. Mason also died young, from scarlet fever in 1871 at the age of 13.
Ethan does not appear to have ever remarried, and by the 1880 census he had no other family living here, although his household included two housekeepers, a servant, and a boarder who all lived here. Likewise, in 1900 he was living here with a boarder and a servant. He died in 1906, and his house was subsequently sold to James B. Burbank (1854–1936), who was living here when the top photo was taken around 1908.
Burbank was a real estate developer, and he was responsible for developing residential subdivisions in Longmeadow during the early 20th century, at a time when the town was becoming a desirable suburb of Springfield. The 1910 census shows him living here with his wife Martha and their children Eunice, Daniel, Laura, and Lulu. They also had a live-in servant, 29year-old Irish native Rose Doyle.
The Burbanks remained here until the 1930s, and the house has had many subsequent owners. Much of the property behind the house was subdivided and developed around the 1950s, creating modern-day Wheelmeadow Drive. However, the old house has remained mostly unchanged, and it still retains its historic appearance, as shown in the second photo. It is now part of the Longmeadow Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.