Federal

David Billings House, Hatfield, Massachusetts

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The house at 18 Main Street in Hatfield, Massachusetts, in 1938. Image taken by Arthur C. Haskell. Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey Collection.

The house in 2024:

This house was built in 1783 as the home of Lieutenant David Billings (1731-1807). It stands on the east side of Main Street, between the street and the Connecticut River, with a lot that originally extended all the way back to the river. The house remained in the Billings family for many years, and subsequent owners included his grand nephew Joseph Dickinson Billings (1813-1882), and then by Joseph’s daughter Mary Billings Dickinson (1843-1922). It is an excellent example of an early Federal-style house, and in 1910 the A History of Hatfield, Massachusetts noted that [t]he house has the same appearance as of old, having been kept in excellent repair.”

The top photo was taken in 1938, as part of the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS). This federal program involved documenting historic architecture across the country, and this house was one of several here in Hatfield that were included. At the time, the house still retained its original exterior appearance, but later in the 20th century it was altered with the installation of modern materials, including aluminum siding. However, the exterior has since been restored, and it now much more closely resembles its original appearance when compared to how it looked a few years ago.

First Congregational Church, Blandford, Massachusetts

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The First Congregational Church on North Street in Blandford, Massachusetts, around 1892. Image from Picturesque Hampden (1892).

The scene in 2024:

These two photos show the First Congregational Church in Blandford. It was built in 1822, and it was designed by Isaac Damon, a prominent local architect who was responsible for designing a number of churches in the area, including similar ones in Springfield and in Southwick. The building here in Blandford is characteristic of his style, which featured a mix of late Federal and early Greek Revival features.

The building replaced an earlier meeting house, which had been slowly constructed over a span of 65 years. Work had begin in 1740, around the time that the town was settled by Scots-Irish colonists, and it was used throughout the 18th century, although it was not finally completed until 1805, less than 20 years before it was replaced by the present-day building. The need for a new building may have been in part due to the significant increase in population in Blandford by the early 19th century. From a population of 406 in 1765, the town had grown to 1,778 by the 1800 census. The population would fluctuate in the subsequent censuses, but it remained above 1,500 people throughout the early 19th century.

However, as was the case throughout the hilltowns of Western Massachusetts, the population declined precipitously in the second half of the 19th century, eventually dropping to under 900 people by the time the top photo was taken in the 1890s. The church building underwent some changes during this time, including a renovation in 1866. This work was primarily on the interior, but it also included some exterior work, such as reducing the size of the second-story windows. At some point during the late 19th century a chapel was added to the rear of the building, but it was removed in 1937.

Today, more than 130 years after the top photo was taken, very little has changed in this scene, aside from the house behind the church. The exterior of the church has remained mostly unaltered, and the interior is also well preserved. It is no longer actively used for church services, but it is owned by the Blandford Historical Society and used as a venue for weddings and other events. It stands as perhaps the most distinctive landmark in the town, and it is one of the most architecturally significant early 19th century church buildings in Western Massachusetts.

Chester Center, Chester, Massachusetts

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The original town center of Chester, Massachusetts, seen looking south on modern-day Skyline Trail from the corner of Bromley Road around 1892. Image from Picturesque Hampden (1892).

The scene in 2024:

These two photos show the old town center of Chester, which was incorporated in 1765 and was originally named Murrayfield. Located in the far northwestern corner of Hampden County, Chester is one of the many hilltowns in the uplands region between the Connecticut River valley to the east and the Housatonic River valley to the west. Two of the branches of the Westfield River flow through Chester, with the West Branch in the western part of the town and the Middle Branch in the eastern section. The branches flow through narrow valleys, and in between them is a plateau of rolling hills.

It was this plateau that initially drew colonial settlers to Chester. The river valleys provided only a limited amount of potential farmland, but the hills were suitable for agriculture, particularly for raising livestock. As a result, the late 18th century development in the town was concentrated around this area on modern-day Skyline Trail, with this spot becoming the town center.

One of the first houses built here by colonists was the home of the town’s first pastor, the Reverend Aaron Bascom. Built in 1769, it is just out of view on the far right side of this scene, and it is still standing today, although it is vacant and badly deteriorated. The village here also included the town meetinghouse, along with a burial ground that is located in the distance on the left side of the road.

The population trends in Chester were consistent with what happened in many of the other hilltowns in this part of Western Massachusetts. It saw significant growth in the early 19th century, but subsequently declined in population as residents either moved west for better farmland or moved to industrial cities for greater opportunities. In Chester, the town’s population grew from 1,119 in 1790 to 1,542 in 1800, but it stagnated over the next few decades. The 1850 census marked the last time that the town ever recorded a population above 1,500, and since then it has generally fluctuated between about 1,000 and 1,400 residents.

Aside from the general decline in population during the mid-19th century, the town also saw changes in where people lived within the town. In 1841, the Western Railroad was built along the West Branch of the Westfield River. It passed through the southern and western parts of Chester, which helped to spur development in the river valley. This included the village of Chester Factories, which soon eclipsed the original town center here on what became known as Chester Hill.

The top photo was taken around 1892, showing the view looking south in the old town center. By this point the town’s population stood at about 1,300, and this was largely concentrated in the area around the railroad depot in the valley. Here on Chester Hill, the lack of population growth meant that things stayed essentially the same as they had been in the first half of the 19th century, with a handful of homes and other buildings clustered around the meeting house and burying ground.

The most prominent building in the top photo is the meetinghouse of the First Congregational Church. It was built in 1840, although it was constructed in part from timbers that had originally been used in the 1769 meetinghouse. It features a Greek Revival design, which was fashionable for church buildings of the period, and it was modeled after the meetinghouse in New Marlborough. As was often the case in small towns in Massachusetts at the time, it functioned as a house of worship but also as a space for town meetings, which were held in Chester Center through 1855, before the town meetings shifted to the settlement in the valley.

Across the street from the meetinghouse is the cemetery, with gravestones that date as far back as the 1760s. Next to the cemetery is the two-story district schoolhouse, which can be seen in the distance on the left side of the photo. It was built in 1796, and it was still in use as a school when the top photo was taken nearly a century later.

Aside from the meetinghouse and school, there are also two houses visible in the photo. On the far left side in the foreground is the Searle House, which was built in 1787 as the home of Zenas Searle. Across the street, on the far right side, is the Boies House, an elegant Federal-style house that was built in 1810 for the Rev. Bascom’s daughter Charlotte and her newlywed husband Dr. Anson Boies.

Today, more than 130 years after the top photo was taken, very little has changed in this scene, aside from the paved road in place of the dirt path. All four buildings are still standing with few alterations, and the village is a well-preserved example of a rural early 19th century town center. Along with the nearby Bascom House, these buildings are part of the Chester Center Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

James B. Bott House, Salem, Massachusetts

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The house at 18 Chestnut Street, at the corner of Bott Street in Salem, probably around 1890-1910. Image courtesy of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum, Frank Cousins Glass Plate Negatives Collection.

The house in 2023:

These two photos show the house at 18 Chestnut Street, which was built around 1800 or possibly earlier. It was originally owned by saddler James B. Bott, and according to the building’s Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System (MACRIS) form, it was likely used as a multi-family residence. It had a number of occupants throughout the first half of the 19th century, but the most famous was author Nathaniel Hawthorne, who lived here with his family in 1846 and 1847 while serving as Surveyor of the the Port of Salem at the Custom House on Derby Street. This house was too small for the Hawthornes, though, and in 1847 they moved to a house on Mall Street, where Nathaniel would later write The Scarlet Letter.

The house was eventually converted into a single-family residence in the late 19th century, and the top photo was taken sometime around the turn of the 20th century. It was taken by photographer Frank Cousins, who extensively documented the historic houses of Salem and other towns in the region. As the bottom photo shows, very little has changed about this scene since then. The house is still standing, as are the other surrounding homes, and Chestnut Street as a whole survives as one of the best-preserved historic streets in New England. The Bott House, along with the other homes on Chestnut Street, is part of the Chestnut Street District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Chestnut Street, Salem, Massachusetts (2)

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The view looking east on Chestnut Street from near Pickering Street in Salem, around 1890-1910. Image courtesy of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum, Frank Cousins Glass Plate Negatives Collection.

The scene in 2023:

These two photos were taken from near the same spot as the ones in the previous post, but facing the opposite direction. This view of Chestnut Street, looking east toward Cambridge Street, features a number of early 19th century homes. Starting in the foreground on the right side is a double house at 21-23 Chestnut Street, which was built in 1814-15 for John and Henry Pickering. They were the sons of Timothy Pickering, a prominent politician who served in several different Cabinet positions, including as Secretary of State under George Washington and John Adams.

Although built for the Pickering brothers, they evidently did not own these houses for long, because each properly changed hands several times over the next few decades. By the 1830s, the house closest to the foreground, at 23 Chestnut, was owned by Robert Stone, while the adjoining house at 21 Chestnut was owned by Elisha Mack. In 1833, during President Andrew Jackson’s visit to Salem, Robert Stone hosted a reception here at his house, which Jackson attended along with Vice President Martin Van Buren, several Cabinet secretaries, and other dignitaries.

Further in the distance on the right side of the street is 19 Chestnut, which is visible in the center of both photos. This three-story, wood-frame house was built around 1805, and it was originally the home of merchant Israel Williams. Later in the 19th century it was owned by another merchant, Henry W. Peabody, and then in the early 20th century it was owned by architect William G. Rantoul.

Today, more than a century after the top photo was taken, these houses are still standing, as are the other ones further in the distance on both sides of the street. Chestnut Street survives as a well-preserved example of Federal-style architecture, and it is the centerpiece of the Chestnut Street District on the National Register of Historic Places. However, this scene is also notable because of the elm tree that still stands in the foreground. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the street was lined with elms. Most of these were subsequently lost, likely due to hurricanes and Dutch Elm Disease, but this tree has survived, and it is still easily recognizable from its appearance in the top photo.

Chestnut Street, Salem, Massachusetts

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The view looking west on Chestnut Street from the corner of Pickering Street, around 1906. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The scene in 2023:

During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Salem was one of the most prosperous seaports in the United States. This was reflected in its architecture, which included many large, fashionable Federal-style homes that were built for merchants and other wealthy Salem residents. Many of these homes are located on the streets immediately to the west of downtown Salem, including Chestnut Street, as shown in these two photos.

Chestnut Street was laid out in 1796, and over the next few decades it was developed with stately homes. Only one house on the street is known to have been the work of prominent Salem architect Samuel McIntire, but his influence is clearly evident in the designs of the other houses here. Many of the houses are brick, although some are wood, and they are generally three stories high, have a hipped roof, and have a roughly square footprint. Most were designed as standalone single-family homes, but there are a few that were built as adjoining two-family homes.

By the time the top photo was taken at the turn of the 20th century, the street was already recognized as an important Salem landmark. Not only were the houses themselves significant, but the streetscape itself was also notable for the many elms that lined the street, creating a tunnel-like effect, as shown in the top photo.

Sadly, nearly all of the elms are gone now, likely as a result of Dutch Elm Disease. Today, the street is still lined by trees, but their lower canopies do not have the same effect that the elms once had. Despite the loss of the elms, though, not much else has changed in this scene. The tree cover makes it hard to tell, but all of the homes in the top photo are still standing. The street is one of the finest collections of Federal-style architecture anywhere in New England, and it forms the centerpiece of the Chestnut Street District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.