Springfield Massachusetts

76 Greenwood Street, Springfield, Massachusetts

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

The scene in 2024:

This house stood directly to the east of the one in the previous post, and it was likely built around the same time, probably in the 1860s or 1870s. It was definitely here by 1880, when it was owned by Charles D. Ufford. He was 43 at the time, with his occupation listed as working for the railroad. He lived here with his wife Fidelia, who was 37.

The Uffords later moved to a house on State Street, and by 1900 this house on Greenwood Street was the home of Jennie Aronson, along with Abram and Ida Lewis and their three young children. The children were born in the United States, but the adults in the household were born in Russia. They were part of a large Jewish community that had begun to form here in this part of Springfield, many of whom had immigrated to the United States to escape persecution in the Russian pogroms.

By 1920, two different immigrant families were living here in this house. In one part of the house was Patrick Moran, a 55-year-old machinist who was born in Ireland. His wife Bessie was born in the United States, but her parents were likewise from Ireland. The other part of this house was the home of Anthony and Martha Chmielewski, along with Martha’s mother Teofila Roztiboske. All three were immigrants from Poland.

The top photo was taken in the late 1930s. By this point it was still a two-family property, with Charles and Doris Faughman and their children in one unit, and Charles and Josephine Barker in the other unit, according to the 1940 census. They each paid $18 per month in rent, and Charles Faughman was employed as a painter, earning $400 per year.

The house was still standing here until at least the 1950s, but it was ultimately demolished by the early 1960s as part of a large-scale urban renewal project that involved the demolition of nearly every building between the railroad tracks and Memorial Square along the Main Street and Chestnut Street corridors. Some of the land was redeveloped for commercial properties, but the project also included the construction of Interstate 291, which has its interchange with Interstate 91 just to the west of here. The second photo shows the modern-day view, including the embankment for Interstate 291 where it crosses Dwight Street. The spot where the house once stood is just a little to the left of the willow tree.

72-72 1/2 Greenwood Street, Springfield, Massachusetts

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The house at 72-72 1/2 Greenwood Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The scene in 2024:

Although it no longer exists, Greenwood Street once ran for two blocks from Main Street eastward to Chestnut Street, two blocks north of Congress Street. The street was developed in the second half of the 19th century, when Springfield saw rapid population growth due to industrialization. The land that would eventually become the street was once owned by Samuel Green, which was likely the source of the name.

The house in the top photo was likely built sometime around the 1860s based on its architectural style. It has a Mansard roof, a distinctive feature of Second Empire style architecture that was popular in the United States in the 1860s and into the 1870s. The house was definitely in existence by 1880, when it appears on the U.S. Census as a two-family home. In one unit was William L. and Eliza Elwell, who lived here with their two children, a nephew, a niece, and a lodger. The other unit was the home of John and Almeda Alexander, who had two children and also lived here with Almeda’s sister.

By the turn of the 20th century, this part of Springfield had become the home of many immigrant families, and this is reflected in the nationalities of the residents who lived here during the 1900 census. In one unit was Frank and Apolina Hepsick, who immigrated to the U.S. from Bohemia in 1875. They were both 59 years old in 1900, and the census indicated that they had 11 children, although only three were still living by that point. All three of these surviving children lived here, including their daughters Mary and Jennie and their son Frank. Also living here was Jennie’s husband Michael Kelleher, who was the son of Irish immigrants. Jennie and Michael had one child, three-year-old Roger. In the other unit was Harry and Esther Aronson and their young children Milton and Arnold. Harry was born in Russia and immigrated to the U.S. as a teenager in 1882, perhaps to escape persecution from the anti-Jewish pogroms. Esther was born in New York, but her parents were immigrants from Germany.

By 1920 the house was owned by Max Schaffer, a 38-year-old auto repair shop owner who lived here in the house with his wife Anna and their four children. The birthplace of both Max and Anna was listed as “Russia Poland,” and they spoke Yiddish as their native language. The Schaffers rented parts of their house to three other Jewish families: Isaac and Etta Hutner, Morris and Bertha Saven, and Nathan and Bertha Newman.

Over the course of the 20th century, the neighborhood demographics continued to evolve. By mid-century the area along Main Street between the railroad tracks and Memorial Square had become one of the city’s two major black neighborhoods, along with the Mason Square area farther to the southeast. This was partially a result of discriminatory housing practices, such as collusion among realtors and landlords to not sell or rent to black families in predominantly white areas. As a result, by 1950 more than 70% of the city’s black population lived in just one of two census tracts, with Tract 10—here in the area around Greenwood Street—having the highest percentage of black residents of the city, at 34%.

The top photo shows the house at 72-72 1/2 Greenwood Street around the late 1930s. The 1940 census, which was conducted only a few years later, shows two black families living here. In one unit was James and Mary Bartley, who were 72 and 69, respectively. They were both born in Georgia, only a few years after the end of the Civil War, and they lived here with a lodger, James Lattimore, who was also from Georgia. In the other unit was David and Irene Lofton, and Irene’s mother Sally Patterson. David was from South Carolina, and Irene and Sally were from Georgia. At the time of the census, David was working for the city water department, while Irene was working as a seamstress.

Irene Lofton died prior to the 1950 census, but David was still living here in 1950. His occupation was listed as special inspector for the water department, and he lived here with several lodgers, including Curtis and Fannie Jones and their two young children, and also Ray Evans. Curtis was from South Carolina, Fannie was from Georgia, and Ray Evans was from Illinois. The other unit in the building was the home of Mamie Gullick, who was from Georgia. Her son Roger lived here, along with Roger’s wife Hermione and their infant son. Mamie also had two lodgers who lived here with her.

By the late 1950s, this part of Springfield was targeted for a large-scale urban renewal project. This included the demolition of nearly every building north of the railroad tracks and south of Memorial Square, along with the elimination of many of the side streets, including Greenwood Street. The result was a series of large blocks with commercial development, along with a highway interchange with Interstate 91 and Interstate 291. This house was among the many that were demolished as part of the project, and the site of it is now an embankment that leads up to Interstate 291, near where it crosses Dwight Street.

28-30 Congress Street, Springfield, Massachusetts

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The building at 28-30 Congress Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The same scene in 2024:

The early history of this building is difficult to trace, but it appears to have been built sometime around the 1850s. This date coincides with the large-scale development of this part of Springfield, and it is also consistent with some of the architectural features on the house, particularly the rounded Italianate-style windows in the front gable. It was owned by the Dunn family in the late 19th century, who evidently used it as a rental property. The 1899 city atlas shows it, along with the house next door at 24 Congress Street, as belonging to Margaret J. Dunn.

Margaret Dunn, a 65-year-old Irish immigrant, was living in the house at 24 Congress Street during the 1900 census, and she rented the house in the top photo to three different families, most of whom were also Irish. These included Ellen Fogarty, a 38-year-old widow from Ireland who lived at 28 Congress Street with her four children, who ranged in age from 5 to 17, and also her 22-year-old niece. Also living at 28 Congress Street was Martin Dillon, a single 35-year-old Irish immigrant who lived here with his sister Margaret, brother John, and two nephews and a niece. The third family in this building, in the unit at 30 Congress Street, was Adolphus Mason, a 50-year-old French-Canadian immigrant who lived here with his wife Mary, who was the daughter of Irish immigrants. They had one surviving child, 19-year-old Catherine, who lived here with them.

By the 1920 census, the house in the top photo was still owned by the Dunn family, and it was still rented primarily to other Irish families. There were four families living here at the time, with Napoleon and Mary Bluteau and Mary Morgan at 28 Congress, and Fred and Ellen Gaylord and Thomas and Anna Walsh at 30 Congress. A decade later, in the 1930 census, Thomas and Anna Walsh were still living here along with their son James, while Mary Morgan and her son John were still living in the unit at 28 Congress. The two families paid $14 and $13 per month in rent, respectively.

By the time the top photo was taken in the late 1930s, the house was evidently vacant. It was listed as vacant in the 1939 city directory, and the 1940 census likewise does not show any residents here. The building seems to have been used only sporadically for housing during the 1940s and 1950s, and it was demolished by the early 1960s, when this entire part of Springfield was redeveloped as part of a large-scale urban renewal project. Today, the site of the house is part of the parking lot for Northgate Plaza, which is located at the corner of Main and Congress Streets.

Springfield City Library, Springfield, Massachusetts

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the Springfield City Library, shown from near the intersection of State and Chestnut Streets in Springfield, around 1905. Image from Springfield Present and Prospective (1905).

The scene in 2024:

The origins of the Springfield City Library date back to 1857, when the quasi-public City Library Association was established through the merger of the collections of the Young Men’s Institute and the Young Men’s Literary Association. It was initially funded through private donors, but it was located within city hall starting in 1859, and it began receiving funding from the city starting in 1864. Then, in 1871 its first purpose-built library was constructed here on State Street just east of Chestnut Street on land that had been donated by George Bliss. It was built of brick, and it was designed by New York architect George Hathorne, with a High Victorian Gothic style that was popular for public buildings of this period.

The top photo shows the building viewed from the west, from the corner of State and Chestnut Streets. In the foreground is Merrick Park, and just beyond the library is the steeple of St. Michael’s Cathedral. The library building was only about 20 years old by this point, but its collections had grown significantly larger during this period. When it opened in 1871 it housed about 31,400 books, but by the late 1890s it had around 136,000 books, and the city was in need of a new library.

The new library was constructed starting in 1909, with money that was donated by steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. It was built on the same site as the old building, so to keep the library open during construction the old building was moved about 200 feet northward, onto what is now the Quadrangle. Work on the new building was completed in 1912, and it opened to the public on January 10, 1912. The old library was then demolished a few months later.

Today, the 1912 library is still standing here. Just behind the library is the Quadrangle, a small park that is surrounded by two art museums, a science museum, and the Dr. Seuss Museum. The oldest of these buildings, the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, was built in 1895, only a few years after the top photo was taken. It is partially visible on the far left side of the 2024 photo. Despite these changes, though, the scene is still recognizable from the top photo because of Merrick Park in the foreground, which still features the same granite curbing. On the other side of the library, St. Michael’s Cathedral is still standing, but it is not visible from this particular angle.

Main Street from Liberty Street, Springfield, Massachusetts

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The view looking north on Main Street from the corner of Liberty Street (modern-day Frank B. Murray Street) in Springfield, around 1892. Image from Picturesque Hampden (1892).

The same scene in 2024:

These two photos show the view of Main Street from just north of the modern-day railroad arch, facing toward the North End. The scene in the top photo includes a mix of older wood-frame buildings, along with newer and larger brick commercial blocks. The largest of these was the furniture store of George Delaney, which has the large painted signs on the side of it in the top photo. According to an 1889 newspaper advertisement in the Springfield Republican, Delaney was a “Dealer in carpets, chamber suits, parlor sets, all kinds of furniture, stoves, ranges, etc., for cash or easy payments.”

The wooden building in the foreground at the corner was evidently demolished by 1920, because the city atlas shows a brick one in its place. Likewise, the two story building beyond the Delaney building was also gone by 1920. Both the Delaney building and the three-story brick building farther in the distance were still standing in the late 1930s, but everything here would ultimately be demolished by the early 1960s as part of a large-scale urban renewal project that leveled almost everything north of the railroad arch and south of Memorial Square.

Today, this scene includes a medical office building in the foreground on the right, and the main Springfield post office farther in the distance. The 1960s urban renewal project also included eliminating, rerouting, or renaming some of the streets in the area. The old Liberty Street became Frank B. Murray Street, and Ferry Street—which is located a block farther in the distance—became the new Liberty Street.

Ezekiel Keith House, Springfield, Massachusetts

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The house at 258 Mill Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The house in 2023:

Springfield was established by colonial settlers in 1636, making it by far the oldest community in Western Massachusetts. However, unlike nearly all of the other cities and towns in the area, it does not have any surviving buildings that have been verifiably traced back to the colonial period. Most of the colonial-era houses in Springfield were demolished during a period of rapid population growth in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and today there are only a few dozen buildings that predate 1850, with none that can be confidently dated prior to 1800.

Despite this apparent lack of early buildings, many of the older houses in Springfield have not yet been extensively researched, so it is possible that there might be at least a few 18th century homes still standing in the city. Most of the prominent colonial-era homes in Springfield were located along the Main Street corridor, which was heavily developed and redeveloped many times over the course of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. As a result, there are clearly no 18th century buildings still standing in the downtown area, but it is possible that some might still exist in the outlying areas, which experienced less development pressure over the years, and where individual buildings were not necessarily as well documented by past historians, who tended to focus on the downtown area.

There are several houses in particular that warrant further research, but perhaps the single strongest contender for the title of oldest building in the city is the house shown in these two photos, which stands at the northeast corner of Mill and Knox Streets. The early history of this house has not yet been fully traced, and the interior architecture does not appear to have been studied yet, but the exterior appearance of the house seems to suggest that it was constructed at some point in the second half of the 18th century. Important clues include the spacing of the windows, the steep roof, and the slightly overhanging second story, all of which were typical for houses of that period.

The earliest documented owner of this house is Ezekiel Keith, who was shown as living here on the 1835 map of Springfield. Keith was born in Canton, Massachusetts around 1778, but he was in Springfield by 1806 when he married Elizabeth Ashley. It is possible that this house was built around the time that they were married, but based on its architecture it seems more likely that it was built a few decades earlier.

The house remained in the Keith family throughout the first half of the 19th century. Elizabeth died in 1825, and four years later Ezekiel remarried to Mary Barber. He died in 1846, but Mary outlived him by many years and apparently lived in this house until her death in 1873.

During their many decades of ownership here, the Keith family would have seen many significant changes to the surrounding area. The house is located on a hill just a few hundred feet to the north of the Mill River, near where the modern-day Mill Street crosses the river. Ezekiel’ death records indicate that he had been a farmer, so it seems unclear as to whether he was involved in any of the manufacturing that occurred along the river, but during the first half of the 19th century this section of the river developed into an important industrial center.

The Mill River is the only major source of water power that is entirely in Springfield, so a number of factories were built along its banks, including the Armory Watershops, where much of the heavy manufacturing for the U.S. Armory occurred. The Watershops were originally located on three separate sites along the river, including the Middle Watershops, which were just a little further upstream from the Keith house. Downstream of the house, on the other side of Mill Street, were the Ames Paper Mills, which had been established by former Armory superintendent David Ames.

Census records prior to 1850 do not provide much information about exactly who was living in a particular house, but starting in 1850 the census recorded the names and demographic information of every household member. Here in this house, Mary Keith was living here with a large family. Two adult children from her first marriage, John Barber and Lucia Alden, lived here, as did her stepdaughter Olive Keith. The household also included Lucia’s husband Elijah Alden, and their children Lucia, Louisa, and Joel. Elijah worked as a carpenter, while John Barber was listed as being a gunsmith, probably at the nearby Armory Watershops.

After Mary’s death in 1873, her son John continued to live here. The 1880 census shows him here with his wife Harriet and a boarder, Dr. James W. Wicker. It seems unclear as to exactly what Dr. Wicker’s relationship to the Barbers was, but John died in 1887 and three years later Dr. Wicker married Harriet. He died in 1908, and Harriet died in 1916, ending about a century of ownership by the Keith/Barber families.

The house was subsequently owned by Walter and Otillie Cowles. They were living here by about 1918, and they initially rented the house before purchasing it in the early 1920s. During the 1920 census they were both in their early 40s, and they had five children: Augusta, Walter, Norman, Charles, and Irving. The elder Walter worked as a tile setter, while his 18-year-old son Walter was listed as a “tile helper,” presumably working with with his father. Their daughter Augusta was also employed, working as a machine operator in a toy factory.

The Cowles family was still living here when the top photo was taken in the late 1930s. By this point the house had undergone some exterior changes, likely after the Cowles family purchased it. These changes included a portico at the front entrance, a small addition on the right side of the house, and the installation of brick veneer on the first floor. Given Walter’s occupation as a tile setter, it seems plausible that he would have done the brickwork himself.

At some point the house was further altered by installing artificial siding on the upper parts of the house. This may have also occurred during the Cowles family’s ownership. Walter and Otillie lived here until their deaths in the 1960s, and the house remained in the family until 1990, when it was finally sold by Walter’s estate.

Today, the house is still easily recognizable from the first photo, and even the saw palmettos in the foreground appear to be some of the same ones that were here in the 1930s. At first glance, the age of this house is somewhat difficult to tell, since the exterior is entirely covered in 20th century materials. However, it is definitely one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city, and depending on its exact construction date it might be the city’s only surviving colonial-era building.