Forest Park Neighborhood Springfield

George Yerrall House, Springfield, Mass

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The house at 88 Maplewood Terrace in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The house in 2017:


George Yerrall was born in England in 1860, but he immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1866. In 1882, he married Anna Wood, a Springfield native, and the couple had two children, George Jr. and William. They moved into this Tudor-style house after it was built in 1905, where they enjoyed a prominent location at the corner of Maplewood Terrace and Randolph Street. At the time, George worked as a banker and railroad executive, serving as clerk and treasurer of the Connecticut River Railroad.

George Yerrall, Jr. became a real estate broker, and he lived here with his parents until his marriage in 1915. His younger brother William became a lawyer, and continued living in this house into the 1930s. Anna died in 1938, right around the time that the first photo was taken, but George remained here until his own death in 1945, about 40 years after he first moved in. Since then, the house has remained well-preserved. It is an excellent example of early 20th century Tudor Revival architecture, and it is part of the Forest Park Heights Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

Frank Doolittle House, Springfield, Mass

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The house at 120 Maplewood Terrace in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The house in 2017:


This Colonial Revival-style house was built in 1902, and was designed by G. Wood Taylor, one of Springfield’s leading architects at the turn of the 20th century. It was one of his many works in the Forest Park neighborhood, and it was even featured in the July 1903 issue of Scientific American Building Monthly. Originally, the house was owned by Frank and Emma Doolittle, who were both about 50 when they moved in. Emma died in 1919, and Frank continued to live here until his own death in 1933, only a few years before the first photo was taken.

Around 115 years after the house was built, the only significant change to Taylor’s original design has been the front porch. The left side of the porch is now gone, and the right side has since been enclosed. Otherwise, though, the house has been well-preserved, and along with the rest of the neighborhood it is part of the Forest Park Heights Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

H. D. Graves House, Springfield, Mass

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The house at 20 Fairfield Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The house in 2017:


This house was built in 1901, and its original owner was H. L. Graves, although it seems unclear as to exactly who this person was. He, or perhaps she, did not live here for very long, though. By 1908 the house was owned by Margaretha Seuss, the maternal grandmother of Theodore Geisel. Better known in later years by his pen name of Dr. Seuss, Theodore Geisel was a young child when his grandmother lived here, and he lived just a few houses away on the same street.

Margaretha lived in this house with her daughter Bertha and Bertha’s husband, William H. Klein. He was a former lieutenant in the Massachusetts Militia, and in the 1910 census he was listed as a bookkeeper in a brewery. Margaretha died in 1913, but the Kleins remained here for many years. They had two sons, George and Frederick, and they were still living here by the 1930 census. However, at some point in the 1930s they moved to nearby Keith Street, where they rented half of a two-family home.

By the 1940 census, this house on Fairfield Street was rented by Harry J. Talmage, who worked as a manager for the New England Milk Producing Association. He lived here with his wife and three teenaged children, and in 1940 they were paying $45 in monthly rent. They were only here for a few years, though, because by around 1942 they had moved to a different house in Forest Park. However, their former house has changed very little since the first photo was taken, and the property is now part of the Forest Park Heights Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

Percy Gates House, Springfield, Mass

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The house at 60 Garfield Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The house in 2017:


This house was built in 1900 for insurance bookkeeper Percy S. Gates and his wife Beula, although the couple lived here for less than a decade, before moving to Longmeadow by the 1910 census. The house was then sold to George and Sophie Joslyn, who went on to live here for the rest of their lives. George was listed as a bookkeeper in the 1920 city register, although the census records do not list any occupations for either him or Sophie. However, they were involved in several different charitable and social organizations, with George serving as secretary of the Wesson Memorial Hospital and treasurer of the Automobile Club of Springfield, while Sophie was the treasurer of the Home for Friendless Women.

Sophie died in 1938, right around the time that the first photo was taken, and George remained here until his death in 1943. The house has had a number of other owners since then, but it has remained well-preserved, with hardly any differences since the first photo was taken nearly 80 years ago, except for the paint color. In 1982, the house became part of the Forest Park Heights Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

Thomas Crane House, Springfield, Mass

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The house at 66 Garfield Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The house in 2017:


This Colonial Revival-style home was built in 1899 for Thomas and Katherine Crane, and their young children, Robert and Ruth. Thomas was a Scottish immigrant who came to the United States as a child, and he worked as a traveling salesman for a furniture company. The family only lived here for a few years, though, before moving to a nearby house on Maplewood Terrace.

The house was subsequently owned by James P. Stearns, an auditor for MassMutual. He was living here during the 1910 census, along with his wife Gertrude, their two children, and his niece. However, they did not live here long either, and by the next census the house was owned by retired stove dealer Charles Gowdy and his wife Blanche. He lived here until his death in 1933, and Blanche later left this house and moved in with her son.

By the time the first photo was taken, the house was being rented by Mollie B. Higgins, a widow who lived here with three adult daughters, Harriett, Margaret, and Ruth. All three were unmarried, with Harriett working as a teacher, Margaret as an insurance clerk, and Ruth as a dentist assistant. During the 1940 census, the family was living here and paying $55 per month in rent, but a few years later the house was sold again.

Today, this scene is completely unchanged, including the adjacent houses to the right and in the distance on the left. The exterior of this house has remained well-preserved, and along with the other houses in the neighborhood it is now part of the Forest Park Heights Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

William F. Wright House, Springfield, Mass

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The house at 15 Churchill Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The house in 2017:

This house was built in 1898 for William F. Wright, although he does not appear to have lived here long, because by 1902 it was the home of attorney Wallace R. Heady, his wife Sarah, and their two young children, Joseph and Mary. Prior to moving into this house, he and Sarah had two other children, but they died young, just six months apart in 1898 and 1899. They would go on to have three more children, but Sarah died of tuberculosis in 1907, only a few months after their youngest child was born.

By the 1910 census, Heady was living here with the five children, his mother Elvira, and a 16 year old Irish servant. He was still working as a lawyer at the time, but in 1914 he was appointed as a judge for the Police Court of Springfield, which later became the District Court of Springfield. In the meantime, his oldest surviving child, Joseph, also became a lawyer. His education was interrupted by World War I, when he left high school to serve in the Navy, but after the war he graduated from high school and subsequently received his law degree from Boston University.

Wallace Heady served as a judge for 22 years, until his resignation in 1936 at the age of 71. His decision was prompted by Governor James Michael Curley’s newly-established policy requiring judges over the age of 70 to undergo physical and mental evaluations. Rather than submitting to an examination, he tendered his resignation, and he made his reasons very clear in his letter to Governor Curley.

When the first photo was taken in the late 1930s, Heady was still living here in this house, but he died a few years later in 1942. The house was subsequently sold, and at some point the wood shingles and clapboards on the exterior walls were replaced with asbestos shingles. Otherwise, though, the house retains its 19th century appearance, and in 1982 it became part of the Forest Park Heights Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.