National Register of Historic Places

Simon Colton House, Longmeadow, Massachusetts

by

The house at 787 Longmeadow Street in Longmeadow, around 1883. Image from Proceedings at the Centennial Celebration of the Incorporation of the Town of Longmeadow (1883).

The house in 2024:

This house was built in 1735 as the home of Captain Simon Colton (1709–1796), shortly before his 1736 marriage to Abigail Burt (1714–1760). Its design was typical for homes of this period, including a front facade with four windows on the first floor and five on the second floor, a central chimney, and a saltbox-style roof in the back of the house. Simon and Abigail had 12 children, 7 of whom lived to adulthood, and after Abigail’s death in 1760, Simon remarried to Rebecca Hale (1717–1803).

Simon and Abigail’s son, Major Luther Colton (1756–1803), subsequently inherited the house. He lived here with his wife, Thankful Woolworth (1759–1797), and they had 9 children, one of whom died in infancy. After Thankful’s death in 1797, Luther remarried to Mehitable Deming (1763–1856) in 1799. She was a widow from Rocky Hill, Connecticut, and she had four children of her own. They would have two more children of their own, before Luther’s death in 1803.

Mehitable lived here for the rest of her life, and it would remain in her family throughout the 19th century. Her granddaughter, Elizabeth Parker Colton (1823–1898), later inherited the house, and she owned it when the top photo was taken in the early 1880s. Also visible in this photo is a massive elm tree in the front of the house, which may have been even older than the house itself.

In 1906, Elizabeth’s brother Simon Parker sold the house to T. W. Leete, who briefly owned it before selling it in 1908 to Julia Colton Allen, a granddaughter of Major Luther Colton. At some point in the early 20th century, the wing on the south side of the house was significantly expanded. The 1880s photo shows a one-story wing on the right side, but photographs from the 1910s (such as a 1918 photo that was featured in a previous post) show a two-story wing.

The Colton descendants continued to own the house until 1935, when they transferred it to the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. This organization, which is now known as Historic New England, has since sold the house, and it is once again privately owned. However, the sale includes several stipulations, including that the front facade cannot be changed and that it must always be painted red.

Today, the house stands as perhaps the oldest surviving house in Longmeadow, and it is a good example of the saltbox style that was popular in the Connecticut River Valley during the mid-18th century. It is one of the many historic homes that line the Longmeadow Green, and it is an important town landmark that is featured on the town’s official seal. Along with the other homes on the Green, it is part of the Longmeadow Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Justin Colton House, Longmeadow, Massachusetts

by

The house at 797 Longmeadow Street in Longmeadow, on December 15, 1909. Image courtesy of the Longmeadow Historical Society, Paesiello Emerson Collection.

The house in 2024:

The sign on this house indicates that it was built in 1833, although it is possible that it could be older, since this style of architecture was common in the region throughout the 18th and into the early 19th centuries. During the 1830s, it was owned by Justin Colton, and it was part of a group of houses on the east side of the Longmeadow Green that were all owned by members of the Colton family.

Justin Colton (1802–1852) was the younger brother of Newton Colton, who lived in the house that once stood just to the south of here. Justin was married twice, and the presumed 1833 date of this house likely comes from the date of his second marriage, which occurred on June 19, 1833, when he married Sophia Field Colton (1811–1887). He had one child by his first marriage, a son who died in infancy, and he and Sophia had four children: Emeline (1834–1871), Louisa (1836–1916), Amelia (1838–1915), and Albert (1840–1910).

Although Justin Colton died in 1852, the house would remain in the Colton family for many decades. The 1894 county atlas shows that it was owned by Louisa, but she does not appear to have actually lived here, since she spent most of her adult life in Buffalo with her husband Edwin Sikes. Instead, it was her sister Amelia who lived here in the family house. The 1900 census shows Amelia here with her husband George Hatstat and their daughter Elsie. George died in 1902, but Amelia and Elsie were still living here in 1909 when the top photo was taken.

By the late 1920s, this house was owned by George (1880–1969) and Margaret Adams (1882–1968). During the 1930 census, the home was valued at $1,500, and they were living here with their daughter Rosamond and their son Averill. In 1940, George and Margaret opened a tea room here on the first floor of their house, which they named the “Old House on the Green.” Newspaper advertisements from the 1940s promise that it was a good place for events such as wedding receptions, anniversaries, birthday parties, bridge parties, afternoon teas, business meetings, and showers. They ran the business here for about 18 years, until their retirement in 1958, but they lived here until their deaths a few months apart in 1968 and 1969.

Over the years, the house has seen some exterior changes, including the removal of the side porch, the partial enclosure of the front porch, and the removal of the shutters. Otherwise, though, the house is still easily recognizable from the top photo more than a century ago, and it stands as one of the many historic 18th and early 19th century homes that line both sides of the Longmeadow Green. As with the other homes here, it is a contributing property in the Longmeadow Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Ethan Ely House, Longmeadow, Massachusetts (2)

by

The house at 664 Longmeadow Street in Longmeadow, on August 9, 1908. Image courtesy of the Longmeadow Historical Society, Paesiello Emerson Collection.

The house in 2024:

As explained in more detail in the previous post, this house was built in 1856 as the home of Ethan Ely and his son, who was also named Ethan. The younger Ethan lived here until his death in 1906, and the house was subsequently owned by real estate developer James B. Burbank, who lived here until the 1930s.

The top photo was taken in 1908, and not much has changed with the exterior appearance of the house, with the  exception of the loss of the balustrade above the front porch. The house is one of the many historic homes that line this portion of Longmeadow Street, and it is a contributing property in the Longmeadow Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Ethan Ely House, Longmeadow, Massachusetts

by

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.

Simeon Belden House, Wethersfield, Connecticut (3)

by

The doorway of the house at 249 Main Street in Wethersfield, around 1935-1942. Image courtesy of the Connecticut State Library.

The scene in 2024:

As explained in an earlier post, this house was built in 1767 as the home of Simeon and Martha Belden, and it is particularly notable for its front doorway, which is shown here in these two photos. During the mid 18th century, many affluent residents of the Connecticut River Valley commissioned ornate doorways for their homes. These generally consisted of fluted columns on either side of the door and a large entablature above it. In many instances, they were also decorated with carvings of flowers, leaves, and other patterns.

There were several different varieties of this type of doorway. The simplest had flat tops, but others had pediments above the entablature, including some that were triangular or arched. However, the most elaborate of the doorways tended to have scroll pediments, as shown here on the Belden house. This is the style that tends to be most associated with the 18th century doorways of the region, and there are examples of these doorways in major art museums, including one at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and two at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

According to the book Connecticut River Valley Doorways, the doorway was restored in 1917, which included installing replicas of the pedestals, along with new double doors. The rest of the doorway is original, though, and it survives as one of the few remaining scroll pediment doorways that it still located on its original house.

Simeon Belden House, Wethersfield, Connecticut (2)

by

The house at 249 Main Street in Wethersfield, around 1935-1942. Image courtesy of the Connecticut State Library.

The house in 2024:

As explained in more detail in the previous post, this house was built in 1767 as the home of Simeon and Martha Belding, and it stands as an excellent example of mid-18th century Connecticut River Valley architecture. Most notably, it features an elaborately carved scroll pediment doorway. This was a distinctive characteristic of high-end homes in the valley, and it is one of the few such homes to have survived with its original doorway intact.

The top photo was taken around the late 1930s or early 1940s, showing the view of the house from the southeast. Very little has changed since then, and it stands as one of the many historic 18th century homes that still line Main Street in Wethersfield. Along with the other homes in the area, it is a contributing property in the Wethersfield Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.