Nomination for Porter-Phelps-Huntington House

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Z - Form 10-300 (July 1969) PH0016225 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM (Type all entries - complete applicablesections) STATE: Massachusetts COUNTY: Hampshire FOR NPS USE ONLY ENTRY NUMBER AR 26 1975 DATE NAME COMMON: 2. Porter-Phelps-Huntington House AND/ OR HISTORIC: Forty Acres LOCATION STREET AND NUMBER: 130 River Drive CITY OR TOWN: Hadley Congressional District 1 7118 RECEIVED JUL 24 1972 NATIONAL REGISTER STATE CODE COUNTY: 025 Hampshire CODE 015 Massachusetts 3. CLASSIFICATION CATEGORY (Check One) District * Building Site Structure OWNERSHIP STATUS Object Public Private Both Public Acquisition: - In Process Being Considered Occupied Unoccupied - Preservation work in progress ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC Yes: Restricted Unrestricted No 5.

PRESENT USE (Check One or More as Appropriate) Agricultural Government Commercial Industrial Educational Military Entertainment Museum Park Private Residence Religious Scientific OWNER OF PROPERTY OWNER'S NAME: Porter-Phe1ps-Huntington Foundation, Inc. STREET AND NUMBER: 130 River Drive CITY OR TOWN: Hadley LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION L:.

COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC: Hampshire County Registry of Deeds STREET AND NUMBER: - Transportation - Other (Specity) - Comments STATE: Massachusetts CODE 025 CITY OR TOWN: Northampton STATE Massachusetts CODE 025 REPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYS TITLE OF SURVEY: DATE OF SURVEY: Inventory of Historic Assets, Commonwealth of Massachusetts - Federal X State - County DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS: Massachusetts Historical Commission STREET AND NUMBER: Archives Museum, State House CITY OR TOWN: Boston STATE: Massachusetts Local CODE 025 NT 698440 4693690 Mass. Hampshire STATE: COUNTY: ENTRY NUMBER FOR NPS USE ONLY 7. DESCRIPTION Excellent CONDITION X Good (Check-One) Fair (Check One) Deteriorated - Altered X Unaltered since 1799 DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (if known) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Description of the property

Ruins - Unexposed (Check One) - Moved riginal Site The Porter-Phelps-Huntington House, on River Drive north of Hadley, is set back from the road across a wide expanse of lawn and shade trees. The homestead consists of a three-storied gambrel roofed house which faces east. An early one-and-ahalf story ell is attached to the west end of the house. From this a later ell extends to the south and includes a woodshed and chaise house; the latter is a twentieth century reconstruction of a 1795 structure. To the south of the chaise house lies a sunken garden, planted in the ruins of the stone foundation of an old barn. This barn now stands in Hadley proper, serving as a farm museum. To the north of the house lies a second garden, parts of which were laid out when the house was built.

Moses Porter began clearing the land for the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House, also known as Forty Acres, in the winter of 1752. The following spring a cellar was excavated for the ell, and on May 27 of that year the roof of the house was raised. As originally completed, the house was a two story structure, with a pitched roof and rusticated exterior. Porter's son-in-law, Charles Phelps, was responsible for all the structural changes between 1770 and 1799, by which time the house had realized its present form. In M 177- a kitchen ell was added to the south of the original ell. In 1782, at the time the barn was being raised, the main house was rotated on its axis, form south to west, to face the highway which in 1752 had been only a cart Z track throught the meadows. This rotation would have been necessitated the remøwal of at least one chimney.

It is unclear whether there was originally a central - chimney which was taken down at this time, or whether the twin chimneys, one at each gable end, have always existed. In 1799, several major alterations were made at Forty Acres. The entire house was sheathed in graduated clapboards. The double-leaved front door, decorated with double-cross panels, was replaced by a more contemporary paneled door, flanked by sidelights. The doorway was visually emphasized with an entrance porch, whocse full entablature and pediment are supported by Doric columns, elongated and modified. Anticipating the return of one of his sons, Z Char les Phelps also enlarged the house by replacing the pitched roof with a gambrel roof, thus creating a third story. This addition remains unfinished, as his son did not return to Hadley until a much later date, and then built his own house.

The fenestration of the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House is regular, as is to be expected in a Colonial house plan. Nine-on-nine sash windows in a five bay facade reflect the traditional arrangement of a central hall dividing the house symmetrically. The gambrel ends each have six windows, regularly arranged, two to a story. The south wall has a simple doorway, topped by a rectangular transom, opening into a passage which originally led to the first ell, before the house was turned. Fhe later kitchen all, perpendicular to the first ell, follows the architectural style of the house, with sash windows and a simple doorway. The west facade of the house supports a verandah, an unusual feature of New England country architecture. There was an oven at the south end of this verandah, used to prepare the meals for the farm hands. INSTRUCTIONS

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

SIGNIFICANCE PERIOD (Check One or More as Appropriate) Pre-Columbian! 15th Century 16th Century 17th Century: X 18th Century x 19th Century [x 20th Century SPECIFIC DATE(S) (If Applicable and Known) AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE (Check One or More as Appropriate) Abor iginal Education Prehistoric Engineering Historic Industry Agriculture Invention Architecture Landscape Art Architecture Commerce Literatrier saione Communications Military Conservation Music 1752, 1799 Political 9 Boigion/#GÊÎVED Urban Planning Other (Specify) Science - lodthy 24 1972 Farly Settlement SCUIMLATIONAL SoREG+9TER itarian a= heát Transpotaian1 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

Statement of significance

The Porter-Phelphs-Huntington House is a treasury of rural life in eighteenth century Massachusetts. Begun in 1752, it was the first house constructed outside the stockaded town of Hadley and has remained nearly unchanged in appearance since 1799. The house is also a memorial to three families which were associated with it for ten generations and to three men in particular, Moses Porter, Charles Phelps and Bishop F. D. Huntington. Moses Porter, grandson of the first child born in Hadley, built this Colonial mansion on Forty Acre Meadow. The Porter Family had held partial title to the land since Hadley was laid out in 1659, and by 1752 owned almost the entire meadow area. Because of its location, Moses Porter gave his house the name "Forty Acres, " by which it is still generally known.

Porter was killed in 1755, during the French and Indian War, but his wofe and daughter Elizabeth continued to live at Forty Acres. In 1770, Elizabeth Porter married Charles Phelps, a young lawyer from Northampton, who was later to serve as Squire of Hadley under four governors. The extensive changes which Phelps made in his wife's house between 1771 and 1799 gave the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House it present appearance. In addition to his legal training, Phelps had acquired a knowledge of engi- neering and architecture, which explains the success of the alterations he made to the house. Yale's famous travelling president Timothy Dwight visited the house in the late 1790's and wrote of Forty Acres "...this ey atowledge."post destrable possession, of the same kind and extent, within Dwight is responsible for the Huntington connection with Forty Acres.

At his suggestion, Dan Huntington, former tutor Litchfield, Connecticut, arranged at Yale and pastor at an exchange of pulpits so that he could preach at Hadley. Dwight had assured Huntington that he would be invited to visit Squire Phelps'house and added that the Squire has a lovely daughter. Dan Huntington and Elizabeth Whiting Phelps were married in 1801. Their youngest son was Frederick Dan, later to become Bishop Huntington. Frederick Dan Huntington studied at Harvard Divinity School and then became assistant to Rev. George Putnam of Roxbury, a leading Unitarian minister. After serving as minister of the South Congregational Church, he became "Professor of Christian Morals and College Preacher" at Harvard and gained a reputation as a popular lyceum speaker. In 1861, Huntington entered the Episcopal Church.

He resigned from Harvard and was immediately elected rector of Emmanue1 Church, Boston. Eight years later, in 1869, Huntington was elected Bishop of Central New York. On the death of Elizabeth Phelps Huntington in 1847, Forty Acres had passed to her children; by 1855, Frederick Dan Huntington had bought his

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES Huntington, James Lincoln. Forty Acres. New York: Hastings House, 1949. A0N a1! GEOGRAPHICAL DATA LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES DEFINING A RECTANGLE LOCATING THE PROPERTY CORNER LATITUDE Degrees Minutes Seconds R LONGITUDE Degrees Minutes Seconds LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES DEFINING THE CENTER POINT OF A PROPERTY OF LESS THAN TEN ACRES Degrees LATITUDE Minutes LONGITUDE Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds - NW NE " 42 22 11½ 72 SE SW APPROXIMATE ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY: acres ILIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES STATE: CODE COUNTY 35 15 CODE STATE: CODE COUNTY: CODE STATE: CODE COUNTY: CODE STATE: CODE COUNTY: CODE FORM PREPARED BY NAME AND TITLE: Anne R.

Wardwell, Survey Director ORGANIZATION .ihns todot pneg DATE May 16, 1972 Massachusetts Historical Commission STREET AND NUMBER: Archives Museum, State House CITY OR TOWN: 2e8s00s-90 Boston STATE LIAISON OFFICER CERTIFICATION o:J STATE CODE 93:C2l Massachusetts 025 NATIONAL REGISTER VERIFICATION As the designated State Liaison Officer for the Na- tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service. The recommended Bsiniet RE0 po0ob 2hM SK I hereby certify that this property is included in the Nationa1 Register.

Rukerkn Utteii nen Chief, Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation level of significance of this nomination is: National CraaState, Hem=Locat , totatnin Name JOH Date PATTAST: F. x. DAVOREN 4.3. Faocb. 563n0 Secretary of the Commonwealth, Title Chairman, Massachusetts Historical Commission 22/72 Bron forel Keeper of The Nation Register 002800 Date Date 3/21/73 GP O 901.087 Form 10-300a (Dec. 1968) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM (Continuation Sheet) STATE Massachusetts COUNTY Hampshire FOR NPS USE ONLY ENTRY NUMBER DATE (Number all entries) 8. Significance (continued) brothers and sisters' shares and held full title to the house. During his years at Harvard and at Emmaneul, Huntinton made the house his summer resi- dence.

Though as Bishop Huntinton moved his family to Syracuse, he continued to spend long vacations at the house in Hadley until his death in 1904. Forty Acres remained in the Huntington family until it was turned over to the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Foundation in 1955, to be preserved as an historic house museum. The furnishings of the house are entirely family possessions. Most of them were bought for the house by Charles Phelps but there are also pieces répresenting almost every line of descent that has married into the home oe coneone ha ha Porter, Phelps and Huntington families. In addition, the house contains a large collection of family papers (on exhibit by appointment) which date from 1697. These include deeds, wills, bills of sale (for beaver hats, hardware and slaves), ships' papers, diaries and letters. 1, Huntington, James Lincoln, Forty Acres (New York: Hastings House, 1949), p.

16. 1/181/19 RECEIVED JUL 24 1972 NATIONAL REGISTER 10 (WILLI 6468 / NW (WILLIAMSBURG) 72°37'30" 42°22'30" UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 696000m.E. 697 BRIDGE Hatfield 16L17 :CÊIVED 19 1973 ITIONAL :GISTER TO co IL 4693000m.N. TIF 4692 PORTER PHELPS-HUNTINGTON HOUSE -CONNECTICUT--- POT ROAD Old Hadiey "Cem ROAD ÇEMETERY 4691 GREENFIELO 20 MI. Elwell Island SUNDEKLAND RTH MI 42° 12 RIVER- Hopkins Academy NEWTO Hadley APLE. (47) COMMONWEALTH C DEPARTMENT O (MT. HUNTINGTON PROPERTY PORTEI Working number TECH REVIEW ETON HOUSESTATE 73000303 Hampshire Photos Maps / in REVIEW New map sent 3-19-73 HISTORIAN nplet ay fin, t jilfe itustg ot OK. MdG 11-6- 12 2- 2 6- 43 Thutl ARCHEOLOGIST ARCHITECT OK KH 2/5/73 BRANCH CHIEF 7 321193 EDITORIAL REVIEW KEEPER National Register write-up Fedexal Register entry .

5-1-13 Acknowledge 7- 24: 7.2 Send-back 3-1-13 Re-submit - 3-19-13 MAR 2 6 1973 Register no. PLEASE RETURN THIS FORM WEEN THE PROPERTY IS RESUBMITTED. DATE:3-1-73 NAME OF PROPERTY Lirter-Phelps - Huntengon Houce, Mase The attached National Register Inventory-Nomination form is being returned to your office for clarification of the infornation indicated below. 1. Name. 2. Location. 3. Classification. 4. Owner of Property- 5. Location of Legal Description. _ 6. Representation in Existing Surveys. 7. Description. 8. Statement of Significance. 9. Bibliography. 10. Geographical Data. a. Longitude and Latitude Coordinates. b. Acreage.. 11. Form Prepared By. 12. Certification. Photographic Coverage. _Map coverage. Llease send Megunia Gr. ginol map submiteo 5(8px- Juey Other. Clarification or correction of the above items must be made prior to the initiatir of our professional review.

Correction of these technical errors does not necessarily insure that the nomination will then satisfy National Register criter in full. Thank you for your attention to the above items checked. Thanks, SIGNED: Kaydine A. Joxes NPS Number Title: Loc. 3/26/73. PorteR- Phelps- Huntington. HOUSE HAmpshire, Mass..

ViEu from east, fRont FACADE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES PROPERTY PHOTOGRAPH FORM (Type all entries -attach to or enclose with photograph) STATE Massachusett COUNTY Hampshire FOR NP ENTRY NUM NAME COMMON: AND/OR HISTORIC: LOCATION STREET AND NUMBER: 130 River Drive Porter-Phelps-Huntington House Forty Acres CITY OR TOWN: Hadley STATE: Massachusetts CODE COUNTY: 025 Hampshire PHOTO REFERENCE PHOTO CREDIT: Laurie Robin Hammel DATE OF PHOTO: 1970 NEGATIVE FILED AT: contact Miss Hammel: 3 Hancock Place, Cambridge, Mass. DENTIFICATION DESCRIBE VIEW, DIRECTION, ETC. view from east, front facade TECE NATIOI BEGIST -Ferm 10-301 (July 1969) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES PROPERTY MAP FORM (Type all entries - attach to or enclose with map) Z - U 2.

3 - NAME COMMON: AND/OR HISTORIC: LOCATION STREET AND NUM BER: 130 River Drive CITY OR TOWN: Hadley Porter-Phelps-Huntington House Forty Acres STATE: Massachusetts MAP REFERENCE SOURCE: U.S.G.S. Mount Holyoke, Mass. SCALE: 1:24,000 DATE: 1964 REQUIREMENTS TO BE INCLUDED ON ALL MAPS 1. Property broundaries where required. 2. North arrow. 3. Latitude and longitude reference. ISTATE Massachusetts COUNTY Hampshire FOR NPS USE ONLY ENTRY NUMBER 18, MAR RECENED JUL 24 1972 NATIONAL REGISTER CODE 025 COUNTY: Hampshire DATE 2 6 1973 CODE 015 42°aa ' n%½" latatude - 53'15'1 Longitude RIVE CONNECTICUT- ROAD HADLEY, MASSACHUSETTS PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON HOUSE. U.S.G.S. 18L19, Scale 1:24,000 tount Holyoke, MassachusCHECEVED 1964 JUL 24 1972 NATIONAL REGISTER AQUA VITAE NORTHAMPTON sandy CORPORATE Beach -BOUNDARY Stepher Istand RIVER Aie emt CrEcT John F. X.

Davoren Secretary of the Commonroealth The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Office of the Secretary Ptate Hlouse, Boston 02133 July 14, 1972 (0T12 LBIT8 140) RECÊNEDI JUL 24 1972 NATIONAL REGISTER CERTIFIED ) MAIL - Registration and Nomination Branch National Register of Historic Places Room 3207-A 1100 L Street, NW Washington, D. C. 20005 Attention: Miss Mary Means Dear Sirs: Enclesed is the National Register submission for: Porter-Phelps-Huntington House, Hadley This property has been declared eligible for submission by the Massachusetts Historical Commission, the State Review Board, and has been signed by Secretary of the Commonwealth John Francis Xavie: Davoren, Chairman of the Massachusetts Historical Commission designated the State Liaison Officer. Yours sincerely, Richard W. Hale, Jr. Rucan/ Mah Acting Chairman, Massachusetts Historical Commission RWH:pm Encl.

ENTRIES IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER STATE MASSACHUSETTS Date Entered MAR 2 6 1973 Name Porter-Phelps-Iluntington House Location Hadley Hampahize County Also Notified Hon. Edward M. Kennedy Hon. Edward W. Brooke Hon, Edward P. Boland Director, Northeast Region State Liaison Officer Hon. John P.X. Davoren Secretary of the Conmonwealth Chaizuan, Massachusetts Historical Comnission 40 Beacon Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 /PHR NRowland: jcc 3/27/73