Griswold, Maj. Joseph, House

Description of the property

Moved - Unexposed (Check One) X] Origiral Site The Joseph Griswold Homestead is located on the top of a hill on the west side of Upper Street in Buckland, Massachusetts. Built in 1818, after designs in the pattern books of Asher Benjamin, this Federal style house is a simple, rectangular structure, with a one and one half story ell attached to the northwest corner. The main block of the building is brick; the ell is wooden. From this ell, Griswold sold cheese, rum and apples, as well as the furniture he made. The front (east) facade has five bays and is laid up in Flemish bond. Sash windows are placed at regular intervals across the facade; on the first floor, two pairs of windows flank the entrance.

The second story windows repeat the rhythm of the first floor, with a fifth window located over the doorway. These windows are all of the same dimensions, and are finished with flared marble lintels and lugsills. The doorway is adorned with a recessed fanlight, which is supported by two slender pilasters. A decorative boxed cornice, composed of delicate consoles and a narrow band of shields, runs under the eaves of the pitched roof. On the third floor,a pair of windows, identical to those of the front facade, is located in each gable end and is the only source of light for the floor. In the north gable, two quarter-round lights flank the third story sash windows at sill level. The outward curve of these quarter-round lights is repeated in a full fanlight just under the peak of the gable.

In the first and second stories there are windows under each pair on the third floor. This central pair of windows is set off by a single window placed roughly under the quarter-lights.

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Statement of significance

- 18th Century X] 19th Century 1818 Political Religion/Phi- losophy Science Sculpture Social/Human- itarian Theater - Transportation 20th Century - Urban Planning - Other (Specify) S E The Griswold Homestead was built for Major Joseph Griswold and is a fine example of the Federal style in rural Massachusetts; it is also, one of the earliest brick houses in the Buckland area. The primary significance of the house, however, comes from its association with Mary Lyon, pioneer in providing advanced education for women. Bricks for the Griswold Homestead were made from native clay found in an adjacent field. According to family tradition, Mary Lyon stopped to inquire into the brick-making procedure and helped to make a few bricks for the house.

Major Griswold built a ballroom on the third floor of the house which served as an assembly hall for the community. He offered the use of this room to Mary Lyon in 1824 when she was attempting to found a new type of school for girls. She offered a curriculum equal to that being taught in boys' schools instead of the music, drawing, needlework program of the usual female seminary. Miss Lyon held school here until 1829, when a larger hall was built for her to meet increased enrollment. She later offered the school to the town of Buckland but was refused. South Hadley accepted her offer and in 1837 Miss Lyon opened the Mount Holyoke Seminary, which was to become Mount Holyoke College. 9 110 Noy NATIONAL 197,