Northfield Main Street Historic District

Photographed By Devry Becker Jones, August 5, 2023

1. Northfield Main Street Historic District Marker

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The Northfield Main Street Historic District possesses substantial integrity of the location, setting, materials and workmanship of it s late eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth century architecture. Economic, social and historical factors have combined to protect much of the historic streetscape.

Main Street has important historical associations as the center of the town of Northfield since the late seventeenth century when it was called Town Street. The street has also long been associated with and influenced by the educational, social and religious institutions founded in Northfield during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These have included the Northfield Academy of Useful Knowledge, 1829, and the Northfield Seminary, founded by the Reverend Dwight L. Moody in 1879. The latter , known subsequently as the Northfield School for Girls, is just outside of the district boundary. Rev. Moody also founded the Northfield Conferences, summer religious conferences which have achieved both national and international recognition. The American Youth Hostel organization was founded in Northfield in 1934 with headquarters originally at 88 Main Street. Founded in 1672, Northfield was first settled as a frontier farming community in 1673.

The English name Northfield was chosen because it was then the northern most settlement on the Connecticut River. Previously

Photographed By Devry Becker Jones, August 5, 2023

2. Northfield Main Street Historic District Marker

prehistoric peoples had occupied the area for many thousands of years. Archaeological evidence exists for late Archaic and Woodland period settlement on the rich alluvial meadows and fertile plains. Abandoned after it s destruction in 1675, Northfield was again settled in 1685. A substantial fort was built on a lot (it is not clear exactly which one) near the mid-point of the street. During the following year a second fort was built on a height of land south of Mill Brook "for the protection of the mill and as a resort for the families located at this end of the street." Northfield was nonetheless abandoned again in 1690 and permanent settlement was not effected until 1714. The fort constructed in 1686 was rebuilt in 1722 and it s stone foundation was still in place as late as 1825. A stone marker dedicated in 1897 now indicates its location.

During the first, and second settlements "the Main Street of the village constituted the town." This remained the case as late as the 1760's. While Main Street (still Town Street in 1723) developed into a thriving center for local trade, as well as the residential street of the town, grain crops, wool, and flax, were raised successfully in the surrounding fields.

By 1818 the population of Northfield was put at 1,850 and the dwelling houses numbered 200. Fifty-eight of these were on Main Street. Several of the houses built

Photographed By Devry Becker Jones, August 5, 2023

3. An additional National Register plaque has been affixed to a rock in front of the Town Hall

on Main Street both before and after this date were constructed by the Steams family and their apprentices... The family's complete account and day books provide an invaluable resource from which to gleam information on specific buildings and on the craftsmen who built and ornamented them, Calvin and Samuel Stearns, who came to Northfield in 1799, had both previously worked in Boston for about a year on Charles Bulfinch's India Wharf and with Peter Bonner. They also worked in Windsor and Springfield, Vermont and with Josiah Oaks in Brookfield, Massachusetts. Calvin was a builder of, among other things, elegant staircases. Together with Calvin's six sons, Calvin and Samuel Stearns introduced the Federal and Greek Revival styles to this Connecticut River Valley town. Carpenters who worked with the Stearns included Stephen Crowfoot, Hopine King, and later John Field and the Russell brothers. Harvey Field ornamented columns for them and one S. Norton was a skilled finisher. The fine craftsmanship of these nineteenth century builders and artisans still graces Northfield's Main Street today.

Five areas of prehistoric archaeological sensitivity have been identified in the area just west of the Northfield Main Street Historic District. Of uncertain cultural affiliation, these loci are found in elevated lands above the Great Meadow which borders the Connecticut River. As the

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Northfield Main Street Historic District is found in an environmental setting similar to that of the sensitive areas, there is a strong potential for the presence of prehistoric archaeological remains within the confines of the district.