Reference Shelf: A Bibliography of Sources about Northampton History
Northampton Architecture and Buildings
350th Anniversary Committee of the City of Northampton, Paradise Built: Shaping Northampton’s Townscape, 1654 – 2004, Northampton, 2004. Contents: Patricia Wright, On the Ground: The Origins of Northampton's Peculiar Plan; Richard Garvey and Stan Sherer, Preserving Paradise: Fifteen Recent Projects; Faye S. Wolfe: Plying the Plane and Pencil: Three Essays on Architect William Fenno Pratt; Steve Strimer, Toward an Inventory of Works of William Fenno Pratt. Illustrated, 108 pages.
Committee on Historical Localities, comp. Historical Localities in Northampton. Northampton, 1904. Description of historic homes, buildings, etc., identified and located. (UM, SC, FL)
Cote, Richard C. "Isaac Damon's Northampton: An Essay in Townscape and Townplanning." Unpublished article, 1970. On Damon's early contribution to Northampton's architecture, 1811-1828. Endnotes and bibliography. (FL)
Cote, Richard C. "Rethinking the Early Greek Revival: The Success of Influences and the Failure of a Builder." Old-Time New England 64 (1974): 61-76. A Northampton carpenter-builder, Thomas Pratt, failed at his early (1826-1828) attempt at the Greek Revival portico house form. He was out of his element and without experience in the new style. Footnotes. (FL, UM, HN)
Cote, Richard C. "Thomas Pratt and the Greek Revival Architecture in Northampton, Mass.: A Study of New England Architecture, 1807-1832." A.B. thesis, Hampshire College, 1972. Pratt constructed homes while his contemporary, Isaac Damon, specialized in civic buildings. (HN)
Hayes, Marian. "Life and Architecture in the Connecticut Valley." Ph.D. dissertation, Harvard University, 1944. Northampton is well-represented in this dissertation. Covers 300 years of history and 300 miles of river. About 200 photographs. Structural and framing details. Footnotes and bibliography. (FL)
Hunt, Cynthia L. "William Fenno Pratt and the Development of Nineteenth-Century Northampton." Honors thesis, Smith College, 1977. 2 vols. Author concludes that Pratt had an astonishing impact on Northampton. He represented the transition between carpenter-builder and the trained professional. Includes 94 drawings and photographs. Footnotes and bibliography. (FL, SC, HN)
Kneeland, Harriet J. Some Old Northampton Homes. Northampton, 1909. Dates and details of old homes and who lived there.(FL,SC,HN)
MacDonald, William L. Northampton Massachusetts: Architecture and Buildings. Northampton, 1975. Demonstrates how Northampton's buildings reflect its changing styles, fads and culture. Illustrated by author. Reading list. (FL, UM, SC, HN)
Menke, William F. "William Fenno Pratt: Changing with the Times in Northampton, Massachusetts." Seminar paper, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, ca. 1975. Author pieces together clues as to the professional life of the architect-builder Pratt, the son of carpenter-builder Thomas Pratt. Presents research findings on the planning and erection of Pratt's civic and institutional buildings. (HN)
Merrill, David O. "Isaac Damon and the Architecture of the Federal Period in New England." Ph.D. dissertation, Yale University, 1965. An erudite and exhaustive study of the life and times of Isaac Damon, the famed architect-builder of the Connecticut Valley. Well-illustrated, with footnotes and bibliography.(FL, HN)
Northampton Historical Society. The Parsons House of the Northampton Historical Society, Being Two Conflicting Accounts... Northampton, 1972. Reproduces papers with conflicting theories as to the dating and early history of the Parsons House proposed by Anna C. Bliss and Chauncey L. Parsons. (FL,HN)
Committee on Historical Localities, comp. Historical Localities in Northampton. Northampton, 1904. Description of historic homes, buildings, etc., identified and located. (UM, SC, FL)
Cote, Richard C. "Isaac Damon's Northampton: An Essay in Townscape and Townplanning." Unpublished article, 1970. On Damon's early contribution to Northampton's architecture, 1811-1828. Endnotes and bibliography. (FL)
Cote, Richard C. "Rethinking the Early Greek Revival: The Success of Influences and the Failure of a Builder." Old-Time New England 64 (1974): 61-76. A Northampton carpenter-builder, Thomas Pratt, failed at his early (1826-1828) attempt at the Greek Revival portico house form. He was out of his element and without experience in the new style. Footnotes. (FL, UM, HN)
Cote, Richard C. "Thomas Pratt and the Greek Revival Architecture in Northampton, Mass.: A Study of New England Architecture, 1807-1832." A.B. thesis, Hampshire College, 1972. Pratt constructed homes while his contemporary, Isaac Damon, specialized in civic buildings. (HN)
Hayes, Marian. "Life and Architecture in the Connecticut Valley." Ph.D. dissertation, Harvard University, 1944. Northampton is well-represented in this dissertation. Covers 300 years of history and 300 miles of river. About 200 photographs. Structural and framing details. Footnotes and bibliography. (FL)
Hunt, Cynthia L. "William Fenno Pratt and the Development of Nineteenth-Century Northampton." Honors thesis, Smith College, 1977. 2 vols. Author concludes that Pratt had an astonishing impact on Northampton. He represented the transition between carpenter-builder and the trained professional. Includes 94 drawings and photographs. Footnotes and bibliography. (FL, SC, HN)
Kneeland, Harriet J. Some Old Northampton Homes. Northampton, 1909. Dates and details of old homes and who lived there.(FL,SC,HN)
MacDonald, William L. Northampton Massachusetts: Architecture and Buildings. Northampton, 1975. Demonstrates how Northampton's buildings reflect its changing styles, fads and culture. Illustrated by author. Reading list. (FL, UM, SC, HN)
Menke, William F. "William Fenno Pratt: Changing with the Times in Northampton, Massachusetts." Seminar paper, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, ca. 1975. Author pieces together clues as to the professional life of the architect-builder Pratt, the son of carpenter-builder Thomas Pratt. Presents research findings on the planning and erection of Pratt's civic and institutional buildings. (HN)
Merrill, David O. "Isaac Damon and the Architecture of the Federal Period in New England." Ph.D. dissertation, Yale University, 1965. An erudite and exhaustive study of the life and times of Isaac Damon, the famed architect-builder of the Connecticut Valley. Well-illustrated, with footnotes and bibliography.(FL, HN)
Northampton Historical Society. The Parsons House of the Northampton Historical Society, Being Two Conflicting Accounts... Northampton, 1972. Reproduces papers with conflicting theories as to the dating and early history of the Parsons House proposed by Anna C. Bliss and Chauncey L. Parsons. (FL,HN)