Northampton, Massachusetts

Central Part of Northampton, Mass.
Drawn by John Warner Barber (1798-1885)
Engraved by S. E. Brown, Boston
From Massachusetts Historical Collections, Being a General Collection of Interesting Facts, Traditions, Biographical Sketches, Anecdotes, &c., Relating to the History and Antiquities of Every Town in Massachusetts by John Warner Barber, Worcester, 1839

The view shows the appearance of the Court-House, the First Congregational Church, and other buildings, as seen from the road in a north-eastern direction.  The Congregational Church is the building seen in the central part of the engraving.

At center, is the First Congregational Church, dedicated on October 28, 1812.  Isaac Damon came to Northampton from Weymouth, Massachusetts to work on the construction of the church.  When the principle contractor withdrew from the project, Damon completed the raising of the frame and was assigned the contract for the building’s completion.  In late 1812, Damon submitted a bid for the Hampshire County Courthouse (second building from right) and was awarded the contract for the courthouse, completed in 1813.  In November 1822, the courthouse was damaged by fire. Damon, with three of his competitors for the original bid, rebuilt a similar building, dedicated on October 29, 1823. In 1814, Damon built a town hall, shown at far right, at his own expense on public land.  While the town retained the use of the "hall and lobby," Damon rented the rest of the building.

The First Church was lost to fire in 1876 and a new church was built on the same site in 1877-1878.  The courthouse was replaced with the current Hampshire County Courthouse in 1885-1886. On March 19, 1849, the town voted to build a new town, which was constructed near the center of Main Street in 1849-1850. 

View of the Town Hall, Northampton -->

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