Town Farm, The
Also known as: The Town Poor Farm; Easthampton Lodging House
Why it's listed
Set on 56 acres of protected farmland along Oliver Street in Easthampton, this large wood-frame house was built in 1890 to shelter the town's poor and sick. Easthampton bought the former Horace Lyman farm after years of debate over the rising cost of boarding the needy with local families, then hired W.F. Pratt & Son of Northampton to design the building. It opened in December 1890 and was usually called the Town Farm because residents helped work the land. The cross-gabled house combines Queen Anne scalloped shingles and clipped gables, Stick Style corner posts and bandcourses, and Colonial Revival symmetry. A garage and workshop added through a Works Project Administration project in 1938-1939 also remain, along with foundations of the barn, icehouse and well. The property is significant for its social history, its architecture and its surviving farm setting between 1890 and 1946, and it still provides housing today.
Significance in brief: The property reflects the nineteenth and twentieth century tradition of community responsibility for the poor and sick, which Easthampton kept after other towns shifted it to the State. Its farmland recalls the working farm that gave residents employment and sustenance. The utilitarian house also shows late nineteenth century eclectic architecture. It was judged significant locally under Criteria A and C.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 96000950, listed September 12, 1996. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 75 Oliver St., Easthampton |
|---|---|
| County | Hampshire County |
| Listed | September 12, 1996 |
| Reference number | 96000950 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1890-1946 |
| Architect / builder | W.F. Pratt & Son |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian - Queen Anne, Stick |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Community Planning and Development, Architecture, Health/Medicine |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as housing for Easthampton's indigent; the house, a WPA-era garage and workshop, and agricultural fields remain, while the barn, icehouse and well survive only as foundation remnants. |
| Acreage | 56 |
| Coordinates | 42.27944, -72.69590 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 96000950.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7769773
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.