Grove Hill Mansion
Encyclopedia
Grove Hill Mansion is a historic mansion at Florence Road and Front Street in Northampton, Massachusetts
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It was built in 1880 and added to the National Historic Register in 1982.
The large, brick residence at the top of Grove Hill in the village of Leeds (part of Northampton, MA) was built in 1880 for Lucius Dimock, the director of the Nonotuck Silk Company. Not coincidentally, it bears a striking resemblance to the company’s factory (now Leeds Village apartments) were designed in 1879 by architect E. C. Gardner. Gardner, a resident of Ashfield, Massachusetts, began his architectural practice in Florence (Northampton) at the age of 22. It is assumed he was a student of the prolific Northampton architect W.F. Pratt. Following the Civil War, Gardner moved to Springfield and maintained a practice there until 1911.
The interior of the Dimock mansion reveals the influence of Charles Locke Eastlake, author of Hints on Houshold Taste published in 1872. Eastlake emphasized superb craftsmanship and the use of cherry and oak woods which remain unpainted to reveal their natural grain. The Eastlake staircase, structural ceiling treatments, wainscots, parquet floors, doors with intricate inlays, and a chapel in the attic offer most spectacular domestic interior to be seen in our area writes Karl S. Putnam in 1954. Mr. Putnam, who was the dean of Northampton architects for many years, describes Grove Hill in glowing terms in the Northampton Tercentenary History Book.
The Lucius Dimock home was built on the site of the Benjamin North homestead which was moved 100 yards to the north in 1879. The Grove Hill estate included a large fruit orchard, a green house, stables for several beautiful driving horses and carriages. A large barn housed Dimock’s heard of cows. On the southern boundary was a high English style stone wall.
Grove Hill was purchased in the 1970’s by Samuel Goldman who lived there for several years. In the 1990’s, the interior was subdivided into several condominiums. The tower, which is a prominent element on the exterior of the house remains intact, along with the wood bracketed shed roofs. The tower was renovated in 1999, turning the rooftop gazebo into an interior room. The mansion continues to reveal E.C. Gardner’s original design.
Northampton, Massachusetts
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Northampton's central neighborhoods, was 28,549...
.
It was built in 1880 and added to the National Historic Register in 1982.
The large, brick residence at the top of Grove Hill in the village of Leeds (part of Northampton, MA) was built in 1880 for Lucius Dimock, the director of the Nonotuck Silk Company. Not coincidentally, it bears a striking resemblance to the company’s factory (now Leeds Village apartments) were designed in 1879 by architect E. C. Gardner. Gardner, a resident of Ashfield, Massachusetts, began his architectural practice in Florence (Northampton) at the age of 22. It is assumed he was a student of the prolific Northampton architect W.F. Pratt. Following the Civil War, Gardner moved to Springfield and maintained a practice there until 1911.
The interior of the Dimock mansion reveals the influence of Charles Locke Eastlake, author of Hints on Houshold Taste published in 1872. Eastlake emphasized superb craftsmanship and the use of cherry and oak woods which remain unpainted to reveal their natural grain. The Eastlake staircase, structural ceiling treatments, wainscots, parquet floors, doors with intricate inlays, and a chapel in the attic offer most spectacular domestic interior to be seen in our area writes Karl S. Putnam in 1954. Mr. Putnam, who was the dean of Northampton architects for many years, describes Grove Hill in glowing terms in the Northampton Tercentenary History Book.
The Lucius Dimock home was built on the site of the Benjamin North homestead which was moved 100 yards to the north in 1879. The Grove Hill estate included a large fruit orchard, a green house, stables for several beautiful driving horses and carriages. A large barn housed Dimock’s heard of cows. On the southern boundary was a high English style stone wall.
Grove Hill was purchased in the 1970’s by Samuel Goldman who lived there for several years. In the 1990’s, the interior was subdivided into several condominiums. The tower, which is a prominent element on the exterior of the house remains intact, along with the wood bracketed shed roofs. The tower was renovated in 1999, turning the rooftop gazebo into an interior room. The mansion continues to reveal E.C. Gardner’s original design.