Description:
Architectural interior fragments taken from the Abel Chapin house at 337 Chicopee Street, Chicopee, Massachusetts. The fragments include: from the north front chamber: flooring, paneling, and trim, from the south front chamber: flooring, paneling, and trim; from the rear chamber: flooring, paneling, and trim; nine plank window frames; two interior shutters from the south front parlor; the summer beam trim from the north front parlor; four Federal period interior doors; four Georgian period panel interior doors; three Georgian period two period two-panel interior doors; one Georgian period four-panel cupboard doors; two sandstone blocks (the remains of the exterior front entry staircase); one bucket of wrought nails; and approximately 750 board feet of wide board attic flooring. Abel Chapin (1700-1772) descended from a family of historical significance in the Connecticut River Valley. His great grandfather, Samuel, was among the first settlers of Springfield, Massachusetts. Grandfather Japhet fought at Turners Falls, also known as the "Peskeompscut Massacre," in 1676. Abel and his brother Henry were the first settlers of Chicopee. He also had family ties to Deerfield as his aunt, Japhet Chapin's daughter, Hannah, married John Sheldon, son of the builder of the 1699 “Old Indian House.” Given the title “Landlord” due to his ownership of 500 acres of land, five houses, and barns, Abel proved not only to be a successful farmer, but also an astute businessman. He built the first house in Willimansett, a village in the northern section of Chicopee. After the purchase in 1747 of a tract of land on Chicopee Street from his father Thomas for £110, Abel apparently moved his 1739 single pile, 2 over 2, Willimansett house to the property shortly thereafter, enlarging it to an imposing double pile, gambrel roofed edifice. At times Abel operated it as a tavern. After his passing, the home’s ownership was split between his wife, Hannah, who received the south portion of the house, and his grandson, Moses Chapin, who received his “improved rooms” in the northern section. This house remained in the Chapin family until 1899.
By 1910, the Abel Chapin house had been purchased by Brookline Massachusetts, land developer Jacob Wilbur who divided the seventeen-acre house lot into a residential sub-development named Holyoke Gardens. In 1914, Wilbur sold lots 1,2,3,4 and 172 of Holyoke Gardens, which included the Abel Chapin house, to Italian immigrant Joseph Gallino for the sum of $1,100. The Gallino family would remain the owners of the property for the next 100 years.
Label Text:
I learned that a major fire damaged it in the 1920s,the rear ell was taken down by the Flood of 1936, the Hurricane of 1938 flooded the house and washed off a section of the lower north wall, and that the asphalt siding was installed in 1950. One day Peter Gallino pulled a peg from one of the front south parlor plank window frames and began explaining how the house was constructed. At that point I was hooked. I fell in love with 18th-century houses and recognized the importance of preserving these structures. My family and I moved away from Chicopee Street, yet I never forgot about the Abel Chapin house.
The last owner, Lorraine Gallino, vacated the house in 2000. It would remain vacant and neglected for the next 15 years. I repeatedly offered to purchase it from her to save it from the wrecking ball, but nothing transpired. The Chapin house was put up for sale after Miss Gallino passed away on in 2014. I was too late to make an offer and the new owner readied plans to demolish the structure. I attempted to gain community support for preserving the house by contacting the Chicopee Office of Community Development and various state preservation offices but failed to interest them. The end of this historic structure was near.
As a last ditch effort I struck a deal with the Gallino estate that allowed me to either dismantle the entire house or remove any or all of the historic fabric still remaining. Much of the original framing was in poor condition, or as in the case of the roof structure, had been replaced during various periods. Therefore rebuilding the complete house was not feasible. I quickly moved to save the historic interior fabric. The remnants of the Abel Chapin house were demolished in the fall of 2015. Yet the house will live on, telling the story of Abel Chapin through the interiors, saved for future generations.
Branches: Abel Chapin (1700-1772) of Chicopee, Massachusetts, enlarged his 1739 house with the addition of an ornate doorway, window pediments, and an imposing gambrel roof. Inside, the second-floor rooms were fitted with fielded paneled walls, wainscoting, and molded framing trim. This elegant fireplace wall which graced the north chamber of the home suggests that in this period, second floor spaces were used for entertaining. The exuberant detail of the arched fireplace opening flanked by fluted pilasters is made more remarkable by the survival of the woodworker’s signature on the interior of the proper right cupboard door: “Martin Smith [1]759, August ye 3rd.” Smith was born in Hatfield, Massachusetts, around 1730, and resided in Amherst from around 1760. It is possible Smith apprenticed to Amherst joiner Preserved Clapp (1705-1758), since he married Clapp’s daughter, Lucy, in 1760.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+A2015.1 |
