BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Springfield Preservation Trust - ECPv6.3.7//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://springfieldpreservation.org
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Springfield Preservation Trust
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:UTC
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+0000
TZOFFSETTO:+0000
TZNAME:UTC
DTSTART:20240101T000000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20240204T130000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20240204T160000
DTSTAMP:20260411T160929
CREATED:20231231T211352Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240123T212704Z
UID:3784-1707051600-1707062400@springfieldpreservation.org
SUMMARY:For the Love of the City—A Valentine Soirée
DESCRIPTION:The Springfield Preservation Trust’s 2024 Winter Fundraiser—with the theme “For the Love of the City—A Valentine Soirée”—will be held at the Valentine Mansion\, the bed and breakfast and events venue at 270 Maple Street\, courtesy of homeowner and host Katherine Prewitt. \nThe event\, taking place on February 4\, 2024\, at 1:00pm\, will feature music\, hors d’oeuvres\, wine\, beverages\, a silent auction\, and gorgeous city views from the home’s sweeping ballroom and expansion hosting spaces. \nSupport the Springfield Preservation Trust in its mission to preserve and protect properties in Springfield\, Massachusetts which have architectural\, historic\, educational\, or general cultural significance—including properties such as this one!—by attending our Annual Winter Fundraiser this year! \n  \nHistory of the Home and It Original Owners\nBuilt in 1879\, 270 Maple Street is a 30-room historic mansion is an impressive 11\,102 square feet in size\, with a 40-foot grand ballroom\, ornate floor-to-ceiling hand-carved fireplace\, 12 bedrooms\, and what might be the best residential view of Springfield. \nThe home is historically known as the Frederick Harris House\, as it was built for Frederick Harris and Emily Osborne\, who were married in 1879 and shortly thereafter\, moved into this fantastic home perched on the crest of the hill on Maple Street. \nThe house started out as the carriage house of Jotham G. Chase\, who built a house next door on the site of what would become the Nathan Bill House. The exterior of the Chase house was built around 1873-74\, and the carriage house may have been built around the same time—the masonry beholds an “1877” mark\, which could be indicative of its age. However\, Chase ran out of money during the Panic of 1873 and couldn’t finish the construction. In 1879\, he sold the carriage house to Harris\, who hired a contractor to convert it into a house in time to move in after his and Emily’s September 1879 wedding in Auburn\, New York. \nWhen the house was completed in 1879\, it was considerably smaller than its current appearance. The first major expansion came in 1886\, followed by the addition of a ballroom in 1900\, reportedly built by Italian artisans over two years of construction. \nFrederick Harris was a banker—who succeeded his father\, Frederick H. Harris\, as president of the Third National Bank of Springfield in 1911\, when his father passed away. This would explain the hidden vault behind the dining room wainscotting! He was also active politically\, and served as an alderman and as a member of the school committee.  \nEmily came from an even more prominent family. Originally from Auburn\, New York\, her father David was a prominent businessman and mayor\, but her family was even better known for social activism. Her grandmother\, Martha Coffin Wright\, and her great aunt\, Lucretia Coffin Mott\, were both leaders of the abolitionist and women’s rights movements\, and her brother\, Thomas Mott Osborne\, was the warden of Sing Sing and an influential prison reform advocate. Her sister was Helen Osborne Storrow\, the philanthropist who founded Storrowton Village at the Big E. Helen’s husband was James Jackson Storrow II\, a Boston businessman who briefly served as president of General Motors in the company’s early years. \nFrederick and Emily had two children\, Florence and Helen\, but they were hardly the only residents of this house. Like other wealthy families of the era\, they regularly employed multiple servants who lived here. In the 1900 census\, they had three\, and by 1910 they had four: a housekeeper\, waitress\, cook\, and laundress. Florence moved out after her marriage in 1907 to Frederic Jones\, and the couple later moved into a nearby house on Maple Street. Like his father-in-law\, Frederic Jones would later go on to serve as president of Third National Bank. \nFrederick died in 1926\, and two years later he was memorialized in the naming of the Frederick Harris School\, an elementary school on Hartford Terrace in the East Forest Park neighborhood. Emily lived out her life in the home until her death in 1940\, some 60 years after she first moved in. Daughter Helen (Harris) Smith then moved into her mother’s home—she was the last family member to own the house. An alumna of Smith College\, Helen was president of the Visiting Nurse Association\, trustee of the Springfield Hospital\, and vice president of the Wesson Maternity Hospital.\n\nHelen lived in the home until her death in 1974. The home was willed the following year to the MacDuffie School for Girls\, who sold the home that same year to MaryAnn and Robert Cornell. The Cornells lived in the home and operated it as an art gallery—from 1975 to 1984. In 1984\, Thomas A. Valentine purchased the home—with much of the remaining art still hanging on the walls. Valentine retained ownership through various trusts until 2019 when he sold it to current owner\, Katherine Prewitt. Prewitt lives in the home and operates it as a bed and breakfast\, which she named after Mr. Valentine and happens to have purchased on Valentine’s Day. Fitting! \nThe mansion has the distinction of being the only house on Upper Maple Street to be in continuous ownership by one family for almost 100 years. \nSince then\, the house has remained well-preserved on both the exterior and interior. The side porch overlooking the city was damaged in the June 1\, 2011 tornado\, but was restored. The mansion remains as an important part of the Ames/Crescent Hill District on the National Register of Historic Places.\n \nJoin Us at the Winter Fundraiser! \nThe Trust looks forward to hosting its annual winter fundraiser at this home and is grateful for Katherine Prewitt for opening it up to us in support of our mission to protect\, preserve\, and promote historic properties of Springfield. \nThis event is sold out\, but you may be added to the wait list by contacting info@springfieldpreservation.org.
URL:https://springfieldpreservation.org/eventandtour/2024-winter-fundraiser/
LOCATION:Valentine Mansion\, 270 Maple Street\, Springfield\, MA\, 01105\, United States
CATEGORIES:Community Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://springfieldpreservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Valentine-Mansion-270-Maple-Street-Springfield.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20240222T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20240222T203000
DTSTAMP:20260411T160929
CREATED:20240116T131809Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240209T013938Z
UID:3825-1708628400-1708633800@springfieldpreservation.org
SUMMARY:The Legacy of Primus Mason… Revised (Black History in Springfield)
DESCRIPTION:Regine Jackson\, board member of the Pan African Historical Museum USA (PAHMUSA)\, will delve into the history of black entrepreneur\, real estate investor\, and philanthropist Primus Mason. Mason settled in Springfield in the 1830s\, and his purchase of land in the city became a catalyst for transforming its architecture\, leading to the development of well-known neighborhoods like Mason Square. \nThis lecture is presented in partnership with the Pan African Historical Museum USA (PAHMUSA)\, a museum that links the African Diaspora to Springfield\, MA and surrounding communities. \nThis virtual lecture will take place on the Springfield Preservation Trust Facebook Page at facebook.com/PreserveSpringfield. \nThe Springfield Preservation Trust celebrates Black History Month\, commemorating and encouraging the study\, observance and celebration of the vital role of African Americans in American history. \nAbout the Speaker \nRegine Jackson is a writer who was born and raised in Springfield\, Massachusetts. Being an avid reader since she was a child\, Jackson always wished to write\, specifically stories where the main characters looked like her and the people around her. While Jackson mainly writes within the science-fiction\, horror\, and fantasy genres\, she also writes prose and poetry revolving around her life living in an inner city. She hopes to not only hone her own craft but also to bring more creative work to her city and encourage more BIPOC women to write their truths. To learn more\, visit Regine’s website at reginejackson.com. \nAbout PAHMUSA \nThis lecture is presented in partnership with the Pan African Historical Museum USA (PAHMUSA)\, a museum that links the African Diaspora to Springfield\, MA and surrounding communities. PAHMUSA was founded in 1995 by Lujuana Hood and is located at Tower Square (1500 Main Street) in Springfield. To learn more\, visit its website at pahmusa.org. \nAbout the Springfield Preservation Trust \nFounded in 1972\, the Springfield Preservation Trust strives to preserve\, protect\, and promote properties in Springfield that have architectural or historic significance. As the only non-profit\, non-government advocacy group for historic preservation in Springfield\, the Trust will continue to be the voice of preservation into the future. To learn more\, visit its website at springfieldpreservation.org.
URL:https://springfieldpreservation.org/eventandtour/the-legacy-of-primus-mason/
CATEGORIES:Virtual Lecture
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://springfieldpreservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/419722042_10159321388130194_301903704520058551_n.jpg
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR