Hampden County Courthouse is a historic courthouse on Elm Street in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

Henry Hobson Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...

. This was the county's second courthouse. The first courthouse was a small meetinghouse structure built in 1740, and the second and was constructed in 1822, but by the 1860s, popular pressure was developing for a new proper courthouse. A

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an ...

the county commissioners in 1869 for official misconduct since the courthouse did not have fireproof storage for the registry of

deed In common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions, sealed. It is commonly associated with transferring ...

s and the safekeeping of public records. This forced the county to build a new courthouse. Construction began in late 1871, and the building was dedicated on April 28, 1874. The original building cost $214,068. The site, within the middle of a city block and measuring 160 by 90 feet, cost $75,716. The building is shaped roughly like the capital letter I, with the main facade emphasizing vertical lines, tall windows, and two tall dormers on either side of the bell tower. The facades were built of light gray Monson granite in rough-faced random

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

masonry, with smooth-faced trim. The overall design reflects Richardson's evolution as a designer, showing development from the Brattle Square Church. In his 1972 treatise on Springfield history, ''Town Into City'', Dr. Michael Frisch, professor of American Studies at

University at Albany The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is one ...

, described the structure as "the single most impressive building of the period 840 to 1880 well symboliz ngSpringfield's new importance in the life and economy of its region". The county's growth eventually pushed the

probate court A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the Administration of an estate on death, administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts ma ...

and registry of deeds into another building in 1907, and the county built a large addition to the building between 1908 and 1912. This was designed by Richardson's successor firm

Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge was a successful architecture firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, operating between 1886 and 1915, with extensive commissions in monumental civic, religious, and collegiate architecture in the spirit and style of Henry ...

. The sloping roof and high dormers were eliminated in the remodeling, making it difficult to visualize some parts of Richardson's original design. The building was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1972. Today, it houses the juvenile and Western Division of the

Massachusetts Housing Court The Massachusetts Housing Court (also known as the Housing Court Department of the Trial Court) is a trial court in Massachusetts that hears eviction cases, small claims cases, and civil actions involving personal injury, property damage, breach of ...

. The Courthouse is part of the Court Square Historic District.

Gallery

File:First courthouse of Hampshire County, Massachusetts built 1740 in Springfield.jpg, The first courthouse built in Springfield in 1740, when it was the county seat of Hampshire County File:Second courthouse of Hampden County, built 1821.jpg, The second courthouse, built in 1821-1822, and first of Hampden County, which had been established in 1812 File:Hampden County Courthouse by HH Richardson, built 1875.jpg, The H.H. Richardson structure as it appeared at its dedication, 1874

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Massachusetts Henry Hobson Richardson buildings Buildings and structures in Springfield, Massachusetts Government buildings completed in 1874 County courthouses in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Springfield, Massachusetts Historic district contributing properties in Massachusetts

Gallery

See also

References