The Manse is located in a residential area north of downtown Northampton, on the west side of Prospect Street at its junction with Trumbull Road. It is a two-story wood-frame structure, with a gambrel style roof and twin interior chimneys. Three dormers pierce the steep slope of the gambrel, the center one with a rounded arch roof, the outer two with hip roofs. A square cupola rises at the center of the roof. A 2+1⁄2-story ell, the oldest part of the building, extends to the rear.[2]
The property's history begins in the 17th century, when it was part of a land grant to Reverend Solomon Stoddard, whose parsonage was built here in 1684. Stoddard was the pastor of the first church in Northampton and the grandfather of Jonathan Edwards, a leading force in the First Great Awakening who briefly lived in that house. In 1744, Stoddard's son John built what is now the rear ell as a replacement for that house. John Stoddard was active in a civic affairs, serving in the provincial militia and the provincial legislature. His son, also named Solomon, built the front portion of the house in 1782; he served as sheriff of Hampshire County.[2] Other notable residents include Josiah G. Holland, writer and founder of Scribner's Monthly, and Dr. Benjamin Barrett, a prominent local politician.[3] The house was purchased in 1940 by Dorothy Douglas, a professor at Smith College, who oversaw its restoration. She also commissioned a series of murals that now adorn its walls; these were executed by Oliver Larkin.[2]
