Historical Commission Decries Amherst College’s Neglect of Two Historic Properties

Report on the Meeting of the Historical Commission, May 12, 2025

By Hilda Greenbaum

This meeting was held over Zoom and was recorded

Present
Robin Fordham (Chair), Antonia Brillembourg, Madeleine Helmer, and Hetty Startup. Absent: Pat Auth. Two vacancies. Staff: Walker Powell (Planner)

Amherst College came before the Amherst Historical Commission to seek demolition of two historic houses that have deteriorated beyond the college’s ability to repair and restore them. The first is an 1830s house at 355 South Pleasant Street that belonged to Arthur Hazard Dakin Jr., older brother of long-time Town Moderator Winthrop (Toby) Dakin and brother-in-law to Janet Dakin, best known for her work in conservation and the Dakin Animal Shelter. The second house, a later Victorian, is at 70 Northampton Road and is listed in MACRIS (Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System) as the Blair house, home of the parents of Roy Blair of the former Blair and Cutting Insurance company in Amherst.

Demolition Delay for Dakin House Will Allow for Documentation
The college had no use for the Dakin house nor its 37-acre site when it bought the property at auction about 20 years ago, but felt it needed to prevent a housing development on its periphery. The town used the house for fire department training exercises over the years but no longer does so, and  the Inspections Services Department now requires fencing around the site to prevent injuries to intruders.

The barn, which the college uses for storage, is slated to remain. Planner Walker Powell, liaison to the commission, will ask the Building Inspector whether the commission can impose any conditions on the demolition permit to ensure preservation of the barn.

Disappointed that an important institution in this town would allow such deterioration of a historic resource, Commissioner Hetty Startup asked why the property had been so poorly maintained. Seth Wilschutz, Assistant Director of Planning, Design and Construction for Amherst College, replied that “it is hard to prioritize an empty building.” Historical Commission Chair Robin Fordham opined that because it is not listed in the MACRIS system, the house should be documented, with a complete record of the building and its site created, but admitted that it had lost its “historical integrity.” Commissioner Madeleine Helmer, also appalled by the degree of deterioration, found it problematic that the college would acquire a property and allow it to be demolished by neglect. Wilschutz couldn’t answer her questions about when it had last been  inhabited, saying he has only been with the college for five years, after working in historic preservation in Washington, D.C..

The commission discussed various options. It can impose a demolition delay to get more historical information, and can require the college to hire a professional consultant to fully document the house. They can also assure the preservation of the barn. 

Commissioner Antonia Brillembourg declined to speak on this subject, noting that she is an Amherst College student. She offered to recuse herself, but that would have left the commission short of a quorum. Fordham stated that Brillembourg has no financial stake in the decision reached, so she could participate in the vote. 

David Robertson, who lives near both properties, commented that the commission should not allow demolition of the two houses. Amherst College has been “…a bad neighbor, bad steward, and bad citizen…” of the town. The poor condition of the Blair house is very visible from the street…the college has allowed it to become visibly rotten.” He noted that UMass uses the Winthrop Dakin House on East Pleasant Street as its Renaissance Center. He said that he has no sympathy for such a rich college not taking its responsibility to the town seriously enough to maintain its historical properties.

The commission, searching for a solution, decided that “delay” has to serve a purpose such as to move a structure or to preserve the “compelling aspects that are still there.” They voted to delay demolition of the house for a year in order to require a full report on the barn and as complete a report as possible on the house, recognizing that no one can enter the structure. It will set aside time at a future meeting for a full discussion of demolition by neglect. The demolition delay will be lifted when the consultant for the documentation is hired.

Demolition Delay Also Imposed on Blair House on Northampton Road
The commission concurred there was no need to repeat the same discussion for 70 Northampton Road. Unlike the Dakin property, the Blair House is in a very prominent location at the gateway to downtown. It is highly visible from the street and is in deplorable condition. The end of the 19th century carpentry on the porches, the sweeping lawn, and the downtown barn are among the qualities that the commission found worth preserving. Helmer stated that the loss of this house will be a “great loss to the town.”

The commission voted unanimously to impose a one-year demolition delay without conditions on this house. They plan to discuss at their June meeting, developing an Affirmative Maintenance Bylaw to try to control demolition by neglect..

In other business, staff noted that the Section 106 review for the Jones Library cannot be discussed due to lack of quorum. The chair must recuse herself due to a conflict of interest. 

Three citizens have applied for barn preservation/evaluation funds which can be reviewed at the next meeting. 

With Brillembourg graduating, it may be difficult to attain a quorum until five new members are appointed. Only Fordham and Startup will remain on the Historical Commission after June 30.