The Edwards Homestead

125 King Street, Northampton, MA

Drawing of Jonathan Edwards' homestead in Northampton. Two figures stand infront of the home, within the fence surrounding it. The home appears to be made out of wood and has a slanted roof. Right outside of the fence is a horse tied to a tree.
Drawing of Edward’s Home Historic Northampton (ID no. 2025.1.226).

125 King Street is the site of Jonathan Edwards’ homestead. He lived on this plot from 1727 – 1751. The house is believed to have been taken down around 1828 – 1830. The adjacent side street is named Edwards Square in his honor. St. Valentine’s Church now occupies the site of the homestead.

Edwards Becomes Pastor

In conjunction with his ordination as assistant pastor on February 15, 1727, the town appropriated funds for Edwards’ settlement in Northampton. In May 1727, the property was purchased from Jonathan Sheldon of Suffield. It was described as a “Mansion house, barn and home lot in Northampton” containing three acres of land.

The photograph depicts a very large elm tree in foreground, and a number of houses and more trees lining a dirt road. Pedestrians are on the sidewalk, and carriages in the road in the distance. The view is looking north on King Street.
Photograph of the Edwards Elm. Photographed by Frederick N. Kneeland. Historic Northampton (ID no. 2025.1.229).

Edwards was given funds sufficient to purchase ten more acres of land for a pasture, and forty acres further from town that could be used for income in addition to his salary. On July 28, 1727, Edwards married Sarah Pierpont. The Edwards household consisted of eleven children born between 1728 and 1750, two or three enslaved Black women (Rose, Leah and/or Venus), travelers and visiting clergy such as David Brainerd and George Whitefield.

In June 1751, Edwards moved to Stockbridge, Massachusetts. In 1932, Valentine’s Church was built on this site. The adjacent side street is named Edwards Square in honor of Jonathan Edwards.

This photograph shows the Edwards Elm, one of two trees which traditionally were planted by Jonathan Edwards and his son in 1751. The first of the trees was destroyed by a high-wind storm on October 4, 1885. The second was brought down by high winds on August 8, 1913.

In Memory

A semi-circular granite doorstep from the Edwards’ homestead lies outside the Forbes Library at 20 West Street. The Forbes Library, the public library for the city of Northampton, maintains a large collection of secondary source material relating to Jonathan Edwards and a limited number of primary source documents as part of its Hampshire Room for Local History.