The Cannonball House: Springfield's Historical Treasure

The Cannonball House dates back to the eighteenth century, and was most likely built around 1760. It originally sat on a large piece of property that stretched back as far as the Home Depot store on  Springfield Avenue and Valley Street. 

Springfield was strategically important during the Revolutionary War, so much so that a pitched battle, involving thousands of combatants, was fought in June 1780.  During the fight, the town was essentially burned to the ground with only four houses spared. 

Of those, one was demolished in the 1970s, and two others, the Sayre house and the Swaim house are in private hands.  Springfield's Cannonball House is only one that has been open to the public.

The Cannonball House is so named because during the Battle of Springfield it was hit by cannon fire. A ball lodged in the side of building and stayed there until it fell out during the 1920s. The house may have been spared the torch because it was used as hospital, sheltering wounded soldiers from both sides.

It's a traditional Colonial-style building, with a center hall and four rooms up and downstairs.  It's been renovated and updated over the years, with additions including kitchens and baths and a porch (as well as plumbing and electricity.)

By the 1950s, it was purchased by the Springfield Historical Society, which strived to keep it period authentic, inside and out. For example, when the exterior was repainted a couple of years ago,  paint layers were extensively analyzed. It turned out that rather than white the original finish was more of an ochre color, with cream and dark green trim. Makes sense, white paint was lead-based  and very expensive in the eighteenth century.

While  no original pieces remain inside the house, the rooms do showcase antiques and contain museum-quality items that date back to the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.

And if you’ve been asking yourself why you haven’t visited Cannonball House, it could be because it’s been closed for about the last two years. The house has extreme structural problems with compromised beams and floorboards.  The historical society recently received a  grant, which will allow them to begin, but not  to complete all repairs. Additional grant applications are in the works, but there is fierce competition for funds.

The building is important to Springfield’s history and that of the nation and deserves to be maintained and visited. When it reopens, it will assume its scheduled four-times-a-year openings: The anniversary of the Battle of Springfield in June, the Sunday closest to President’s Day, Christmas, and a Ghost Tour in the fall. The Springfield Historical Society makes the Cannonball House available for private tours for families and groups for a fee. 

The Cannonball House is located at 126 Morris Avenue, for more information (or to make a donation) write to the Springfield Historical Society, 166 Milltown Road or call (973) 376-4784.