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Smith College Founder's
Home to be Sold to Faculty
Couple
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – Smith College announced the impending sale of founder Sophia Smith’s home in Hatfield to a faculty couple.
Martin Antonetti, curator of rare books, and Nina Antonetti, a faculty member in landscape studies, signed a purchase and sale agreement on the two-story colonial at 22 Main St. in Hatfield for $280,000. A closing date has not yet been scheduled.
Smith College will convey the property to the Antonettis with restrictive covenants, including the eventual resale of the house to the college, and the college’s approval of any major changes in the structure or exterior.
“We are delighted that Sophia Smith’s home will continue to be enjoyed,” said Ruth Constantine, vice president of finance and administration. “The Antonettis share an interest in history and will undoubtedly give the home the special attention it deserves.”
Martin Antonetti manages Neilson Library’s Mortimer Rare Book Room, a collection of more than 40,000 books, items, and manuscripts from Babylonian clay tablets to contemporary artists’ books. He also teaches courses in book history for the college’s Department of Art. Before coming to Smith in 1997, Antonetti was the director of the Grolier Club, an organization for bibliophiles based in New York City.
Nina Antonetti received her doctorate in landscape and architectural history from the Victorian Study Centre at the University of London. She has taught at Smith since 1999 and is the inaugural faculty member of Smith’s landscape studies program, which is the first of its kind in the nation to examine the evolving relationship between humans and natural and built environments.
Sophia Smith was raised in the 2,730-square-foot house that includes two parlors, front and back stairways and four fireplaces. The three-bedroom, two-and-a-half- bath residence was built in 1790.
The Antonettis will be the first owner-residents of Sophia Smith’s home since it was sold to the Smith Alumnae Association by Jonathan E. Porter in 1915. After the association deeded it to the college in 1946, the house was used as a rental property by Smith faculty and staff.
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Office of College
Relations
Smith College
Garrison Hall
Northampton, Massachusetts 01063 |
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Kristen Cole
Media Relations Director
T (413) 585-2190
F (413) 585-2174
kacole@email.smith.edu
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