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| David Ames |
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| Young House prior to the Tornado of June 1, 2011 |
David Ames, Jr., a Springfield paper manufacturer, was the son of Col. David Ames, first superintendent of the Springfield Armory. The David Ames Jr. House, at 241 Maple Street, on Ames Hill in Springfield, was built in 1826-1827 and was the work of Chauncey Shepard, a prominent local architect and builder.
In 1867, Solomon J. Gordon, a New York City lawyer, purchased the property and Shepard was hired to remodel the house he had built forty-one years earlier. Gordon lived in the house until his death in 1891. Today the house is known as Young House and is part of the campus of the former MacDuffie School.
The owner of several private alternative schools has purchased the 15-acre former home of the MacDuffie School in Springfield with plans to create a boarding school for inner-city students. John A. Foley, of Holyoke, is also the founder of Project-13, a program in Holyoke that encourages middle school students who are at risk of dropping out to instead stay in school.
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| Post Tornado |
Foley said that the property will go on the tax rolls at the request of Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno. The property includes several of the oldest homes in Springfield, buildings Foley promises to keep using as student residences even though they were badly damaged by the tornado that ripped through Springfield June 1.
