EAST LONGMEADOW — This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Friends of the Norcross Center, a nonprofit organization focused on the preservation of the historic Norcross House on 89 Maple St., as well as bringing arts and culture to the community.

The architectural style is a late Victorian version of the Greek Revival period. With its three gabled wings, scrolled posts and bay window, the house reflects gracious family living of the Victorian age. A carriage house, one of the few remaining in town, stands northeast of the house. Friends of the Norcross Center host a craft fair each spring and summer and offer art and music classes periodically. They also rent out the space for various other types of events such as showers, weddings, and celebrations of life.

In celebration of this milestone, the Friends of the Norcross Center are freshening up the carriage house to make it more appealing for rentals and have begun to offer more classes for the public to return to the original goal of making the property an arts and cultural venue.

Friends of Norcross Center Board of Directors President Donna Martinez said, “We would like to continue be an asset for the community to utilize.”

The Norcross House was built in the 1880 as a summer home for the family of J. Franklin Norcross. In 1949, the house passed from the Norcross family to John A. and Alberta Settle. The couple resided in the home, and Mrs. Settle ran a tea room on the first floor for the next two years. After she closed the tea room, she opened a boarding hours for single and career women and ran that for the next few years. In January of 1953, Mrs. Settle sold the house to Mrs. Elizabeth Baldwin, a divorced woman with two young daughters. She opened Busy Bee Preschool at the location and ran it for eight years. Baldwin closed the school in 1961, and for a few months after that, the carriage house was used as an art studio and gallery by artist George Harrington.

In 1961, the property was purchased by a podiatrist, Dr. Leon Feffer and his wife, Diana, and was then used as their residence and the doctor’s office. The Feffers were very active in the community and held several social and civic events at the property. Dr. Feffer died on Nov. 17, 1988. From 1991 until 1995 Dr. Karen Marisan leased the podiatrist office, and Diana Feffer continued to reside in the home for several years. In 1999, Springfield Day Nursery purchased the property from Diana Feffer’s estate and planned to demolish the buildings in order to build a modern daycare center. There were strong objections from the community, which resulted in plans being revised to preserve and integrate the house and school. However, an economic downturn resulted in a decision not to proceed with the project, and the property was vacant until 2003.

In 2003, several developers were interested in purchasing and developing the property. At that time, a group of citizens developed a plan to preserve and restore the property, and the Friends of the Norcross Center was formed. The Norcross founding members are Merle Safford, James McKnight, Mary Swords, James Davis, Donna Nardi, Peter Fessenden, Judy Wiezbicki, Ernie Gralia and Mary Sherry. A fundraising drive began, and the restoration of the main house was completed in 2005. The labor was done by the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department. A decorator’s showcase took place in May of 2005, and local decorators each completed a room. he renovation of the carriage house was completed in September of 2006. In 2009, a portion of the property was deed to the Town of East Longmeadow, and what is now the Historical Commission building and museum was moved to the site.

Friends of the Norcross Center is self-funded, and the expenses to maintain and operate the property are paid solely from donations, rentals, fundraisers and grants. Their board of directors is responsible for obtaining funding, maintaining the property and planning events.

“We want to have more community involvement,” Martinez said. “We would love for people to come and see what’s going on. They can learn a little bit more about the history of the Norcross family and the quarries in town. We would also love for people to be able to utilize the space more for community and private activities.”

To learn more about the property, renting, or joining the board, email info@norcrosscenter.org.