Commonwealth of Massachusetts Massachusetts Historical Commission 220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, Massachusetts

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Commonwealth of Massachusetts Massachusetts Historical Commission 220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, Massachusetts"

Philip Gilmore
5 years ago
Views:

1 Inventory No: Historic Name: Common Name: Address: HRV.165 Blood, Joseph House Farnsworth, Jonathan - Beaman, Jonathan House 74 Poor Farm Rd City/Town: Village/Neighborhood: Local No: 9-17 Year Constructed: C 1720 Architect(s): Architectural Style(s): Use(s): Significance: Colonial Agricultural; Single Family Dwelling House Agriculture; Architecture Area(s): Designation(s): The (MHC) has converted this paper record to digital format as part of ongoing projects to scan records of the Inventory of Historic Assets of the Commonwealth and National Register of Historic Places nominations for Massachusetts. Efforts are ongoing and not all inventory or National Register records related to this resource may be available in digital format at this time. The MACRIS database and scanned files are highly dynamic; new information is added daily and both database records and related scanned files may be updated as new information is incorporated into MHC files. Users should note that there may be a considerable lag time between the receipt of new or updated records by MHC and the appearance of related information in MACRIS. Users should also note that not all source materials for the MACRIS database are made available as scanned images. Users may consult the records, files and maps available in MHC's public research area at its offices at the State Archives Building, 220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, open M-F, 9-5. Users of this digital material acknowledge that they have read and understood the MACRIS Information and Disclaimer ( Data available via the MACRIS web interface, and associated scanned files are for information purposes only. THE ACT OF CHECKING THIS DATABASE AND ASSOCIATED SCANNED FILES DOES NOT SUBSTITUTE FOR COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE LOCAL, STATE OR FEDERAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS. IF YOU ARE REPRESENTING A DEVELOPER AND/OR A PROPOSED PROJECT THAT WILL REQUIRE A PERMIT, LICENSE OR FUNDING FROM ANY STATE OR FEDERAL AGENCY YOU MUST SUBMIT A PROJECT NOTIFICATION FORM TO MHC FOR MHC'S REVIEW AND COMMENT. You can obtain a copy of a PNF through the MHC web site ( under the subject heading "MHC Forms." Commonwealth of Massachusetts 220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, Massachusetts This file was accessed on: Saturday, February 09, 2013 at 12:03 AM

FORM B - BUILDING Assessors 9-17 80 Boylston Street Boston MA 02116 USGS quad Ayer form # /(,5 Town area outlying Place outlying ddress 74 Poor Farm Road istoric Name Blood House Use: Present

2 FORM B - BUILDING Assessors Boylston Street Boston MA USGS quad Ayer form # /(,5 Town area outlying Place outlying ddress 74 Poor Farm Road istoric Name Blood House Use: Present Original residence farm Date of construction ca ource tyle deed colonial Form central chimney 4bay Architect N/A M 1 Exterior Material: Roof wood Wall/trim wood Foundation stone Outbuildings mod. barn Alterations shed,porch Condition good Moved no Recorded by: Dempsey & FitzPatrick Organization: Historical Commission Date: March 1994 nfcctivfcd JUN Acreage 3.0 acres Setting rural MASS. HIST. COMM.

3 ( ( BUILDING FORM 74 Poor Farm Road, Outlying ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION The Blood House is located on the east side of Poor Farm Road, mid-point between Littleton and Ayer road. The property is slightly elevated above the road, a series of granite posts marks the front boundary. The original section of this connected farm structure, constructed circa 1720, consists of a small gable-roofed structure. This three-room building measures one-and-ahalf -stories in height and four bays in width. Three rooms are clustered around the chimney stack: the primary room (the hall) occupies the left three bays; two small rooms are located in front and behind the chimney stack. This clapboard-sheathed structure is asymmetrically fenestrated with four shuttered 6/9 sash windows. The off-center entry was replaced with a window and the original paneled door was relocated to the left lateral wall. This portion of the house was altered in the 1930s with the addition of a single-story, gableroofed, enclosed porch along the left lateral wall, and a full-width shed dormer along the rear slope. The house was enlarged to the south via two distinct building phases. In the mid-18th century a one-and-a-half-story lateral e l l was constructed, which projected from the rear pile of the main structure's right lateral wall. This narrow, two room ell has a flat facade and a shed-roofed rear elevation. Two shallow projections abut the ell's rear wall: a single-story gable-roofed extension, which housed the well; and a shed-roofed lean-to from which the kitchen chimney rises. A doorway is located in the ell's left bay and the three bays to the right are asymmetrically fenestrated with two 6/9 sash windows and one 9/6 sash window. The attic level is l i t with a 6/6 sash window and a six-paned window. The ell was extended laterally in the 1780s with an additional two bays. This section of the e l l contained a doorway and was l i t with six-paned windows. In the 1930s, a small gable-roofed rear ell was added to the 1780s section. A replication of a 19th-century New England barn was added to the property in the early 1990s. This structure stands to the right and rear of the house. HISTORICAL NARRATIVE x. see continuation sheet Prior to 's 1732 incorporation, this property was part of Groton. This structure's initial occupants, the Blood family, had the dubious distinction of being the first family to receive regular aid from the town treasury. Nourse states, REFERENCES On May 22, 1749, the town voted to instruct the selectmen to "see what the necessity of Joseph Blood's family was and Releave them as they thought best for the Present." For two or three years bills were paid "for finding Joseph Blood and family house room." In 1753 the town built a small house upon the eastern border of the common, where an acre had been temporarily improved by John Wright, the pound-keeper. In this, which was called the "town's house," and was in fact the first alms house, Blood's family was installed.(nourse,1894:126). Nourse, History of, Pierce, The Descendants of John Whitney, Savage, Memoirs of Old Days, 1924".^ """I Holman, Map of, Beers, Atlas of Worcester County, Richards, Atlas of Worcester County, Walling, Map of Worcester County, X Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, awmhzd K)3j~]ortal RjL<\Si<u Criiesia ^4aU/r^u\i-.

4 INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET 80 BoyIston Street Boston, Massachusetts Community Property Address 74 Poor Farm Road, Outlying ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION (continued) A deed dated 1727 records the sale of this property from Joseph Blood to Jonathan Farnsworth. The house passed from Farnsworth to Jonathan and Debra Beaman. The Beamans sold the property to David Whitney in David Whitney ( ) was a farmer and a member of the minute men who marched to Cambridge on the Lexington alarm of According to Nourse, "David Whitney achieved prominence for his stirring opposition against the Shakers in 1781." The Shakers settled less than a quarter mile from Whitney's house. Whitney bequeathed his property to his step-daughter Anna Hill. The Holman map of 1831 indicates that the house was later owned by David Hammond, a founding member of 's Universalist Society. By 1870, the property has passed to Henry Hall, a Civil War veteran. It was in the possession of his daughter, Lucretia, at the end of the 19th century.

5 Massachusetts Historical Comrnission 80 Boylston Street Boston, Massachusetts Community Property Address 74 Poor Farm Road Area Form# 165 National Register of Historic Places Criteria Statement Form Check all that apply: X Individually eligible. Contributing to a potential district. Eligible only in a historic district. Potential historic district. Criteria: X A B X C D Criteria Considerations: A B C D E F G Statement of Significance by Claire W. Dempsey. The Blood House is a well-preserved example of a small early house, retaining a small portion of its surrounding farm land. The farm was established during the colonial period and changed hands frequently during the 18th and 19th centuries. The house is a four-bay center-chimney Cape with an exceptionally long shed-roofed wing. The Blood House meets criteria A and C at the local level. It retains integrity of location, setting, design, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association.

Abandoned or Vacant; Agricultural; Camp; Other Residential Agriculture; Archaeology, Historic; Architecture; Politics Government; Social History

Abandoned or Vacant; Agricultural; Camp; Other Residential Agriculture; Archaeology, Historic; Architecture; Politics Government; Social History Inventory No: Historic Name: HRV.G Civilian Conservation Camp Common Name: Address: City/Town: Village/Neighborhood: Local No: 13-7.01 Year Constructed: Architect(s): Architectural Style(s): Use(s): Significance: