Frederick Ames Carriage House – Clock Barn // 1908

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The 60-acre Clock Farm, named for its unique four-faced striking steeple clock, once consisted of stables, carriage houses, and training fields for the former farm of Frederick Lothrop Ames Jr. (1876-1921) in North Easton, Massachusetts. In 1905, Ames had his grand estate, Stone House Hill, built, and just three years later, he hired the Boston architectural firm of Coolidge & Carlson, to design a stable and carriage house for his property. Frederick Ames Jr. was a sort of gentleman farmer, where he hired help to maintain farmland near his estate, and breed his award-winning Guernsey cattle. The carriage house and stable, pictured here, housed Ames’ Arabian horses, which were also bred on the grounds of his estate. Much of the estate, including the mansion, were donated to the newly formed Stonehill College, with the Clock Farm becoming the Facilities Management offices and workshop for the college. The building, and its E. Howard Steeple Clock, of which only 3,000 exist in the United States, have been preserved and restored by the college.

Stone House Hill Estate // 1905

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Built over 100 years ago in the town of Easton, Massachusetts, the Frederick Ames Mansion, known as “Stone House Hill House,” is one of New England’s grand Gilded Age survivors and one of a half-dozen remaining Ames Family mansions in the community. Frederick Lothrop Ames II (1876-1921), a trustee of the Ames Family Estate whose fortune originated manufacturing picks and shovels, but was also tied up in the development of the Union Pacific Railroad and other investments, had this massive estate built in his hometown of Easton. His 50-room mansion was built in 1905, a year after his marriage to Edith C. Cryder, a socialite from New York. Designed by the Boston architectural firm of Parker & Thomas, the Colonial Revival style mansion has symmetrical facades and inside, featured a 110-foot long living room, and the first private indoor clay tennis court in the country. The surrounding land was used for grazing fields for Frederick’s prized Langwater Guernsey cattle, begun by his father. The curious name of the estate, Stone House Hill, is said to come from a cave on the property, known for centuries as King Philip’s Cave. Frederick L. Ames died in 1921, followed by his son, “Freddie” who died in a plane crash in 1931. In 1935, Frederick Ames’ widow Edith, who had remarried in 1931, sold the Stone House Hill House estate to the Congregation of Holy Cross. In 1948 the Congregation opened Stonehill College, with its name taken from the great estate. The large house built for one family’s private pleasures now greets thousands of students each year.

Simpson Spring Company Offices // 1915

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A natural spring in the area of present-day South Easton, Massachusetts, was well known to the early settlers there and it was probably used by Native people who had settled in the area around the Queset River prior to European settlement. In 1800, Samuel D. Simpson acquired the spring and operated a blacksmith shop nearby until the 1870s, when the family was approached by Frederick A. Howard who envisioned the bottling and sale of the fresh spring water. The Simpson Spring Company began to bottle the water in jugs and sell to nearby communities by 1878, later expanding to other markets. The company began to bottle carbonated water, and in the next twenty years, expanded to over fifty other products, including: tonics, Moxie, ginger ale, and a lime juice drink that was marketed to men aboard ships to provide them with Vitamin C when out at sea for long periods of time. The company built a warehouse, manufacturing building, garages for trucks for shipping, and this building, the offices of the company, which was completed by 1915. The historic, family-run company still draws all of its water from that same underground source, filtering it naturally without harsh chemicals. Visitors can step back in time to explore the vintage machinery, fill their own jugs with fresh spring water, and stock up on cases of small-batch sodas made with pure cane sugar in retro flavors like White Birch, Sarsaparilla, and, of course, the century-old Coffee Soda.

North Easton Railroad Depot // 1881

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Located within the historic village of North Easton, Massachusetts, the town’s old railroad depot is a rare case of a humble commuter stop designed by one of America’s great architects. The Easton Branch Railroad opened in 1855 and was later absorbed into the Old Colony Railroad, which was led by Frederick Lothrop Ames, whose shovel-making empire shaped the town. In 1881, Ames hired Henry Hobson Richardson, the Boston architect whose bold style became known as Richardsonian Romanesque, to design a new gatehouse for his estate, and a new railroad depot for his hometown. Rather than a plain wooden shed, Richardson gave the Old Colony Railroad stop a sturdy presence in rough-faced stone, with a broad, sweeping roof that dips low over deep eaves and rounded arches that welcomes travelers beneath its shelter. Beyond his exceptional use of materiality and understanding of building forms, Richardson even decorated the building with hidden features like a bullseye glass bowed window on the track side, snarling beasts in the woodwork, and waiting benches with lion’s head armrests. As rail was largely replaced by the automobile in the 20th century, train service terminated in North Easton in 1958. A decade later, in 1969, the Ames family purchased the property from the Penn Central Railroad and donated it to the Easton Historical Society, who maintain the architecturally significant building and hold their museum within. The depot sits within a larger ensemble of Richardson-designed buildings in the village for members of the Ames family, showcasing their influence and an assortment of various building types all designed by one of the United States’ finest 19th century architects, all within a short walk from each other.

Sheep Pasture Gate Lodge // 1894

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As members of the Ames family in the mid-to-late 19th century built their many grand estates and civic buildings in their hometown of Easton, Massachusetts, Frederick L. Ames (1835-1893) was purchasing farmland at the edge of the village before his death. Upon Frederick Ames’ death in 1893, the contiguous parcels passed to his heirs with the vast majority of that land going to his widow, Rebecca, and his eldest daughter Mary. The expansive property was later acquired by Mary’s brother, Oliver Ames III (1864-1929) and his wife, Elise West, who developed the property into their country estate. Oliver and Elise hired the Boston-based architectural firm of Rotch & Tilden, in 1891 to design an impressive mansion and gate lodge off Main Street with landscaping designed by the great landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted, who was often hired for Ames Family buildings. Known as the Sheep Pasture, the rustic estate operated somewhat as a gentleman’s farm, with various barns and outbuildings constructed to house farm animals and equipment that were tended to by hired help. The Gate Lodge was built by 1894 and housed attendants who carefully screened visitors to the main residence. The large Tudor Revival mansion was demolished in 1946 after the death of Elise (Oliver and Elise’s only son, Oliver Ames Jr., was killed by a German sniper during WWI), but their daughter, Elise Ames Parker, sought to preserve the various outbuildings on the property, including the Gate Lodge on Main Street. Elise Ames Parker deeded the property to the non-profit group, Natural Resources Trust of Easton in 1967, who preserve the open space and buildings as the Sheep Pasture, and rent the Gate Lodge to tenants.

Morse Thread Mill // 1894

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On Central Street, where Queset Brook dams into Morse Pond, the Morse Thread Mill in Easton, Massachusetts, is a stellar example of late 19th century industrial architecture executed in brick. This site was long-owned by members of the Morse family, beginning in the 1830s when Edward James Whiting Morse (1809-1865) erected a wooden thread mill, creating a small industrial village in South Easton. His heirs inherited the family business and oversaw steady growth until a fire in 1894 destroyed the old mill. They rebuilt in fire-proof brick that same year and remained in operation for a few years until 1900 when Alfred B. Morse, the grandson of Edward, sold the business to a larger manufacturing firm. This 1894 brick factory was later used by the Easton Machine Company, who manufactured machinery and the Morse Automobile from 1902-1914, the work of Alfred. After later industrial use, the building sold to a developer who converted the building to a residence and office in the 1990s, maintaining its unique charm and significance to the community.

The Rockery, North Easton // 1885

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What may appear at first glance to be an overgrown pile of boulders and vegetation on a small triangular parklet in the village of North Easton, Massachusetts, is actually a significant landscape feature designed through the partnership of the country’s most prominent architect, Henry Hobson Richardson, and landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted. Beginning in 1877, the wealthy Ames family, led by Frederick Lothrop Ames, commissioned elite architect, H. H. Richardson, to design a town library, the Ames Free Library. Years later in 1879, the children of Congressman Oakes Ames, hired Richardson to design another building immediately south of the library, to serve as the town hall, named Oakes Ames Memorial Hall. After these structures were completed, landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of New York’s Central Park and Boston’s Emerald Necklace parks, was hired to landscape the site surrounding the Memorial Hall. Richardson had mentioned the desire to create a continuous site here, which would flow into the triangular parcel south of his two landmark buildings. For this small site, Olmsted designed the Rockery, built as a Civil War memorial to the town’s dead and a small landscape as a cairn, drawing from the ancient symbolism of the cairn as a memorial or burial marker.

Queset Lodge // 1854

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Tucked away behind the Ames Free Library in Easton, Massachusetts, you will find one of the most stately examples of Gothic Revival architecture in New England. The house is known as Queset Lodge, and it was completed in 1854 for Oakes Angier Ames, of the wealthy Ames Family. Oakes Ames was an owner of the Ames Shovel Works nearby, which made the family multi-millionaires and have the ability to generously gift buildings to their hometown. The original picturesque Gothic Cottage was built in a style that had been advocated by Andrew Jackson Downing in his publication, The Architecture of Country Houses (1850). In 1873, Oakes Ames hired his family member, John Ames Mitchell, to design the rear addition, effectively doubling the size of the stone mansion. Mitchell also added the copper-clad chimneys and hired landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, to design the grounds and gardens. After his death in 1899, the home was occupied by his son, famous theatrical producer Winthrop Ames, and his wife. The family would eventually gift the property to the Town of Easton, which is today used as an extension of the Public Library!

Ames Gymnasium // 1902

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Most people know about the philanthropic gifts of buildings from members of the Ames Family to the community of Easton; like the Ames Memorial Building, Ames Library, Unity Church, town offices, railroad station, and multiple schools, but less know about this charming early 20th century building, the Ames Gymnasium. Located on Barrows Street in North Easton Village, this building was constructed in 1902 at the behest of local philanthropist and suffragist, Anna C. Ames (1840-1917), as the Ames Gymnasium for use by the Oliver Ames High School named after her deceased husband, Oliver. Anna Ames financed the construction of the gymnasium building, which included a large central gymnasium, three small rooms at the rear for music instructors, and a larger room for band rehearsals. Ames also financed the electrification of the nearby high school, funded by her late husband. For the construction of the Gymnasium building, Anna Ames engaged the noted Boston architect, Guy Lowell (1870-1927), a specialist in the Colonial Revival style. After Anna’s death in 1917, her cousin, Mary Shreve Ames Frothingham and her husband Louis A. Frothingham, purchased the Gymnasium from Anna’s estate in 1921 to function as a headquarters for the Red Cross and the American Legion, converting it to a public hall. The building remains in use by the town for some committee meetings and events.

Ames Shovel Works Stable & Offices // 1897

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The former Ames Shovel Works comprises an area of roughly eight acres in the middle of the village of North Easton, Massachusetts, and it was here that the Ames Family and the village became known for incredible wealth and amazing architecture. The firm was started by Oliver Ames (1779-1863), who moved to Easton and began manufacturing shovels. After a fire destroyed many of the original wooden shops in 1852, O. Ames & Co., now run by Oliver Ames’s sons, Oakes and Oliver, Jr., opted to rebuild in fireproof granite for the new buildings. The company saw rapid growth in the second half of the 19th century, and by 1879, the company is said to have produced 60 percent of all the shovels in the world. Ames shovels were bought as America was expanding westward with its products used to move dirt for the transcontinental railroad and the Panama Canal. After a fire destroyed the company’s old barn/stable in 1887, the company held horses and oxen in a nearby structure until 1897, when this handsome stable building was constructed. The new, elaborate barn is designed in the English half-timbered style, with its proximity to the Ames family’s fancy residences Main Street, likely leading to its distinctive architectural appearance. In 1928, the stable was converted to company offices and after the company closed following WWII, it was rented until a massive rehabilitation of the site into housing, was completed in 2014. The stable building was converted into seven condominium units by PCA Architects, who preserved the stately exterior and modified the interiors to meet the new residential use.

I could not locate the architect of the 1897 building, so if anyone knows, please share!

Ames Shovel Works // 1852

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The former Ames Shovel Works comprises an area of roughly eight acres in the middle of the village of North Easton, Massachusetts, and it was here that the Ames Family and the village became known for incredible wealth and amazing architecture. The firm was started by Oliver Ames (1779-1863), who moved to Easton and began manufacturing shovels. After a fire destroyed many of the original wooden shops in 1852, O. Ames & Co., now run by Oliver Ames’s sons, Oakes and Oliver, Jr., opted to rebuild in fireproof granite for the new buildings. The company saw rapid growth in the second half of the 19th century, and by 1879, the company is said to have produced 60 percent of all the shovels in the world. Ames shovels were bought as America was expanding westward with its products used to move dirt for the transcontinental railroad and the Panama Canal. After WWII, North Easton, like many other industrial villages, saw disinvestment and industry change. Production in Easton wound down by the early 1950s, and the sturdy stone buildings sat neglected for decades, with only a few serving commercial tenants. Instead of letting them be demolished, the town and local preservationists rallied behind a plan to save them. In late 2013, the Ames Shovel Works was rehabilitated and converted to a mixed-income apartment community. The project by PCA Architects, restored these significant stone buildings and provide much-needed housing, where residents live inside the walls where the shovels that helped build a nation were made.

Keith-Dean House // 1717

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Built as early as 1717, the Keith-Dean House on Bay Road is thought to be the oldest extant house in the town of Easton, Massachusetts. Its original owner, Josiah Keith (1678-1754) settled in present-day Easton and purchased 108-acres of land, building his house on the site that year. It was used as an inn as early as 1724. In 1735, Josiah property to his nephew, Eleazer Keith (1703-1794), who farmed here until around 1771, when the property was acquired by James Dean (1717-1803). Besides his wife and children, another person occupied this dwelling, a Cate Dean, an enslaved person who was just eleven years old when she was “purchased” by Mr. Dean for 30 pounds. Cate Dean was legally free since 1783, when the State Supreme Court ruled that slavery was illegal in Massachusetts, but Cate remained in bondage at the home until the death of her enslaver in 1803. In Dean’s will she received a bed, bedding and a sheep worth five dollars. She died at 49 in 1809 at the home of Edward Johnson and is buried in the Williams Cemetery on Prospect Street, seemingly in an unmarked grave. The Colonial cape style house is oriented to the south and has its prominent saltbox roof visible from the street. The property was largely renovated in the early 19th century with the addition of ells and twin chimneys, but it retains its unique Georgian character. The property is lovingly preserved and maintained by its current owners and it operates as the Josiah Keith House Museum and Inn. It is one of the oldest inns in the country.

Unity Church Parsonage // 1878

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Built next to its earlier neighbor, the Unity Church in Easton, Massachusetts, the church parsonage stands as an architectural companion building of a similar style and materials to create a special composition. For the parsonage, the Ames Family hired Boston architects, William Robert Ware and Henry Van Brunt, who designed this residence in an early interpretation of the Queen Anne style, with asymmetrical form, steeply pitched roofs, decorative bays and ornate porches with turned posts. Completed in 1878, the Parsonage was the last gift to the town by Oliver Ames Jr., who died in 1877, and funded the church and lived nearby at his mansion, Unity Close. The Unity Church Parsonage remains in a great state of preservation by the congregation.

Unity Church of North Easton // 1875

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The stunning Unity Church of North Easton, Massachusetts, was built on a slight knoll near the Village Cemetery, where many members of the generous Ames Family are buried. The Ames Family were famous for building an industrial empire out of Easton, where the Ames Shovel Works helped produce shovels that allowed the westward expansion of the United States. The family’s deep commitment to Unitarianism is felt from their funding and designing of the Unity Church, its parsonage, and lavish stained glass windows inside. Unity Church was built in 1875 on land set aside by Oliver Ames Jr., who lived next door in a large mansion. He hired his nephew, John Ames Mitchell, who was educated at Harvard College, and studied architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The Victorian Gothic style church is constructed of stone and presents a cruciform plan with an attached side chapel. Gothic trim is used throughout the building and frame multiple stained glass windows designed by John LaFarge (1835 -1910), which are Angel of Help (1886) and Figure of Wisdom (1901). The interior of the church was remodeled in 1895 by Henry Vaughan, a prominent Gothic Revival architect.

North Easton Fire Station // 1905

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In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the village of North Easton, Massachusetts saw immense growth, largely due to the Ames Family, who operated a massive factory and funded many civic buildings for the community. The town previously operated a volunteer fire station, but due to the growth and significance of the buildings in town, a modern fire station and propert fire department was needed. In 1904, Mary S. Ames (later Mrs. Louis Frothingham) donated land for the purposes of building a fire station across from the Ames Shovel Works. The fire station, completed in 1905, remained active until 1968, when the town’s modern firehouse that could accommodate larger fire apparatus, was constructed. In 1991, the former fire station became the home of the Children’s Museum in Easton, which it maintains the building to this day.