
Silas Peavy (1858-1939) was born in Waterville, Maine, and with his brothers, Gustavus and Leopold, worked at his father’s clothing and merchandise store. The family moved to the Boston area and established J. Peavy and Brothers, continuing the family business in Boston with locations in New York. In 1904, Silas Peavy purchased a house lot on Kent Street and hired the architectural firm of Hartwell & Richardson to design a house there for his family. Peavy likely moved to this neighborhood as it became a Jewish enclave around the turn of the 20th century. The Silas Peavy House is an excellent example of the Neo-Classical style with symmetrical facade, porte cochere on the side, and monumental elliptical portico supported by two-story Ionic columns.