Historic House

George Wightman Mansion // 1902

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Tucked within the historic Longwood neighborhood of Brookline, the George Wightman Mansion stands as a striking reminder of turn-of-the-century wealth and architectural ambition. The mansion was built in 1902 for industrialist George Henry Wightman (1855-1937), a steel magnate associated with Andrew Carnegie and was known as one of the “Carnegie Boys“, a close-knit and influential group of partners and executives who managed Carnegie Steel. Wightman retired around the time of building his Brookline house, which coincided with the formation of U.S. Steel, a merger which benefitted the Carnegie Corporation and its partners handsomely. With his expansive wealth and eyes set on retirement, George Wightman hired the prominent firm Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge, to design his new mansion to live out the remainder of his life in solitude. The brick and stone Renaissance Revival/Beaux Arts style mansion sits atop large, elegantly landscaped grounds and is of a scale unlike anything else in the neighborhood. George H. Wightman was also known as the “Father of American Lawn Tennis” and his only son, George W. Wightman also played tennis at a high level. It was George W. Wightman’s wife however, who became a champion. She was Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, who won 45 U.S. titles during her life and founded the Wightman Cup, an annual team competition for British and American women from 1923 to 1989. Over time, the mansion’s role evolved alongside the community. After Wightman’s death in 1937, it transitioned from private home to institutional use, notably housing the Boston Hebrew College beginning in 1952, adding onto the building to the rear, and later becoming part of Boston University, serving as event space for the University. 

Silas Peavy House // 1905

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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.

Stoneholm Manor // 1865

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Stoneholm Manor is a historic estate tucked away in Sharon, Massachusetts, that remains one of the finest examples of a Second Empire style mansion and carriage house built of stone in New England. Stoneholm was built in 1865 for Horace Augustus Lothrop (1828-1898) within a year of his marriage to second wife, Sarah Gorham Swain. Horace A. Lothrop was a manufacturer and businessman with factories in Sharon and nearby towns and he invented innovative tools like hoes and wooden shanks for foot support in shoes and boots. He was also engaged in politics, serving in the state legislature and on the local school board. His country estate in Sharon is unique for its construction of locally quarried rock-face granite walls, fine mansard roof with cupola, and matching L-shaped carriage house, all in great condition. Stoneholm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and remains a private residence.

Aaron Fisher House // 1805

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The Aaron Fisher House on North Main Street in Sharon, Massachusetts, has stood over 220 years as the town’s finest example of Federal style residential architecture. The residence was built for Aaron Fisher (1762-1809) who is said to have had the house built of brick that was brought over to the United States from England as ballast on a ship and later made its way to Sharon for use as walls of this stately house. While the brick is slight different color than many other local bricks, this may be another example of an urban legend. In the mid-19th century, the house was modernized with an entry porch and brackets at the cornice, and is said to have been painted yellow. Luckily for us, the porch and paint have since been removed and the 1805 house shines once again on the town’s Main Street.

Mann’s Cotton Mill Double House // 1831

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Located on the aptly named Mann’s Hill Road in Sharon, Massachusetts, this historic double-house was built in 1831 as worker’s housing affiliated with the former Mann’s Cotton Mill. The first Mann’s Cotton Mill was constructed in 1831 by George Harvey Mann on Devil’s Brook on the East Branch of the Neponset River. George Harvey Mann (1793-1847) bought the water privileges from Joseph Warren Revere, the son of Paul Revere, and built a factory. The business carried on until a fire in 1840 destroyed the factory and it was rebuilt by George and his son, George Rodney Mann. As part of the original mill complex in 1831, a series of double-houses were built nearby for workers at the mill, making them always available for long days at work. The Mann’s Mill closed in 1900, and it was destroyed by fire in 1919. The double-houses like the one seen here, were sold by the heirs of the family at the turn of the 20th century and feature a stone base and wood frame second floor. 

Timothy Quinn House // 1892

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The Timothy Quinn House on South Main Street in Sharon, Massachusetts, is an extravagant example of the Queen Anne style that maintains its flourish and ornate details. The residence was built in 1892 for Timothy Francis Quinn (1863-1934), a first-generation Irish resident who owned and managed a shipping business with his brother, John. Timothy Quinn was active in local affairs and with the local Catholic church and historical society. After his death in 1934, the property was inherited by his wife, Elizabeth, and later by their daughter, Esther. Architecturally, the Quinn House has an irregular plan and features varied siding, brackets, a tower capped by a conical roof, and elaborate porch, all painted to highlight the many unique details. 

Bromley-Bradley House // c.1850

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One of the eclectic mid-19th century residences in New Haven’s Wooster Square neighborhood is the Bromley House, an exuberant blending of architectural styles that have been lovingly preserved. The history is a little murky on this residence but from research, the home was built around 1850 and was possibly a two-story flat-roofed Italianate style design with three-bay facade and off-center entrance. The home was acquired by Joseph Bromley, who appears to have added a third-story with gable roof. After the Civil War, the property was purchased by Lyman Erving Bradley, a veteran of the war who was employed as a police officer and later as private security for an area factory. It appears that Mr. Bradley, before his death in 1901, had the property expanded with a whimsical front porch, three-story side addition, and applied ornament in the Queen Anne style. The home is today a three-unit condominium, similar to the three-deckers found in cities all over New England.

Hawes Homestead // c.1740

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One of the earliest extant homes in western Wrentham, Massachusetts, the old Hawes Homestead on Williams Street stands as an important Georgian style farmhouse in what was once a more pastoral part of the community. The house likely dates to the mid-18th century (or earlier) and was possibly built by Daniel Hawes, who farmed the land here. Due to the varied sizes of the upper windows, the residence was most probably a three-bay house with central chimney, and the right-most bay and modern chimney were added later. The residence was later inherited by his son, and later by other heirs before the property sold out of the Hawes family in the mid-19th century.

Kentuck Farm // c.1740

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Located on West Street in the rural part of Wrentham, Massachusetts, this historic farmhouse is among the finest homes in the community. Early records are sparse, but the dwelling appears to have been built in the first half of the 18th century by Joseph Grant and later expanded and inherited by other members of the Grant Family who owned the property in the mid-19th century and other nearby farms. Through the 19th century, the farm was owned by George Grant and later by his son, Charles Albert Grant. In the 20th century, the farm was owned by Wentworth and Anne Massie, who operated the property as an apple orchard, known as Kentuck Farm. The home has been restored by current owners and retains its large, central chimney, classical door surround, siding and windows.

Druce-Francoeur House // c.1787

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In 1787, Oliver Druce (1760-1797) married Sarah “Sally” Kollock (1764-1789) and had this large residence built overlooking the Town Common in Wrentham, Massachusetts. The young couple raised one daughter here until Sarah died in 1789 at 25 years old, followed years later by Oliver, who died in 1797 at 37 years old. By the turn of the 19th century, the late-Georgian residence was owned by John Francoeur, a French Huguenot. The Druce-Francoeur House is one of the finest Georgian style residences in Wrentham, which retains its magnificent doorway framed by fluted Ionic pilasters with broken scrolled pediment above.

Dow-Starr House // c.1850

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A big departure from the less ornate, yet classically proportioned Georgian and Federal style homes in Warren, Rhode Island, this Gothic Revival beauty on the town’s Main Street stands out for its detail and materiality. Built as a quintessential Gothic “cottage,” the facade of the Dow-Starr House in Warren has also been graced by a three-sectioned Gothic Revival porch as illustrated in Alexander Jackson Downing’s plan books from the 1840s. As completed, this house followed almost exactly Andrew Jackson Downing’s Design II as illustrated in Cottage Residences 1842 ; it differed only in its use of speckled fieldstone over coursed ashlar. The house was later acquired by and used as a convent for the St. Jean Baptiste Church in Warren, who also built a school building behind. The house has seen some alterations, but remains an important architectural landmark of the town.

Judge Samuel and Patty Randall House // 1809

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This stately three-story Federal style mansion on Baker Street in the lovely town of Warren, Rhode Island, was built in 1809 as a gift from a father to his daughter as a wedding gift. The house was funded by James Maxwell, of the local family of merchants and slave traders, for his daughter Martha “Patty” Maxwell and her soon-to-be husband, Samuel Randall. Judge Randall operated a school in town and published three local newspapers, the Telescope, the Clarion, and the Telegraph, all rather short-lived. In 1822, he was appointed judge of the court of common pleas for Bristol County, Rhode Island, and served in that capacity until 1824, when he was made justice of the supreme court of the state. The pop of color at the entry and the bracketed, Victorian era door hood complete the facade to give it some serious curb-appeal.

Caleb Carr Tavern // c.1760

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This house, located on Water Street in Warren, Rhode Island, is said to have been built in the 1760s, but its present appearance in the Federal style is credited to owner, Caleb Carr (1768-1853). In around 1790, Caleb fully renovated the property in the Federal style for his residence and as a tavern, with an elegant fanlighted door put on each facade—one for household use, the other for tavern customers. The property was inherited by his son, Captain Caleb Carr Jr., who continued as a tavern owner, but was also an important shipbuilder and operator of the ferry to Barrington, which docked at the end of the street. The Carr Tavern is today covered with later aluminum siding and has Victorian-era two-over-two windows but if restored, would shine as one of the best Federal style homes in town!

Eddy-Cutler House // c.1806

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Located next door to the Rebecca Maxwell Phillips House on State Street in Warren, Rhode Island the Eddy-Cutler House remains as one of the finest Federal style residences built of brick in the charming waterfront town. Warren merchant and slave trader Benjamin Eddy purchased this desirable house lot in 1806 from John Throop Child, a town councilman and slave owner in 1774 who built slave ships before the Revolutionary War. Benjamin Eddy began construction on his mansion by 1806, and it was completed sometime before the War of 1812. Like many of the town’s wealthiest residents, Benjamin Eddy was engaged in the slave trade. Captain Benjamin Eddy was captain of at least three slave voyages, delivering 139 captives to docks in Charleston, South Carolina, in June 1806 alone. In 1808, just before the “Act Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves” he purchased and imprisoned 176 Africans – the largest number ever carried on a Warren slave ship. Nineteen died during the return voyage. When he reached Charleston, South Carolina the remaining 157 people were sold into slavery. At the time, the sale would have returned nearly $33,000. He would return home to this mansion on money profited from human suffering, a story as American as apple pie. In 1871, the Eddy Homestead was sold to Charles R. Cutler, a ship master and whaler who had many successful voyages to the Indian Ocean before working in the manufacturing of cotton cordage. The three-story, five-bay Federal style mansion of brick features a Victorian-era porch, but retains its Palladian window with blind fan and lights over the entry and belvedere at the roof. Once painted, the brick is now slowly being re-exposed, a great sight to see.

Rufus Barton House // c.1783

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This charming house on Broad Street in Warren, Rhode Island, was built by 1783 for Rufus Barton and his wife, Prudence Cole. Rufus Barton and his family moved to New York and sold the property to Nathan Burr for $775 in 1797, who . Nathan Miller Burr sold the home to William Eastabrook two years later. Captain Eastabrook/Easterbrook had just returned from an illegal slave voyage on the “Betsey” to Africa that resulted in the enslavement of 79 Africans who were sold into slavery in Havana. He would go on to captain at least two more illegal voyages on the “Little Ann” (1806) and the “Hannah” (1807) from Bristol. These three voyages accounted for the death or enslavement of 229 people. The home has been lovingly restored by later owners, who removed the vinyl siding and replaced the cheap, vinyl windows with historically appropriate windows.