Located on North Main Street in Sharon, Massachusetts, the Darius Lothrop House stands as a unique late-Georgian style residence built of locally quarried stone. Darius Lothrop (1777-1841) is said to have built the large, two-story house in the 1830s and resided here until his death in 1841. The Lothrop House retains its large gambrel roof, center entry set within the stonework, splayed lintels over the first floor windows, and twin shed dormers.
On the eastern shore of Lake Massapoag in Sharon, Massachusetts, the George P. Lawrence Summer House is an excellent and rare preserved example of a late 19th century Victorian summer house in the suburban town. The residence was built in 1897 for George Pelton Lawrence (1859-1917) and his wife, Belle, as a summer retreat from their primary residence in North Adams in Western Massachusetts. George P. Lawrence was an attorney who was appointed as a district court judge before entering the political arena where he became a state senator. The couple spent summers at this beautiful Shingle/Colonial Revival style residence until Congressman Lawrence’s death in 1917. On November 21, 1917, Lawrence jumped out of his eighth-floor New York City window at the Hotel Belmont , committing suicide. In his room, he left a note saying that he “could not stand the pressure anymore”. The Sharon property remained in the family until the 1940s and has been modernized, while maintaining its character.
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.
This Federal period house in Wrentham, Massachusetts, has had quite the history from the residence of a Revolutionary War veteran to the superintendent’s house for a school for the insane. This five-bay Federal style house was built for Oliver Pond (1737-1822) in about 1790. General Pond commanded one of the five militias in Wrentham that marched on Boston in 1775 to fight in the Revolution. Pond fought in at least two battles in Princeton and Trenton New Jersey under Washington. After the War, Oliver Pond got involved with politics and became General of the local militia granting him this important title. His heirs remained in the house into the second half of the 19th century. In the early 1900s, the property was purchased by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as part of the new Wrentham State School, a facility to treat and educate children with disabilities. The Pond House was occupied by the superintendent of the school and is still owned by the State.
The Wrentham State School (also known as the Wrentham State Hospital) was authorized in 1906 as a school for the “feeble-minded”, and the campus is comprised of a few dozen buildings largely from the early to mid 20th century. The school was founded to house and treat developmentally disabled children and was the first in the state of Massachusetts to employ a standardized plan for wards and employee housing. A site occupied by farmhouses just north of Wrentham Center was selected and purchased by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The school officially opened in 1910 and brick structures were built to house students and workers. In its first year, 217 pupils were admitted to the facility, roughly half boys and girls. A majority of the early ward buildings were constructed in the early years of the school, with most designed by the Boston architectural firm of Kendall, Taylor & Stevens, who also designed many other similar facilities around the country in the early 20th century. Most buildings are examples of the Arts & Crafts and Colonial Revival styles built of brick. Today, the campus is comprised of roughly half, deteriorating historic buildings and half are used as part of the Wrentham Developmental Center, which continues the important (and under-funded) work of treating psychiatric and developmental disorders of patients.
A rare surviving half-cape dwelling, the Follett House on Chestnut Street in Wrentham, Massachusetts, has been lovingly preserved by generations of stewards as a private home. Given its form and vernacular style, the house could date to the mid-18th century, but available early records show it was owned by members of the Follett family in the 19th century. The home was owned by Amorous Follett (1792-1863) and his wife, Huldah Mason Follett who operated a farm on the property and raised their children in the small residence. The property was later inherited by the couple’s son, Alonzo Follett and his wife, Tryphena. The half cape is just three bays wide with a steeply pitched side gable roof, shingled siding, and later wings, expanding the original house.
Built in 1847 as a residence for local Postmaster and storeowner, Philander P. Cook, this historic house off West Street in West Wrentham, Massachusetts, showcases the evolution so many New England farmhouses have experienced, from working farm, to country retreat, to suburban residence. Philander Perry Cook (1816-1880) purchased this land in 1845 from prominent Massachusetts State Senator and local government official, Alan Tillinghast, and shortly after purchase, he began construction of this Greek Revival style, two-story residence with attached stable. At the turn of the century, wealthy Wellesley College graduate, teacher and published author named Lucy Freeman, purchased the property from Cook’s heirs (as well as a residence nearby where she took up residence) and she rented the Philander P. Cook House to friends during the course of her ownership. In 1910, she modernized the house, likely adding the fanlight transom in the Colonial Revival mode, and had the grounds landscaped as a country retreat. Throughout the 20th century, a number of owners have preserved and modernized the home, while retaining its unique charm and character, and it now is a large, single-family home.
Overlooking the Town Green in Wrentham, Massachusetts, the Trinity Episcopal Church of Wrentham stands as the town’s finest example of Victorian Gothic architecture and the community’s oldest Episcopal church. Episcopalians in Wrentham first began worshipping in 1863 and in less than ten years, quickly grew in numbers from just two members to so many that a church building was needed to house the congregation. The site on East Street was purchased and architect, Shepard S. Woodcock, was hired to furnish plans for the new building. Completed in 1872, the Victorian Gothic design features all of the hallmarks of the style, including the steeply pitched roof, pointed arch windows and entry doors, buttresses, and towering steeple.
Arguably the most recognizable and beloved building in Wrentham, Massachusetts, is this eclectic mid-19th century commercial building, known as the Wrentham Village Hall. The structure was originally constructed for Daniel A. Cook where he operated a store in the ground floor retail space and rented a meeting hall to local organizations above. The building was constructed around 1853 as a more vernacular building, but given its current appearance decades later when the ornate Stick style porches were added to the facade. While the building has served many uses over its history, the structure is suffering from some deterioration, which hopefully will not impact the rare surviving exposed porch framing and trusses, which give the building so much character.
The Hawes’ in Wrentham, Massachusetts, were a prominent local family that largely settled in the western part of the town, building large farmhouses with properties bounded by rustic stone walls. This residence on Spring Street dates to the mid-18th century and was likely built for Samuel Hawes (1713-1795) around the time of his marriage to Priscilla Ruggles in 1741. After the death of both Samuel and Priscilla in 1795, the couple’s only son, David, bought out his two sisters value in the property and lived here with his family. The property was passed down through members of the Hawes Family until the 20th century, though later owners have still maintained and preserved this significant home for future generations.
Buildings of New England 