Massachusetts Real Estate

Adams Hall // c.1828

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According to local histories, this significant Greek Revival style property on Elm Street in Georgetown, Massachusetts, was owned by Josiah Adams (1757-1852), a farmer, a Revolutionary War veteran, and a fourth-generation descendant of the immigrant Robert Adams, who arrived here from Devonshire, England by about 1629. In March 1849, the town’s Congregational Society purchased Adams Hall for eight hundred dollars to house the church vestry, which remained in the building for forty-one months until a new building was built for that purpose next door. Later, Adams Hall was owned by Moses Tenney (1808-1903), operator of a prosperous saw mill in Georgetown, and served at one time in the state senate. The structure retains its significant temple-front with four, two-story Doric columns supporting the portico. Also special on this residence is the use of flush-board siding and the oversized first floor windows.

Asa Kendall House // c.1790

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The Asa Kendall House is a significant Federal period house from the late 18th century on Richardson Road in Ashby, Massachusetts. The house here is actually believed to be the second built on this location, the first being the John Fitch House and Garrison. John Fitch was one of the earliest settlers in present-day Ashby, which in the mid-1700s, was sparsely developed and threats of attack by Native peoples limited development for decades. Due to raising tensions in the years leading up to the French and Indian War, Fitch petitioned the government for a garrison manned by three soldiers, which was approved. In 1745, the garrison was attacked and Fitch with his family, were kidnapped by Native Americans, held hostage for six months and brought up to Canada. The homestead and garrison were burned. He and his family were ransomed and would later return settling elsewhere in town. The former location of the garrison was purchased by Asa Kendall and this house was built around 1790 for him. The brick house with sloping wings was extensively documented as part of the Historic American Building Survey in 1936 and has been preserved by later owners ever-since!

Dr. Ralph Fogg House // 1893

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Built in 1893, this house in Norwood, Massachusetts, was built for Dr. Ralph Fogg, a leading dentist in the Boston area with offices in Boston, Norwood, and Quincy. Dr. Fogg was dissatisfied with nitrous oxide gas as an anesthetic, as it failed to protect the patient against pain; and, in trying to find some harmless compound to accomplish the desired results, he produced the “Boston Vegetable Vapor,” an anesthetic to compete with nitrous oxide in markets. In 1885, the Boston Vegetable Anesthetic Company was formed for the purpose of placing the vapor in the market, and it was used by leading dentists across the country. With his dental practice growth and success of his new invention, Dr. Fogg and his new wife, Anna Saville, hired architect, Herbert Mosely, to design a stately home for their family. The Queen Anne/Shingle style house features a sophisticated use of stone, clapboard and wood shingle materials. It’s main facade is dominated by a broad gambrel gable with the main entrance set within a rusticated stone arch which is edged with large voussoir blocks.

William Dexter House // 1899

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One of the best examples of the eclectic architecture designed at the of the 19th century in Norwood, Massachusetts, can be found on Beacon Street in the William Dexter House. Built in 1899 for William W. Dexter (1827-1911), who in 1852, married Harriet Blake, later settling in Massachusetts. Tragedy struck the family in 1871, when on the same day, his wife and daughter died; two days later, his sister-in-law, and six days after that, his other daughter Carrie died, all of bacterial infections. All that remained of the family was William and his only surviving daughter, Nellie. William remarried and built a blended family until his death in 1911. This house was built by Dexter, who worked as a contractor and painter, and George F. Bagley, a local builder. The complex form, rooflines, varied siding types, corner tower, and intact historic windows all add to its beauty. If only it had a historically appropriate color scheme to compliment it!

Chickering Farmhouse // c.1807

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The Chickering House at 101 Walpole Street is significant as one of the oldest extant houses in Norwood, Massachusetts. Although local lore dates this house to 1781, it likely dates to 1807 (or was adapted from an earlier house) and was owned by Deacon Dean and Sally Guild Chickering, who farmed on the lot. Three generations of Chickerings farmed the land here until the early 20th century, when John D. Chickering, a local historian, sold much of the land for suburban development. The Federal style farmhouse remains as a vestige of the early, pre-suburbanization that Norwood is now known for.

Joseph P. Allen Cottage // 1877

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One of the most picturesque and charming summer cottages (now year-round residences) in the Salem Willows neighborhood in Salem, Massachusetts is this Victorian on Bay View Avenue. The cottage was built around 1877 for Joseph Pray Allen (1822-1897) who was a police officer who likely climbed the ranks in the force to afford a second home in the city. The 1 1/2-story cottage has decorative bargeboards at the eaves and stick bracket at the gable. Perfection!

Patrick Dempsey Cottage // c.1875

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This charming mini-mansard summer cottage is located in the coastal neighborhood of Salem Willows, in Salem, Massachusetts. The neighborhood developed in the 1870s-1900s as a summer colony for middle-income families who wanted a second home away from the hustle-and-bustle of urban living in favor of ocean breezes. The cottage likely dates to the mid-1870s as one of the earliest summer homes in the neighborhood, and historic maps show it was owned by a P. Dempsey. It appears this is Patrick Dempsey (1821-1902), an Irish immigrant who settled in Lowell, Massachusetts, making it big as a liquor dealer and saloon-keeper. The Second Empire style cottage has a partially enclosed porch, but retains much of its original character and is located right on the water with sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean.

William Bates Summer Cottage // 1885

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While Salem is best-known for its First Period and Federal style buildings, the Salem Willows neighborhood features some of the finest Victorian summer cottages in the Boston area. This cottage was built in 1885 by William Marston Bates (1820-1912), a Salem-based dentist, as his summer retreat when not in the office. The Stick style cottage has a steep gable roof with jerkinhead clip at the facade and a wrap-around porch with decorative jigsawn bracketed details. The house is a well-preserved example of the style, examples of which are becoming less-and-less frequent in recent years.

Conant-Cushing House // c.1890

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Atop the Great Hill on Point Allerton in Hull, Massachusetts, this large summer “cottage” stands out for its unique architecture and siting overlooking the bluffs and Atlantic Ocean. The Shingle style house was built around 1890 by Edward D. Conant, a real estate agent and developer of Newton as his family summer home. The architect is not clear, but the house exhibits a unique four-story crenellated tower, giving the appearance of a castle from a distance. The house was later owned by Cardinal Richard Cushing (1895-1970) as his own summer residence. Cardinal Cushing served as Archbishop of Boston from 1944 to 1970 and was made a cardinal in 1958. Cushing’s main role was as fundraiser and builder of new churches, schools, and institutions, and he helped then-presidential candidate John F. Kennedy deflect fears of papal interference in American government if a Catholic became president. Kennedy grew up spending summers at his grandfather’s home in Hull (featured previously). The Conant-Cushing House remains significant even with 20th century renovations.

John Smith House // c.1895

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Hull, Massachusetts is an often overlooked town (besides Nantasket Beach Reservation), but there are some really great old houses and buildings to be found in the seaside town. This is the John Smith House on Meade Avenue in the Atlantic Hill neighborhood inland from the peninsular part of town. Development here was fairly slow, but took-off in the late 19th century when cottagers began to develop some house lots here. They were soon joined by year-round residents like John Smith, an ice merchant who built this home around 1895. Craftsman in style, the house exhibits a mix of building materials with a rough fieldstone porch and two matching stone chimneys together with wood shingle siding. The stunning stonework extends from the foundation, uniting the house to its terraced, rocky site. It is one of a handful of homes here that have not yet been altered or covered up by vinyl siding.

A. M. Donna end House // 1928

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Abraham Malcolm Sonnabend was born in Boston on December 8, 1896, the son of Esther and Joseph Sonnabend. Sonnabend graduated from Harvard College in 1917 in order to enlist at the outbreak of the Great War. At the end of World War I, Sonnabend joined his father’s real estate organization. He married Esther Lewitt in 1920, and by 1927, he had increased his real estate holdings to a net worth of $350,000. Just before the 1929 stock market crash, Sonnabend hired Boston architect Sumner Schein to design this Tudor Revival style home, on a site formerly occupied by a larger Queen Anne style residence. Built in 1928, the Tudor Revival house features clinker brick walls with cast stone trim and a two-story castellated bay all capped by a slate roof. The enterprising A. M. Sonnabend would eventually outgrow this modest Tudor home after he got into hotels as investments. In 1944, Sonnabend (with seven partners) acquired a package of Palm Beach, Florida hotels for $2.4 million including the Biltmore, Whitehall and the Palm Beach Country Club. He would sell the Biltmore to Conrad Hilton for a massive profit. In 1956, Sonnabend created the Hotel Corporation of America (HCA) and grew the business to new heights. The 1928 Sonnabend House is significant architecturally and as the first purpose-built property by the late-developer.

Saunders Cottage // c.1900

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Charles Saunders, a carpenter, and his wife Annie Saunders, seemingly built and lived in this Shingle style cottage in the Ocean View summer colony of Rockport. The couple shows up in census records as living here in 1910 while in their 50s. The house likely dates to the 1890s and is a great example of the Shingle style for a middle-class residence. The house features a corner tower and a wrap-around porch with continuous shingle siding and columns. The property was deeded to a Lawrence Regester in 1924 when Annie sold the property after Charles’ death. The shingled cottage has remained in a great state of preservation for its existence!

Thunder Castle // c.1830

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This charming Federal period dwelling in Mansfield, Massachusetts, was built around 1830 by Solomon Pratt and his brother-in-law, Elkanah Bates as a boarding house for the workers at their nearby cotton mill. The duplex was historically split down the middle with a unit on each side, accessed by the shared center stairhall. Local lore states that the Irish immigrant families who lived in this property reported that there were “supernatural” noises in the house, which frightened the occupants, they would tell friends it was “thundering in the castle”, giving the property the nickname, Thunder Castle.

George Cobb House // c.1865

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While most of the early homes in Newton Centre were built by a few landowners and rented to tenants, this charming Mansard cottage was owner-occupied from the start. Tucked away on the quiet (and appropriately named) Pleasant Street, the George Cobb House is one of the most beautiful old Victorians in the neighborhood. An early resident was George Washington Cobb (1840-1925) was a druggist who ran an apothecary in East Boston, and he made the long commute there every day from this house. The property has a mansard roof with pedimented dormer and three-story tower capped by a bell-cast mansard roof. Paneled pilasters and brackets add a lot of detail to the primary facade.

The Boardman Rowhouses // 1899

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Built between 1899-1901, the Boardman rowhouses of North Adams, Massachusetts were constructed by developer and hardware dealer Walter Penniman and his wife Susan Boardman Penniman to serve as much-needed middle-class housing for workers in the growing city. The name “Boardman” was likely taken from Susan’s maiden name. The entire row is comprised of nine rowhouses, all with a front porch, as well as servants’ quarters on the third floor. Each residential unit is fronted by a porch of granite block with Tuscan columns supporting a shed roof. Entrances are recessed behind round-arched openings, also composed of granite blocks. While much architectural details on the second story are obscured by synthetic siding, the
building’s gables retain simple bargeboarding, and eaves are bracketed. The Boardman’s designer was Edwin Thayer Barlow who opened an architecture practice in the town in the 1890s. The rowhouses are still some of the finest example of middle-class housing built in North Adams in the 19th century.