Victorian House

Sidney A. Kimber House // c.1894

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Built by 1894, this fabulous Queen Anne victorian house can be found on Ashmont Street in Dorchester, and it has a period-appropriate color scheme. The residence here was built for Sidney Arthur Kimber (1866-1956) a London-born printing expert, who for years worked at the University Press in Cambridge. Mr. Kimber was an expert on printing and wrote many books on the subject; he even built a working model of the first printing press brought over from England to Cambridge in 1638. The Kimbers lived here for just a few years before moving, and the house was sold a few times until the first long-term owner, Helena T. Shortell. The house is lovingly preserved and features a unique entry tower capped by an ogee roof.

Harrison H. Atwood House // 1888

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When an architect designs their own home, you know it will be something special. This house on Alban Street in Ashmont Hill, Dorchester, was built in 1888 and designed by owner-architect, Harrison H. Atwood (1863-1954). The unique Shingle style residence features a plain, boxy form and is capped by a pyramidal hipped roof with a center dormer. The recessed side entry porch is enclosed by large windows with multi pane sash which is surmounted by flared shingles. Besides being a residential architect, Harrison Henry Atwood also was appointed as the 5th City Architect of Boston, designing schools and firehouses, and served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. While the Atwood House may appear modest from the street, the house stretches back toward the rear of the lot and is larger than meets the eye, also the interior was lavishly decorated with much of the original millwork and mantels intact. 

Dillaway House // 1889

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One of the finest and refined examples of the Shingle style in Boston can be found on Alban Street in the Ashmont Hill section of Dorchester, a lovely, walkable neighborhood where you can find timeless examples of just about any Victorian-era architectural style. Built for Charles F. Dillaway, a banker in Boston, this home was designed by local architect, Edwin J. Lewis, architect for many houses in the Ashmont area.  Lewis’s designs are distinguished by their crisp geometry, often with horizontal lines emphasized and small-paned windows. The house has been slightly modernized by later owners who added new siding within the inset porch and a more moody color scheme. 

Mary S. Hartford House // 1890

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This charming Shingle style bungalow at the corner of Harley and Walton streets in Dorchester’s Ashmont Hill neighborhood, was built around 1890 for Ms. Mary S. Hartford. Mary Hartford (1840-1910) was the mother of famed American painter, Edmund Charles Tarbell, and the wife of Edmund Whitney Tarbell, who died in 1863 after contracting typhoid fever while serving in the Civil War. After the death of her husband, Mary sent her son to live in Groton, Massachusetts with his grandparents to raise them as she remarried to David Francis Hartford, a shoe manufacturer. David and Mary lived nearby on Alban Street, and rented this and other houses to tenants for supplemental income. Local architect Edwin J. Lewis furnished plans for the house as a prototypical example of the Shingle style. Mary died in 1910 and in 1917, David Hartford, as his wife’s executor, deeded this property at 17 Harley Street to Emma C. Rich, the wife of George M. Rich, a Boston banker. The house is excellently preserved, even down to the appropriate brown stained shingles.

Thomas T. Hartford House and Stable // 1884

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Situated at the corner of Harley and Roslin streets in the Ashmont Hill neighborhood of Dorchester, this property showcases the flair and ornate features of the eclectic Victorian styles, along with an original stable. The property was developed in 1884 by Thomas T. Hartford. Thomas Thurston Hartford (1845-1916), was a shoe machinery manufacturer with offices in the Leather District near downtown Boston, continuing in his father’s company, Hartford Brothers Co. The house and stable are said to have been designed by architect Edwin J. Lewis, Jr., or John A. Fox, who blended Stick and Queen Anne styles. Interestingly, the house features Palladian windows in the gables and was restored by owners, who even went the extra mile to repaint the house in its historic colors.

Chansonetta Stanley Emmons House // 1893

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Chansonetta Stanley Emmons (1858-1937) was born in Kingfield, Maine, and was one of the great women photographers in the 19th and early 20th century, often depicting domestic life and New England scenes. The young Chansonetta Stanley grew interested in photography after her brothers’ (Francis E. and Freelan O. Stanley) dry-plate printing invention, they also invented the steam-powered automobile known as the Stanley Steamer. She married James Nathaniel Whitman Emmons in 1887 and in 1894, James hired architect Henry McLean, to design a residence for him and Chansonetta, this lovely home on Harley Street on Ashmont Hill. The couple occupied the house until 1898, when James died of blood poisoning at the age of 41. Chansonetta sold the home and moved to Newton, where her two brothers lived and operated their business. The house blends Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles and originally had a conical roof over the corner rounded bay. The roof was replaced with a flat roof at about the time of the large balcony and extended dormer.

George Derby Welles Rental House // c.1872

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From the 1780s until 1870, almost all of Ashmont Hill (west of the present train station) was a farm, with the large farmhouse dating to about 1720, located at the corner of Washington and Welles streets, now the home to the Codman Square Branch of the Boston Public Library system. The farm was owned for a time by General Henry Knox. Sometime before 1850, the estate and mansion came into the possession of the Honorable John Welles, who died in 1855. The property would eventually be deeded to John Welles’ grandson, George Derby Welles, who was then just 26 years old and living in Paris with his wife, Armandine V. Derby. Welles wasted no time in developing the property through his agent, Boston Attorney Edward Ingersoll Browne. Streets were laid out and house lots were platted and sold, with some early properties built with much of the neighborhood developing by the turn of the century. The old Knox-Welles farmhouse would be razed by 1889, but the remainder of the neighborhood has since become a landmark neighborhood of Victorian-era homes. This mansard double-house at 67-69 Ocean Street dates to around 1872 and is one of the earliest properties in the area. Blending the Second Empire and Stick architectural styles, the handsome double house is said to have been designed by architect Luther Briggs for George D. Welles and rented to tenants.

Joseph Lindsey Cottage // 1886

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While Marblehead is best-known for its Georgian and Federal period houses, there are some great examples of later styles, sometimes tucked behind and in side yards of earlier residences. This is the Joseph Lindsey Cottage on Washington Street, a vernacular, Folk Victorian style residence built in 1886 by carpenter and housebuilder, Joseph W. Lindsey (1823-1902). Mr. Lindsey lived nearby on High Street, and purchased an earlier house at 45 Washington Street by 1881, building this cottage five years later and rented both out to boarders. Joseph Lindsey worked his entire life as a carpenter, except for a few years when he and his brother, Philip B. Lindsey, travelled west to seek gold and fortune during the California Gold Rush. The Lindsey Family Papers are part of the collections of the Marblehead Museum. 

Forbush-Brigham House // c.1875

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This stately and well-preserved Stick style residence is located on High Street in Westborough, Massachusetts. The house was built around 1875 for Mr. William Henry Forbush and his wife, Alice. William was a sleigh manufacturer in town and served in the Civil War, mustering out years after injuring his left hand during the Second Battle of Bull Run. Forbush died in 1881 at the age of 37, and Alice married to Dexter Brigham, a carpenter who also fought in the Civil War. It was possibly Mr. Brigham who added the intricate woodwork on the home.

John A. Turner Cottage // c.1875 

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One of the most charming houses in Westborough, Massachusetts, can be found on Central Street, in the commercial village of town. The house was built around 1875 as a Mansard cottage, a style that was beginning to wane out of style by this point. The cottage was built for John Addison Turner (1833-1900) and his wife, Mary Ann Fiske. John worked as a superintendent at the National Straw Works factory, a local manufacturer of straw hats and other goods. The Turner House remains one of the best-preserved Victorian-era homes in Westborough and is even painted to highlight the many intricate details.