[MassHistPres] Old House Falling Down

Tue Oct 23 12:04:09 EDT 2007

John -
The house is in Acton (where I live), and has a long history of connection 
with both Acton and Concord, and unfortunately of abuse as well.  The abuse, 
I am sorry to say, has been on the part of the commonwealth, which owns much 
of the farmland, with some buildings, west of MCI Concord (which began as 
the new state-of-the-art Massachusetts State Prison in 1878.)  The 
construction of the prison involved the purchase of multiple farm parcels, 
including the former Wright Farm, with the Wright-Holden House, where the 
state police horse barn has been located since the 1980s(?).

Many years ago, Historic Massachusetts (now Preservation Mass), listed the 
12 surviving 1878-1884 "prison houses" that were built to house the prison 
officers and their families (located closer to the rotary) on their 10 
most-endangered list.  The prison houses were a phenomenal collection of 
wood-frame double houses of that era - unique in the state, as far as I 
could tell when I researched them back in 1987, and I haven't seen anything 
comparable since.  They (I think there were at least 18 originally) formed 
an instant neighborhood, and they were needed because the prison was located 
outside of any town or village residential area.  They were built to be 
quite comfortable and commodious in order to attract employees to what was a 
fairly prestigious job, and to help convince them to bring their families 
out from the city (the former prison was in Charlestown).

But in spite of local efforts to prevail upon the state to maintain those 
buildings, they entered a period of true demolition by neglect, and several 
years ago, prompted by neighbors who were fed up with living next to such 
"eyesores,"  the state happily tore down all but one.  That single house, 
located on Commonwealth Avenue across from the west wall of the prison and 
supposedly left standing as an "example" of what was there, had been pretty 
well butchered by some renovation efforts that included changing its shape, 
stripping trim details, and installing inappropriate doors and windows and 
doors.  But it's the only one left.

This is a long-winded way of pointing out a bit of context and an account of 
some of the difficulties of dealing with the state in maintaining its 
historic properties.  In the case of the Acton farmhouse, even with 
volunteer help and donations of time and materials from construction 
professionals, the Acton Historical Commission has tried over the years to 
get the state to stand up to its responsibilities, but the result is all too 
visible.

For detailed information you should contact the commission at 
HC at acton-ma.gov.  I do not serve on that board, but I know that your 
interest and help in raising awareness about this building will be 
appreciated.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Worden" <jworden at swwalaw.com>
To: <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2007 11:01 AM
Subject: [MassHistPres] Old House Falling Down

> No doubt many of us who travel Route 2 between Cambridge and The West have
> noticed, on the north side of the highway, just west of the Concord Rotary
> and about on the Action-Concord line, a fine old (19th c.) farmhouse with 
> an
> adjacent, quite prosperous looking horse farm (large barn and extensive
> paddocks).  Over the past few years, the house has gone from looking 
> pretty
> good to looking like it's about to fall down.  Hasn't been painted in many
> years; shutters, some closed and some open, are falling off; some windows
> appear to be broken - it bears in inescapable aura of abandonment and
> neglect.  So, I'm wondering if the historical commissions in Concord or
> Action have any information, or are taking any steps to preserve this
> building.
>
> John Worden
> Arlington HDC
>
>
> **********
>
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> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: <masshistpres-request at cs.umb.edu>
> To: <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
> Sent: Monday, October 22, 2007 12:00 PM
> Subject: MassHistPres Digest, Vol 20, Issue 18
>
>
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>> Today's Topics:
>>
>>   1. Stone Wall Surveys? (Jeff K.)
>>   2. Re: Stone Wall Surveys? (Joseph S. Larson)
>>   3. preservation planner position in Newton
>>      (Alice E. Ingerson/Applied History)
>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 1
>> Date: Sun, 21 Oct 2007 16:24:32 -0700 (PDT)
>> From: "Jeff K." <archaeology4kids at yahoo.com>
>> Subject: [MassHistPres] Stone Wall Surveys?
>> To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
>> Message-ID: <380722.69237.qm at web60423.mail.yahoo.com>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
>>
>> Hello All,
>>
>> Are there any municipalities (or individuals) that
>> have completed a stone wall survey or inventory for an
>> entire town or city?  I'm curious about how it has
>> been done and how that data has been used.
>> I know about the MHC planning grant cycle that is just
>> starting up, and this may be a worthy application.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Jeff Kotkin
>> Framingham, MA
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 2
>> Date: Sun, 21 Oct 2007 19:36:06 -0400
>> From: "Joseph S. Larson" <larson at tei.umass.edu>
>> Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Stone Wall Surveys?
>> To: "Jeff K." <archaeology4kids at yahoo.com>, <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
>> Message-ID: <002101c8143b$26e5cec0$9865fea9 at tbr3450>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
>> reply-type=original
>>
>> Dear Mr. Kotkin:
>>
>> The town of Petersham has a complete map of its stone walls. It was done
>> by
>> a faculty member at Harvard University's Harvard Forest, which is located
>> in
>> Petersham. The map and background material on that project is on view at
>> the
>> Fisher Museum at the Forest Headquarters and is well worth a trip to see
>> it.
>> The project is part of a historic land use study of the town, and is a
>> classic. If you plan to make the trip, Google Harvard Forest to get
>> background material and call ahead to see if one of the staff members
>> could
>> be available to meet with you.
>>
>> Joseph S. Larson
>> 27 Arnold Road
>> Pelham, Massachusetts 01002-9757
>> http://myprofile.cos.com/larson358
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Jeff K." <archaeology4kids at yahoo.com>
>> To: <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
>> Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2007 7:24 PM
>> Subject: [MassHistPres] Stone Wall Surveys?
>>
>>
>>> Hello All,
>>>
>>> Are there any municipalities (or individuals) that
>>> have completed a stone wall survey or inventory for an
>>> entire town or city?  I'm curious about how it has
>>> been done and how that data has been used.
>>> I know about the MHC planning grant cycle that is just
>>> starting up, and this may be a worthy application.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Jeff Kotkin
>>> Framingham, MA
>>> ******************************
>>> For administrative questions regarding this list, please contact
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>>> WHOLE LIST.
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>>
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 3
>> Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2007 11:34:51 -0400 (EDT)
>> From: "Alice E. Ingerson/Applied History" <appliedhistory at rcn.com>
>> Subject: [MassHistPres] preservation planner position in Newton
>> To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
>> Message-ID: <20071022113451.ADV95507 at ms13.lnh.mail.rcn.net>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>>
>>
>> POSITION AVAILABLE for
>> SENIOR PRESERVATION PLANNER in NEWTON
>> Initiates and oversees historic preservation plans and projects (such as
>> National Register nominations and designation of local landmarks), and
>> contributes to the historic preservation elements in other citywide 
>> plans.
>> Analyzes historic preservation issues for general land use and zoning
>> decisions. Provides technical and staff support for the Newton Historical
>> Commission and local historic district commissions, and also educates the
>> public, on local preservation regulations (including the demolition 
>> review
>> ordinance). REQUIRES a master?s degree in historic preservation or 
>> related
>> field and 3-5 years of experience. CONTACT Norine Silton, Planning and
>> Development Department, Newton City Hall, 1000 Commonwealth Ave., Newton
>> Centre, MA 02459 or email: nsilton at newtonma.gov  A/EOE.
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
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>> End of MassHistPres Digest, Vol 20, Issue 18
>> ********************************************
>>
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