[MassHistPres] Princeton, MA

[Dcolebslade at aol.com]

The Westport Historical Commission Inventory does not include present  
owners in its data online, but it is very simple to go to the GIS survey and  
find out once you know the address.
 
Betty Slade
Westport
 
 
In a message dated 3/28/2011 8:44:03 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
estsure at comcast.net writes:

I might  add to my earlier suggestions about putting house histories 
on-line that I  find the MHC forms a nuisance when they require the name of the 
current  owners.  The people named as owners when the Brewster historic house  
survey was done some 20 or 30 years ago are mostly long gone by now.  That 
info is so short-lived, these days, I see no good reason to include  
contemporary (modern) owner identification on more or less permanent  historical 
studies--unless, perhaps, that owner was able to contribute  something 
substantial to the actual history.    
Ellen St.  Sure 


On Mar 28, 2011, at 8:32 PM, Fred Merriam wrote:



 
 
The Chelmsford Historical Commission wrestled with the issues that  Richard 
Casella discussed below back in 2003, but settled on a web  presentation 
approach similar to what Ellen St. Sure proposed. We posted all  the State 
Inventory material that would be of interest to the public,  especially the age 
and Historical Significance information, plus deed  records going back to 
the beginning, relevant news paper articles, backup  research and old and new 
photos. We did not make any effort to purge current  ownership information 
if there were no changes since the inventory was  completed, but removed any 
information related to recent valuations and any  photos other than street 
views for security. We were prepared to remove any  material on receipt of a 
complaint, but there have been zero complaints  since going on-line in 
2003. We have received positive feedback from owners  who take pride in and 
appreciate knowing the history of their own home and  other assets in the town 
such as monuments and public buildings. Several  real estate professionals 
also mentioned that the information was helpful in  making a sale of an 
inventoried property. You can find the site easily with  a Google search if you 
want to check it out.
 
Fred Merriam
Chelmsford Historical Commission (and site webmaster)
 

 
 
From: _Ellen St.  Sure_ (mailto:estsure at comcast.net)  
Sent: Sunday, March 27, 2011 3:48 PM
To: _Richard Casella_ (mailto:rcasella at historicdoc.com)  
Cc: _masshistpres at cs.umb.edu_ (mailto:masshistpres at cs.umb.edu)  
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Princeton, MA


 

Why  not just post for the public the street address, photos old and ne, 
and  whatever information (always interesting if well researched and well  
written) that you have on the original owners/builders/occupants and perhaps  a 
few subsequent (early) owners/occupants, but omit current and recent  
ownership altogether?  Would anybody object to A House With a History,  if 
properly explained?  Surely the current owners would enjoy knowing  more about 
their houses, and a documented history could actually increase  the value of 
the property, if they should ever want to sell.   
 

Ellen St. Sure
Brewster Historical Commission
 

 
On Mar 27, 2011, at 11:34 AM, Richard Casella wrote:



Ms. Wermiel's important points bring two caveats to this  discussion: "For 
every action there is a reaction" and "Just because  something can be done 
does not mean it should be done."  As a  consultant who conducts field 
surveys (and a former member of a Historic  District Commission), I can attest to 
the fact that a significant and  vocal segment of the population continues 
to question how much historic  preservation regulation we need. Bad feelings 
toward preservation  activities can spread harder and faster than the good 
ones. Whether  Princeton HC might somehow be subject to a lawsuit - baseless 
or not - is  beside the point; if someone is sufficiently "annoyed or 
alienated" they  will speak out and letters and editorials will follow. Since the 
idea is  already meeting resistance, perhaps a reasonable compromise for now 
might  be a news post on the PHC website stating that the information has 
been  compiled and will be made available to researchers who submit a written 
 request with their name, address and purpose. 
 
Richard Casella
Portsmouth, RI
 


 
____________________________________
 From: _masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu_ 
(mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu)  [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of SARA  WERMIEL
Sent: Saturday, March 26, 2011 6:42  PM
To: _masshistpres at cs.umb.edu_ (mailto:masshistpres at cs.umb.edu) 
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Princeton,  MA