[MassHistPres] Examples of clusters of workmans cottages in Massachusetts

[Kristi Chase]

Almost, every town/city should and probably does have good examples of
workers housing. The housing will generally be found close to the
industries that drove the town's economy. Somerville has several such
neighborhoods along the railroads locally known as Brickbottom, Boynton
Yards. Hinkley-Magoun, the Patch, Duck Village and other pockets of
marginal land could be developed. The buildings range in age from the 1840s
through the 1890s. The later (early 1900s) housing was generally the
3-decker. The residents were originally from Ireland in the earliest homes
that I have documented although some of those who worked in the
slaughterhouse were from Germany and later from Italy. The glass workers
(also immigrants) were generally more skilled and had better living
conditions. Over time you can find changes in the workforce and their home
countries.

Regards,

Kristi Chase, Preservation Planner (retired)
26 Bow Street
Somerville



On Mon, May 24, 2021 at 8:18 PM Jane S Becker <Jane.Becker at umb.edu> wrote:

> Hello Anne,
>
> There are a number of workers’ cottages in North Cambridge, built for the
> brickyard workers in the 19th century.  These are now scattered around
> Rindge Ave., and some of the side streets off of Rindge.  You can read
> about them in Arthur Krim’s book on Northwest Cambridge for the Cambridge
> Historical Commission.
> https://watermark.silverchair.com/9780262367905_c001800.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAApQwggKQBgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggKBMIICfQIBADCCAnYGCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQMy7NuvtwbZBes3TYpAgEQgIICRzxqeSMfpAjYoHZ3mqPjJJpfY-2QtyaSeECr9pJ8DKRMY4-BsWC3Ue5VHdBcRLiYlQlwIwcHG7NQXT6nUQtWuA97b4x_2IDcEBSp9n8-CJ6JwsHazF7MLkET9hnh5QJKF80dw1G-LfTrXNXnXkIGg6nZL2Sw9nRkVZVwH2SmPMPiPhasb8LaF6IKp8yW_feq60sRStW1GqubajthrMzcm_I9-Us7taHobIxOmWG91pYPTsdYT0NqGi9aRfeGHw3m_tVGaBDxujghEBRX3LioE_cMuuh0Vp8duIucKEaXfX_K14u9XfK-WfaSz6sCNQhW5JZSmtmLvk9RTWBS3bmx1Wxs5kIO61NAzUtD14zQMl4mGg4WK37misMaD0OuT_T8WV01B89u-sxBwMjch8m2hWa14PwF9tFAfeusbGvWCsIjjx8rS2t1w_fcMcgaIQ8mG08NH2GHzcoGJMUxrlBZA6jBgBl20y1-92nvTmXMGC2vNWASqOTuioAjhd3W_UNW4gGfNwwHj55_ULHLeQ7kiWRAXRlKOK9-x2As7UjBNLw0rZTD6n6bbsBMMVx4Nwp3RUQsqPRCOsqUfayhNNbwmoUCD_nBl0wKpbGL_N_hLWG8lyb0JkcQCbeSPC7tKPBk_kyeTHE4xuGJKo_g_aslajGhsXNKegwp_3CmAz4lFEE4ZcudtG69qQrg0Bu9dkQSz0fwYXvUWI6DZoX0yXH32VYXfWpvP55ShW5ywbs1GfmIkkmtYe0nLo0jAhJDI3rDL3PfS_6P-KE
>
>
>
> Sorry for that shockingly long URL!
>
>
>
> I believe that there are other clusters of workers’ cottages in other
> areas of Cambridge (Central Square?  Cambridgeport?). Cambridge Historical
> Commission’s set of publications on Cambridge neighborhoods may be helpful.
>
>
>
> There are also some rows of workers’ housing in Waltham, quite early
> buildings, as I recall.  But I can’t point you to the street.  Perhaps
> someone at the Charles River Museum or the Waltham Historical Commission
> can help out here.
>
>
>
> Jane
>
>
>
> *Jane Becker, PhD*
>
> *Director of Public History*
>
> *History Department*
>
> *University of Massachusetts, Boston*
>
> *Jane.becker at umb.edu* <Jane.becker at umb.edu>
>
> *Ph: 617-287-6885*
>
> *Fax: 617-287-6899*
>
> --
>
>
>
>
>
> *From: *MassHistPres <masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu> on behalf of Anne
> Lusk <annelusk at gmail.com>
> *Date: *Monday, May 24, 2021 at 2:53 PM
> *To: *Masshistpres <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
> *Subject: *[MassHistPres] Examples of clusters of workmans cottages in
> Massachusetts
>
> *EXTERNAL SENDER*
>
> Dear All,
>
>    I'm working on a Study Report for a Local Historic District submission
> in Brookline that concerns a cluster of workman's cottages that were built,
> starting around 1820.  There are 11 cottages really close together on Hart
> Street and 5 cottages really close together on Franklin Court.
>
>      Are there any other clusters of workman's cottages in Massachusetts?
> I gather there are some cottages near the old glass factory in Sandwich.
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarvesville_Historic_District
> <https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FJarvesville_Historic_District&data=04%7C01%7Cjane.becker%40umb.edu%7C720e981a449b4e257c3008d91ee52e9c%7Cb97188711ee94425953c1ace1373eb38%7C0%7C1%7C637574791962793234%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=Cz7xVmHKZJ%2F3YgDU6sCfjR9hL8B8k%2BoLHnS4ZPGdjMg%3D&reserved=0>
>  Could someone give me a street name for these cottages?  Those cottages
> would have been built by the glass company to house their workers.
>
>       The houses on Hart and Franklin were moved in 1870 to these streets
> to be owned by Irish Catholic workers or rented to them. Eventually, all
> the houses were owned.  Many single women owned the houses, widows remained
> in the cottages for a long time, and houses were passed down from family to
> family.
>
>      With so many wealthy mansions already being listed and the threat of
> smaller homes being demolished to build McMansions, saving the humble
> cottages and telling the stories about the owners is worth the effort.
>
> Thanks so much for your help,
>
> Anne Lusk, Ph.D. 617-879-4887
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