USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Sherborn > Historical sketches of the town of Sherborn : in Massachusetts > Part 3
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A tradition, which has always persisted, states that the ell on the Clark place, toward the east, was brought from Medfield and moved across the Charles River on the ice. The tradition further states this building survived the burn- ing of Medfield in 1676.
While in this section of the town, let's continue west on Maple Street to Pleasant Street, to the left after we pass the West Cemetery. The second house on this street is the Fessenden House. By authentic record, this is the oldest house in Sherborn, and was built in 1686. This building, too, is salt box and sets corner to the road, so as to face south. In this part of Sherborn settled
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the Babcock, Twitchell and Buckmaster families. The Babcocks and Twitchells were related and originally from Milton.
The Fessenden house was built by a Twitchell. Beyond it the Babcocks built, on what is now the Hildreth farm. This house is gone. Buckmaster built north of the present Sam Carter place, which is a Brick, later Cushing, place and built by Brick directly after the Revolution. Brick was a Revolutionary sol- dier. The Buckmasters did not remain long in Sherborn.
And now as to this most interesting old Fessenden house. Joseph Twitch- ell built it, and having married and built his home, he made his will in 1687, leaving tohis wife "the house I built last year". This house has been most care- fully restored by the late Mr. Fessenden. At one time the farm and house was owned by a Littlefield, and when part of it was re-clapboarded, loopholes were uncovered. This should not seem unusual, for it was in 1676, ten years before the house was built, that the Bullard Fort was besieged by Philip's warriors.
Leaving Pleasant Street and traveling Western Avenue, going toward Wash- ington Street, we come to a very dignified old house on the west side of the road. This is the Morse-Fay-Leland-Hawes house. Captain Joseph Morse married Mehitable Wood in 1671, and built what is known as the Joe Walter Barber house in South Sherborn. Captain Morse drew lands in W. Sherborn, a great tract now embracing three farms. He had twelve children. The fourth was Joseph, born 1679, and died of the "Memorable Mortality" in 1754. He married Pru- dence Adams, and took up some of the land that his father had drawn in W. Sher- born, and built there. As his first child was born June 1703, this dates the old house as being built before that time. Later this house passed to a Leland, and about 1795 was occupied by Dr. Jonathan Fay from Salem; he was of Scotch de- scent and married a Mary Holbrook. He evidently shared patients with Doctor Tapley Wyeth, for they practiced at the same time. Wyeth also probably origi- nated in Essex County, as the Tapleys were a well-known family in Danvers.
One of the rooms in this old house has inside shutters with small open- ings near the top. Again, let us quote tradition ! Some curious neighbor, pass- ing one night, stole up to the house, as light was visible through the shutter openings, and peered in to see the old doctor seated before a table counting his "hard money. " "It was a great hoard." This is very much in doubt, even if the good doctor was of Scotch ancestry, for he had a rival in Dr. Wyeth, and I'm afraid most of his bills, at that time (about 1800), if paid at all, were paid in wood and farm produce.
There were quite a few early houses in the north part of the town. All have disappeared save the old red house on Brush Hill Road, now owned by Mr. Laverack. As to the origin of this building, there is a difference of opinion. It might have been built by Thomas Sawin who owned the water power and mill nearby. (He furnished the lumber for the first church building in 1680. ) He afterwards removed to So. Natick, but continued his trade and ran a water mill lastly owned by the late Preston Morse.
The second clue seems to be that the house was built by Ephriam Bullen, son of Deacon Samuel, and brother of Elisha. At first, Ephriam lived near the center of the town, but afterwards took up land in N. E. Sherborn and bought extensively, leaving a large farm which was divided into several farms at his death and fell to his heirs. It seems assured he owned the land and house under
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From
Oldest Known Map
Of Sherborn, Circa. 1788
Grouto
S.Sangero A.Sangera
o T. Holbrook
0 0
T. Greenwood ·
a J.Holbrook
O
Bickferd u J.Ware
o B. Ware
D
D.Hawse
T.Holbrook
W.Hill 9.
Hope Leland
Jos. Coolidge
@T.Fisk
Sch.Housed
·ilHill,Jr. o 0
Jos. Leland.
PH. Death
MEDFIELD
James Hilla .B.Bullard Brick T.Bricko
50
· Brick
· Hart
Bullar da
40
MEDWAY
30
07
South
20
01
10
01
· A.Leland
· E.Dowse
M.Perrys W. Clark
Newell0
O
Dr.Wyeth
D
Whitney Perry S.Bullard df Sch.house
to Dowse
Sangere
Sandero
E.Brown a
aSparrowK
BPrentiss
A,Gardner
W.Lealanda
10
20
North
30
30
40
40
0
50
.
0
0
M.Clarko Jos. Dowse
D
0
10
20
OF
·A.Mason
P
1
....
-- 1
-----
Hunting Lane Farm in 1870. This is the Whitney Paul house built before 1733, and formerly a tavern and store.
Charlescote Farm about 1900. This is a Morse house built in 1783 on the original grants.
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Bullard house, built around 1750, (corner Main Street and Railroad Avenue), as it looked after the Civil War.
discussion. Whether he bought of Sawin, if Sawin owned it and built the house, or whether Bullen built the house, has really never been gone into. Suffice it to say if either owned or built it, it was erected a few years after 1700. As it stands, it is a splendid example of 17th century construction.
On April 19, 1729, Samuel Morse, son of Samuel Morse, and grandson of Daniel Morse, the original settler, sold the house on Farm Road, N. E. of Farm Pond, opposite to and owned by Mr. Saltonstall, to Deacon Jonathan Rus- sell. This Samuel Morse was born in 1687, and the place was set off from the original Morse Farm. Morse resided here some years before the sale to Rus- sell, so it looks as if the house might have been built about 1720. Russell's de- scendants resided here much over 100 years. The last Russell heirs owned and sold to the Sawin Academy the land upon which the Academy now stands. The end of the Russell family of Sherborn was tragic. The family had become re- duced to three, two men and a woman living in the old house; they were the great- grandchildren of the old deacon.
Professor Albert Morse of Wellesley College and one of the curators of the Peabody Museum of Salem, of the last generation of Morses born on the Daniel Morse home acres, gave to me the following story of the end of the Rus - sell family. It seems that one of the Russell men was most intelligent, a well- read man and a hard worker, carrying on the farm. Unfortunately, his brother and sister were both mentally deficient, unable to be trusted with any kind of work. So the guardian brother assumed the discouraging task of running the farm and caring for the home and his mentally helpless brother and sister. The strain was overpowering, and driven to desperation, he walked into Farm Pond, bearing in his hands a huge stone, until he walked beyond his depth still cling- ing to the stone, and so was drowned.
Albert Morse gave to the Historical Society an ancient rapier, which was found in the chimney of the Russell house, securely bricked in. Why was it bricked up? Who did it? No one ever knew.
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HOUSES BUILT BETWEEN 1720 AND 1820
There are about sixty houses still standing in Sherborn built in 1830 and before. The dwellings erected before 1720 have already been discussed, so we will now very briefly describe those built between 1720 and 1820.
Therefore, let us begin at the south part of the town and proceed along Main Street, North. The old house at one time known as Riverbank Lodge and standing on the hill by Death's Bridge marks the spot where Thomas Holbrook built his first house. The property descends from his heirs to the Hill and Dan- iels families and was sold to Henry Death (born 1741), and present house was built 1775-76, Later the Death family in residence changed their name to How (marriage to the How family of Sudbury of Wayside Inn fame). Other members of the Death family went back to the original spelling of the name "Dearth".
The next house is the Daniels house, owned by Mr. Franklin King. This is the original Leland land and came down in the family 'til the time of Colonel Joshua Leland who sold to Joseph Coolidge. Deacon Lowell Coolidge was born here and he said that when the family built the present house (Joseph was his grandfather), the little old Leland house was moved into the dooryard, and in it the family lived during construction. This little house was the second house built by Henry Leland; the first was built in the 1600's. The present house was built about 1780, and later the Coolidges sold to the Daniels family.
Farther north is the little house opposite the end of Woodland Street. Orig- inally, this was a blacksmith shop. It was built by James Holbrook (born 1762) who lived across the road about 1788; then in the 1820's it was converted into a house as at present. The house across Main Street was probably built at about the same time or before 1788, but much changed.
The Sartwell house at the intersection of Goulding Street was originally a Ware house and at one time a Tavern, built probably after the Revolution, but before 1800. It was afterwards bought by the Bullards, and Brayton Bullard lived there.
Across the brook and on the left is the Bickford house. James Bickford was of Wellfleet on the Cape and had been captain of a whaler. He preserved his nautical ways, even, 'tis said, in the matter of driving oxen. for when the usual terms of right and left were "Ge" and "Haw", Bickford trained his yoke to Starboard and Port and "Halt" was Avast! He bought the place of John Ware and it had been built many years before Bickford bought it. It was originally a small, one story and attic salt box, facing south. Bickford built an additional story and a door facing the road, but the old south door still opens into the hall with its staircase built against the chimney. It was probably built between 1760 and 1770. (This has more recently been moved back from the road, restored, and is owned by Mr. William Hall. )
To the right and at the end of a lane - the Robert Buntin house, with an interesting history. Originally, it stood on the land now occupied by St. Theresa's Chapel. The town bought the property for the land and afterwards built the Alms- house. This house was built by Thomas Holbrook (born 1747). He was a gun- smith, and built about 1780. Later the house passed into the hands of Curtis
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Coolidge, who lived here many years with his wife Orinda. They were married over sixty years and died so close together that there was a double funeral. The town bought of his heirs and sold the house (to be moved) at auction. The price paid for this building was five dollars, and I remember there was an argument as to whether the Wilder copper pump in the kitchen went with the house ... it did, and eventually the house went sailing down Joe Goulding's hill to its pres- ent location. In this era of housing shortage ... well, five dollars seems a not too high price .. or does it?
Ezra Holbrook, father of the aforementioned Thomas, built the old house at the foot of the hill, close to the road, and now owned by the Barakat family. He was married in 1738, and his first child born in 1739; this dates the house. Upon Ezra's death the home passed to his son Joshua, a Revolutionary soldier. He left one son, Lewis, who sold to Dalton Goulding. Lewis moved to a farm on Lake Street near Little Pond, lately owned by his grandson Charles Holbrook.
From here, north along Main Street, we have to journey across the rail- road tracks before encountering our next house built before 1800. We have now to do with Col. Samuel Bullard, born in the south part of the town, but in 1769 bought land on the Plain from Moses (probably "Shock") Perry. This land with additions started at Zion's Lane and went north to Whitney (Paul's place) and west, covering the east portion of Brush Hill. In one of Col. Samuel's trans- actions he bought the house now owned by Mr. Wheatly. This identical spot had fallen to Edward West Perry through his uncle Edward West, whose wife was a daughter of Daniel Morse. . The question is, who built this house? Mr. James Bullard, born 1813, said it had been built by a Perry and purchased by Col. Bullard, who was great-grandfather of the aforementioned James, about 1769. Be that as it may, James Bullard, son of the Colonel, who was born in 1762, lived there and died in 1828. The place fell to James' son Harry, and there he lived, and after him all their lives, his sons, George and Nason. It is an interesting house. The front hall was stenciled before it ever received wallpaper. I have seen that. Colonel Bullard's oldest child Mary was born in 1755, and she married Eleazer Dowse. The Dowse family lived in Charlestown and were burned out at the time of the Battle of Bunker Hill, and having no other place to go, trudged the road from Charlestown to Sherborn that June day to find haven at Colonel Bullard's.
Later, Eleazer Dowse built the house across from the Bullard place, now owned by Mr. Taylor. Sixty years ago, in front of the Taylor house, stood the most glorious elm tree in Sherborn, and beneath it, so tradition says, was pub- licly whipped for a minor offense, the father of Daniel Shay of Rebellion fame. Here, too, in 1787, was born Polly, who married Capt. Ebenezer Mann, the builder of 1810. Polly Mann lived to be nearly 100 years old, and took great pride, in her later years, in the fact she had been born in the administration of General Washington. Colonel Bullard's youngest child, Betsey, was born in 1776, and always lived a spinster in the little north ell of the old house. Here, also, lived Polly Bullard of the next generation, and because of her residence in the little ell, it was always known as "Aunt Polly's Part". She and Polly Mann were cousins.
The Paul Place is now owned by the granddaughter of Captain Paul who bought in 1824. Captain Paul was a retired sea-captain, and here established a tavern that became famous, and a store. He also farmed extensively. This old house was a Whitney house, and that family came to Sherborn in 1679 from
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Watertown, and built a house. It is evident the present house is not the origi- nal house, but it is also evident that the main house was built in the first half of the 18th century. As every succeeding generation of Whitneys took posses- sion, Morse in his history stresses the fact that it was the "ancient homestead" that was inherited, this up to the time of the Hon. Daniel Whitney, who died in 1810. One of his daughters married Deacon William Clark and another John Bullard.
Captain Paul added the south ell to the old house, originally for a store, and later purchased the original school house that set on land on Main Street north of what is now Zion's Lane. This school house had served both the Cen- ter and Plain families. It was probably moved about or before 1830, and was added to the west part of the Paul house.
Beyond the Paul house and to the right, opposite Hunting Lane, is the house now occupied by the Richardsons. This is the Tapley Wyeth house. It has been moved back a little from the original site. Dr. Tapley Wyeth gradu- ated from Harvard in 1786. The name Tapley brands him of Essex County ori- gin, for the family of Tapley is as much of Essex County as are Choats and Peabodys. He married Sally Fish (she was a connection of the Sherborn Hills). Their first child, Eliza was born in 1799. It is probable this house was built between 1790 and 1798. They had another daughter, Miss Lucy Wyeth, who re- sided all her life in this house and lived to be an old lady. She was adressmaker, known and respected by everyone. Formerly on this site stood the original home of Deacon Benoni Larned. (1679 the same year his neightbor Whitney across the way built. ) Many of his daughters married into old Sherborn fami- lies.
If Sherborn ever had a manufacturing district it was located on Main Street from the Wyeth house to Dowse's Corner. Squire Butler's shop was on what is now Butler Street, east of the Allison house (built 1818). North of Butler Street the house now owned by the Bartletts was the Amasa Green house, prob- ably built about 1800, or before. Amasa was the town coffin maker, as well as being a carpenter. There were no undertakers in the early days, so when death visited a family, Amasa Green was notified. He arrived with his tools, horses and lumber, and proceeded to build the last house for the person who had passed on. Our ancestors accepted death as ultimate and were resigned. Back to the Greens; I do not know where they lived before coming to Sherborn, but I do re- member as a boy, seeing a most beautiful set of very old chairs in this house when William Green lived there in 1881. These chairs had belonged originally to Gov. Bellingham who was an ancestor of the Green family, so Mrs. Martha Clark said.
The Tyson house was originally a Partridge house and built about 1800. The Partridge family was originally from Medfield and came to Sherborn in 1739. They married into the Perry and Babcock families. It was this family that built the "stone house" and here made pitchforks. Their forks were said to outlast any others, and I have seen old Partridge forks, 25 to 50 years old, bring more at auctions than forks almost new.
Below the stone house, Malachi Babcock made edged tools, knives, axes, etc. These tools bore the same good reputation as enjoyed by those made by Partridge.
Still farther north and near the brook was Lemuel Leland's gun shop.
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The fame of Lemuel's firearms extended as far as West Virginia and Kentucky. He made both "fowling pieces", also called, locally, "pigeon guns" because they were made for shooting wild pigeons, and remarkably straight shooting rifles. These all were mostly flint locks. In later life Lemuel retired to live with his son, William ("Bill Gun"), on what is now the Hildreth place in West Sherborn.
Next is the house now occupied by Mr. Tougas. I acknowledge I know very little of this house, except the main house is old. The late Charles Dowse, Arthur's father, who was remarkably well-versed in town history, told me on two occasions that he had reason to suppose this was one of the oldest houses on Main Street. This house was once occupied by the Fisk family and also Chamber- lains. Both families were engaged in tanning. Fisk later built the house oppo- site, now owned by Mrs. Crowley.
The Dr. Travis place was built, I think, by Benjamin Dowse, perhaps early in the 1800's. In the next place Deacon Lowell Coolidge made shoes. The Burroughs house was built by Andrew Jackson Church. He invented a very suc- cessful carriage wheel jack. His wife was the daughter of Lewis Breck, and her mother was Asa Sanger's daughter. Lewis Breck built the old house on the Bliss place on the road to Millis. Joseph Dowse, Jr., for many years Town Clerk, built the Drew place.
Emelyn Sparhawk, I think, built the house where his granddaughter Miss Sara lives today. He was a mild, kindly gentlemen, and his family carriage was a very old carryall, one of four all alike and owned by Jesse Ellis, Jed Mann, and Oliver Nelson Barber, Elijah's father. I remember the Mann vehicle came to a dramatic end. Mr. Mann had bought a new cow and she was hitched behind the carryall. As he turned into the home lane the cow decided to stop and hold back; the horse went on; the carryall left the ground and turned upside down. That was the end of a "hansome kerrege".
Where the roads fork at Dowse's corner was standing another large shoe shop. This was carried on for many years by Nathaniel Dowse. Mr. Dowse was a tall, thin, austere gentleman, and he and John Goulding were the last in town to wear tall beaver hats. I've heard them tell that as John Goulding rode through town in a high-backed sleigh, about six inches of his tall hat appeared above the back of the sleigh, - a dare to every small boy when the snow made good snowballs !
The house now owned by Edmund Dowse was built by the father of Joseph Dowse, Jr. and Mrs. Rebecca Dowse Maynard, whose memory is cherished by her former pupils. The house was built in the early years of the 19th cen- tury.
Considering that four of the nearby houses were built and occupied by Dowses, it is only appropriate that this fork in the roads should be designated as Dowse's Corner, a name that has stuck for over a century.
The only old house below Dowse's Corner is on Everett Street, long known as the Woodcock house, but built long before that family's tenure. This is a small "bank" house, built into the south face of the little hill. As it is now al- most a ruin and its long years of usefulness gone, I simply mention it and come back to Coolidge Street on the road to Framingham.
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On the right, now owned by Mrs. Holbrook, stands the Fernald house, at one time a girls' school and built in the first years of the 19th century. Gray's house was a Hill place and before then belonged to the Coolidge family; that, as well as the West house, opposite, were of the period just before 1800.
Sunshine Dairy farmhouse, a substantial dwelling of good architectural lines, and built about 1830, probably by Jonathan, was the Daniel Leland place. He was the grandfather of the late Daniel Whitney.
We retrace our steps to Prospect Street, but before crossing the tracks let me mention that the old Stratton place (near Sakas') was for many years the home of the Stratton family. I remember the original little old house beneath a huge elm, that has the distinction, although never moved, of being first on the north side of the old road to Framingham and later on the south side of the road. In this little house in 1816 lived the Stratton who generously came to the rescue of the farmers of Sherborn, with the only seed corn available in town, in the spring of 1817. 1816, if you remember, was the year without a summer, there being a killing frost in every month. This was "Eighteen Hundred and Froze to Death", as the year was known. Somehow, Stratton managed to raise a fair crop of corn, the only farmer in the town thus fortunate. There was much conjecture as to what Stratton would charge for seed. This was settled when it was an- nounced, at Town Meeting, 1817, that Mr. Stratton's seed corn would be dis- tributed fairly to Sherborn farmers at no cost.
On Prospect Street, first left, the old George Davis place, now Grenier's, was built in the late 1700's by a Perry. Next, is the Ware's place. This stood originally on the north side of the street and was built by William Tucker who came to Sherborn from Milton in the early 1780's, at which time he built the house. He served the town as Town Clerk and Selectman, and kept a Tavern. Mr. John Merriam of Framingham, bought the place and moved the house to its present commanding site.
The Brooks house on Western Avenue was always a Twitchell house. The present building dates back to 1800. Here lived Mr. Timothy Twitchell, the last man in Sherborn to own and use an old-fashioned "one horse shay". He rode it down to the 1870's.
"Oldfields" was a Morse place. This Morse was the descendent of Cap- tain Morse. The present house goes back to before 1800.
Next, the Wilson place, originally a Goulding house, was built by Captain Mann in the 1820's. This house was the scene of a tragedy. Ezra Hutchens lost his life by being smothered in a folding bed. Evidently the early folding beds were tricky.
One of the most picturesque houses still left in Sherbornis the place for- merly owned by Mr. Bennett. It is a very old house, and one of the few old houses in town with a gambrel roof. It was probably built by one of the heirs of Ephraim Bullen, who owned a farm of large acreage, that was divided at his death. It must have been built about 1750. About or before 1800, Galim Bullard bought it and his children were born here. He was born in 1769 and died in 1853. The man Galim Bullard will always be associated with the W. stone, because he set it up in May 1822, and if tradition can be believed, of all Sherborn celebra- tions, this was THE one, when the W. stone was set in place. Why is the stone
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called the W. stone ? One story was that the roads near formed a W, but prob- ably the authentic reason was it marked a boundary of the Waite grant. This grant took in the old Pratt-Hunt farm and went north into Framingham to the Sudbury River. The name is preserved in Mount Waite which was an outdoor meeting place and was a favored location for conventions of the Anti-Slavery movement when feelings ran high. It was at Mount Waite that Wendell Philips, a famous orator and a great abolitionist, tore the United States Constitution into shreds on the platform and stamped on the fragments to signify how worthless was this scrap of paper in the cause of real freedom. Anyone who has ever seen Wendell Philips, a great, towering man, fearless and majestic, would realize how capable he was of performing such an act - of fearlessly destroying the Constitution.
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