concord-avenue_0461-0463 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE (Describe important architectural features and evaluate in terms of other buildings within the community.) Although this house appears to have a raid-nineteenth century profile with some Greek Revival elements, it actually is a twentieth century recon- struction on a nineteenth century granite foundation. An undated nineteenth century photograph (xerox on file with the Lexington Historical Commission) shows a three-by-two bay, two-and-a-half story gable-roofed house with basically the same profile as the present one. The additions on the original house were also in the same places and about the same size as the present (see Continuation Sheet) HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE (Explain the role owners played in local or state history and how the building relates to the development of the community.) According to an antiquarian account, this property was owned at the beginning of the nineteenth century by Joseph Underwood (1749-1829) , the father of the Joseph Underwood who built both the Cutler farmhouse and the house at 353 Concord Avenue (see 503 and 353 Concord Avenue forms) . At that time, however, this property apparently did not include a house, for none is indicated on the 1830 mars. A house in this location does appear on the 1852 map and was owned by John Underwood (1780-1855) , son of the original owner. In 1876 the house was owned by Royal T. Bryant, a farmer, and in 1906 by his widow Sarah H. Brvant. Sometime between 1906 and the 1920s the original house was destroyed by fire, for the one that was rebuilt has decorative courses of rusticated cement block of a type popular in the 1920s. In 1928 the property was owned - by William L. McCullough, who owned 21 cows and was apparently in the dairy business. In 1937 the house and 53 acres of land were bought for taxes by Charles Teeter, a professor, and his wife; they altered the house as described above and farmed the land until the late 1940s. The property was then sold and subdivided and, by the time the present owners acquired it in 1955, consisted of just the present house lot. BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES (name of publication, author, date and publisher) Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington, II, p. 715. Boston: n Houghton I,ifflin Company, 1913. Smith, A. Bradford. "Kite End" (1891) . Proceedings of the Lexinc7ton Historical Society II(1900) :104. 1830 map 1852 map 1876 map 1889 map 1906 map 1887 Directory 1906 Directory 1 O - 7