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BUILDING FORM ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION ❑ see continuation sheet Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community. 1 John Wilson Ln. is the only Greek Revival cottage in Lexington that is still surrounded by its original farmland. The house (MHC#638) is rectangular with a side ell, 1'/2 stories,three-by-four bays,and has a steeply-pitched front-gabled roof with two side chimneys. The ell is three bays long and has a similarly-pitched side-gabled roof. The house is set on a granite foundation, clad with wood clapboards, and roofed with asphalt shingles. On the west elevation of the ell, a three-bay addition on a granite foundation with a center gable on the south side and front gable on the north connects it to the barn. At the rear of this addition a side-gabled connector attaches a one-car gabled garage on a concrete foundation The barn(MHC#639), which faces west, is 2'/i stories, three-by-six bays, and front-gabled. The main entry, on the facade of the original house, is flanked by full-length sidelights; windows are 2/2 double hung sash. In addition to the sidelights, Greek Revival on the main block include a full entablature on the east elevation, paneled cornerboards, a full-width porch with fluted columns across the facade,and gabled dormers on the east slope of the roof and south slope of the ell roof. The interior has surprisingly elegant finishes for a vernacular farmhouse: a gracefully curving front stairway, pedimented window surrounds on the first floor with paneling that echoes that of the comerboards, and simpler pedimented window surrounds on the second. New finishes on the barn include double glass doors with transom lights in the facade and a small stained glass window in the gable pediment. The shed north of the house is rectangular, 1'/i stories,two-by-one bays with a steeply pitched front-gabled roof, it is clad with wood clapboards and on concrete posts. HISTORICAL NARRATIVE ®see continuation sheet Discuss the history of the building. Explain its associations with local(or state) history. Include uses of the building, and the role(s) the owners/occupants played within the community. Lexington assessors' records indicate that this house was built in 1846 by William Gleason (1805-1881),who in 1840 had purchased the I I-acre farm on which it is located from Stephen Robbins (1758-1847). Robbins had established a fur dressing industry in East Lexington in the early 19th century,thus contributing to the development of East Lexington as an early craft village, and passed the business on to his son Eli (1786-1856). In 1835 the latter built a three-story observation tower on Mt. Independence just northwest of what became the Gleason farm. It was said that one could see in all directions from this tower including, strange as it now seems, as far as Boston Harbor! Eli Robbins reportedly also built at least one road"at great expense" to the top of Mt. Independence and connected the two driveways to the summit with a walk an eighth of a mile long. The road was probably present Bridle Path Ln.,which once was part of a loop that went up the hill from Pleasant St. and down what is now Gibson St. to Massachusetts Ave. Robbins may also have built today's Fern St. The walk connecting the two roads to the summit still exists between two stone walls just west of the lot on which this house is located. In appreciation for Robbins' improvements to Mt. Independence,the East Villagers staged a Fourth of July celebration near the observatory, erecting a 200- foot long tent over a dance floor where dancing went on for three successive evenings. The observatory was also the site of a fair held in August 1839 to raise money for the completion of Follen Church. Again a tent was erected and the event went on for several days, featuring a supper for a dollar a plate, sale of ice cream and candies, rides to the Arlington line and back, and an auction. BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES ®see continuation sheet Bryant, Albert W. "Lexington Sixty Years Ago." Proceedings of Lexington Historical Society 2 (1900): 36-37. Clippings book. "Mt. Independence." Scrapbook of late 1940s—early 1950s clippings from Lexington Minute-man. In possession of Nancy S. Seasholes, Lexington, Mass. Frederica Cushman, personal communication 1998. ❑ Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked,you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form.