BUILDING FORM
<br /> ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION ❑see continuation sheet
<br /> Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community.
<br /> 51 Lowell St. is one of several L-shaped Italianate farmhouses in Lexington, but the only one with Queen Anne finishes. The
<br /> cross-gabled house(MHC#655)has a rear ell, is 2'/2 stories, and has two ridge chimneys. It is set on a brick foundation,clad
<br /> with wood clapboards and wood shingles, and roofed with slate. The main entry is now under a porte cochere on the south
<br /> elevation,a secondary entry is located in the reentrant angle,and windows are 2/1 double hung sash. Some Italianate finishes still
<br /> remain: the paired curved brackets at the cornice and single brackets at the corners,the shed-style window hoods roofed with
<br /> fishscale slates,and a double former front door in the reentrant angle. More prominent are the Queen Anne finishes: diamond
<br /> patterned shingles above the first story, second-story walls that flare outward at the base, a distinctive scroll design along with
<br /> flowers and paterae on the barge boards, another distinctive design on the panels of the projecting bays,turned porch posts with
<br /> cut-out brackets, a spindle balustrade, and a spindle frieze under the porte cochere. The attached barn(MHC#656)with a cupola
<br /> vent is now a residence with a two-car garage.
<br /> HISTORICAL NARRATIVE ® see continuation sheet
<br /> Discuss the history of the building. Explain its associations with local(or state) history. Include uses of the building, and the
<br /> role(s) the owners/occupants played within the community.
<br /> This house was built in 1872 by Josiah H. Reed(1827-1890),who had grown up in the Reed homestead house at 72 Lowell St.
<br /> (MHC#658). After his father's death in 1864, Josiah's brother, Reuben W.,apparently lived at the homestead farm and Josiah
<br /> lived in Somerville before building this house. By 1881,however, Reuben W. had moved to Somerville and Josiah had acquired
<br /> the Reed homestead farm; Josiah then sold this house in 1882 to a William Litchfield. It was undoubtedly Litchfield who made the
<br /> Queen Anne additions to the house and he made many other changes as well. An August 1882 item in the Lexington Minute-man
<br /> related : "Mr. Litchfield contemplates making quite extensive improvements and is now engaged in sinking a well,which will not
<br /> be less than forty feet deep,through the ledge, and when this is finished he will erect a wind mill to pump water to the highest point
<br /> of his land,where he will build a reservoir to contain it for domestic and other purposes. He will also have an artificial duck pond
<br /> in front of his residence. A new barn has been built for him this last spring. When finished, this will be another beautiful estate."
<br /> In 1893 Litchfield's estate included the house, barn,windmill (built in 1889), 3/, acre mowing and tillage, 8 acres pasture, 3
<br /> horses, 1 cow, 60 fowl, and 3 carriages.
<br /> BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES ❑ see continuation sheet
<br /> Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington. Revised and continued to 1912 by the Lexington Historical Society.
<br /> Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1913. 2: 568.
<br /> Lexington Minute-man, 26 August 1882.
<br /> Lexington Valuation Lists. 1872-1873.
<br /> Middlesex Registry of Deeds. Deeds. Cambridge, MA. 1582: 27; 1595: 55, 56.
<br /> Sileo, Thomas P. Research on Monahan House, Lowell St. In possession of Thomas P. Sileo, Chelmsford, MA.
<br /> Sullivan, Mark. "Family Feuds over Historic Home." Boston Globe, 26,March, 1995.
<br /> ❑ Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked,you must attach a completed National
<br /> Register Criteria Statement form.
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