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INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 171 GRANT STREET
<br /> MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
<br /> 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
<br /> 2226
<br /> 171 Grant Street appears to have been built for Paul F. Bowser, a sports promoter(1886-1960), and his wife Cora (d. 1957),
<br /> who was a world champion woman wrestler before their marriage. Starting his career as a professional wrestler and a harness
<br /> racehorse driver, Bowser was born in Pennsylvania, opened a wrestling school in Ohio in 1912, and moved to Boston in 1922.
<br /> He was a nationally-known, high profile promoter from the 1930s through the 1950s, with an office in downtown Boston. In
<br /> addition to his involvement with wrestling, Bowser was one of the original directors and president of the Bay State Harness
<br /> Horse Racing and Breeding Association, which operated the Bay State Raceway in Foxborough. Residing in Cambridge in
<br /> 1931, the Bowsers are identified at 171 Grant Street by 1934. The property was known as Fair Oaks Farm.
<br /> Bowser also owned a half-mile long horse track and numerous stables, which were located near his house between Grant Street
<br /> and what is now Saddleclub Road. The racetrack and its grandstands had originally been built in 1864 on land belonging to
<br /> Francis B. Hayes.
<br /> The 1940 census shows the childless couple as living alone at 171 Grant Street, but it appears that they had employees living in
<br /> an adjacent house at 169 Grant Street: Jacob Henderson is identified there as manager of a private estate, his wife Mary has
<br /> no occupation listed, and Dwight H. Baker is listed as a horse trainer on a private estate.
<br /> The Bowsers lived at this address at least through 1955. Cora Bowser died in 1957, and Paul Bowser was a resident of
<br /> Cambridge when he died in 1960. By 1965, the house was occupied by George V. Badoian, who was in the real estate
<br /> business, and his wife Victoria. Further research on the life and historical significance of Paul and Cora Bowser is
<br /> recommended.
<br /> BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
<br /> Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Mason Membership Cards, 1733-1990 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com
<br /> Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: Massachusetts Grand Lodge of Masons Membership Cards 1733-1990. New England
<br /> Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.
<br /> Ancestry.com. New York, New York, Marriage Index 1866-1937 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations,
<br /> Inc., 2014. Original data: Index to New York City Marriages, 1866-1937. Indices prepared by the Italian Genealogical Group
<br /> and the German Genealogy Group, and used with permission of the New York City Department of Records/Municipal
<br /> Archives.
<br /> Boston directories: 1929, 1930, 1938, 1951.
<br /> Boston Globe. Obituaries for Cora Bowser(Apr 23, 1957) and Paul Bowser(Jul 18, 1960)
<br /> Cambridge directory: 1931.
<br /> Historic maps and atlases: Walling 1853; Beers 1875; Walker 1889; Stadly 1898; Walker 1906; Sanborn 1908, 1918, 1927,
<br /> 1935, 1935/1950.
<br /> Hornbaker, Tim. "Paul Bowser Biography." Legacyofwrestling.com, 2006. Accessed Jul 24, 2015.
<br /> Kelley, Beverly Allison. Lexington;A Century of Photographs. Boston: Lexington Historical Society, 1980.
<br /> Lexington Directories: 1899, 1908-09, 1922, 1934, 1936.
<br /> Lexington Historical Commission. Lexington Comprehensive Cultural Resources Survey;Period Summaries.
<br /> http://historicsurvey.lexingtonma.gov/index.htm
<br /> Lexington List of Persons: 1935, 1945, 1955, 1965.
<br /> Massachusetts Historical Commission. "MHC Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Lexington." 1980.
<br /> U.S. Census: 1920, 1940.
<br /> Worthen, Edwin B. Tracing the Past in Lexington, Massachusetts. New York: Vantage Press, 1998.
<br /> Continuation sheet 2
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