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ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE (Describe important architectural features and
<br /> evaluate in terms of other buildings within the community.)
<br /> Local tradition states that part of this house dates from before 1668.
<br /> Certainly the owners had a house on this property by that date (see Historical
<br /> Significance below) . Currently the house exhibits both Second Period and
<br /> Federal features, and no definitive evidence of seventeenth century construction
<br /> has been uncovered. (Because of the importance of the Bridge family in Lexington,
<br /> this house is an excellent candidate for an Historic Structures report which
<br /> might clarify its original construction date.)
<br /> (see Continuation Sheet)
<br /> HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE (Explain the role owners played in local or state
<br /> history and how the building relates to the development of the community.)
<br /> This property is significant for its association with the Bridge family,
<br /> one of Lexington's foremost seventeenth and eighteenth century families. By
<br /> 1643 the site was owned by John Bridge. Bridge (d. 1665) , a prominent citizen
<br /> of Cambridge, was one of the original proprietors of Lexington, then known as
<br /> "Cambridge Farms. " Bridge, who served as selectman in Cambridge for 12 years
<br /> and was Representative to the General Court for four years, was a large landowner
<br /> in several parts of the colony. His statue stands on Cambridge Common.
<br /> .Although John Bridge never lived here, his son, Matthew (b. 1615, d. 1700) ,
<br /> settled here probably by the early 1660s. He enhanced and extended his father's
<br /> holdings. Matthew, Cambridge records make clear, had a house here by 1668 when
<br /> he received permission "to cut timber to repair his house at the Farms" (Worthen
<br /> to Heywood, 1937) . Matthew was one of the wealthiest early residents of
<br /> Lexington and his farm of approximately 600 acres extended from Lincoln Street
<br /> beyond 271 Marrett Road to the east.
<br /> Matthew's son, Matthew (b. 1650, d. 1738) , inherited the property.
<br /> Matthew, Jr. had fought in King Philip's War, was active in obtaining permission
<br /> for the Farms to become a separate parish in 1691 and a separate town in 1713.
<br /> He became the first selectman after the incorporation of the town and served at
<br /> the same time as Town Clerk, Town Treasurer, and Assessor.
<br /> Matthew Bridge, Jr. had before his death provided each of his four sons
<br /> with a house and 100 acres of farmland. Joseph received the house built c. 1722
<br /> (see Continuation Sheet)
<br /> BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES (name of publication, author, date and publisher)
<br /> Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington, revised and continued to
<br /> 1912 by the Lexington Historical Society, Volume II, pp. 53-60. Boston:
<br /> Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913.
<br /> Kelley, Beverly Allison. Lexington, A Century of Photographs, p. 13. Boston:
<br /> Lexington Historical Society, 1980.
<br /> Letter from Edwin B. Worthen to Mrs. Sidney B. Heywood, April 9, 1937. Worthen
<br /> Collection, Cary Memorial Library, Lexington, Massachusetts.
<br /> Notes made by Roland Gabisch. Lexington Historical Commission files.
<br /> Scigliano, Anne R. "The Old House -- Memorial to the Past." Lexington Minute
<br /> Man, October 16, 1969.
<br /> Worthen, Edwin B. , Jr. "The Bridge Family and Lexington." Written for the use
<br /> of the Lexington School Committee, 1964. Worthen Collection, Cary Memorial
<br /> Library, Lexington, Massachusetts.
<br /> 1OM - 7/82
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