Laserfiche WebLink
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANNCE (Describe important architectural features and <br /> evaluate in terms of other buildings within the community.) <br /> One of the earliest houses to be built on Meriam Hill and originally a <br /> summer cottage, this house is one of the finest and best preserved examples <br /> of the Queen Anne Style in Lexington. Picturesquely massed and enlivened by <br /> many different window types, the house is perched on bedrock on the precipitous <br /> southern slope of Meriam Hill. A porch with spindled balustrade extends across <br /> the rear and terminates at each end in a polygonal projection. The left hand <br /> end has original glazing (see photograph) . Of particular interest is the <br /> (see Continuation Sheet) <br /> HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE (Eal)lain the role owners played in local or state <br /> history and how the building relates to the development of the community.) <br /> The house was built as a summer residence by George Stephen Jackson of <br /> Boston, described as a commission merchant and as a grain broker. (Note: both <br /> the current owner and a neighbor remember Jackson's daughter stating that he <br /> was Superintendent of Schools in Boston) . An article in the local newspaper <br /> reveals how Jackson and his neighbor to the immediate east on Oakland Street, <br /> E.P. Bliss, came to settle in Lexington. They had been summer guests at the <br /> Massachusetts House for several years before purchasing the adjoining lots. <br /> Their experience was not unique. Many of the people who built on Meriam Hill <br /> and its counterpart, Munroe Hill, were first introduced to the town as summer <br /> guests at one of the four hotels. Some built homes for summer use, some as <br /> permanent residences from which they commuted by train to jobs in Boston. <br /> Jackson moved to Lexington permanently c. 1894. Jackson's daughter, Mary Lee, <br /> who lived in the house for many years was active in women's rights. <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, p. 321. Boston: <br /> Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913. <br /> Lexington Minute Man, May 11, 1883, July 13, 1883, February 8, 1884. <br /> Withey, Henry F. Dictionary of American Architects (deceased) , p. 15. <br /> Los Angeles: Hennessey and Ingalls, Inc. , 1970. <br /> 1889 atlas <br /> 1906 atlas <br /> 1887 Directory <br /> 1894 Directory <br /> 1899 Directory <br /> 1906 Directory (see Continuation Sheet) <br /> lOb1 - 7/82 <br />