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INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address LEXINGTON 50 PERCY ROAD MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD 500 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Albin Rufus Reed died on December 24, 1904 and after his death Mrs. Reed expanded the house and turned it into a boarding house. On August 5, 1905, the Lexington Minute-man included a detailed description of the addition and offered insight into the boarding house clientele. "Wildacre",the home of Mrs. A. R. Reed, in the Munroe Hill district, Lexington,has been developed into a roomy and picturesque boarding house where Mrs. Reed can accommodate a goodly family,who find in her home an atmosphere that has a charm quite original and not usually associated with the old acceptation of the word "boarding house". An addition recently added to Wildacre affords a series of good sized rooms that have a beautiful outlook over the intervale south and west to the hills beyond, giving the place the charm of remoteness and country life in the midst of all the conveniences and comforts of modern living. Another new feature of the house is a spacious dining room which,with the other features of the house, have been artistically designed by Mrs. Reed's son, Mr. Edward G., a young man in Lawrence Scientific School. The wood work is green, put on the walls to give a paneled wainscot effect against a background of natural burlaps. The upper section of the walls above the plate shelf is papered with a forest paper in a tapestry effect. Some rare old pieces of mahogany furniture and blue china accent the other features of the room. The broad piazzas are a popular resort for guests these summer days, and a more charming outlook could not be found. It has been very aptly compared with the Berkshires,with its thickly wooded forestry and wide expanse of undulating country which composes itself into innumerable pictures. Among those at present staying at Wildacre are Miss Caroline Rimmer,Mrs. Durham and Miss Durham, of Belmont; Miss Rogers,Mr. and Mrs. Hardy G. Garrett, Mrs. Smithwick and children, of Boston; Mrs. L.R. Pillsbury, of Somerville; Miss Hayden of Long Island; Mr.Page, of Brookline. Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Lloyd Garrison and Miss Agnes Garrison,who have been taking their meals at Wildacre since their return from Osterville,have now gone to Brookline, Me., for August. Mrs. Reed,who has shown no little courage in moulding her affairs to meet Life's vicissitudes,was Miss Anna Goodwin of Arlington,whose family was a prominent one in that town and widely known both on her father's and mother's side. Directories indicate that Annie Reed continued to operate the Wildacre Inn until about 1922 when she moved to California. Her son, Edward,was also in residence and maintained an architectural practice at 8 Beacon Street in Boston. By 1924 George McAlpine was the owner of the property and proprietor of the inn. Mrs. Daisy McAlpine was still living here in 1942. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Lexington Directories, various dates. Lexington Minute-Man,August 16, 1902;August 5, 1905. Middlesex County Register of Deeds, Cambridge, Mass. Supplement prepared by: Lisa Mausolf April 2009