HomeMy WebLinkAboutlinc cole-lane_0011-0017 (formerlly-pleasant street_0069)Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.12/12
FORM B BUILDING
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD
BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Photograph
Locus Map (north at top)
Parcel prior to subdivision; see continuation sheet for
current
Recorded by: Lisa Mausolf for the
Organization: Lexington Historical Commission
Date (month / year): October 2022; May 2023
Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
14-57H Boston
North LEX.2512
Town/City: Lexington
Place:(neighborhood or village):
East Lexington
Address:11-15-17 Linc Cole Lane
(was 69 Pleasant Street)
Historic Name: Wellington House
Uses:Present: single family dwelling
Original: single family dwelling
Date of Construction: 1896
Source:Lexington Minute-Man
Style/Form: Colonial Revival
Architect/Builder: attributed to Hartwell & Richardson
(see text)Exterior Material:
Foundation: fieldstone
Wall/Trim: wood clapboard/wood
Roof:asphalt shingles, rubber
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Barn (demolished 2022)
Major Alterations (with dates):
First half 20th c. – loss of balustrades on roof, porch and
front patio
Condition:good
Moved: no yes Date:
Acreage:0.57 acres
Setting: Located on arterial thoroughfare, set back from
the road on the slopes leading to Moon Hill. Near Wilson
Farms and entrance to Route 2.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 69 PLEASANT ST.
(11-15-17 LINC COLE LANE)
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
LEX.2512
Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
If checked, you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form.
Tax Parcel after 2022 subdivision
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 69 PLEASANT ST.
(11-15-17 LINC COLE LANE)
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 2
LEX.2512
Use as much space as necessary to complete the following entries, allowing text to flow onto additional continuation sheets.
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:
Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community.
Dating to 1895, the Wellington House is a two-story, 3 x 2-bay, hip-roofed dwelling that looks to the Colonial Revival for
inspiration while freely mixing in elements of the Queen Anne style. Sheathed in clapboards, the house is set on a mortared
fieldstone foundation and capped by an asphalt-shingled roof with two hip-roofed dormers punctuating the front roof slope. A
two-story, fluted pilaster set on a paneled base is located at each end of the façade. The cornice is decorated by modillions and
originally the roof was crowned by a balustrade. Centered on the three-bay façade, the center entrance contains double doors
flanked by partial sidelights. The entrance is sheltered by a flat-roofed porch displaying pilasters and pairs of fluted columns set
on brick bases. Historic photos indicate that originally there was an ornate balustrade on the porch roof and the front appears to
have been enclosed by conservatory glass. The stone patio platform fronting the façade appears to have originally been
enclosed by a balustrade.
The variety of windows on the building reflects the concurrent Queen Anne style. The first floor windows on either side of the
entrance porch are double-hung 18/2 with entablature lintels; originally they were flanked by blinds. Centered above the porch is
an ornate multi-pane Palladian window which is flanked on each side by a smaller 24/4 sash that is without an entablature lintel.
The secondary entrance on the southwest elevation displays an entablature surround with Ionic pilasters and partial sidelights;
the adjacent window is an angled bay window while upstairs there are 24/4 windows. The northeast (side) elevation has a six-
sided, single-story projection with 2/1 windows toward the façade and a two-sided bay window on brackets toward the rear.
Behind the main house block, the two-story hip-roofed ell is simpler in its detailing, lacking the modillion cornice and punctuated
by simple 12/2 and 2/2 windows. The foundation is brick. A small single-story wing is located beyond the ell.
Until recently (2022) a single-story detached barn with back shed was located to the west of the house. Along Pleasant Street
there were two distinctive pillars constructed of mortared fieldstone. Each consisted of a taller post with a curving section linking
to a shorter outside post. The stone pillars were removed in 2023. There were also at one time a windmill (not extant), chicken
coop (removed 1960), a Colonial Revival well house (removed about 2017).1
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE
Discuss the history of the building. Explain its associations with local (or state) history. Include uses of the building, and the role(s) the
owners/occupants played within the community.
This house was built about 1895 for Cornelius Wellington and his three sisters after they sold the historic Wellington farm on the
old Concord turnpike that had been in the family since 1707 (177 Concord Avenue, LEX.553). Cornelius Wellington (1828-1909)
was one of thirteen children of Peter and Hepzibah Wellington. He was a dry goods merchant and farmer and also served as
tree warden for many years. Late in life, Cornelius lived here with his three sisters, Mrs. Louisa Peaslee, Miss Eliza Wellington
and Miss Caroline Wellington.2 Caroline Wellington (1820-1916) and Louisa Peaslee (1834-1924) were early members of the
Woman Suffrage League of East Lexington, formed in 1887.3 In July 1895 the Lexington Minute-Man reported that the
Wellington siblings would “move nearer the village and build a house on a lot of land which they own on Pleasant Street”.4
1 Information from Ann Storer, 2023.
2 Lexington Minute-Man, 4 Sept. 1909
3 Lexington Minute-Man, 7 Dec. 1912 and 6 Nov. 1915.
4 Lexington Minute-Man, 14 July 1895.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 69 PLEASANT ST.
(11-15-17 LINC COLE LANE)
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 3
LEX.2512
The Wellingtons only lived here for a few years. In April 1901 Cornelius Wellington took out an advertisement in the Sunday
Herald to sell the property:5
(Note: The dimensions of the house and ell in the ad, exactly match the dimensions in the Lexington assessors records.)
Deed records confirm that in November 1901 the Wellingtons sold the six-year old property to Mrs. Rebecca C. Scudder of
Boston.6 The Wellingtons moved to 12 Clarke Street (not extant). Rebecca Coit Scudder (1818-1915) was the widow of Boston
businessman Marshall Sears Scudder, whom she had married in 1841 and who died in 1875. In 1902 Mrs. Scudder reportedly
made “great alterations and improvements” (unspecified) to the Wellington property including having the well deepened.7 In
1904 a new and convenient cottage was also built on the estate.8 In 1906, Rebecca Scudder sold the property including three
parcels of land with buildings to Mary Boinay (1839-1927), widow of Vendelin Boinay.9
Mary Boinay’s son, Joseph Vendelin Boinay (1871-1938) lived at 69 Pleasant Street (now renamed 11-15-17 Linc Cole Lane) for
many years. He was educated in the Natick, Massachusetts schools and at the age of almost 17 graduated from the Bryant
Stratton Business School in Boston. Upon graduation he became a carriage salesman at Ferd F. French & Co. He later owned
the company which sold automobiles and manufactured carriages until 1915. In 1917 he went into business selling Moon
Touring Cars at 1037 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. J.V. Boinay retired from business in 1925. The Moon Motor Car
Company (1905-1930) was founded by carriage maker Joseph W. Moon and was located in St. Louis, Missouri. The company
had a venerable reputation among the buying public, as it was known for fully assembled, easily affordable mid-level cars using
high-quality parts. Often this meant the manufacturing process required more human intervention, leading to operating losses.
Moon Motor's peak production year was 1925 when the company produced 10,271 vehicles. Moon Motor Car went out of
business at the start of the Great Depression. Boinay was caught with a considerable inventory of cars which he swore he
would not sell for less than the sticker price.
After retiring from the car business in 1925, Joseph Boinay became a farmer, raising crops, horses, cattle, goats, chickens and
exotic birds. He died in 1938 after a fall from an apple tree while picking apples.10 After his death, the property at 69 Pleasant
Street (11-15-17 Linc Cole Lane)was owned by Harry F. Boinay. In 1947 Harry Boinay sold 20 acres of the property to Six
5 Sunday Herald, 14 April 1901, p. 24.
6 Middlesex County Registry of Deeds, Book 2933, Page 265.
7 Lexington Minute-Man, 26 July 1902.
8 Lexington Minute-Man, 15 Oct. 1904.
9 Middlesex County Registry of Deeds, Book 3266, Page 148.
10 Paul F. Gauvreau, “Ferd. F. French & Co., Limited”, The Carriage Journal, Vol. 40, No. 3, May 2002, pp. 111-112/
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 69 PLEASANT ST.
(11-15-17 LINC COLE LANE)
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 4
LEX.2512
Moon Hill, Inc.11 The development took its name from the six Moon cars that were in the barn at the original property in 1947
when TAC (The Architects Collaborative) formed Six Moon Hill.12
After Harry Boinay’s death, the property at 69 Pleasant Street (11-15-17 Linc Cole Lane) was sold by family members Louise
Gauthier and Elise Palis to James and Viola Storer in 1960.13
Over the next fifty years the Storers carefully rehabilitated and restored the historic features of the property. In the early 1970s a
Harvard student doing a research project stopped in to inform the Storers that the design of the house was attributed to the
Boston architectural firm of Hartwell & Richardson. The partnership was established in 1881 by Henry Walker Hartwell (1833-
1919) and William Cummings Richardson (1854-1935). The attribution has not been verified.
James Storer (1927-2016) was the director of the Sylvania Research Lab. He died in 2016 and Viola Storer (1927-2017) the
following year. The property was purchased by Thomas Cataldo in 2022. The land and house have been subdivided into ten
lots on a new street named Linc Cole Lane. Lincoln P. Cole (1918-1999) was a Lexington town selectman, moderator and
served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Boston Globe, various dates.
Findagrave.com
Gauvreau, Paul F. “Ferd. F. French & Co., Limited”, The Carriage Journal, Vol. 40, No. 3, May 2002.
Lexington Directories, various dates.
Lexington Minute-Man, various dates.
Middlesex County Registry of Deeds
“69 Pleasant Street”, SpaceCraftArch.com, May 2022.
Storer, Ann (daughter of James and Viola Storer). Historic photographs and information about house, 2023
Sunday Herald, 14 April 1901.
50th Anniversary of Moon Hill, 1997
U.S. Census, 1850-1950. [Ancestry.com]
Maps
1875 J.B. Beers & Co.
1906 Atlas George H. Walker & Co.
11 Middlesex County Registry of Deeds, Book 7133, Page 126.
12 See Six Moon Hill Historic District (LEX.R)
13 Middlesex County Registry of Deeds, Book 9694, Page 241
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 69 PLEASANT ST.
(11-15-17 LINC COLE LANE)
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 5
LEX.2512
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 69 PLEASANT ST.
(11-15-17 LINC COLE LANE)
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 6
LEX.2512
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 69 PLEASANT ST.
(11-15-17 LINC COLE LANE)
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 7
LEX.2512
Existing Conditions, May 2022
Source: SpaceCraftArch.com
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 69 PLEASANT ST.
(11-15-17 LINC COLE LANE)
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 8
LEX.2512
Existing Conditions, May 2022
Source: SpaceCraftArch.com
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 69 PLEASANT ST.
(11-15-17 LINC COLE LANE)
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 9
LEX.2512
Existing Conditions, May 2022
Source: SpaceCraftArch.com
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 69 PLEASANT ST.
(11-15-17 LINC COLE LANE)
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 10
LEX.2512
Existing Conditions, May 2022
Source: SpaceCraftArch.com
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 69 PLEASANT ST.
(11-15-17 LINC COLE LANE)
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 11
LEX.2512
May 2023 photo (stone pillars have been removed)
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 69 PLEASANT ST.
(11-15-17 LINC COLE LANE)
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 12
LEX.2512
Undated historic photos
Source: Ann Storer
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 69 PLEASANT ST.
(11-15-17 LINC COLE LANE)
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 13
LEX.2512
Undated historic photos
Source: Ann Storer
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 69 PLEASANT ST.
(11-15-17 LINC COLE LANE)
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 14
LEX.2512
Undated historic photos
Source: Ann Storer
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 69 PLEASANT ST.
(11-15-17 LINC COLE LANE)
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 15
LEX.2512
Barn (demolished 2022)
Source: Ann Storer