HomeMy WebLinkAboutallen-street_0031 AREA FORS NO. 11
FORM B - BUILDING X 580
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
294 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON, MA 02108
II Lexington
``' � dress 31 Allen Street
_ — stork Name Tuttle-Carroll Farmhouse
-_ e: Present residential
- -- - Original residential
- - DESCRIPTION:
- ite 1806
David A. Tuttle deposition, Lex-
Source ington Historical Society Archives
SKETCH MAP
Show property's location in relation Style Federal
to nearest cross streets and/or Builder
geographical features. Indicate krchitect David Tuttle
all buildings between inventoried
property and nearest intersection. Exterior wall fabric shingle
Indicate north.
Outbuildings garage; two barns, one
\ with long ell extension on gable end;
large Federal barn (see Carroll farm form)
Major alterations (with dates) bay
added to east end; lean-to acrossthe
rear; porch enclosed (since 1923) ; ell/
snea convertea to Famliy room
Moved Date
Approx. acreage 23660 ft.2
ded by Nancy S. Seashol.es Setting Reached by long driveways from
Organization Lexington Historical Commission either Waltham or Allen streets; removed
Date March, 1984 from other houses.
(Staple additional sheets here)
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE (Describe important architectural features and
evaluate in terms of other buildings within the community.)
This house was originally a tiny two-bay wide, one-bay deep Federal
vernacular farmhouse. It had a large center chimney, and, perhaps because
it was too small to accommodate a more usual stair arrangement, has a still-
existina one-run staircase on an exterior wall. According to the Carrolls,
there is a large tree trunk incorporated into the east wall of the house.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE (Explain the role owners played in local or state
history and how the building relates to the development of the community.)
This house was built in 1806 bre David Tuttle (1782-1845) . He had moved
to Lexingto=n in 1904, worked with the carpenter Nehemiah Wellington (see 272
Concord Avenue and Marrett Road forms) , and in 1805 started his own carpentry
business. in 1806 he bought this land from Ebenezer Munroe, owner of the farm
at 56 A11en Street (see form) , built this house, and married Munroe's daughter,
Esther. David Tuttle was noted for his political opinion: he was anti-Masonic
and pro-Jackson like many of his neighbors. His son, David A. Tuttle, a promin-
ent carpenter and builder in Lexington, in the second half of the nineteenth
century, was born in this house in 1820 and began his carpentry training with
his father in 1834. In 1844 David Tuttle sold the farm. In 1852 it was owned
by T.J. Hardy and in 1876 by Abram B. Smith, also the owner of the Smith farm
at 92 Blossomcrest Road (see form) . In 1887 Abram Smith sold the farm to
Michael Carroll and it has remained in the Carroll family ever since. For many
years the Carrolls farmed the property -- Michael Carroll is listed as a farmer
in the 1887 and 1906 Directories -- but now, aside from keeping a few cows and
steers (see Carroll farm area form) , they operate an extensive car repair business.
The farmhouse has had a relativel-V few alterations over the years. In the
nineteenth century a third bay was added on the east end and a lean-to room
across the rear; a porch on the east end, shown in a 1923 photograph with turned
posts and open brackets, is now enclosed; an ell on the east end, shown in the
same photo, was converted in 1976 to a family room with sliding glass doors.
The center chimney, which contains a supporting beam and was therefore deemed a
fire hazard, is no longer operative and is enclosed within walls.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES (name of publication, author, date and publisher)
Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington II, p. 467. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin, 1913.
Lexington Historical Society Archives - Burr Church Collection, David A. Tuttle
memoirs (1904) .
Smith, A. Bradford. "Kite End" (1891) . Proceedinas of the Lexinaton Historical
Society 11(1900) :116-117.
1852 map
1876 map
1889 map
1906 map
1887 Directory
1906 Directory
10M - 7/82