HomeMy WebLinkAboutbedford-street_0265 FORM B - BUILDING
Assessor's Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION 1007100089A IBoston N. L—i 773
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD Town Lexington
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
s,X Place (neighborhood or village)
Address 265 Bedford St./9 North Hancock St.
? Ito
Historic Name Nathan H. Reed House
}!)s Uses: Present Multi-Family Residential
Original Residential
Date of Construction 1844
III Y Source Lexington Valuation lists
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Style/Form Greek Revival
71
Architect/Builder
4
Exterior Material:
Foundation Granite/Fieldstone/Brick
to Wall/Trim Wood Clapboard
Roof Asphalt Shingle
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures
Major Alterations(with dates)
Rear additions (dates unknown)
d o
i
Condition Good
Moved ® no ❑ yes Date
,ti• Acreage 0.2 A.
N BEDFORD
%� 1 )t,1 F, s l /�.•� 't< Setting At the corner of a street with constant traffic and a
major side street;across from a gas station and in a
neighborhood of 19th-and 20th-century houses
Recorded by Nancy S. Seasholes
Organization Lexington Historical Commission
Date(month/year) April 1998
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.
BUILDING FORM
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION ❑see continuation sheet
Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community.
265 Bedford St./9 North Hancock St. is one of only 10 side-gabled Greek Revival cottages in Lexington and is distinguished by its
long rear ell. The main block is 1'/z stories, five-by-one bays, and side-gabled with a rear chimney;the front-gabled rear ell is one-
by-five bays. The original house is set on granite and fieldstone foundations, clad with wood clapboards, and roofed with asphalt
shingles. At the rear of the ell are a one-story two-bay shed-roofed addition on a cement foundation and a one-story three-sided
bay on a cement foundation; on the south elevation of the ell is a one-bay shed-roofed addition over a stairway. The center
entrance surround is pedimented and flanked by full-length sidelights; a secondary entry is located on the north elevation under a
porch on a brick foundation with a roof supported by Tuscan posts; windows are 6/6 double hung sash. There are two gabled and
one shed-roofed dormer on the front slope of the main block, similar dormers on the north slope of the ell, and a long shed-roofed
dormer the entire length of the south slope. In addition to the main entry surround, Greek Revival finishes on the main block
include a wide frieze board and wide pilastered comerboards.
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE ❑ see continuation sheet
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.
Lexington assessors' records indicate that this house was built in 1844 by Nathan H. Reed (1805-1854), who had been living in
the house now at 297 Bedford St. (MHC#776). Nathan bought the land on which this house is located in 1841 without any
buildings on it. In 1844, however,when he sold his house at 297 Bedford St. to James Parker, he was still assessed for a house,
indicating that he had another one, probably this house and probably built that year. After Nathan's early death, his widow sold
the house; it was owned for several years at the turn of the century by George W. Sampson, an insurance agent and a Lexington
selectman and assessor.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES ❑ see continuation sheet
Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington, Revised and continued to 1912 by the Lexington Historical Society.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1913. 2: 604.
Lexington Directory, 1899.
Lexington Valuation Lists. 1840-1849.
Middlesex Registry of Deeds. Deeds. Cambridge, MA. 408: 169; 686: 199; 2490: 521; 2587: 554.
❑ Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked,you must attach a completed National
Register Criteria Statement form.
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address
Lexington Bedford • N. Hancock
HISTORICALMASSACHUSETTS •
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
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' •ll#1,Negative 36A