HomeMy WebLinkAboutbedford-street_0297 FORM B - BUILDING
Assessor's Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION 0071000083 Boston N. 776, 777
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD Town Lexington
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
\ Place (neighborhood or village)
Address 297 Bedford St.
a, to
l Historic Name Reed/Parker House
s Uses: Present Residential
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Original Residential
Date of Construction 1835
X 97
Source Lexington Valuation lists
Style/Form Federal
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Architect/Builder
Exterior Material:
Foundation Granite
o Wall/Trim Wood Clapboard
Roof Asphalt Shingle
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures Barn/Garage
_ Major Alterations(with dates)
Rear addition, rear dormer, rear porch(dates unknown)
ROAD
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0
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Condition Good
Moved ® no [:] yes Date
_ 1
— — —— Acreage 0.3-A.
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Setting On a street with constant traffic in an area of 19th-
and early 20-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.
297 Bedford St. (MHC#776) is one of a number of Federal houses in Lexington and is a well-preserved example. The original
house is.rectangular, two stories, five-by-one bays, and side-gabled with two rear chimneys. It is set on a granite foundation,clad
with wood clapboards, and roofed with asphalt shingles. At the rear is a two-story Beverly jog on a brick foundation, and behind
is a one-story shed-roofed porch on a cement foundation. A shed dormer on the rear slope is attached to the Beverly jog. The
center entrance in the main block has a pedimented surround with dentils, a symmetrical design of applied raised blocks at the base
of the architrave, side pilasters with a definite entasis, and half-length sidelights. Windows are 6/6 double hung sash. On the
interior,there are fireplace surrounds that have a projecting center panel and engaged columns with an entasis similar to that of the
front pilasters, paneling to the chair rail level, and Federal six-panel doors. The P/2-story,two-by-one bay side-gabled barn
(MHC#777)has a cupola vent and is now a two-car garage.
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.
Although the plaque on the front says "James Parker House, ca. 1810,"Lexington assessors' records indicate this house was built
neither by James Parker nor in 1810. Instead, it was built in 1835 by Nathan Reed(1776-1836),who lived in the large brick-
ended Federal now at 282 Bedford St. (MHC#774). It is not clear why Nathan built this house when he already had a large one;
perhaps he wanted to provide a house for the son who would not inherit the homestead. In any event, this house was inherited in
1836 by his son Nathan H. Reed (1805-1854),who apparently lived in it until he sold it in 1844 to none other than James Parker,
so Parker did live in the house although he did not build it. James Parker,who is not listed in the Lexington genealogy so is
probably not related to the Lexington Parkers,was known in Lexington as "Two Penny Parker,"for,when he drove around town
selling eggs, milk, and cheese, he always sold his products for two cents less than any other purveyor. He was apparently also
irascible,yelling at children who stole apples from his trees. In 1885 the house and 30-acre farm was acquired by the Kendalls,
who owned it until financial difficulties forced them to sell it in the 20th century. It was purchased at auction by the Butlers and
they owned it until in 1963 when they sold it to Philip and Mona Banios, the latter a granddaughter of the Smiths in the house at
282 Bedford St.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES ❑see continuation sheet
Banios, Mona,to Nancy Butters, I I August 1992, 12 October 1992. In possession of Nancy Butters, Lexington, MA.
Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington. Revised and continued to 1912 by the Lexington Historical Society.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1913. 2: 565, 567.
Lexington Valuation Lists. 1831-1837.
Middlesex Registry of Deeds. Deeds. Cambridge, MA. 359: 320; 443: 36; 1714: 370.
❑ 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 297 Bedford St.
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD 776' 777
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
SII
Roll #17,Negative 46