HomeMy WebLinkAboutbennington-road_0007 AREA FORM N0.
rORM B - BUILDING 0 511
ASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
_94 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON, MA 02108
Lexington
7 Bennington Road
21
:otic Name Stevens House
n
-.- - Present residential
residential_ Original
ESCRIPTION:
e 1896
— � - iource directory research
SKETCH MAP
Show property's location in relation Style Shingle Style
to nearest cross streets and/or
geographical features. Indicate Architect
all buildings between inventoried
property and nearest intersection. Exterior wall fabric shingles
Indicate north.
a Outbuildings
1,0 T Roy`
Major alterations (with dates)
M
z
�Z Moved Date
Approx. acreage 67919 ft.2
Recorded by Anne Grady Setting Residential street; substantial
Organization Lexington Historical Commission houses of similar or slightly later
Date March, 1984 construction date.
(Staple additional sheets here)
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE (Describe important architectural features and
evaluate in terms of other buildings within the community.)
This house is typical of the substantial houses being built on Munroe
Hill at the turn of the twentieth century. Shingle Style features of this
house include the gambrel roof which extends down to encompass the second
level, the recessed band or diamond-paned windows in the gable ends with
shingles on either side curved in to meet the recess, and overhanging eave
with shingled brackets.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE (Explain the role owners played in local or state
history and how the building relates to the development of the community.)
The house was built by Ralph Leslie Stevens, a cotton merchant in Boston.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES (name of publication, author, date and publisher)
Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington, revised and continued to
1912 by the Lexington Historical Society, Volume II, p. 671. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913.
Personal communication from Anne Blackwell.
10M - 7/82
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address
LEXINGTON 7 BENNINGTON ROAD
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD S 11
BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
This house appears to have been constructed for Ralph Leslie Stevens between 1902 and 1904. Ralph L. Stevens was the
son of Abram W. Stevens and on October 6, 1900 married Maria Cary Clarke. On June 29, 1901 the newspaper reported
that Rev.A.W. Stevens of Bloomfield Street had purchased land on the summit of Mt. Vernon,near Mr. Sias' new
residence, and intends building on the premises in the fall"(Minute Man, June 29, 1901,p. 1). In the 1902 directory,A.
W. Stevens is still living on Bloomfield Street and Ralph is living at the Munroe Estate on Mass.Avenue. The next
available directory, 1906, does show Ralph Stevens in residence at 7 Bennington Road while there is no listing for A.W.
Stevens. In August 1905 a brief mention of the gardens of Thomas Sias(4 Bennington Road), also notes the gardens of
Ralph L. Stevens, opposite the Sias place("picturesque and inviting and also enjoys the same superb view"). Both Ralph
and A.W. Stevens were still living at 7 Bennington Road in 1913.
By 1928 the house was owned and occupied by Sydney Wrightington, a lawyer, and his wife Marian. The property was
later inherited by Ann W. Blackwell who conveyed it to W. Russell and Susan Neuman in 1980.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Lexington Directories,various dates.
Lexington Minute-Man,June 29, 1901; August 5, 1905.
Middlesex County Register of Deeds, Cambridge, Mass.
Supplement prepared by:
Lisa Mausolf
January 2009