HomeMy WebLinkAboutbridle-path_0016 FORM B — BUILDING Assessor's Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
14/126 Boston
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION North
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Town: Lexington
Place: (neighborhood or village)
Photograph East Lexington
Address: 16 Bridle Path
Historic Name:
x = Uses: Present: residential
WE m~m ffffd� Original: residential
Date of Construction: late 18th to early 19th C.
Source: visual estimate
Style/Form:
_ nrt Architect/Builder: unknown
t' Exterior Material:
- Foundation:
Wall/Trim: wood clapboards
Topographic or Assessor's Map Roof: asphalt shingles
a Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
none
F
7 -
.
_
60 Major Alterations(with dates):
a = r Date? -additions
49-,
121 Condition: good
Moved: no x yes Date
Acreage: 0.49 acre
Setting: uphill from Pleasant Street on narrow
residential lane
's _
Recorded by: Lisa Mausolf
Organization: Lexington Historical Commission
Date(month/year): May 2008
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 16 BRIDLE PATH
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
If checked,you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form.
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:
Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community.
Located at the top of the hill, setback from a small,residential lane, 16 Bridle Path is a 1 1/2-story cottage which apparently
dates to the late 18th or early 19th century. Sheathed in clapboards,the 18'x 34' structure has a five-bay fagade which is fronted
by a single-story porch supported by thin posts. The center entrance is flanked by partial sidelights and the windows contain 6/6
sash. The front roof slope has seen the addition of a shed dormer and there are later additions to the east and rear.
Little additional information concerning the structure can be discerned from the public way although the house's relationship to
prominent East Lexington resident Eli Robbins,may make it worthy of additional investigation.
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.
According to Worthen, "Bridle Path"or the Mountain Road as it was earlier known,was built by Eli Robbins(d.1856). This
house probably also built by Robbins. This and several other buildings on Massachusetts Avenue remained in the family for
many years and was rental property. The 1875, 1889 and 1906 maps indicate that it was still owned by Robbins descendants
(Mrs. Stone). The 1853 map labels the house as"Sanderson".
In 1852 Worthen reports that Mrs. Mary Sanderson died in this house, at the age of 104 years old. She was at the time living
with her daughter-in-law, Esther Sanderson. On April 19, 1775 Mary was living with her husband Samuel at what is now 1314
Massachusetts Avenue,next to the Munroe Tavern. (The story of her encounter with a British soldier she found in her house on
that day is well documented in vol. 1 of the Proceedings of the Lexington Historical Society.) She had left Lexington in 1776
and returned to East Lexington in 1837.
In the late 19th and early 20th century Worthen indicates that the house was occupied by Otis Harrington(1834-1922), a
stonemason who immigrated from Ireland in the 1850s. He lived here with his wife Ann and children. His son Bart was also a
stonemason.
By the 1920s the house was occupied by Frank Krantz. Clara Farnham was living here in 1942. Later owners included Richard
&Martha Schriefer(1965-1983).
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Hudson, Charles. History of Lexington, Massachusetts,vol. 2,p. 286.
Lexington Directories,various dates.
Middlesex County Registry of Deeds, Cambridge,Mass.
U.S. Census,various years.
Worthen, Edwin B. Tracing the Past in Lexington, Massachusetts. New York: Vantage Press, 1998.
1853, 1875, 1889, 1906 maps
Continuation sheet 1
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 16 BRIDLE PATH
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
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1875 map—showing owned by Mrs. Stone
Continuation sheet 2