HomeMy WebLinkAboutfern-street_0003 FORM B — BUILDING Assessor's Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
14/128 Boston
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION North
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Town: Lexington
Place: (neighborhood or village)
Photograph East Lexington
Address: 3 Fern Street
y� Historic Name: William B. Foster Property
Uses: Present: residential
F'
;_;} Original: residential
Date of Construction: c.1900 (between 1898 and 1906)
Source: maps
7.1 Style/Form: Queen Anne
Architect/Builder: unknown
Exterior Material:
Foundation: rubble
Wall/Trim: wood clapboard
Topographic or Assessor's Map
Roof: asphalt shingles
4MM w; Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
- - - - -°i& _. shed
:Y ti 60 Major Alterations(with dates):
s 4 6 yrs T, zs,sso 6 Date?—several additions, new windows
84 ryh" 5.f
{T9V 9.98T �
T
s Condition: good
T7 , Moved: no I x I yes Date
Acreage: 0.49 acre
*4 Setting: intersection of Fern and Pleasant Streets
b
7
Recorded by: Lisa Mausolf
Organization: Lexington Historical Commission
Date(month/year): Feb. 2010
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 3 FERN STREET
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 junction of Fern and Pleasant Streets, 3 Fern Street is a 1 'h-story, gablefront dwelling dating to the turn-of-the-
20th century. Set on a rubble foundation, it is sheathed in wood clapboards. The gablefront is spanned by a shed-roofed porch
supported by burned posts with a spindle balustrade. Adding interest to the simple rectangular plan are several polygonal bay
windows and a small gable projecting from the north half of the gablefront. The sidehall entry contains a glass and panel door
and the opening beside it has been replaced by a multi-light picture window. Windows include original 6/6 sash and later
replacement windows. The second story windows on the side elevations are smaller and are tucked under the eaves. Additions
have been added to the north and rear.
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.
This house was constructed for William B. Foster(b. 1846 in Michigan)who lived at 7 Fern Street and purchased the property in
1899 from Eunice Harris. Foster became a resident of Lexington in 1882. He was in the real estate business and was a Mason.
He held various town offices—selectman, fire engineer,board of health, constable and chief of police—and was also a trustee of
the Lexington Savings Bank. The house had not been built at the time of the 1898 map but is depicted on the 1906 map. He
also owned 15 Fern Street.
Foster continued to own the house at 3 Fern Street and rent it out until 1922 when he sold it to Pearl Stoney,widow of Benjamin
Stoney, and formerly of Arlington. Mrs. Stoney continued to own the property until 1952. Later owners included Stanley
Thomas Olen(1952-1960),Vincent Allia(1960-1) and Russell and Marion Morash(1961-1975).
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Hudson, Charles. History of Lexington, Massachusetts,vol. 2,p. 226.
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.
1898, 1906 maps
Continuation sheet 1