Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutforest-street_0040 FORM B - BUILDING Assessor's Number iJSGS Quad Area(s) Form Number r,. 0049000136 Boston N. 681 Town Lexington m N Place (neighborhood or village) i i Address 40 Forest St. \I� Historic Name Ell of Amos Muzzey House Uses: Present Residential Original Residential ---__ Date of Construction ca. 1834 Source Lexington Survey Form#444; interior inspection Mir a Style/Form Architect/Builder 1 � Exterior Material: Foundation Concrete Block on fieldstone Wall/Trim Wood Clapboard y t„ Roof Asphalt Shingle Outbuildings/Secondary Structures Garage, Gazebo Major Alterations (with dates) Rear additions, front porch enclosed(dates unknown) 6 �0 N it Condition Good Moved ❑ no ® yes Date 1894 c; Acreage 0.4_A. Setting At the back of a lot in a neighborhood of closely spaced late 19th-century houses Recorded by Nancy S. Seasholes Organization Lexington Historical Commission Date(month/year) March 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. 40 Forest St. is one of several ells in Lexington that have been separated from their original house and moved to a new location (other examples are at 29 Hayes Ln. [MHC#6681, 15 Belfry Terr. [MHC#683], and 9-11 Cedar St. [MHC#688]; in this case,the ell was placed right behind its associated horse. The former ell is now a rectangular house,two stories,three-by-one bays,and side-gabled. At the rear is a front gabled two-story addition with an asymmetrical roof and a side chimney, a second- story overhang on the north elevation, a one-story gabled addition on a concrete block foundation at the rear,and a one-story addition on concrete posts on the south elevation. The main entry is under a full-width enclosed porch on the facade;windows are 1/1 double hung sash. There is a two-story three-sided oriel on the south elevation. At the rear of the property is a tiny front- gabled one-car garage and a shingled and screened octagonal gazebo. 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. This house was originally the ell of the Amos Muzzey House, which now stands right in front of it on the same lot with the address 42 Forest St. (MHC#444). The Amos Muzzey House was probably built in the second quarter of the 18th century and has since been moved twice. The house originally stood on Massachusetts Ave. on the site of what is now the Edison Station,that is,on the northwest corner of Massachusetts Ave. and Grant St. In 1834 Benjamin Muzzey moved the Amos Muzzey House to some land he owned on Waltham St., now the northeast corner of Waltham St. and Vine Brook Rd. where the house now at 52 Waltham St. (MHC#20) is located, and in 1835 built a new house on the Massachusetts Ave. site(see 14 Glen Rd. South [MHC#6791 form). This ell was probably built soon after the Amos Muzzey House was moved to Waltham St., for an interior inspection revealed that the roof is framed with principal rafters nailed to a center ridge board, a type of construction characteristic of the early to mid-19th century. When the Amos Muzzey House was first moved to Waltham St. it was occupied by the foreman of Benjamin Muzzey's farm, a Mr. Hill, but for much of the 19th century it was owned by Isaac Huffinaster or his heirs. Then, in 1894 Bradley C.Whitcher, who owned a grain mill near what is now Depot Square, bought the property on Waltham St. and, since he intended to build a new house on the lot,William Glenn moved the Amos Muzzey House to a lot that he, Glenn, owned at what is now 42 Forest St. BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES ❑see continuation sheet "Amos Muzzey House Gets Historic Tablet from DAR." Lexington Minute-man, 26 April 1951. Clippings book. "Muzzey House." Scrapbook of late 1940s—early 50s clippings from Lexington Minute-man. In possession of Nancy S. Seasholes, Lexington, MA. Muzzey,Helen. Story of the Homestead. In possession of Kathy Mockett and John Oberteuffer, Lexington, MA. Whipple, S. Lawrence. Reminiscences of Bernice Mulvay, 3/22/84. In possession of S. Lawrence Whipple, Lexington, MA. Worthen, Edwin B. Notes on buildings burned,torn down, and moved. "Houses"file,Worthen Collection. Cary Library, Lexington, Mass. #33 ❑ 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 40 Forest St. MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 681 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 0212$ HISTORICAL NARRATIVE (continued) When he moved the house, Glenn detached the ell and converted it to a separate residence behind the main house with the address 40 Forest St. Glenn was a carpenter who had financial difficulties;he lived next door at 38 Forest St. and rented out the Amos Muzzey House at 42 Forest St. and its ell at 40 Forest St. For many years Glenn's daughter,Bernice Mulvay, and her husband lived in this house at 40 Forest St. When the house was moved to this location in 1894 it was set on a fieldstone foundation;the present concrete block foundation is set on top of the fieldstones and was installed by the present owner when he replaced rotting sills.