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FORM B - BUILDING AREA FORM N0.
N 4.88
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
294 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON, MA 02108
n Lexington
ress 39 Highland Avenue
toric Name George S. Norris House
Present residential
ESCRIPTION:
L — was e 1888
Source map and directory research
SKETCH MAP
Show property's location in relation Style
to nearest cross streets and/or �ur I _[��
geographical features. Indicate Architect !`T C l/VG�j'�I by�rt, Cf
all buildings between inventoried
property and nearest intersection. Exterior wall fabric clapboards
Indicate north.
Z Outbuildings barn
ti
c7 Major alterations (with dates)
�L
s�•
A Moved Date
Approx. acreage 5.09 A.
Recorded b Anne Grad Setting Suburban residential street
Y y
Organization Lexington Historical Commission with wooded area to the rear.
Date Parch, 1984
(Staple additional sheets here)
.N
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE (Describe important architectural features and
evaluate in terms of other buildings within the community.)
This side-hall plan house has a high peaked turret, king post treatment
in the gables and small porch with turned posts, cut out brackets and an
interesting stick design filling in the porch eave. A large barn is attached
to the house. Although built by the family of one of the primary developers
of neighboring Bloomfield Street, and similar in scale and materials to the
Bloomfield Street houses, this house is distinguished as the only in the area
of the period to have a turret and as one of only two or three houses in
Lexington to have decorative king posts. Abram 0. Washburn was the builder.
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 for George Smith Norris, older brother of Lexington
developer J.L. Norris. G.S. Norris ran a dairy farm here and owned the
property until after 1906.
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, pp. 495-496. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913.
1889 atlas
1906 atlas
1887 Directory
1894 Directory
LexinKton Minute Man, May 2?, too
0 0 -7
10M - 7/82
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address
LEXINGTON 39 HIGHLAND ST.
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD 488
BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
As documented in the inventory form completed for the house at 36 Forest Street(#442),the design of this house was
based on an illustration published in the Supplement to the Scientific American—Architects and Builders Edition of
October 1886 under the title"An$1800 Dwelling Designed by Frank D.Nichols,Bridgeport, Conn."(see accompanying
illustration). From 1880 to 1905 Scientific American published a monthly magazine intended to inform the public about
good building practices and modern construction techniques. By the mid 1880s it had become the builder's magazine
with the largest circulation in the world.
It appears that either the owner, George Norris, or the builder, Abram C. Washburn, had access to this publication and
based the design of the house at 39 Highland Street on it. In 1896 Washburn chose to the use the same design for the
enlargement of his own house at 36 Forest Street.
George S.Norris owned the property until his death about 1925. His widow Cora was still living here in 1932. Harold
and Alice Ashley were occupying the house in 1942. Their descendants still own the house today.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Lexington Directories,various years.
Lexington Minute-man,June 29, 1901.
Stewart,Barbara C. and Anne Grady. Inventory form for 36 Forest Street, Lexington, 1976 & 1984.
Supplement prepared by:
Lisa Mausolf
March 2009
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address
LEXINGTON 39 HIGHLAND ST.
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD 488
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
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Source: Eugene Mitchell, compiler. American Victoriana. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1979.