HomeMy WebLinkAboutoakland-street_0002 AREA FORM NO.
FORM B — BUILDING I
H 367
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
294 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON, MA 02108
K n Lexington
3� ' � �� � Y, ress 2 Oakland Street
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-{ = toric Name Milt Merriam House
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Present residential
Original residential
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SCRIPTION:
1894
Source Lexington Minute Man, March 16, 1894
SKETCH MAP
Show property's location in relation Style Shingle Style/Queen Anne
to nearest cross streets and/or
geographical features. Indicate Architect Walter J. Paine of Bost n
all buildings between inventoried P.C. D�(qv)f✓i, L&i
property and nearest intersection. Exterior wall fabric shingles
Indicate no/rth.
Outbuildings garage
QMajor alterations (with dates)
O �ti
r''gk
Moved Date
STe _ Approx. acreage .3 A. (15000 ft-
Recorded by Anne Grady Setting Residential street; intermingling
Organization Lexington Historical Commission of late nineteenth century and more recent
Date March, 1984 houses; the Meriam shoe findings factory
building is across the street.
(Staple additional sheets here)
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE (Describe important architectural features and
evaluate in terms of other buildings within the community.)
Typical of the late nineteenth century development of Meriam Hill, and
particularly well documented, this house draws upon the Shingle Style for its
massing, cruciform gambrel roof extending down over the second floor (called
a duplex gambrel in the contemporary account quoted below) , exterior fieldstone
chimney, and "eyelid" lintel on a second-story window (right side) . Other
features such as the polygonal and semicircular balustraded bay windows, on
the right and left sides respectively, leaded glass windows and deep console
bracket at the right front corner derive from the Queen Anne style.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE (Explain the role owners played in local or state
history and how the building relates to the development of the community.)
Matthew H. Merriam (b. 1824) moved to Lexington before 1875. He resided
first in the Italianate Samuel Chandler mansion on Goodwin Road. When his
partner died in 1880, Merriam relocated his shoe findings factory to Oakland
Street from Charlestown. At the age of 60, Merriam built a new house directly
across from his factory. The architect, WaltertJ. Paine of Boston, had
xinon
designed the Hancock Church bordering the Eree a year earlier. The contractor,
Abram C. Washburn, was Lexington's most prolific carpenter/contractor/speculative
builder in the late nineteenth century. Because Matthew Merriam was one of
Lexington' s most prominent citizens as proprietor of its most successful factory
and trustee of the Lexington Savings Bank, his house was thoroughly described
in the newspaper:
Mr. M.H. Merriam and family removed from their mansion house
off Hancock street to their attractive new home on Oakland
street, last week, Thursday, and are now quite at home in
their new quarters. The house is picturesque in design, is
conveniently planned and is finished inside with much taste.
It is a shingled structure with a duplex gambrel roof, and
one of the most striking features is a handsome outside chim-
ney built of fieldstone and granite, which is built in
conjunction with the foundation story of the large circular
(see Continuation Sheet)
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. 431. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913.
Hurd, D. Hamilton, editor. History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Volume
I, p. 631. Philadelphia: J.W. Lewis and Company, 1890.
Lexington Minute Man, March 16, 1894, July 20, 1894, October 19, 1894.
1889 atlas
1906 atlas
10NI - 7/82
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Community: Form No:
M.4.SSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL CCKIISSION Lexington 367
Office of the Secretary, Boston
Property Name: 2 Oakland Street
Indicate each item on inventory form which is being continued below.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
bay window on the west side of the house, and adds materi-
ally to the pleasing effect. A handsome veranda stretches
across the front of the house, the roof being supported by
a unique arrangement of clustered pillars. The reception
hall is of good size and the staircase effectively arranged,
the finish being in antique oak. The parlor and reception
room is large and a very pleasant room. The finish is
white enamel and the distinctive feature is a handsome mantel
and open fireplace. The dining room is cozy and prettily
decorated in old rose, with a handsome cupboard and sideboard
filling convenient niches. A small room on this floor is
devoted to Mrs. Merriam's special use. The kitchen and its
appointments are perfect, as is also the heating arrangements,
and electric lights and bells add much to the conveniences of
the house. Upstairs there is a study and several excellent
sleeping apartments, while the cupboards, clothes-press and
other commodious closet and storage room would delight the
heart of a housekeeper. The bathroom is a model of neatness
with its porcelain tub and its exposed nickle-plated plumbing,
all open and above board, with no lurking places for disease
germs. It is withal as pretty and compact a home as one
could desire to have.
(Lexington Minute Man, October 26, 1894)
Staple to Inventory form at bottom
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address
LEXINGTON 2 OAKLAND ST.
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD X67
BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
M.H. Merriam only lived at 2 Oakland Street a few years before passing away in January 1898. The house was occupied
briefly by Dr. Edward Rolfe before Edwin C. Stevens purchased the property in 1900. Stevens worked as a buyer and
seller for a Boston molasses company. Edwin and Ida Stevens continued to live here until about 1926.
Later occupants included Edward Fenn(1932),Roger Merryman(1942)and Virginia Murphy(1969-1999).
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Lexington Directories,various dates.
Lexington Minute-Man, Jan. 26, 1898; Sept. 21, 1900
Sanborn Insurance Maps,Lexington,various dates.
Supplement prepared by:
Lisa Mausolf
June 2009