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HomeMy WebLinkAboutoakland-street_0007 t FORM B - BUILDING In Area no. Form no. MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION A -F. 4 3" Office of the Secretary, State House, Boston Lexington 7 Oakland Street MzAr i , - tt use Lexington Press owner It -ce_/V) l h UTA-iYIGWI G11�1.2l�� lJ 0-> �r1l "i Z. 1V1GLt/. LJL QW 011GLL,L1 VL IJ1111U1L16 LLV 0.I.LVI3 - - --- -- 1 / //t.n J�/t 6Q,&h, b 4 in relation to nearest cross streets and other buildings. Indicate north. Exterior wall fabric flush boarding Outbuildings (describe) ;. _ Other features North end of building is old �( barn, moved from Goodwin Rd. (Hancock Clarke District - MHC X6101 (over) Altered Date Moved Yes pGe/'�� Date 1880's ' - - 5. Lot size -- One acre or less x Over one acre 1��---_ Approximate frontage 100' Approximate distance of building from street 35' O NOT WRITE IN THIS SPACE 6. Recorded by E. W. Reinhardt USGS Quadrant Organization Lexington Historical Commission HC Photo no. Date 12/75 (over) qM-i-7q-unF1465 (90M-2 76) 7. Original owner (if known) Meriam Original use Shoe Findings Factory Subsequent uses (if any) and dates 8. Themes (check as many as applicable) Aboriginal Conservation Recreation Agricultural Education Religion Architectural Exploration/ Science/ The Arts settlement invention Commerce Industry x Social/ Communication Military humanitarian Community development Political Transportation 9. Historical significance (include explanation of themes checked above) Oakland St. opened, 1882 This is the present office of the Lexington Press; it was the former barn on the estate of Nathaniel Merriam, Goodwin Road. S. Lawrence Whipple, 1984 Barn has gable end to street, one round-headed window with wooden 'keystone' in gable; first floor windows w. flat projecting lintels, lice' each side of projecting entrance porch. Entrance has triangular pediment. Long ell to left of entrance, two Story factory. 10. Bibliography and/or references (such as local histories, deeds, assessor's records, early maps, etc.) Ed Worthen, Calender History. p. 85 Robert Outerbridge, present owner of 8 Goodwin Rd. , orig. site of barn INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address LEXINGTON 7 OAKLAND ST. MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD A, H 38 BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The property at 7 Oakland Street is significant as the site of one of Lexington's few major manufacturing establishments in the late 19th and early 20"'century. In 1882 Matthew H. Merriam moved his business which had been originally established in Charlestown in 1857 and constructed a single-story factory measuring 200 x 35 feet on this site for the manufacture of bindings and trimmings for the shoe industry. The building was constructed by Franklin Patch. An article appearing in the Lexington Minute-man on January 20, 1883 provides a detailed description of the construction of the building: The building is quite a model structure, being 200 feet long by 35 wide, one story,the roof being made of two- inch grooved and tongued plank, covered with tarred paper and shingled. The roof is supported by trusses and "ship's knees," so that the entire space is like one long,high-roofed hall. The space between the walls and floors, for some feet, are filled with cement,making them air tight and preventing mice or rats from gaining access, and the building is evidently capable of being picked up and launched on the water without fear of injury to it...Nearly all the work us accomplished by machinery,which is carried by means of a single shaft running the whole length of the building, a ten horse power engine applying the power in the centre,the boilers, etc.,being in a small building outside, at this point. The engine also supplies an immense water tank in the top of the building from which it is drawn off,by means of pipes,to closets, sinks, etc., as required. At the time of construction, a total of twenty-five men and women were employed. By 1890 the number had increased to thirty or thirty five workers, most of whom were women. In 1890 about half a million square feet of fine leather and morocco, and two hundred thousand yards of cotton cloth, including enameled cloth, Silesia and fine cambric,were being used in the factory each year, producing about eighteen million yards of goods. In 1890 it was said to be the largest and best equipped of its kind in the country and its products were sold to markets throughout the U.S. and abroad(Hurd: 631). M.H. Merriam&Co. was still in operation at the time of the 1935 Sanborn map. In 1947 the property at 7 Oakland Street was sold to the Adams Press(later Lexington Press). In May 2004 Supportive Living purchased the building and renovated it to accommodate fifteen persons with brain injuries. It is now known as"Douglas House". BIBLIOGRAPHY: Hinkle,Alice and Andrea Cleghorn. Life in Lexington, 1946-1995. Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington,revised and continued to 1912 by the Lexington Historical Society, Vol. 2,p. 316. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913. Hurd, Duane Hamilton. History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Boston: J.W. Lewis&Co., 1890. Lexington Minute-Man,Jan. 20, 18 83. Sanborn Insurance Maps, Lexington,various dates. Supplement prepared by: Lisa Mausolf March 2009 INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address LEXINGTON 7 OAKLAND ST. MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD A, H 3g BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The property at 7 Oakland Street is significant as the site of one of Lexington's few major manufacturing establishments in the late 19th and early 20th century. In 1882 Matthew H. Merriam moved his business which had been originally established in Charlestown in 1857 and constructed a single-story factory measuring 200 x 35 feet on this site for the manufacture of bindings and trimmings for the shoe industry. The building was constructed by Franklin Patch. An article appearing in the Lexington Minute-man on January 20, 1883 provides a detailed description of the construction of the building: The building is quite a model structure,being 200 feet long by 35 wide, one story,the roof being made of two- inch grooved and tongued plank, covered with tarred paper and shingled. The roof is supported by trusses and "ship's knees," so that the entire space is like one long,high-roofed hall. The space between the walls and floors, for some feet, are filled with cement,making them air tight and preventing mice or rats from gaining access, and the building is evidently capable of being picked up and launched on the water without fear of injury to it...Nearly all the work us accomplished by machinery,which is carried by means of a single shaft running the whole length of the building, a ten horse power engine applying the power in the centre,the boilers, etc.,being in a small building outside, at this point. The engine also supplies an immense water tank in the top of the building from which it is drawn off,by means of pipes,to closets, sinks, etc., as required. At the time of construction, a total of twenty-five men and women were employed. By 1890 the number had increased to thirty or thirty five workers,most of whom were women. In 1890 about half a million square feet of fine leather and morocco, and two hundred thousand yards of cotton cloth, including enameled cloth, Silesia and fine cambric,were being used in the factory each year,producing about eighteen million yards of goods. In 1890 it was said to be the largest and best equipped of its kind in the country and its products were sold to markets throughout the U.S. and abroad(Hurd: 631). M.H. Merriam& Co. was still in operation at the time of the 1935 Sanborn map. In 1947 the property at 7 Oakland Street was sold to the Adams Press(later Lexington Press). In May 2004 Supportive Living purchased the building and renovated it to accommodate fifteen persons with brain injuries. It is now known as "Douglas House". BIBLIOGRAPHY: Hinkle,Alice and Andrea Cleghorn. Life in Lexington, 1946-1995. Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington,revised and continued to 1912 by the Lexington Historical Society, Vol. 2,p. 316. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913. Hurd,Duane Hamilton. History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Boston: J.W. Lewis &Co., 1890. Kelley, Beverly Allison. Lexington: A Century of Photographs. Lexington Historical Society, 1980. Lexington Minute-Man,Jan. 20, 1883. Sanborn Insurance Maps,Lexington,various dates. Supplement prepared by: Lisa Mausolf March 2009 INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address LEXINGTON 7 OAKLAND ST. MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD A, H 3g BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 AN * k $ # ^ 01 Undated view of Merriam's Factory, 7 Oakland Street Source: Beverly Allison Kelly,Lexington: A Century of Photographs. Lexington Historical Society, 1980,p. 22 INVENTORY 1 ' CONTINUATION Property Address LEXINGTONOAKLAND HISTORICALMASSACHUSETTS • • MASSACHUSETTSBUILDING • 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD BOSTON, 02125 BEEN J _ a Oakland Street,March 2009.