HomeMy WebLinkAboutoakland-street_0016 1 AREA FORM NO.
FORM B - BUILDING l H 371
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION l
MA 02108
Wn Lexington
idress 16 Oakland Street
- , ,storic Name Edmund K. Houghton House
;,); ti iIIIIIiItIliltililllilllllllitG6A se: Present residential
Original residential
DESCRIPTION:
)ate 1888
cross streets d��u .,�,., . �__
or geographical features. V Source Hudson, 11, p. 309
Indicate north.
Style Queen Anne
c�
9to Architect
<F
sT aluminum siding
Exterior wall fabric g
OO Outbuildings
Major alterations (with dates)
aQ
Moved Date
Approx. acreage 0.5 acre (23000 ft.2.
Recorded by Anne Grady Setting Street of substantial late nine-
Organization Lexington Historical Commission teenth century residences on argnle lots;
Date March, 1984 this lot has two specimen beech trees.
(Staple additional sheets here)
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE (Describe important architectural features and
evaluate in terms of other buildings within the community.)
Typical of the substantial houses built on =•ieriam Hill in the late
nineteenth century, but with less finish preserved, this house is noteworthy
for its round turret with bell-shaped roof, and its exposed stone chimney deep
within a recess below an overhanging gable. Random ashlar in place of the
usual fieldstone is used for the foundation of the house and the base of the
front and side porches. The side porch is a broad semicircle reiterating_ the
shape of the tower it surrounds.
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 by Edmund Kingsland Houghton in 1888. -Houg+ltfon-
worked-for Georae-Emery-'-s--wh®-lesa tF-drTig company e'I�ea.
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. 309. Boston:
Houghton i,,ifflin Company, 1913.
Lexington Dinute Tan, October 1, 1886.
1^089 atlas
1906 atlas
1887 Directory
1894 Directory
.1699 Directory
1906 Directory
1OM - 7/82
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address
LEXINGTON 16 OAKLAND ST.
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD 371
BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
This house was one of a handful of dwellings constructed on Meriam Hill in 1887 on lots that were sold by D. W.
Muzzey(see also 14,20, 23 &25 Oakland Street). On July 15, 1887 the Lexington Minute-man reported that"Mr. Ellis,
with his steam drill, is rapidly getting the better of a tough job digging the cellar for the house which Dr. Houghton is to
build on Oakland street. It is quite interesting to see the machine at work. A great deal of blasting is required in the
digging of the cellars on this street,but the owners can be sure they have a solid foundation when once completed".
The 1900 Census records list Edmund K. Houghton's occupation as lumber dealer. (It is not clear why the newspaper
refers to him as"Dr.".) In 1900 the Houghton household consisted of Edmund, his wife Flora, daughter Marjory, son
Randall and sister-in-law Ellen Brown. By 1902 Edmund is no longer listed as living here and appears to have moved out
of town(he is living in Ausable,New York in 1920).
In 1910 Flora Houghton is living here with her son-in-law, architect William R. Greeley who had married her daughter
Marjory, son Randall and her sister. Flora Houghton and Ellen Brown were still living here in 1942.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Lexington Directories,various dates.
Lexington Minute-Man,June 3, 1887; July 15, 1887; July 22, 1887.
Sanborn Insurance Maps, Lexington,various dates.
U.S. Census Records, 1900-1930.
Supplement prepared by:
Lisa Mausolf
June 2009