HomeMy WebLinkAboutoakland-street_0017 FORM B - BUILDING AREA FORM NO.�H 372
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
294 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON, MA 02108
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n Lexington
cess 17 Oakland Street
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toric Name Maywood Cottage,
J Jackson House
Present residential
_ - �� a - � Original residential
-- - - - 1ESCRIPTION:
e 1883-1884
;ource Lexington Minute Man, July 13, 1883
SKETCH MAP
Show property's location in relation Style Queen Anne
to nearest cross streets and/or
geographical features. Indicate Architect Allen and Kenway
all buildings between inventoried c_JO 4A Mav Lug Q/'
property and nearest intersection. Exterior wall fabric shingles, clapboards
Indicate north.
Outbuildings
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NMajor alterations (with dates)
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Moved Date
Approx. acreage .8 A. (33100 ft.2-)
Recorded by Anne Grady Setting On the southern slope of Meriam
Organization Lexington Historical Commission Hill; on a street of primarily late
Date March, 1984 nineteenth century residences.
(Staple additional sheets here)
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANNCE (Describe important architectural features and
evaluate in terms of other buildings within the community.)
One of the earliest houses to be built on Meriam Hill and originally a
summer cottage, this house is one of the finest and best preserved examples
of the Queen Anne Style in Lexington. Picturesquely massed and enlivened by
many different window types, the house is perched on bedrock on the precipitous
southern slope of Meriam Hill. A porch with spindled balustrade extends across
the rear and terminates at each end in a polygonal projection. The left hand
end has original glazing (see photograph) . Of particular interest is the
(see Continuation Sheet)
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE (Eal)lain the role owners played in local or state
history and how the building relates to the development of the community.)
The house was built as a summer residence by George Stephen Jackson of
Boston, described as a commission merchant and as a grain broker. (Note: both
the current owner and a neighbor remember Jackson's daughter stating that he
was Superintendent of Schools in Boston) . An article in the local newspaper
reveals how Jackson and his neighbor to the immediate east on Oakland Street,
E.P. Bliss, came to settle in Lexington. They had been summer guests at the
Massachusetts House for several years before purchasing the adjoining lots.
Their experience was not unique. Many of the people who built on Meriam Hill
and its counterpart, Munroe Hill, were first introduced to the town as summer
guests at one of the four hotels. Some built homes for summer use, some as
permanent residences from which they commuted by train to jobs in Boston.
Jackson moved to Lexington permanently c. 1894. Jackson's daughter, Mary Lee,
who lived in the house for many years was active in women's rights.
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. 321. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913.
Lexington Minute Man, May 11, 1883, July 13, 1883, February 8, 1884.
Withey, Henry F. Dictionary of American Architects (deceased) , p. 15.
Los Angeles: Hennessey and Ingalls, Inc. , 1970.
1889 atlas
1906 atlas
1887 Directory
1894 Directory
1899 Directory
1906 Directory (see Continuation Sheet)
lOb1 - 7/82
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Community: Form No:
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL CCNVff SSION Lexington 372
Office of the Secretary, Boston
Property Name: 17 Oakland Street
Indicate each item on inventory form which is being continued below.
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
rectangular two-story bay window on the right side with a decorative lion's
head panel (see photograph) . There are staggered butt shingles on the second
level and clapboards with double-beaded edges on the first level.
The interiors have not been changed. Original wallpaper survives in the
vestibule and the original curtain between dining room and living room remains.
The gas fixtures in the dining room still work. Noteworthy interior features
include a fine-cut brick fireplace in the living room; a dining room fireplace
which is finished with a cast metal frieze of a woman's face in the midst of a
field of flowers and a fireback of similar design; an upstairs fireplace with
coal grate with decorative metal panel of a theatrical mask or grotesque; a
panelled stairhall with elaborate staircase and a painted and stained glass
window on the landing of the stairs. The window, a design of leaves in
brilliant green, incozporates the verse:
If I could put my woods in song
And tell what's there enjoyed
All men would to,my garden throng
And leave the cities void.
An upstairs stained-glass window includes the name "Maywood Cottage."
Plans for the building by Francis Allen and Arthur Kenway, architects,
are in the possession of the owner. Allen later designed the Riverside Church
in New York in partnership with Charles Collens.
The contractor, John May, built the Nous at 19 Oak nd Street at the
same time as this one. May lived in Magnoliaiin�neh2n�3 ss and built many summer
houses there. May was contractor for the houses at 14 and 16 Percy Road and at
6 Stetson Road. He designed the latter house as well.
James S. Merriam, local painter, was awarded the contract for painting
and inside decoration of the house. The date, June 1884, was inscribed on a
rock on the drive shortly after the house was first occupied in April.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Personal communication from Joyce Miller.
Staple to Inventory form at bottom
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address
LEXINGTON 17 OAKLAND ST.
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD 372
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
The obituary of George Stephen Jackson(1841-1903)appeared in the Lexington Minute-man on February 21, 1903. It
states that he was a linguist of great ability and a connoisseur of books and works of art. He was described as"first of all
a gentleman in every sense of the word". Jackson was a grain broker, associated in the 1860s with Scudder&Co., grain
dealers, and was a member of the corn exchange when it was merged with the Boston Chamber of Commerce and was
secretary of the exchange in 1872 and 1873. He later was a partner in the firm of Jackson&Morse but after 1890
represented J.A. Edwards&Co. of Chicago and Prichard&McGourkey of New York. (There is no evidence that he was
ever superintendent of the Boston school system, as was previously reported.) Jackson,his wife and daughter,Mary Lee
were members of the Church of Our Redeemer and the family was well known in society and literary circles(Minute-
man,February 21, 1903). Miss Mary Lee Jackson(b. 1872)was still living at 17 Oakland Street in 1942.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Lexington Directories,various dates.
Lexington Minute-Man,February 21, 1903.
U.S. Census Records, 1900-1930.
Supplement prepared by:
Lisa Mausolf
June 2009
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET ConuMMity: Form No:
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL CUMSSION Lexington 372
Office of the Secretary, Boston
Property Name: 17 Oakland Street
Indicate each item on inventory form which is being continued below.
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