HomeMy WebLinkAboutpleasant-street_0130 AREA FORM N0.
FORM B - BUILDING
551
?MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
294 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON, MA 02108
711
>wn Lexington
t f�
1dress 130 Pleasant Street
David Wellington Homestead,-
.stork Name
1775 House"
o >e: Present school
`_ - _ = Original residential
- _- DESCRIPTION:
m _ ite c. 1805
-_ Source stylistic analysis
SKETCH MAP
Show property's location in relation Style Federal
to nearest cross streets and/or
geographical features. Indicate Architect
all buildings between inventoried
property and nearest intersection. Exterior wall fabric vinyl siding
Indicate north. 100-T t a
IVY Outbuildings none
Major alterations (with dates) two-story
\�\ rear ell; one-story wings on both ends of
s�� \ original house; one-story ell at rear
Q� Moved Date
Approx. acreage 2.1 A.
Recorded by Nancy S. Seasholes Setting Near 1960s residential development
Organization Lexington Historical Commission but isolated at the end of an exit ramp of
Date March, 1984 and next to a major six-lane highway.
(Staple additional sheets here)
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE (Describe important architectural features and
evaluate in terms of other buildings within the community.)
Very little remains of either the original setting or exterior finishes
of this early Federal brick-ended farmhouse. Nonetheless, its style is still
recognizable in its five-bay wide, two-bay deep profile; low hip roof; and two
end chimneys. The elliptical fanlight and sidelights around the door apprear
to be original, though the doorway itself has probably been moved forward and
the columns and portico added at a later date.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE (Explain the role owners played in local or state
history and how the building relates to the development of the community.)
Despite the fact that this house has "1775" written on one chimney and is
known as the "1775 House" (a holdover from the days when it was a restaurant
by that name) , all other evidence indicates that it was built in the early
Federal period. Photos taken in the 1890s and 1923 show that the original house
had brick ends. The 1890s photo indicates that at that time the rear addition
was one-and-a-half stories with a lean-to roof; by 1923 this addition was
two-storied and flat-roofed as it is now. In 1923 the original house and the
rear addition had a Federal frieze trim and the addition had balustrade around
the roof; both are now gone. Since 1923 many more additions have been made to
the building to accommodate its use first as a restaurant and now as a nursery
school: one-story wings on both ends of the house and an ell on the rear
addition. Most of the additions are on fieldstone foundations while the original
house is on granite.
This house, which is on the 1830 map, belonged to David wellington (1771-
(1860) , a distant cousin of the Wellingtons in the homestead on Concord Avenue
(see 177 Concord Avenue form) . David Wellinaton was married in 1805, which
suggests a possible date for the construction of this house. He was known as
"Captain David," was a tanner as well as a farmer, and served as deacon of the
First and Follen churches. In 1876 the house was owned by F. wellington,
presumably David's son Francis (1815-1881) , the 1889 map does not indicate an
owner, and in 1906 it was owned by the Bartletts, who were farmers. In 1936
the house became the 1775 House restaurant and in 1965 the Lexington Montessori
School.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES (name of publication, author, date and publisher)
Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington II, p. 737. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin, 1913.
Lexington Historical Society Archives -- photo collection, Burr Church collection.
Smith, A. Bradford. "Kite End" (1891) . Proceedings of the Lexington Historical
Societv II(1900) :122.
Worthen, Edwin B. A Calendar History of Lexington, Massachusetts, 1620-1946, p. 128.
Lexington, Massachusetts: Lexington Savings Bank, 1946.
1830 map
1876 man
1889 map
1906 map
1906 Directory
10M - 7/82