HomeMy WebLinkAboutstratham-road_0010 AREA FORM 90.
FORM B - BUILDING
419
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
294 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON, MA 02108
Town Lexington
j_Address 10 stratham Road
Historic Name Misses Robinson House
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Date 1894
Source Lexington Minute Man, Aug. 3, 1894
SKETCH MAP
Show property' s location in relation Style Colonial Revival
to nearest cross streets and/or
geographical features. Indicate Architect A OLshbyrn,
all buildings between inventoried
property and nearest intersection.,.,. , Exterior wall fabric clapboards
Indicate north. '
4 r3 /¢
Q Outbuildings
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�± Major alterations (with dates)
1VSs. Moved Date
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iApprox. acreage 36800 ft.2
Recorded by Anne Grady Setting A prominent site on the southern
Organization Lexington Historical Commission slope of Robinson Hill, overlooking the
Date April, 1984 town center.
(Staple additional sheets here)
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE (Describe important architectural features and
evaluate in terms of other buildings within the community.)
This is a carefully-detailed : Colonial Revival house. Features
include modillions at the eaves, a doorway with leaded glass side- and transom
lights, a porch with dentil course, Etruscan columns and balustrade, an oriel
with wooden tracery, and several bay windows. A very similar design was built
by the same builder, Abram C. Washburn, at 3 Upland Road a year later.
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 the unmarried daughters of George W. Robinson,
Boston merchant and prominent local citizen, a year after his death. Local
tradition states that the Misses Robinson did not like the house at 14 Stratham
Road which Robinson had built previously for them, and so constructed this
house.
Miss Frances M. Robinson, who died in 1934 at 98 years of age,
was a directory of the Boston Society for the Care of Girls,
and a life member of the Lexington Fellowship of Charities -
later known as the Public Health Association. She was, in
addition, one of the incorporators of the Lexington Home for
Aged People.
Miss Sarah Robinson, her younger sister, served on the
school committee and was the second woman ever to be elected
to it. She was also a member of the committee which revised
and updated Hudson's history of Lexington for the publica-
tion of the new edition.
Both of these ladies were devoted to their church and
to the well-being of others in Lexington. Those interests
were reflected in their generous bequests.
(Worthen, Lexington Minute Man, November 13, 1969)
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. 586. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913.
Worthen, Edwin B. "George Slept -- Where?" Lexington Minute Man, November 13,
1969.
1889 atlas
1898 atlas
1906 atlas
10M - 7/82
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address
LEXINGTON 10 STRATHAM ROAD
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD 419
BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
On August 3, 1894,the Lexington Minute-man included a brief mention concerning the construction of this house:
A.C. Washburn, carpenter and builder, is about to erect a house for the occupancy of the Misses Robinson on the
estate of the late Geo. W. Robinson, at the foot of Concord hill, opposite Hastings park.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Lexington Minute-Man,August 3, 1894.
Supplement prepared by:
Lisa Mausolf
March 2009