Nomination for Boutwell, Gov. George S., House

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

43/ OMB No. 1024-0018 NPS Form 10-900 (Rev. 10-90) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (National Register Bulletin 16A). Complete each item by marking "X" in the appropriate box or by entering the information requested.If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions. Place additional entries and narrative items on continuation sheets (NPS Form 10-900a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer, to complete all items.

1. Name of Property historic name Gov. George S. Boutwell House other names/site number Groton Historical Society 2. Location street & number 172 Main Street N/A not for publication city or town Groton N/A vicinity state Massachusetts .codeMA county Middlesex code_017zip code - 01450 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1986, as amended, I hereby certify that this Ehomination - request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and protessional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property * meets [ does not meet the National Register Criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant - nationally M statewide Docally.

(- See continuation sheet for additional comments.) date o aing ota tie CaiEe) foz, SHPO, Masahusts Habontal Cormisaian hational Regiater Nerecor 10/21/04 State or Federal agency and bureau In my opinion, the property - meets - does not meet the National Register criteria. (- See continuation sheet for additional Comments.) Signature of certifying official/Title State or Federal agency and bureau 4. National Park Service Certification 1, hereby certify that this property is: Mentered in the National Register - See continuation sheet. - determined eligible for the National Register - See continuation sheet. - determined not eligible for the National Register - removed from the National Register - other (explain): Date CatbomA Beall 50 1-5.05 Gov. George S. Boutwell House Name of Property 5.

Classification Ownership of Property (Check as many boxes as apply) x private - public-local - public-State - public-Federal Category of Property (Check only one box X building(s) _ district _ site _ structure _object Middlesex, MA County and State Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the count.) Contributing Non-contributing 1 1 buildings sites 0 _structures 3 , objects Number of contributing resources previousty listed in the National Register Name of related multiple property listing (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing.) N/A 6. Function or Use Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions) DOMESTIC: single-family dwelling Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions) EDUCATION: museum 7.

Description Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instrumctions) MID-19TH CENTURY: Greek Revival MID-19TH CENTURY: Italianate Materials (Enter categories from instructions) foundation_STONE walls WOOD: weatherboard roof other Asphalt shingles Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current condition of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) (See Continuation Sheets) KAS Fomm 10-900-e (3-86 United States Department of the Interior Nationai Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Gov. George S. Boutwell House Groton (Middlesex), MA Section number - 7 Page - 1 ONea Asproval Na. I 7. DESCRIPTION Setting. The 1851 Gov. George S. Boutwell House is located in the heart of Groton's residential/institutional town center opposite Station Avenue and the 1859 Groton Town Hall. Set between properties once belonging to two mayors (Gen.

William Bancroft [Cambridge] and Luther Lawrence [Lowell]), the house is part of a row of stylish 18th- and 19th-century residences. The building faces west at the front of a deep, narrow lot, which is wooded at the rear. Along the street front, the Boutwell property is lined with a retaining wall of large cut-granite blocks (Map #3.) Two unpaved driveways, one on either side of the house, lead back toward the entrances of two tenant apartments at the rear of the building. A single granite gate/hitching post (Map #4) remains at the foot of the north driveway; a long, low granite block adjacent to it is a mounting block (Map #5) for carriage passengers. (See Photo 1.) Just northeast of the house is a long one-story, 1960s barn-like concrete-block storage building (Map #2) with clapboarded end gables, built to house and display some of the Historical Society collections.

(See Photo 1.) A wooden sign for the Groton Historical Society hangs from a post on the front lawn, just north of a granite walk leading to the house from a short flight of granite stairs in the retaining wall. Exterior description The Gov. George Boutwell House is a wood-frame Greek Revival/Italianate 2½-story, side-gabled house with a three-part, two-story rear wing incorporating additions of ca. 1880 and the mid-1890s. The walls of the house are clapboarded on all but the gables and the main facade. The enclosed end gables are sided with flushboard, and the facade wall is clad in one type of flushboard siding, chamfered on the upper and lower edges of the boards, that was popular on higher-style houses of the 1850s as an imitation of rusticated stone ashlar.

The main building corners are quoined, a water table rings the bottom edge of the walls, and the deeply- overhanging boxed cornice, which also encloses the end gables, is trimmed with long decorative brackets. Most of the windows retain their original wooden louvered blinds. The foundation under the principal parts of the building is topped with large dressed granite blocks. Two large brick chimneys, which have lost their corbeled tops, rise from the ridge of the main roof, positioned slightly off-center, several feet in from the ends of the building. A third, narrower furnace chimney, shortened considerably in height during the 20th century, pierces the rear roof slope behind the south ridge chimney. A former kitchen chimney at the rear end of the wing roof has been removed above the roofline.

The main facade is symmetrically arranged, three bays wide, with a prominent center entry sheltered by a deep, flat canopy (formerly a balcony) resting on a pair of square posts supported on long granite blocks which flank three wide granite steps. The canopy cornice is trimmed with a line of heavy scrolled brackets. A turned (continued) HES fomi 8-860 United States Department of the Interior Nationai Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Gov. George S. Boutwell House Groton (Middlesex), MA OME Approval No. 102 Section number - Page. 2 balustrade once ringed the balcony. All that remains of the balustrade is a pair of engaged posts, with half- balusters still attached, mounted against the house wall to either side of the center second-story window.

The entry, more Greek Revival than Italianate, has a large 4-panel door with heavy ogee applied moldings. The door is flanked by full-length, 4-paned sidelights. Occupying the position of the former transom over the door is a long wooden sign reading "Groton Historical Society" in painted gold letters. A pair of flat, untapered pilasters to either side of the entry are embellished, like the canopy posts, with full-length recessed panels. Mounted on the wall just north of the entry is a gable-topped, glass-fronted sign box installed in 1940. The facade windows, like most in the house, are the original 6-over-6-sash. The two at the first story have the long floor-to-ceiling proportions fashionable with the Greek Revival in the early 1850s, but are trimmed with typically Italianate heavy molded and bracketed crowns.

The second-story windows, which have simpler molded crowns, and lack the brackets, are smaller in size, although the center window extends down to the level of the balcony floor. The gable ends of the main part of the house are two bays deep. Their window crowns are like those of the facade. In the center of each of the flushboarded enclosed gables is an oculus, which has lost its original window, and now contains a single circular pane of glass. The 48-foot-long rear wing, which abuts the south part of the rear wall of the main block, is lower in height than the front part of the house. (Photo 4) Its roof ridge, perpendicular to the ridge of the main block, is set just below the main cornice level. 6/6 windows and the bracketed cornice continue down both sides of the wing.

The rear east wall of the main house north of the wing has two window bays at the second story, aligned above a single window and the central rear entry of the stair hall at the first. A single narrow pedimented dormer with a 2-over-2-sash window is mounted on the east roof slope just above the northernmost window bay. The east rear entry echoes the design of the west facade entry, with a heavy 4-paneled door and four-pane, full-length sidelights. This entry is largely hidden from the exterior, as it is enclosed within an early 20th- century shed-roofed porch which spans the north side of the wing from the main house to the 1-story projection of the kitchen pantry. The porch, which rests on a fieldstone base, is glazed with two groups of triple 4-pane storm windows to either side of a sidelighted and transomed entry fitted with a panel-and-glass door.

Centered in the first-story wall inside the porch is a four-panel door with long glass lights in place of the upper panels. This door is sidelighted, like the doors in the front part of the building. In the wall to either side of the door is a single large 6/6 window. The pantry ell abutting the end of the glassed-in porch has a single 6/6 window centered in its north wall. In the second-story wall of the wing above the porch and pantry are two pairs of 6/6 windows, both apparently dating to renovations of 1939-40. The present rear wing incorporates at least two late 19th-century additions. At the rear east end of the wing is a 20-foot-wide, 16-foot-deep 1 1/2-story extension, its roof ridge parallel to, but lower than the west part of the wing.

(Photos 4 and 5) The main part of this section, which stands on a foundation of randomly-cut stone, is apparently the northwest ell that historic maps indicate was added between 1875 and 1889. The trim on this (continued) KOS Fomi 10-900-e (8-80) United States Department of the Interior Nationai Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Gov. George S. Boutwell House Groton (Middlesex), MA Section number - Page - 3 ONAS Approrel Na. M% section is generally simpler than that on the rest of the house, but the bracketed, boxed cornice continues even here. Its entry, in the west part of the north wall, which probably dates to the 1939-40 apartment conversion, has a door with 4 lights over two panels, sheltered by a gabled hood supported on long diagonal braces.

The first-story fenestration of the broad east, rear wall of the extension is asymmetrically placed, with two 6/6's in the south part and one near the north corner. In the upper wall are three widely spaced windows--a small 6/6 in the center, and a 2/4 to either side. The main exterior door to the basement, a four-panel wood door reached by a stone-lined ramp, is located in the south part of this east elevation. (Photo 5) The south elevation of the main part of the wing has two window bays at each story. All are 6/6 sash, with the exception of a small 6-pane window in the easternmost second-story bay. Abutting the east part of this elevation is the second of the late 19th-century rear additions--a side-gabled two-story section, 18 feet wide and 20 feet deep, which was added about 1895.

(Photo 2) Its focal point is the pedimented, polygonal oriel bay window that is centered on the second story of the facade. Below the oriel, the first-story west wall is recessed six feet under the second, creating a shallow front porch. The porch is now screened, but the pair of round Tuscan 3/4 columns and the square-doweled balustrade to either side of a flight of wooden entry steps remain. The entry, at the north end of the first-story front wall, has a glass-and-panel door with a single large light over two panels. In the wall south of the door are two high 6-over-6-sash windows. While the roofline continues the scroll-bracketed detailing of the main cornice, the brackets here are more widely spaced, and the south corners of this section have fluted pilaster-like cornerboards, rather than quoins.

The south end wall echoes the main house in its enclosed gable, but the gable is clapboarded, rather than flushboarded. Below the gable, there are two 6/6 windows at the second story and one centered at the first. These windows are fitted with the adjustable-louvered shutters that are characteristic of the late 19th- and early 20th centuries. The rear east elevation of this part of the addition has one window--a 4-over-4-sash, centered in the first-story wall. Interior features. The major spaces of the interior of the Boutwell House are remarkably unaltered, having undergone little change since the Governor's death in 1905. Significant alterations to the main family living space include the ca.

1895 installation of a first-story lavatory, and the conversion of the southeast second-story room in the main block (from either a bedroom or a bathroom) to part of the rear apartment space in 1939-40. At that time, the Groton Historical Society renovated the entire second story of the wing, and the first story of the late 19th- century additions, to two tenant apartments. (See Floor Plans) (continued) K°S Fom (3-8Q) United States Department of the Interior Nationai Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Gov. George S. Boutwell House Groton (Middlesex), MA Section number - Page - OMa Raproval No. 10 As built in 1851, the first-story plan of the building includes a broad center through-hall with curving staircase, a single drawing room/reception room north of the hall, and a parlor/study and a rear dining room south of the hall.

The east end of the dining room extends part way into the rear wing. Behind it are service areas-- a large butler's pantry, an entry hall to the north doorway, and, reduced somewhat in size by the ca. 1895 lavatory, the kitchen, with the kitchen pantry projecting on its north side. At the second story, the Historical Society maintains three rooms as museum spaces; a fourth houses the society's library and archives. In the attic, two finished servants' rooms and a center hall space are still intact. Throughout the main rooms, the house displays stylish transitional Greek Revival/Italianate details, including both plain and paneled wainscoting, paneled interior blinds, polished marble mantelpieces, and wide, molded door- and window casings with decorative cornerblocks.

The highlight of the center stair hall (Photo 6) is the graceful curving staircase, which, characteristic of the mid-19th century, has a balustrade with round-dowel balusters and a varnished railing. While the second-story railing at the top of the stairs ends at a turned newel post, the main balustrade spirals to an end at the foot of the stairs, rather than terminating in a newel post. The Greek Revival architectural trim of the stairhall sets the tone for the rest of the rooms. High baseboards topped by an ogee molding, and a deep crown molding with lower picture rail ring the lower and upper edges of the walls. The 4-panel doors have heavy molded casings with decorative corner blocks--those in this space are embellished with simple turned paterae.

In the large drawing room (Photos 7 and 8) north of the hall, the most formal room in the house, the corner blocks have center foliate ornaments, rather than paterae. The focal point of the drawing room is the fireplace on the east wall. The mantelpiece is constructed of polished black marble with gold veining. Its pilasters and mantel shelf are simply chamfered, and the lower edge of the marble frieze rises slightly above the center of the slate firebox opening to a shallow pointed arch. All of the windows of this room except for the long window in the front wall are recessed over low window seats with paneled wainscoting below. All of them retain their original paneled interior blinds and hardware. The southwest parlor, also referred to as Gov.

Boutwell's study, (Photos 9 and 10) is a square room with a cornice similar to that in the stairhall, and casings and cornerblocks like those in the drawing room. The black marble mantelpiece in the rear wall of the room is similar in proportion to the one in the drawing room, but somewhat simpler in design, in that it has no chamfers, the fireplace opening is not arched, and the jambs of the firebox are brick, rather than slate. The Historical Society has dedicated this room to the memory of Gov. Boutwell and two of the Presidents under whom he served, Presidents Lincoln and Grant. Displayed in the room are items relating to both presidents, and to the governor's career in Washington. (continued) KOS fom 10-900-4 65-861 United States Department of the Interior Nationai Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Gov. George S.

Boutwell House Groton (Middlesex), MA Section number _ Page _ OMG Approvel No. 102 The decor of the dining room (Photo 11) is less formal than that of the front rooms. The corner blocks of the door-and window surrounds have circular paterae, and the crown molding is narrow. The windows have no interior blinds, but horizontal-paneled wainscoting covers the wall space below them. The scenic wallpaper in the room, called "the Champlain," which Georgianna Boutwell had installed in the early 20th century, is a reproduction of a ca. 1773 paper from a house in Brattleboro, Vermont. The black marble fireplace in the front wall is similar to that in the parlor.

The butler's pantry behind the dining room retains its glass-fronted cabinets over drawers on the south wall (Photo 12) The north part of the pantry, which may have contained the original stairs to the basement, has one continuous shelf high on the walls, now blocking a door at the rear. The rear kitchen pantry is more intact, however. Its east and west walls are still lined with deep shelves and 28-inch-high wainscoting. The same wainscoting lines the south and east walls of the kitchen. While the cooking stove is gone, a rare survival in the kitchen is the massive exposed brick chimney, fitted with a bake oven in the south part, and, abutting its north side, a set of low set kettles.

(Photo 13) Slate slabs form the top of the brick set-kettle and the mantel shelf over the bake oven and stove flue, and decorative cast-iron doors are still in place at the openings of the bake oven and the two ash pits. The largest room at the second story is the northwest chamber, now called the Grant Bedroom, for the fact that President Grant spent a night there in 1869. This room has a simply detailed gray marble mantelpiece in the east wall. (Photo 14) The bottom edge of the mantel frieze has a shallow pointed-arched opening, like the one below it in the drawing room. While the detailing here is generally simpler than that in the more formal spaces downstairs, this room has an elaborate, narrow crown molding with a raised foliate pattern. Molded paneling is located below the windows in this room.

Behind the Grant Bedroom to the east is a narrow chamber, traditionally called the nursery, which is lined on the west wall with glass-front cabinets, and where the society's toy collection is displayed. (See Photo 15.) A small, square room at the west end of the hallway, today called the sewing room, may also have been a small bedroom. It contains Gov. Boutwell's writing desk, and an early sewing machine that was given to Miss Boutwell by its well-known inventor, Elias Howe. (Photo 16) The Historical Society archives are housed in the former southwest chamber, which has another gray marble mantelpiece at its rear-wall fireplace. Archaeological Description While no ancient Native American sites are recorded on the Boutwell House property or in the general area (within one mile), sites may be present.

Environmental characteristics of the area represent locational criteria (slope, soil drainage, proximity to wetlands) that are favorable for the presence of Native American sites. The property is well drained and occupies level to moderately sloping topography within 1,000 feet of wetlands. James Brook, a tributary of the Nashua River is located west of the Boutwell House and unnamed streams to the northeast. The area lies within the Merrimack River drainage. In general, however, the potential for (continued) PS 0M1 10-900= United States Department of the Interior Nationai Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Gov. George S. Boutwell House Groton (Middlesex), MA Section number Page 6 OMG Anprovel Ne i locating significant ancient Native American resources on the nominated property is low to moderate.

Historic period land use, especially construction of the Bancroft office, Boutwell House, potential outbuildings, and probable presence of occupational related features on the relatively small lot (0.88 acres) would have destroyed or adversely affected the integrity of any resources that were present. A high potential exists for locating historic archaeological resources on the Boutwell House property. Additional documentary research combined with archaeological survey and testing may locate may locate evidence of structures and archaeological features associated with the village farm of Dr. Amos Bancroft originally located in this area. Archaeological testing may also locate structural evidence and indications of a construction date for the 18" century office that served as the medical office for Dr. Bancroft before his death in 1848.

The medical office was sold and moved across the street prior to construction of the Boutwell House. Research techniques outlined above may also identify documentary or structural evidence of barns, a carriage house or outbuildings associated with 18 and/or 19" century agricultural activities, the Bancroft medical office or the extant Boutwell home. Occupational related features (trash pits, privies, wells) may also exist with 18" through 20" century occupations of the property. (end) Gov. George S. Boutwell House Name of Property 8. Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

Applicable National Register Criteria (Mark "x" in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the property for National Register listing.) XA Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. X B Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. _X C Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction. _D Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history. Criteria Considerations (Mark "x" in all the boxes that apply.) Property is: _A owned by religious institution or used for religious purposes. _ B removed from its original location.

_C a birthplace or grave. _ D a cemetery. _E a reconstructed building, object, or structure. _F a commemorative property. _G less than 50 years of age or achieved significance within the past 50 years. Middlesex, MA County and State Areas of Significance (Enter categories from instructions) ARCHITECTURE COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT POLITICS/GOVERNMENT EDUCATION Period of Significance 1851-1954 Significant Dates 1851 ca. 1895 1940 Significant Person (Complete if Criterion B is marked above) George Sewall Boutwell Cultural Affiliation N/A Architect/Builder unknown Narrative Statement of Significance (Explain the significance of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) 9.

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

Major Bibliographical References (Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form on one or more continuation sheets.) Previous documentation on file (NPS): _ preliminary determination of individual listing (36 CFR 67) has been requested _ previously listed in the National Register _ previously determined eligible by the National Register _ designated a National Historic Landmark _recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey # _ recorded by Historic American Engineering Record # Massachusetts Historical Commission Primary location of additional data: X State Historic Preservation Office _ Other State agency - _ Federal agency Local government _ University x Other Name of repository: Groton Historical Society KAS Famm 10-900-e (3-BQ United Statec Department of the Interior Nationai Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Gov.

George S. Boutwell House Groton (Middlesex), MA OMB Aaprorel Na. 102 Section number Page - 1 8. SIGNIFICANCE The Gov. George S. Boutwell House meets Criteria A, B, and C of the National Register. The property is significant at the local level under Criterion A for its association with Massachusetts Governor George S Boutwell and his family, who influenced the development of Groton and its social history for nearly a century, from the 1830s to the 1930s. From the 1850s through the turn of the 20th century, their home opposite the Town Hall was the site of gatherings of local townspeople as well as notable visitors associated with Gov. Boutwell's official status. For many years George Boutwell operated a general store.

He also served as Groton's Postmaster, a School Committee member, Selectman, and Town Clerk before he became governor of Massachusetts in 1851, and held other local offices in later years. He influenced the agricultural economy and development of Groton through the management of his outlying farm and through his role as a leading member of the Middlesex Agricultural Society and the Groton Farmers' and Mechanics' Club. The Boutwell House is also locally significant under Criterion A as the home of the Groton Historical Society since 1933. The society's founding in 1894 was due largely to the efforts of Georgianna Boutwell, assisted by her brother, Francis. Since Georgianna Boutwell's death, the building has served as the society's headquarters, and since 1939 has functioned as a museum of local Groton history and Boutwell memorabilia.

The property qualifies for the National Register at the state level under Criteria A and B as the home for 54 years of George S. Boutwell, Governor of Massachusetts from 1851 to 1853, a founding member of the state Republican Party, and, on the national scene, Congressman, first U.S. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, and Secretary of the Treasury under President Grant. The property meets Criterion C at the local level as a well-preserved example of stylish yet understated Greek Revival and Italianate architecture. Founded in the well-established New England tradition of 2½-story, side- gabled, center-entry houses, the wood-frame Boutwell residence is distinguished by its corner quoining, bracketed eaves, and rusticated facade. Highlights of the interior include several marble fireplaces, a large drawing/reception room, and a spacious central stairhall with curving staircase.

The property retains integrity of setting, location, design, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. The town of Groton was founded as a plantation in 1655. Situated on the western frontier of the Massachusetts Bay colony, it was abandoned and the buildings burned during King Philip's War in 1675-76, but by 1680 was resettled with forty families. The community grew rapidly after 1730, and had become a prosperous agricultural town by 1775.

A concentration of merchants, doctors, lawyers, and other well-to-do professionals living along the main thoroughfare (Main Street) at the town center lent a cosmopolitan air to the community in the early years of the 19th century, and fostered an intellectual atmosphere that was augmented by the presence of an early private school, Groton Academy (now Lawrence Academy,) which still has a commanding presence on Main Street a short (continued) KTS Fomm 10-900-e (3-8Q United States Department of the Interior Nationai Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Gov. George S. Boutwell House Groton (Middlesex), MA Section number - Page - OMa dpproval No. VE: distance east of the Boutwell House property.

By the 1830s, busy through-traffic on the route to New Hampshire supported a number of taverns, stores, and other commercial establishments at the town center, and industries were operating in the west part of town along the Nashua River. In 1848, two railroads were built through the town, opening convenient access to Boston, Worcester, and communities to the northwest. Development progressed slowly at Groton Center, however, which continued as the town's primary residential/institutional focus, with Lawrence Academy, two churches, the 1859 Town Hall, and with rows of stylish houses on large lots and estates. In the second half of the 19th century, prominent families along Main Street were headed by men who commuted by rail to the major cities, and included three mayors (of Boston, Cambridge, and Lowell,) and, at the Boutwell House, one governor of the commonwealth.

George Sewall Boutwell built his house opposite the future site of the Town Hall in 1851, the same year that he became governor of Massachusetts. With the exception of extended periods spent in Washington during his later career, Gov. Boutwell lived there with his family until his death in 1905. George Boutwell (1818-1905) was born in Brookline, MA, and grew up on a farm in Lunenberg. After a brief period of school-teaching in Shirley, he moved to Groton in 1835, where he was employed in the "brick store" of Henry Woods at 152 Main Street. He boarded for several years with Mr. Woods and his wife in their house near the store. After the death of Mr. Woods in 1841, Mr. Boutwell, who had already been made a partner in the store, carried on as proprietor until 1855. He also succeeded Mr.

Woods as Groton Postmaster for several months in 1841, and in July of that year he married Sarah Adelia Thayer, sister of Mrs. Woods. In the early years of their marriage, they resided in a section of the Woods house. While operating the store, Mr. Boutwell studied law in the Groton office of Bradford Russell, routinely studying late into the night after the store closed for the day. One of his first legal jobs was as clerk of chancery court, from 1838 to 1840. George Boutwell entered politics and public life in his early twenties. He gave his first public speech before the Groton Lyceum in 1837, was elected to the Groton School Committee in 1839, and in the same year ran as four more terms, from 1847 to 1851. Even after he was elected to the state legislature, Mr. Boutwell held many local offices. From 1846 to 1851 he was Groton's Town Clerk, and was elected Selectman for five terms.

In 1854, and from 1858 to 1863, he again served on the School Committee, and was a Trustee of the Groton Public Library from 1855 to 1860, resuming the position from 1892 until his death in 1905. (continued) NTS Fomm 10-900-e f5-8G United States Department of the Interior Nationai Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Gov. George S. Boutwell House Groton (Middlesex), MA OMB Aaprovel Na. NX Section number - Page - Following five more unsuccessful political campaigns-three for Congress and two for governor, in 1851 George Boutwell was chosen Governor of Massachusetts in a close election that was decided in the state "countty tradera, duringhis tWe-tormats aure as the coemsn vealths youngest govemorso dato, heasaisved tre passage of many of his legislative goals.

Among them were the initiation of the secret ballot, the establishment of single legislative districts, and the passage of the Massachusetts Homestead Act. The Gov. Boutwell House, completed the year he became governor, was built on a 2/3-acre house lot divided out from the former village farm of Dr. Amos Bancroft (1811-1848.) To make way for the house construction, a small 18th-century office, which had recently served as Dr. Bancroft's medical office, was sold and moved across the street. (The building was later moved again, to Station Avenue, where it was converted to a dwelling. It was torn down about 1970.) Many years later, in 1873, Gov. Boutwell bought the remaining 35 acres of the Bancroft estate, and had the main Bancroft house moved off the property, as well.

While he already owned a 350-acre farm just north and west of the town center, in the two decades or so in which he owned the Bancroft property it provided Gov. Boutwell, who was already perhaps Groton's best-known "gentleman farmer," with a barn and prime agricultural land directly adjacent to his in-town residence. The fact that his house was constructed during George Boutwell's first year as governor may have influenced the design of the building, at least on the first story. Until about 1895, when the rear southeast addition was put on, possibly incorporating a library/study, the front southwest room served as Gov. Boutwell's study, where he prepared his speeches and wrote his books and papers.

The broad central through-hall with its gracefully sweeping staircase is a fitting entry for diplomatic guests, as is the large, formal drawing room north of the hall, which runs from the front to the back of the house. In what was probably the largest reception held in the house, in June of 1869 3,000 visitors shook hands with President Ulysses S. Grant before the handsome marble mantel in the drawing room. The granite mounting block at the front end of the north driveway may also have been intended as much for guests and their carriages as it was for the family. George Boutwell's second term as governor ended in 1853, and for the rest of the 1850s he remained closely involved in the affairs of state government, commuting by train to Boston both to the state house and to his private downtown office.

He was elected to the state Constitutional Convention in 1853, served as a member of the Massachusetts Board of Education from 1853 to 1863, and was state Secretary of Education from 1855 to 1861. In 1854 to 1856, he advocated for Middlesex County before the General Court on the proposed division of the county, and in 1859 he adjudicated a Back Bay land dispute between Boston and the state of Massachusetts. Although he had never attended college, one aspect of Gov. Boutwell's lifelong interest in education was his service on the Harvard University Board of Overseers from 1851 to 1860. (continued) KOS Fonmi 10-900 d (5-80 United States Department of the Interior Nationai Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Gov. George S. Boutwell House Groton (Middlesex), MA Section number - Page - OMB Approval No.

102 In spite of his affiliation with the Democratic party, Gov. Boutwell had always taken an anti-slavery stance. After the Missouri Compromise was repealed, he left the Democrats, and was influential in organizing the Republican party in Massachusetts. In 1860, he was a delegate to the Chicago Republican convention that nominated Abraham Lincoln for President. As the Civil War approached and the threat of secession reached a crisis early in 1861, he was chosen as a delegate to the Peace Convention in Washington. President Lincoln appointed him to several posts, including naming him first Commissioner of the new Department of Internal Revenue, of which Boutwell was also the principal organizer. Gov. Boutwell resigned as Internal Revenue Commissioner in March, 1863, to assume his first national elected office, to the U.S. House of Representatives.

In Congress during the turbulent years of the Civil War, he supported emancipation and black suffrage, and worked to increase recruitment and improve armaments for the Union forces. He came to national attention as an author at this time, as well, especially through his articles on Republican matters in the Continental Monthly Magazine. Gov. Boutwell was reelected to the House in 1864, 1866, and 1868. While serving his third term he advocated the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson, chaired the Committee to Draft the Articles of Impeachment, and was one of the seven managers of the Johnson impeachment trial. In the difficult years after the war, he championed the cause of black civil rights, at times with little support from his colleagues. He was the principal author of the 15th amendment to the Constitution, and a major contributor to the writing of the 14th. Gov.

Boutwell attained his highest-ranking national office under President Ulysses S. Grant, who appointed him Secretary of the Treasury in 1869. Among his principal achievements in that office was the lowering of the national debt by some $364 million. During the gold conspiracy scandal of 1869, in which speculators had schemed to force up the price of gold by cornering the market, Secretary Boutwell released $4 million of the government's gold supply, effectively curbing the inflation of gold prices. In 1873, Mr. Boutwell resigned his cabinet post to serve again in Congress, this time as Senator from Massachusetts. After his Senate term ended, he built on his experience in Washington by becoming heavily involved in international law. Having been admitted to the Suffolk County bar in 1862, and the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1864, he was also admitted to the bar of the U.S.

Court of Claims in 1884. Based largely in Washington, from 1880 to 1884 he served as U.S. counsel before the French and American Claims Commission, was Counsel for the Haitian government in 1885, Counsel for Hawaii in 1886, and Counsel for Chile on the Chilean-American Claims Commission in 1893-1894. (continued) KºS Fomm 10-900-a p3-BG United States Department of the Interior Nationai Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Gov. George S. Boutwell House Groton (Middlesex), MA Section number_ Page - OMB: Approval No. 100 Toward the end of his long career, Gov. Boutwell's international experience provided the foundation for his strong views on American imperialism. For the last two decades of his life, Boutwell was a major spokesman for the Anti-Imperialist League, and was chosen its President in 1898, serving until his death.

He opposed President William McK inley's actions in the Philippines and advocated for Philippine independence, taking the position that it was wrong for the U.S. to expand overseas when the rights of freed slaves at home were still being denied. In his anguish over the direction of U.S. international policy, in 1902 he left the Republican party, returning at the end of his life to the side of the Democrats. By 1900, Gov. Boutwell returned largely to his private law practice in Boston, and was spending more time at home in Groton and in local affairs. For several decades he had owned a large farm west and north of Groton center which he called Chestnut Hill Farm, and over the years he had become a serious gentleman farmer.

For many years assisted by his son, Francis, he maintained a large herd of Ayrshire cattle, grew a variety of crops, and had developed model orchards of apples and pears. He was something of an expert on the raising of pears; in 1880 the Boutwell orchards produced by far the largest crop in Groton. That same year the governor marketed the largest amount of milk of any farmer in town, 25,000 gallons. Gov. Boutwell served as President of the Groton Farmers' and Mechanics' Club in 1860, and was one of only a handful of Groton farmers who were members of the Middlesex Agricultural Society, which he joined in 1850. Over the years he shared his knowledge and agricultural expertise by giving numerous talks on various aspects of farming. He retired from his Boston law practice in August, 1904, and died six months later in Groton. Gov.

Boutwell's lasting legacy is enhanced by the sizeable body of writing he left behind. Among his written works are three books related to taxation, including The Tax-Payer's Manual (1865,) an exposition of his political philosophy entitled Why 1am a Republican (1884,) and a set of memoirs published three years before his death, Reminiscences of Sixty Years in Public Affairs (1902.) Mrs. Boutwell, who had been an invalid for several years, died in 1903, and upon the governor's death, the house came into the possession of their daughter, Georgianna Adelia Boutwell (1843-1933.) All of the Boutwell family members were interested in the history of Groton, and in 1894, Georgianna, with the aid and support of her brother, Francis, became the driving force in the founding of the Groton Historical Society.

An extremely active early historical society, by the end of its first year the new organization had 150 members. Its first President was the town historian, Dr. Samuel A. Green, whose permanent residence was in Boston. Francis Boutwell, as Vice-President until his death in 1910, presided at most of the meetings. The acknowledged founder of the organization, however, was "Miss Georgianna" Boutwell. Although the meetings were held at the Town Hall and other public locations, from the society's inception the Boutwell House was a frequent site for its gatherings and events, and both generations of the family were heavily involved in the society's activities. In November of 1894, for instance, Gov.

Boutwell delivered a lecture to the members on "The Shade and Ornamental Trees in the Village of Groton," in which he included an account of setting out (continued) KnS FomT 10-900 + (3-BG) United States Department of the Interior Nationai Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Gov. George S. Boutwell House Groton (Middlesex), MA Section number - Page - OMB Approvel No. B02" trees on his own property prior to the construction of the house. In June of 1895, the society hosted the annual field day and dinner of the Boston Society of Antiquity at the Boutwell House. Francis Boutwell delivered a speech, Georgianna gave a guided tour of the ex-governor's "mansion house," and their father gave an "off- hand talk," mostly dealing with agricultural topics.

Today, Georgianna Boutwell is remembered as the principal founder and patron of both the Historical Society and the Groton Woman's Club. The Woman's Club was organized at a meeting in the Boutwell House in 1913, and Miss Georgianna was its first President. She bequeathed the family home to the Historical Society in her will, and several years after her death in 1933, the society directors had the rear part of the house remodeled for two apartments which still continue to provide a steady stream of income to the organization. Since 1939, the Historical Society has operated the building as its headquarters and as a museum of archival material and artifacts related to the history of Groton, together with a wealth of Boutwell family memorabilia. In the 1960s, a one-story building was constructed behind the house to accommodate the overflow of the society's collections.

The museum is open to the public on Sundays during the summer, for groups by appointment, and quarterly for programs that are open to members and to the wider community. The Society publishes a newsletter and historical booklets, and offers special educational programs to fourth grade school children and their teachers. The organization presently has over 160 members. Archaeological Significance Since patterns of ancient Native American settlement in Groton are poorly understood, any surviving sites could be significant. Native American sites in this area may contribute important information that identifies the role and importance of upland/interior sites in general and the role sites along tributary streams of the Nashua/Merrimack River drainage played in the local/regional Native subsistence and settlement systems.

Ancient sites in this area could be part of a larger, possibly seasonal settlement network of sites based along the Nashua River, the Merrimack River or part of a specialized adaptation to local environments in the uplands and Worcester Plateau region. Historic archaeological resources identified above may contribute important information relating to the overall history of land use at the Boutwell House property and in Groton from the 18t through 20* centuries. Historical and archaeological evidence may contribute information that identifies the nature and extent of agricultural activities on the property, especially as these activities relate to development of gentlemen farming at this site and in Groton. Important information may also exist relating to the medical profession and health care in the 19'" century.

Structural evidence of barns and outbuildings may identify the extent that agricultural activities were present on the property in the 18" century and their relationship, if any, to the 19* century village farm of Dr. Amos Bancroft. Structural evidence from the 18" century office building that later served as the medical office for Dr. Bancroft may contribute information that identifies the architectural details of 1 gth and 19th century professional buildings. Structural evidence and associated artifacts may identify exactly when the office building was constructed and its relationship to earlier residential use of the property.

Detailed analysis of the contents from occupational related features associated with different occupations on the property may contribute information that identifies earlier functions of the office building prior to its use as (continued) PCSOm1 10-900 -4 United States Department of the Interior Nationai Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Gov. George S. Boutwell House Groton (Middlesex), MA Section number - Page -7_ OMG Asproval No. 102. a medical office. Similar evidence may also contribute detailed information on medical activities that occurred at the office and 19" century medical technologies. Structural evidence from agricultural related outbuildings combined with the analysis of occupational related features may contribute detailed information related to the types of agriculture and husbandry conducted on the property and related technologies.

This information may increase our understanding of the scope of Gentleman Farming on the Boutwell House property and in Groton during the 19" century (end) PS O0T 10-300 United States Department of the Interior Nationai Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Gov. George S. Boutwell House Groton (Middlesex), MA Section number 9 Page 1 ORE Asproval No dE: 9. MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES Books, articles, pamphlets, and files Bitterman, David. Architectural condition assessment of the Governor Boutwell House. Prepared for the Groton Historical Society, 6/12/2001. Bixby, Brian. Boutwell chronology. Research for Groton Historical Society, 2001. George S. Boutwell and his world: celebrating Groton's history. Lecture given 10/9/2001. Producer-citizen, idealist-pragmatist: the political thinking of George S. Boutwell. 2001. Boutwell, George S.

Reminiscences of 60 Years in Public Affairs. Two volumes. New York: McClure, Phillips, & Co., 1902. Brown, Thomas H. George Sewall Boutwell: Human Rights Advocate. Groton: Groton Historical Society, 1989. Butler, Caleb. History of the Town of Groton. Boston: T. R. Marvin, 1848. Drake, Samuel, ed. History of Middlesex County, Mass. Boston: Estes & Lauriat, 1880. Garraty, J., and Carnes, M., eds. American National Biography, III. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Green, Samuel A. Facts Relating to the History of Groton. Two volumes. Cambridge, MA: University Press, 1914. Groton Historical Series, Vols. I-IV. Cambridge, MA: University Press, 1887-1899. . Sketch of Groton: 1855-1892. Cambridge, MA: University Press, 1893. Groton Historical Society archives: Boutwell family files; photograph files. Groton Public Library, Historical collections: Boutwell archives. May, Virginia.

Groton Houses. Two volumes. Groton: Groton Historical Society, 1978. . ed. Groton Tercentenary, 1655-1955. Town of Groton, 1955. Middlesex Agricultural Society: membership book, 1820-1888. (continued) Gov. George S. Boutwell House Name of Property 10. Geographical Data Middlesex, MA County and State Acreage of Property _less than one acre UTM References (Place additional UTM references on a continuation sheet) ' 2on° 289070 4720300 Easting Northing 2. Zone Easting Northing 3. Zone Easting Northing 4. Zone Easting _ See continuation sheet Northing Verbal Boundary Description (Describe the boundaries of the property on a continuation sheet.) Boundary Justification (Explain why the boundaries were selected on a continuation sheet.) 11.

Form Prepared By name/title Anne Forbes, Consultant; with Betsy Friedberg, National Register Director, MHC organization Massachusetts Historical Commission street & number 220 Morrissey Boulevard date_October, 2004 _telephone_617-727-8470 city or town Boston stateMassachusetts _ zip code_02125 Additional Documentation Submit the following items with the completed form: Continuation Sheets Maps A USGS map (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's location. A sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resources. Photographs Representative black and white photographs of the property. Additional items (Check with the SHPO or FPO for any additional items) Property Owner (Complete this item at the request of the SHPO or FPO.) name Groton Historical Society street & number 172 Main Street telephone (978) 448-6073 (Bayard Underwood, Bd.

of Directors) city or town Groton _state MA _zip code 01450 Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.). Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 18.1 hours per response including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Chief, Administrative Services Division, National Park Service, P.0.

Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127; and the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reductions Project (1024-0018), Washington, DC 20503 HOS fom 10-900-e (3-86 United States Department of the Interior Nationai Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Gov. George S. Boutwell House Groton (Middlesex), MA Section number - 9/10 Page - 2/1 OMB Appravel No.102 9. MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES, cont. Government Documents United States government Federal Census--agricultural schedules 1870, 1880; population (household) schedule--1860. Commonwealth of Massachusetts Massachusetts Historical Commission. Survey of Historical and Architectural Resources, Groton, Mass. Boston: Massachusetts Historical Commission, 1960s-1970s. Maps and atlases Beers, F.W. Atlas of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. New York: F.W. Beers, 1875. Walker, George H. & Co.

Atlas of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Boston: 1889. (End) 10. GEOGRAPHICAL DATA Verbal Boundary Description The boundaries of the Gov. Boutwell House property at 172 Main Street, Groton, are those recorded and shown on Groton Assessor's Map 113, Parcel 3. Boundary Justification The property boundary includes the entire .88-acre parcel on which the Boutwell House is located, and comprises the original 2/3-acre parcel on which the house was built, together with an adjoining strip of land to the north which was acquired by the Boutwells in 1873. (End) Prs 10.900 e United States Department of the Interior Nationai Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Gov. George S. Boutwell House Groton (Middlesex), MA OME Aaproval No. 103 Section number data Page - RESOURCE COUNT MAP# 1 2 3 4 5 NAME OR DESCRIPTION Gov. George S.

Boutwell House museum storage building retaining wall hitching/gatepost mounting blockca. 1851 DATE C=contributing; NC=non-contributing B = building; O = object; Si = site; St = structure STATUS TYPE 1851 ca. 1962 ca. 1851 ca. 1851 C C NC B B TOTAL RESOURCE COUNT: BUILDINGS STRUCTURES: OBJECTS: SITES: Contributing 1 1 Non-contributing 30 0 TOTAL: 4 TOTAL: 1 KOS fomm 10-900 (5-8Q) United States Department of the Interior Nationai Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Gov. George S. Boutwell House Groton (Middlesex), MA Section number photos Page - O6G Approval No. 102 PHOTOGRAPHS - all photographs by Anne Forbes, 2002 -- all negatives in possession of the photographer 8 x 10" photographs 1. Gov. George S. Boutwell House, 172 Main St.: view southeast 2. Gov. George S. Boutwell House, 172 Main St.: view northeast 3. Gov. George S.

Boutwell House, 172 Main St.: main facade 4. Gov. George S. Boutwell House, 172 Main St.: view southwest 5. Gov. George S. Boutwell House, 172 Main St.: east rear elevation Supplementary interior photographs (3 1/2 x 5") 6. Stair hall, looking east 7. Drawing room, looking southwest 8. Drawing room fireplace 9. Parlor/study, looking southeast 10. Parlor/study, looking southwest 11. Dining room, looking west 12. Butler's pantry, looking southeast 13. Kitchen, looking east 14. Northwest chamber, looking south 15. Nursery, looking northeast 16.

Sewing room, looking cast toward stair hall TRUE NORTH STAIR HALL BEDROOM TOILET STAIR HALL KITCHEN BEDROOM TOILET PARLOR HAL BEDROOM NURSERY STAIR HALL MASTER BEDROOM SEWING ROOM ARCHIVE CONSERVATION ARCHITECTURE 25 MAY 2001 GOVERNOR BOUTWELL HOUSE 172 MAIN STREET GROTON, MASSACHUSETTS 01450 SECOND FLOOR PLAN NOT TO SCALE -rom Daiid Biterman, Govemor Boutwell House. Architecthral Conditiin Assessment of the 6/2001 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE CVALUATION/RETURN SHEE. REQUESTED ACTION: NOMINATION PROPERTY NAME: Boutwell, Gov.

George S., House MULTIPLE NAME : STATE & COUNTY: MASSACHUSETTS, Middlesex DATE RECEIVED: DATE OF 16TH DAY: DATE OF WEEKLY LIST: 11/23/04 1/05/05 DATE OF PENDING LIST: 12/21/04 DATE OF 45TH DAY: 1/06/05 REFERENCE NUMBER: 04001431 REASONS FOR REVIEW: APPEAL: N DATA PROBLEM: N LANDSCAPE: N LESS THAN 50 YEARS: OTHER: REQUEST: N SAMPLE: PERIOD: PROGRAM UNAPPROVED: N SLR DRAFT: N NATIONAL: COMMENT WAIVER: N VACCEPT _RETURN ABSTRACT/SUMMARY COMMENTS: _REJECT 11505 DATE N N N Entered in the Nadonal Bepieio? RECOM./ CRITERIA REVIEWER DISCIPLINE TELEPHONE DATE DOCUMENTATION see attached comments Y/N see attached SLR Y/N If a nomination is returned to the nominating authority, the nomination is no longer under consideration by the NPS. Gor. Penge S. Boutwell House 172 Main St. Roton, Middlesox Co- Mass. 2002 Goo-Geoge S. Bontwell Mase 172 Main ST. GroTon, MA 3Gor-Gerge 3. Boxtwell House 172 Mainst.

GroTon, MA 01720 Gov- D Genrge 8. Bontwell House 172 Main ST. Groton, nA Gobenge 3. Bourwell House 172 Main St. GroTon, mA Protessiona. Gov. Qs Bovtwell Horse Groton, mA lona Cou. As Britvell House GIOTon, MA BM- 33/208 21190865 0111 (dyepo) Qov. Q.S. Britwell Hose Qioton, MA 0111 Jojssajol @Qou. G.S. Boutwell House GiOTon, MA @Gov. G.s. Bontwell House Qoton, MA 2UO Kodak Proft PÄPER BM 03/2002035965 0111 - Rov. G.S. Boitwell House Goton, mA @Qoo.G.S. Boutweltouse RoTEn, MA jeuoIssa 13 Gov. G.S. Bontwell Hare GroTou, MA 14 Qov. G.S. Britwell RoTon, MA -63/2002011 0867. 0111 UON Goo.C.S. Boutwerttase GoTon, MA euoissajo1 16 Gou. G.s. Boutwell House GroTon, mA 20020043867 0111 Md2ep -CPLACIDAN The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Massachusetts Historical Commission October 19, 2004 Ms.

Carol Shull National Register of Historic Places Department of the Interior National Park Service 1201 Eye Street, NW 8"floor Washington, DC 20005 Dear Ms. Shull: Enclosed please find the following nomination form: Gov. George Boutwell House, 172 Main St., Groton (Middlesex), MA The nomination has been voted eligible by the State Review Board and has been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer. The owners of the property were notified of pending State Review Board consideration 30 to 45 days before the meeting and were afforded the opportunity to comment. Sincerely, Betry Friedlerg National Register Director Massachusetts Historical Commission enclosure CC: Anne Forbes, preservation consultant Groton Historical Society Isabel Beal.

Groton Historical Commission George Dillon, Board of Selectmen Carolyn Perkins, Planning Board 220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, Massachusetts 02125 (617) 727-8470 - Fax: (617) 727-5128 www.state.ma.us/sec/mhc