Nomination for Hildreth--Robbins House

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 (Rev. 10-90) OMB No. 1024-0018 090 RECEIVED 2280 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service OCT National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NAT. REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 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 Hildreth-Robbins House other names/site number Redwing Farm; Chamberlain-Byam House 2. Location street & number 19 Maple Road N/A not for publication city or town Chelmsford N/A _ vicinity state Massachusetts code MA _ county Middlesex _ code_017 zip code_01824 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1986, as amended, I hereby certify that this E'nomination - request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional 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 - statewide M'locally. (- See continuation sheet for additional comments.) Brona Simon Octöber 12, 2006 Signature of certifying official/Title Brona Simon, Deputy SHPO, Massachusetts Historical Commission Date 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 I, hereby certify that this property is: Dentered 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 Signature of the Keeper Date of Action Ecson 8. Beall 1129:06 Hildreth-Robbins House Name of Property 5. Classification Che as many topeaaply xprivate _ public-local _ public-State _ public-Federal Middlesex, MA County and State Category of Property (Check only one box) X building(s) _district _ site _ structure _ object Name of related multiple property listing (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing.) N/A Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the count.) Contributing Non-contributing 1 0 1 4 2 buildings sites _ structures _objects Total Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register 6.

Function or Use Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions) DOMESTIC: single dwelling Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions) VACANT/NOT IN USE 7. Description Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions) COLONIAL: Georgian Materials (Enter categories from instructions) foundation STONE: fieldstone walls WOOD: weatherboard ASPHALT roof other Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current condition of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 7 Page 1 OMB Approval No. 10244818 Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA 7. DESCRIPTION Setting and site description The Hildreth-Robbins House is located on a winding rural road in the south part of Chelmsford, MA.

While a one-story ca. 1960 light-industrial building stands set back from the street on the opposite side of the road, the rest of the house's setting retains its pastoral character. From the southeast end of the driveway (which lies on town-owned land), a fieldstone and granite block wall leads east past the front of the small wooded property that was the site of the late 18"*-century blacksmith shop used by several owners of the house. One hundred yards further east is the wood-frame house built by members of the Byam family in about 1834. Forming a backdrop directly north and east of the subject property are 12.6 acres of the farmland formerly associated with the house, which are now preserved as open meadow and wetlands by the Town of Chelmsford as town conservation land.

Running north/south adjacent to the west border of the nominated acre property is the overgrown raised bed of the former Framingham & Lowell Railroad. The recent partition of the property reduced the land around the Hildreth-Robbins House to 1.32 acres. However, many site features survive from its long use as the center of a working farmstead. Some structures remain as well from the early 20" century, when the house was used as a summer residence. A low fieldstone wall (Map # 2) lines the road along most of the front of the property, and the line of a longtime circular driveway (Map #3) still unpaved, is well worn in front of the house, the northeast ell and attached barn.

In front of the ell is a granite hitching post with an iron ring on the top (Map #4) which probably dates to the mid- or late 19"' century, and descending east from the southeast corner of the barn is a split-granite retaining wall supporting a grassed ramp up to the barn (Map #5). Behind the house, an oval pond (Map #7), nearly a half-acre in size, fills most of the rear part of the property. A granite block retaining wall (Map #6), probably dating to the early 20" century, and incorporating a set of three granite steps, is set into the curve of the hillside west of the pond, echoing the line of the pond's west edge. The south end of the retaining wall continues as a fieldstone wall to the rear of the house.

Landscape elements from the mid-20" century (outside the period of significance) include split-rail perimeter fencing, a rear brick patio with deteriorated square-picket fence and gates, and overgrown flowerbeds terraced on landscape timbers descending from the back wall of the house. Brick and cobblestone walks leading from the circular drive to two doors in the front wall of the east ell, and three small granite benches in that area, apparently date to the same period. An earlier granite block about seven feet long (possibly a face stone from a foundation) lies behind the house close to the east side of the pond (Map #8). (continued) NPS Form 110-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 7 Page_ 2 OMB Approval No.

10244828 Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA Several large trees and shrubs on the property may remain from the 19'h or early 20" centuries. At the front, aline of three maple trees stands just inside the stone wall withinthe curve of thedriveway. A group of trees west of the house includes a large Schwedler Maple, and just off the northwest house corner is a sizable sycamore tree. A line of five apple trees occupies the west slope above the pond, and a cluster of tall weeping willows graces the pond's east bank. A venerable lilac bush typical of many New England farmsteads stands against the southwest front house corner. General building description. The Hildreth-Robbins House (MHC.70; Map #1) is a large, south-facing 2 ½-story, side-gabled colonial dwelling with a long one-story northeast ell connecting to a small gable-front three-level barn.

The house has a post-and-beam timber frame, a fieldstone foundation topped with dressed granite under most of the main block of the building, and a large brick chimney which pierces the asphalt-shingle roof just in front and slightly east of the mid-line of the main ridge. A second, narrower exterior brick chimney rises up the rear wall of the main block against the southwest corner of the ell. Architectural detailing of the main house includes a molded, boxed cornice without returns on the gable ends, plain cornerboards, and a narrow water table (sill board) just above the foundation. While the main house is believed to date to the 1730s or early 1740s, future architectural investigation of portions of the frame not presently visible may yet determine that part of the structure was constructed earlier.

(See Section 8.) The building has an asphalt shingle roof, and is clapboarded with 20#-century clapboards. Most of the windows date to the mid 20" century. Several minor additions were made to the building in the second half of the 20" century. (See detailed description, below.) Evolution of the Hildreth-Robbins House The building grew over time in the manner of many farmhouses of its era. The present form of the 36 by 30-foot main block incorporates at least one, and possibly as many as three enlargements which, judging by architectural evidence, took place before 1800.

The strong asymmetry of the plan and a difference in floor height between the southeast and southwest chambers suggest that the building may have begun as a single-cell house with lobby entrance, and was later widened by an additional room to one side of the leanto are still apparent in the foundation and in the attic and cellar framing, and in the marks of the old roof line on the front and sides of the chimney.) (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 7 Page_ 3 OMB Approval No. 10244328 - Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA The house was expanded again in the 19" century.

The enlargement to the east from the northeast rear corner of the main block probably began with an early 19*-century rear kitchen ell (sometimes called a "summer kitchen") which was later joined by a "line of sheds." A 19-foot-deep barn or carriagehouse with a full cellar was attached to the east end of the sheds, probably sometime after 1860. This attached outbuilding, which was totally rebuilt above the cellar in the mid-20" century, is reported to have functioned mainly as a carriagehouse and stable. (A larger freestanding barn that stood near the road southeast of the house has long-since been demolished, as have an early corn barn and the blacksmith shop that stood just east of the farmstead.) Several more small additions were made to the house after the period of significance.

They include a mid 20""-century one-story, gable-roofed west entryway/lavatory on a concrete foundation, a ca. 1950s bedroom with a shallow shed roof added above the west end of the ell, and two late 20"-century structures - a one-story shed-roofed, skylighted rear sunroom with a metal stove chimney, and a small greenhouse abutting the west entry. Exterior description. The south façade of the main block (Photos #s 1, 2) is four bays long, with two windows aligned at first and second stories west of the entry, and one window at each story to the east, reflecting the interior arrangement in which the rooms west of the chimney are considerably larger than those east of it. The entry, and a single 6/6 sash window above it at the second story, are set slightly east of center, in front of the chimney.

The general appearance of the main entry, which has a double-thick 6-panel door under a 6- part transom, is likely to have been part of an extensive update during the early Federal period. However, the present plain-board entry surround, the small "bulls-eye" glass panes in the transom, and the narrow horizontal, slightly projecting door hood all appear to be 20*"-century alterations. The window sash on the façade, and throughout the building, most of which are 9/6 at the first story, with 6/6's at the second, are products of the 20" century and lack the projecting plank frames characteristic of the Colonial and Federal eras. The east side of the main block (Photo #2) is four bays deep, with windows aligned above each other at ell roof, pierce this later wall.

(continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number Page_ 4 OMB Approval No. 10244848 - Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA The west elevation of the main block (Photo #7) has only two windows at the second story, with one 6/6 under the gable peak at attic level. At the first story, there is one 9/6 window in the south part of the main wall. The south and north walls of the later west entry bay each have a single 9/6 window. The west wall of the entry bay, presently sheltered by an attached gambrel-roofed greenhouse, is sheathed with clapboard and vertical board and has a centered 15-light wood and glass French door. The north, rear elevation (Photo #8) is the most altered side of the main block.

Most of the first story there is covered by the clapboarded, shed-roofed sunroom added in the 1960s or 1970s, and by the west end of the northeast ell, which overlaps the easternmost nine feet of the main house wall. All the window sash in the main wall - three windows at the second story, and one 9/6 at the west end of the first--are modern, and some occupy 20*-century openings. The windows along the length of the northeast ell, including a bank of four casements toward the west end, are also all of mid- and late 20"-century vintage (Photo #9). The entire northeast ell (Photos # 6, 8, and 9) is most likely a former 19"-century rear kitchen and is a conversion of typical 19*-century attached line of sheds--is over 40 feet long. Since the ground slopes down to the rear, much of the ell stands over a full-height cellar accessible from the north.

While much of the frame of the ell probably dates to the 19" century, this section of the building has been considerably altered, and the exposed rafter ends at the front edge of its shallow-gabled roof indicate that a major rebuilding took place here in the 20" century. Comparison with a photograph taken in 1955 shows that the fenestration of the south front wall has been rearranged somewhat since that time, and that the front wall of the attached barn has since been brought forward to occupy the same plane as that of the ell. A 9/6 window and a narrow 6-panel door (with bullseye glass in the top two panels) at the west end of the ell façade presently occupy the same positions as a door and window shown in the photograph; a window opening east of the door may have existed at that time, as well.

The multi-light and panel mid 20th- century door in the wall further east, however, takes the place of a former window shown in the 1955 image. East of the latter door, a broad, keystoned, elliptical-arched doorway appears to occupy the position of the 19'"'century carriage opening. It retains a pair of non-functioning vertical-board doors mounted on what appear to be reproduction strap hinges. The gable-front, clapboarded barn or stable/carriagehouse (Photo #6) that abuts the east end of the ell stands over a full-height, fieldstone cellar story. Although the cellar appears to be original, most or all of the upper portion of the structure was entirely rebuilt in the late 1950s or 1960s.

(The original barn may have been higher, and is likely to have had a roof with a steeper pitch than exists today.) The barn façade has two elliptical-arched openings that mimic the one in the ell to their west, but they have taller, (continued) NPS Form I 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 7 Page 5 OMB Approval No. 10244818 - Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA narrower dimensions. Only the west of the two doorways has a functioning, interior mounted, vertical- board door, however. Centered under the gable peak is a two-part vertical-board loft door. A square, gable-roofed cupola with louvered openings occupies the center of the roof ridge.

The east wall of the barn (Photo #10) displays one 6/6-sash window at the front end of the main stable floor, and a line of three 6-pane stall windows. The main access to the barn cellar is through a broad opening in the east side of the foundation, which is presently fronted by a wire livestock- or poultry enclosure. The foundation opening is fitted with an exterior-mounted, sliding clapboarded door. A second shed-roofed, wire enclosed animal shelter, apparently a chicken coop, is located against the rear part of the west wall of the barn. Interior description. The plan of the main block of the house at both stories consists of a principal front room to either side of the off-center chimney and lobby entrance, and a range of divided spaces across the rear of the house.

(See Sketch Plan.) The method of construction evidenced by the portions of the timber frame that are presently visible is consistent with the traditional date of the late 1730s-early 1740s, as are portions of the wood finish surviving in the front rooms and entry. The interior surfaces of the outer walls of the main front rooms are plastered, but their fireplace walls are wood partition walls. Some sections of the latter are the vertical feather-edge ("bead-and-bevel") boards that were commonly used in that location throughout most of the 18" century. However, at both stories, the fireplace walls of west front rooms have a plaster surface applied to the boardsa change that may have taken place at the end of the 18" century or the beginning of the 19th.

The faces of three of the fireplaces are recessed a few inches back from the plane of the rest of the wall in the manner of the second quarter of the 18" century. The fireplace walls in the first-story front rooms, however, display raised-field paneling, a type of finish that was most characteristic of the latter part of the century in this part of Massachusetts, indicating that those spaces were updated during that period. Some of the interior doors in the main block are batten doors constructed of the same type of feather-edge boards as the fireplace walls. Most others are four-panel doors of a type characteristic of the end of the 18" century, with panels that are raised on one side and recessed on the other. Throughout the main block, the major framing timbers protrude into the rooms. All are cased, and most of the posts, girts, and beams have casings trimmed with an ovolo molding.

Typical of colonial house (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-2 (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 7 Page6 OMB Approval No. 10240848 - Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA construction in Middlesex County, the summer beams in the first-story ceilings run longitudinally from the outer side walls to the chimney girts, and those existing in the cellar and second story are oriented front to back. The wide-board pine floors throughout the building appear to be the originals, although there are reports that in the 1950s some floorboards were taken up and turned over in order to place the worn side down. Extant hardware includes a variety of iron hinges, latches, and clasps. Long strap hinges remain on some of the heavier doors.

Some H and HL door hinges, and a pair of butterfly hinges on a piece of paneling in the rear kitchen, do not appear to be original to the house. The main front door has a large Suffolk latch. Other latches are mostly of the Norfolk type, and the indentations from at least one box or rim lock remain. First story, main block. The lobby entrance (Photo #5), where the closed-string three-run staircase has 3"-square newel posts and molded rails without balusters, displays two types of woodwork: raised-field paneling against the stairs, and the back side of the feather-edge sheathing of the southwest first-story room's fireplace wall. The southwest first-story room (Photo #4) is quite large - 15' wide, with a summer beam (including casing) that is 21½½" wide. The slightly recessed fireplace has a molded surround and an overmantel consisting of a single large raised-field panel.

A crown molding trims the upper edge of above the panel. A small cabinet with a paneled door located low in the wall just north of the fireplace appears to date to the 20" century. The southeast first-story room, (Photo #3) originally a kitchen and later a dining room, is a much smaller room-11' 4" wide, with a summer beam that is 15 ¾" wide. The firebox, which has been educed in size by an added layer of bricks creating the present angled side walls, still has the opening o the bake oven in its rear wall. In this room the entire fireplace wall is a composition of late 18' raised-field paneling. Two long horizontal panels fill the wall above the fireplace, and a multi-paneled, two-range section north of the chimney incorporates a small, high cabinet with a single-paneled door.

Two 4-panel doors are located south of the chimney--one leading to the front entry, the other to a china closet that occupies the location of the former cellar stairs. A crown molding of the same profile as that in the southwest room runs the length of the fireplace wall. The rear range of first-story spaces in the main block has been rearranged somewhat over the years. It (continued) SPS Form 110-900-2 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 7 Page 7 OMB Approval No.

10244848 Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA now consists of one broad room behind and northeast of the chimney, (most of which would have constituted the later 18'-century leanto kitchenPhoto #12) an enclosed stairway to its west, and west of that, a small room that was fitted up as a pantry in the 20" century (Photo #13). It is likely that the leanto originally housed just the kitchen and a first-story bedroom to its west, and that the bedroom was later reduced in size by the building of the stairs to the rear second-story space after the leanto was raised to a full two stories. The stairway is enclosed on both sides with late feather-edge/bead-and-bevel boards of a type characteristic of the Federal period.

Compared to the feather-edge sheathing in the front part of the house which has the bolder ovolo molding typical of the mid-18" century, the paneling here is instead finished on one edge with a very narrow bead. There was formerly an enclosed passage, possibly added sometime after the stairs were built, which led north from the front southwest room to an exterior door at the rear of the kitchen. That door opening is still in place, but the east partition wall of the passage was removed when the kitchen was modernized in the early 1950s. As part of that project, the large cooking fireplace in the north face of the chimney was rebuilt, and the remains of its bake oven and ash pit, located one above the other outside and to the west of the firebox, were removed. At the same time, considerable structural work was done, and the woodwork was both restored and altered.

At least one or two principal ceiling timbers had been removed in the late 19" century, and the crossed beams currently in the ceiling include at least one mid-20t*- century steel beam cased with wood. The raised-field paneling above the fireplace and a floor to ceiling section of feather-edge sheathing to the west of it are reported to be 18"*-century paneling that was found in the attic and reinstalled in the 1950s. Horizontal feather-edged sheathing on other parts of the south wall, however, consists of a combination of new work of the 1950s and reworked boards taken up from the attic floor. Vertical feather-edged sheathing on the east and north walls of the room is also 20t- century work, installed as part of the 1950s renovations.

When another kitchen was fitted into the northeast ell in the 1960s or 1970s (see below), the 1950s cabinets and kitchen appliances were removed from this space. The pantry (former bedroom) (Photo #13) west of the stairs is a small space, with one large built-in pantry cabinet along its west wall dating to the 1950s or 1960s. Attached to the west wall of the pantry, (the exterior wall of the main block) is the small one-story, mid 20"-century west entry bay. Its front part houses a small lavatory. The walls of the rear space, an entry hall or mudroom, are covered in a combination of modern pine boards and 19"*-century feather-edge sheathing, the latter possibly reused from the wall of the kitchen passage that was taken down The floorboards of this space also may have been relocated from elsewhere in the house.

(continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 7 Page_ 8 OMB Approval No. 10246818 - Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA Second story, main block. While the second-story spaces in the main block were also updated toward the turn of the 19'' century, they reveal much about the earlier character of the house, as well. The flare of the upper part of the east "gunstock" chimney post in the entry, for instance, is evident even under its casing. The two front chambers have plastered walls with high, unadorned baseboards, and 4-panel doors. Each front chamber has a fireplace with a simply molded surround.

The back wall of the shallow closet north of the fireplace in the southeast chamber is made of the same type of feather-edge boards used in the fireplace walls downstairs. The posts, girts, and plates in this room (Photo #14) are cased with planed boards without any moldings. There is a shallow mantel shelf above the fireplace, edged with a Federal-style molding. Bookshelves along the front wall and shallow cabinets above the mantel are mid- or late 20"h-century alterations. The plaster ceiling of the room, coved at its north and south ends in a 4" upward curve from the front and rear plates, is also relatively new. Now hidden above the ceiling, however, the joists are covered with whitewash or paint, indicating that the ceiling of this room was formerly unplastered. The southwest chamber (Photo #15) was clearly the most formal bedroom in the house.

It has a more elaborately molded fireplace surround than the other chamber, a narrow mantel shelf, and a full crown molding below the chimney girt running the length of the fireplace wall. In about 1960, the summer beam was rebuilt and the plaster ceiling was taken down. In the process, some chalk graffiti in three places on the frame was revealed. Clearly written on two of the joists are the words "Sarah Hildreth, her hand." (Photo #16). While the doors in this room are hung on later hinges, the pintles for earlier strap hinges are still in place in the jamb for the door to the stairhall/entry. When the rear of the house was raised to a full two stories, a spacious rear chamber was created above the former leanto kitchen below (Photo #17). It appears that this room was unheated, as there is no visible evidence of a second-story fireplace in the back of the chimney.

Instead, three paneled doors are located in the room's south wall--a 4-panel door that opens into the southeast chamber, another to a shallow closet, and a 2-panel door to its west opening onto the attic stairs. A small cabinet is located in the upper part of the wall between the closet and the east door. This large chamber extends from the east (continued) NPS Form I 10-900-2 (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 7 Page OMB Approval No. 10244988 Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA exterior wall to the enclosed northwest staircase, which at this story is clad in unbeaded planed, vertical board. A 4-panel door at the south end of the stairway wall opens to a small hallway at the head of the stairs.

West of the stairs is a 20""-century bathroom (probably a former small chamber). Attic and cellar. When the rear of the main block was raised to a full two stories, probably late in the 18" century, the old roof was removed and a new four-bay roof built over the main house. Its structure is typical of that time period, with principal and common rafters set into a 5-sided ridge purlin, and horizontal roof boards. On each roof slope, a single row of heavy purlins tenoned into the sides of the principal rafters receives the tapered ends of the common rafters. The roof frame is stabilized by diagonal braces extending from the purlins to the principal rafters. In the process of building this second roof, new pieces were spliced and pegged into the south ends of the tie beams to support a roof overhang at the front eaves.

Like the attic, the cellar reveals something of the evolution of the house. Against the framing in front of the massive chimney base, for instance, a piece of stair stringer remains from the stairs that were located there before the rear stairs were built, and before the china closet was built into the southeast room. The cellar is full height under the lobby entrance and the west and rear part of the main house, but only a crawl space existed under the southeast room until a portion of it was dug out in the 20" century. The dirt from that excavation was deposited within the cellar west of the chimney, rendering that space unusable. The framing under the southwest room includes a 9" x 11" north/south summer beam and 3" x 4" sawn joists. There is no summer beam under the narrower southeast room, where half-log sleepers run from the chimney girt to the east sill. Northeast ell and barn.

The 9-foot-wide room behind the northeast part of the leanto kitchen was probably added in the early 19'h century for a new kitchen (or possibly a shop, such as a shoe shop), and represents a rebuilding of a line of one-story sheds that were extended to its east. All interior evidence of the former use and configuration of these spaces has been lost to later alterations, however, save for a few framing elements. Late in the 20** century the east exterior wall of the 9-foot-wide room was demolished to create a 25-foot- long modern kitchen extending into the westernmost of the sheds. Three rough posts in the front wall, and at least one in the rear wall, all fitted with diagonal braces (or mortises for them), appear to remain from the shed frame.

Some exposed framing timbers in this section, however, such as the long front plate with stud pockets in the side, are reused timbers that may have been installed at the time of the renovations. (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 7 Page_ 10 OMB Approval No. 102408K8 Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA front of the ell from the kitchen to the barn. The small 13' x 19' barn, which has three box stalls, another open stall and a workroom at the main level, with a loft above, is also of recent construction. Archaeological Description While no ancient sites are recorded on the Hildreth-Robbins House property, sites may be present. Three sites are recorded in the general area (within one mile).

Environmental characteristics of the property represent locational criteria (slope, soil drainage, proximity to wetlands) that are favorable for the presence of Native sites. The house occupies well-drained, level to moderately sloping topography on a glacial outwash plain in close proximity to wetlands. A pond that forms the headwaters of a tributary stream of Beaver Brook and River Meadow Brook is located within 1,000 feet of the house. River Meadow Brook is a tributary of the Concord/Merrimack River drainage. In general, however, the potential for the recovery of significant ancient Native American survivals on the property is low to moderate. Construction of the house, barns, blacksmith shop, and outbuildings over a 275- year or longer period would have destroyed any ancient resources that were located on the property.

A high potential exists for locating historic archaeological resources on the Hildreth-Robbins House property. Construction features and structural evidence may exist for parts of the Hildreth-Robbins House, as well as a windmill, several barns, outbuildings and a blacksmith shop known to exist on the property. Archaeological evidence may also survive from occupational related features (trash pits, privies, wells) located around the house and outbuildings listed above. (end) Hildreth-Robbins 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. _B Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. XC 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. Viddlesex, MA ounty and Stat Areas of Significance (Enter categories from instructions) _ARCHITECTURE COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT Period of Significance 1730s to 1956 Significant Dates 1742 1776 1839 Significant Person (Complete if Criterion B is marked above) N/A Cultural Affiliation N/A Architect/Builder 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 Bibliography (Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form on one or more continuation sheets.) Previous documentation on file (NPS): Primary location of additional data: - 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 # X State Historic Preservation Office _ Other State agency - Federal agency Local government _ University - Other Name of repository: NPS Form I 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 8 Page_ 1 OMB Approval No.

10244848 - Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA 8. SIGNIFICANCE The Hildreth-Robbins House meets Criteria A and C of the National Register at the local level. The building is significant under Criterion A as the farmhouse of one of south Chelmsford's principal 18"*- and 19*-century farms, as well as for its association with members of the Hildreth, Robbins, Chamberlain, Adams, and Byam families and their relatives. This particular succession of owners represents a two-centuries-long chain of descent from some of Chelmsford's original settlers. Each of the multi-generational households occupying the house from ca. 1740 through the first quarter of the 20" century illustrates, in their own way, important social, domestic, and economic trends of their respective eras.

Richard and Jonas Hildreth, John Robbins 3, ,and Phineas Chamberlain were 18th century yeoman farmers practicing a form of mixed husbandry. Subsequently, under two generations of Byams, the old farm took part in the increasingly specialized and market-oriented agriculture that characterized eastern Massachusetts farming in the second half of the 19" century. Thomas Minot Adams' occupancy from the 1840s until his death in the 1890s typifies the role of the bachelor farmer during a time when farms were often managed in tandem by more than one family member, and the presence of Nathan Bean illustrates the essential work of the mid-19*h century hired farmhand. Even the property's brief ownership by innkeeper-turned-farmer Jefferson Loring in the early 1840s may shed light on the decline of the roadside tavern during that same period shortly before the coming of the regional railroads.

What is known about the women in the house is also illustrative of changing patterns in domestic and community life. Three of the 18"*-century male owners outlived multiple wives, some of whom clearly died from complications of childbirth. By contrast, the life of Hannah Mariah (Adams) Byam, Chelmsford's oldest citizen in the early 1900s, spanned nearly an entire century. Her charitable works and her influence on the organization of the Chelmsford Baptist Church, which paralleled that of her husband and son, illustrate one aspect of the evolving social empowerment of women in the 19th century. Finally, the youthful, educated Sarah Hildreth, who literally left her mark on the frame of the house, and who briefly owned the major South Chelmsford farm in her own right while still in her twenties, is a rare instance of farm ownership by a young woman in the 18 century.

The property fulfills Criterion C as a fine, well-preserved example of an 18"-century New England farmhouse that evolved over time in ways that are as characteristic of their eras as its occupants were of the social climate of their times. The non-symmetrical plan, with rooms on one side of the "center" (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number Page_ 2 OMB Approval No. 10244848 Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA chimney much larger than those on the other, is a pre-1750 arrangement found throughout Middlesex County.

The evidence of a rear leanto that was later raised to two stories, a major Federal remodeling that took place after the Revolution, the addition of rear stairs, and the building of an early 19"-century ell, attached line of sheds, and later 19"-century carriagehouse/stable are all important illustrations of regional architectural trends. In spite of some 20""-century changes, the reduction in size of the property, and the loss of some outbuildings, the property retains integrity of location, design, materials, workmanship, feeling, setting and association. Background and early history. The exact date of construction of this house, and the identity of its first occupants, are both somewhat uncertain.

However, it has unquestionable significance in the development of the town of Chelmsford as the well-preserved farmhouse of one of the principal farms in the south part of town, owned for more than 200 years by descendants of at least a half dozen of the town's earliest families. One of the earliest communities in Middlesex County, Chelmsford was established as a plantation in 1655. With the subsequent absorption of lands from Indian Praying Towns and a large additional grant of land by the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the town increased greatly in size through the late 17"'- and first quarter of the 18'* century.

Considerable territory was lost over the next several decades, however, to the formation of the new towns of Littleton (1725), Westford (1729-1730), Dunstable (1755), and Carlisle (1780.) More land was lost to the formation of Lowell in 1826, with subsequent minor boundary adjustments taking place through the third quarter of the 19" century. A linear settlement developed early around the meetinghouse at Chelmsford center, and fishing and early colonial mill activity took place along some major local waterways, especially along Stony Brook and other tributaries of the Merrimack River in the north part of town.

By the early 18*" century several large, prosperous farms were operating in south Chelmsford east of Beaver Brook in the area of Heart Pond, and there were enough families in the vicinity for a garrison house (located less than a mile northwest of the nominated property) to be designated for their protection. (MHC#.100, NRIND., 105 Garrison Road, "Old Chelmsford Garrison House"). Colonial farming, which in Chelmsford consisted largely of general agriculture, grazing, and lumbering, grew more diversified over the course of the 18th century, with some dairying and apple growing emerging as specialties during the late colonial era. (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approval No.

10240848 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA Section number 8 Page_ 3 By 1771, the population of the south part of Chelmsford was active and concentrated enough to form an arly Baptist Society in that part of town. Leaders in the establishment of the church and in its ubsequent operations included several members of households at the Hildreth-Robbins House. The farm's occupants were also influential in the formation of South Chelmsford as an agricultural village in the early part of the 19" century. Hildreth family ownership from before 1742 to 1771. Architectural evidence indicates that the Hildreth-Robbins House was built in the 1730s or 1740s.

The earliest likely recorded reference to a house on the property comes from a deed of 1742, in which Richard Hildreth sold his 50-acre homestead, "with orcharding and a dwelling house, barn, and cornhouse thereon," along with several other parcels of land, to Jonas Hildreth, who was apparently his son. This Richard Hildreth (1676/77-1760,) who was called Ensign Hildreth when he died, would have been of the third generation of the family founded by the original settler of the same name. In the 17" century, the first Richard Hildreth had been awarded extensive lands in the south part of Chelmsford for his services to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Future research into early Chelmsford records is likely to reveal that this house stands on some of those original Hildreth lands. In the deed to Jonas, Ens.

Richard Hildreth reserved the rights to half of all the buildings, lands, cattle, and farm equipment and tools for the rest of his life-a common arrangement between an aging colonial farmer and the son or nephew he had designated to follow him on the farm. In this case, however, it is not entirely clear whether the present building incorporates Richard Hildreth's dwelling house, or whether it is a house that was built for Jonas. Further architectural investigation of parts of the structure that are not presently visible may help to determine whether any part of the building predates the 1730s. Jonas Hildreth (1716-1770) who was 26 when he acquired the farm, was married two years later. His wife was Sarah Heald of Acton. She died in 1746 at the age of 24, a week after their only daughter, Sarah, was born.

Although Jonas married twice more before he died, no record has been found of any other Hildreth children being born in the house. An intriguing aspect of the house is the signature of Sarah Hildreth, which appears in chalk on the joists in the southwest chamber, as "Sarah Hildreth, her it appears from probate documents that she could not write her name.) (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-2 (8-86) OMB Approval No. 10244848 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA Section number 8 Page 4 When Jonas Hildreth died in 1770, he left the rights to the customary "widow's thirds" of his real oroperty to his wife for the rest of her life.

(Her death date is not known.) His executor assigned her the east part of the homestead, including the part of the house east of a line drawn through the middle of the chimney, part of the garret (attic), and half of the cellar. All of the rest of Jonas Hildreth's property was inherited outright by his 24 year old daughter. The inventory of his estate reveals that he died a reasonably wealthy man. It tells much about the farm he had built up, and about the considerable inheritance that fell to such a young woman. In addition to what by then was a 56-acre homestead farm, with house, barn, cornhouse, and root cellar, there were also 70 acres in Westford and at least 20 acres more of upland, meadow, and orchard lands.

The estate included the livestock of a substantial mixed-husbandry farm of the years just before the Revolutionary War--a pair of oxen, a horse, half a dozen cows and cattle, four pigs, and 18 sheep. Sarah did not have to manage the farm on her own for very long, however. Seventeen months after her father died, she married a South Chelmsford neighbor, John Robbins 3rd John Robbins 3r, ownership 1771-1776. It is likely that Sarah and John only lived in the house that she inherited for a few years after her father died. John Robbins, 3rd (b. 1748) was a member of another of Chelmsford's early, landed families. His parents were John and Susannah (Harwood) Robbins, and his paternal grandmother was a Hildreth.

Both of his parents died in the summer of 1775, and together with his brother, Jonathan, he inherited all of his father's real estate, which included considerable lands in both Chelmsford and Acton. Perhaps because he and Sarah took up residence on one of the Robbins farms (in 1776 they were recorded as living in Acton), shortly after his father's estate was probated in the spring of 1776, they sold the Hildreth farm. Chamberlain family ownership 1776-1839 The purchaser was Phineas (also spelled Phinehas) Chamberlain (1746-1813). Like John Robbins, he was soon to marry into the Hildreth family. His first wife and infant daughter had died within two months of each other the previous year, and in July of 1776 he married Sybil Hildreth, apparently of the branch of the Hildreth family who were living in Westford. She died in 1783, and Phineas later married Mary Adams of Chelmsford.

Like the Hildreths, Healds, Proctors and Robbinses, both the Chamberlains and Adamses were among the oldest of the families in Chelmsford. (continued) NPS Form I 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 8 Page 5 OMB Approval No. 10244848 - Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA Phineas Chamberlain was a blacksmith as well as a farmer, and it was probably he who built the blacksmith shop which stood for many decades near the road a short distance southeast of the house. Like both Jonas and Richard Hildreth, he was married three times. Phineas had at least five children. His son, Joseph (1773-1830), who worked the farm with his father, was married in 1796, and he and his wife Mary (Parker) shared the house with his parents for many years.

Judging by the architectural character of the many Federal-style features in the building, it is likely that the house was extensively remodeled, and expanded to a full two stories (probably to better accommodate the two households) around the time of Joseph and Mary's marriage. In 1807, Phineas Chamberlain sold half of the farm to Joseph. When Phineas died six years later, Joseph came into full possession of the property. In 1829, the year before his own death from consumption, Joseph Chamberlain sold all his real estate holdings, consisting of more than 136 acres, to his second son, Parker Chamberlain. At that time, the homestead farm measured 60 acres, and included the house, barn, the blacksmith's shop, and assorted other outbuildings. Parker (b. 1803), had married Mary Byam (of another old Chelmsford family) three years earlier.

After Joseph Chamberlain died, his widow retained her widow's ownership interest in the property, and continued to live in the house with her son and his family. In 1834, the homestead property was reduced somewhat, although the family building cluster was expanded, when Parker Chamberlain sold the blacksmith shop, with ¾ of an acre, to his wife's brother, blacksmith Marcus Byam. Marcus Byam was also Parker's brother-in-law, having married Parker's sister, Rebecca, in 1832. It is possible that the young couple lived first with her family at 19 Maple Road. Shortly after the purchase, Marcus and Rebecca put up their own house, the present 11 Maple Road (MHC#69). Jefferson Loring ownership (1839-1843.) Parker Chamberlain and his family subsequently moved to Lowell, and in 1839 he and his mother sold the farm, then 90 acres, to an innkeeper, Jefferson Loring. Mr.

Loring owned the property for about four years, and it is believed that he operated a tavern in the house for a short time. Thomas M. Adams ownership (1843-1847.) By 1843, Jefferson Loring was listed as a farmer, rather than an innkeeper - probably an indication that like many others at that time, his inn and tavern had (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 8 Page_ 6 OMB Approval No. 10246818 - Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA declined in profitability due to the combined forces of the temperance movement and the demise of stagecoach travel. In that year he sold the property to Thomas Minot Adams, a member of another old Chelmsford family that had owned considerable property in town during the colonial era.

Early Adams holdings had included the large Adams-Heyward farm to the northwest, which may once have nearly adjoined the Hildreth-Robbins Farm, (see "Old Chelmsford Garrison House," 105 Garrison Road, MHC #100, NRIND). Byam family ownership (1847-1933). While Thomas Minot Adams, a lifelong bachelor, continued to live in the house for nearly 50 years more, in 1847 he sold it to his brother-in-law, Solomon E. Byam (1810-1873), who had married his sister, Hannah Mariah Adams. The long Byam ownership period illustrates the closely intertwined family connections that prevailed on many of Chelmsford's older farms through the 19** century. In addition to marrying an Adams, Solomon Byam was directly related to the Adams family through his mother, Abi Adams. He was the brother of Marcus Byam, who lived next door, and brother-in-law of Parker Chamberlain, husband of their sister, Mary.

In the mid-19" century, Solomon Byam and Thomas Adams worked together to make the old farm one of the more productive agricultural operations in the south part of Chelmsford. In 1850 they were managing a total of about 75 acres in mixed agricultural use. The land supported 10 cows and other cattle, and fields of hay, Indian corn, potatoes, and vegetables. Over the third quarter of the century, like many farms in the Chelmsford area, Solomon Byam's farm developed more of a specialty in dairying. By 1870 he was selling milk to regional markets, and in that year produced the largest amount of butter of any farmer in town, 820 pounds. Solomon Byam was a shoemaker as well as a farmer, and probably had a small shoeshop on the property. In 1871, the Framingham and Lowell Railroad was built through the farm, passing north just west of the house on its way to Lowell.

The South Chelmsford railroad depot was erected directly across the road, and Solomon Byam became the first stationmaster, a job he held until his death a few years later. As noted above, over the years the inhabitants of 19 Maple Road were closely connected with the Chelmsford First Baptist Church (MHC# 214, 2-4 Maple Road). The Chelmsford Baptist Society was an early one in the region, founded in 1771, with its first meetinghouse built in South Chelmsford in 1772. In fact, by the middle of the 19" century, the area around the intersection of Maple Road and the (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) Natied S Fatk Devartment of the Interior National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 8 Page_ OMB Approval No.

10244848 Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA adjoining road to Acton, where the society erected its second meetinghouse in 1836, came to be known as "Baptist Village." From the beginning, the Baptist society included many members of the Robbins, Chamberlain, Adams, and Byam families. In his generation, Solomon Byam was the longtime church sexton, its Clerk for 17 years, and Superintendent of the Baptist Sunday School for more than 11 years. Hannah Mariah Byam was also deeply involved with the church. She was an officer at the founding of its Social Circle in 1846, played a prominent role in the Sunday School, and was noted locally for her devotion to religious works and charitable causes. Solomon E. Byam was also active in civic affairs at both the local and state levels.

He was the town Tax Collector for five years, was active in the Republican party, and served as State Representative from Chelmsford in 1864. He was also one of the founding trustees of the 1859-1862 Chelmsford Academy, a private school which succeeded the "classical school" begun in 1825 under the influence of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Solomon and Hannah Mariah Byam occupied the farm longer than any other ownershe for over 27 years, until his death in 1873, and she for more than 60 years. They had eight children, one of whom, Rufus Edwin, died of consumption at 26 after serving in the Civil War. A look at the household in 1855 provides some clues about how the spaces in the large farmhouse may have been used by the large extended Byam family, which filled it with three generations in much the same way that their predecessors had done.

At that time, Solomon and Hannah Mariah were both in their forties, and were rearing six children - 3 girls and 3 boys - ranging in age from one to 18. Thomas Minot Adams, then 45, would have occupied one room- perhaps the southeast chamber, the smaller of the two bedrooms at the front of the house. Mrs. Byam's 77 year-old mother also lived with them, and as an elderly person, she may have occupied the first-story bedroom off the former leanto kitchen. Their boarder and hired hand, a local young man named Nathan Bean, might have slept in part of the ell or in one of the outbuildings, and the older Byam children probably would have filled the rear second-story rooms. When Solomon died in 1873, the house and farm passed to the Byams' son Frank Colby Byam (1848- 1933).

Hannah Mariah continued to live there until her death in 1909 at the age of 96, a few years after she was honored as Chelmsford's oldest citizen. Thomas Minot Adams remained part of the household as well, until his death in 1895 at the age of 84. (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approval No. 10240818 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 8 Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA Page_ 8 Since his teenage years, Frank Byam had worked the farm with his father and uncle, and at times with his brothers. After Solomon's death, Frank continued to raise cows and cattle, selling milk to market, but he no longer produced butter for sale.

By 1880 he was also raising poultry and selling eggs, and maintained a sizable apple orchard from which he harvested several hundred bushels of apples a year. The 1914 Chelmsford tax list shows that he had two henhouses and a windmill, and owned both a barn and a horse barn. The "horse barn" may refer to the smaller stable/carriagehouse at the east end of the ell. In addition to running the family farm, Frank Byam followed his father as caretaker of the nearby Baptist Church, and as station agent at the railroad depot across the road. In that capacity, he saw the railroad through several changes in ownership, as the Framingham & Lowell was succeeded by the Boston, Clinton, & Fitchburg Railroad, was subsequently absorbed by the Old Colony line, and later became part of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford.

In 1895, Frank's son, Lyman, took over as station agent until the depot closed in 1921. Like his father, Frank Byam was active in town affairs. He served six years on the Chelmsford School Committee, and was one of the town's early police officers. In the 1870s he was involved in the organization of the South Chelmsford Village Improvement Association and in the construction of its Liberty Hall (MHC #275, 318 Acton Road). Frank Byam and his wife Amelia (Wetherbee) had three children, Lyman, Nettie, and Lucy. Amelia Byam died in 1925, and at the end of his life Frank lived with Lyman in Lowell. In the late 1920s and early '30s, the family used the house mainly as a summer residence. Later 20"-century ownership. A year after Frank Byam's death in 1933, the Byam children sold 20 acres of the farm, with the farmstead, to Glen R. and Abbie M. Blaisdell. Mr. Blaisdell was a local mail carrier.

The Blaisdells owned the property until 1946. The next owners were George W. Nold, Jr., an electrical engineer, and his wife, Virginia. They in turn sold the property in 1953 to Richard and Constance R. Porter. Mr. Porter was an electronics engineer. The Porters, who gave the name "Redwing Farm" to the property, owned it for less than sIx years. During that time, however, they reduced it to 13.9 acres, and did considerable restoration work on the house. Changes made by the Porters included stripping woodwork, replicating paneling, and removing the partition that formed a passage across the rear kitchen ell. (continued) NPS Form I 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 8 Page_ 9 OMB Approval No.

102458K8 - Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA In 1959, the Porters sold the property to G. Gordon Olsen, M.D. of Carlisle, a hospital administrator. He and his wife, Dr. Paula Olsen, continued the restoration of the house. Dr. Gordon Olson died in 1966. The Olsons had bought back a piece of land across the road in 1964, part of which was subdivided into two house lots, and which ran with the title to the farmstead until at least the mid- 1980s. Subsequent owners of the Hildreth-Robbins House were contractor Thomas A. Maloney (from 1971 to 1973), who lived there with his wife Jacqueline, and children Kathleen, a secretary, and son Thomas, Jr., a carpenter trained in historic restoration work. The Maloneys were succeeded by court officer Leo H. Bourgeault and his wife Lucille (1973-1976); and Dr. Michael Bartleson and his wife Donna, a nurse, from 1976 to 1980. Dr.

Bartleson owned the property solely after that time, and subsequently with his second wife Nancy until his death in 2000. In the fall of 2002, the Town of Chelmsford purchased the house and remaining farmstead from Nancy Bartleson. At the time of the purchase the property was divided into two lots - 1.32 acres with the house and the small pond to the rear, and 12.6 acres to the east and north. The larger piece will remain as conservation land under the Town of Chelmsford, and the house and pond has been sold to a private owner under a preservation restriction. Archaeological Significance Since patterns of ancient Native American settlement in Chelmsford are poorly understood, any surviving sites could be significant.

Although numerous ancient sites have been identified within the overall Concord, Sudbury, and Assabet River drainages, fewer sites have been recorded along more inland tributary streams (including the Beaver and River Meadow Brook drainages), possibly reflecting underreporting in this area or environmental differences in the drainages. Ancient Native American sites in the vicinity of the Hildreth-Robbins House may contribute important information that identifies the range of functional and temporal variability between sites in the Beaver/River Meadow Brook drainage and their relationship to Native settlements along the main drainage of the Concord and Merrimack Rivers.

Information may also be present that clarifies the relationship and regional importance of sites and resources along the Beaver/River Meadow Brook drainage to larger tributaries of the Merrimack River such as the Concord, Sudbury, and Assabet River drainages. Ancient sites in the vicinity of the Hildreth-Robbins House and the Beaver/River Meadow Brook drainage may represent a seasonal /functional aspect of a subsistence and settlement system that focuses on larger (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 8 Page_10 OMB Approval No. 10245818 Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA sites along the Merrimack River drainage and other tributaries listed above.

Sites in this area can also contain evidence of exchange between more interior portions of the Merrimack River drainage and downstream coastal areas. Historic archaeological resources described above may contribute important information related to the architecture, complex social history, and land use for two centuries of life on one of Chelmsford's principal 18" and 19t century farms. Additional documentary research and architectural investigation combined with archaeological survey and testing may contribute important evidence on the exact date of construction for the house and the identity of its first inhabitants. Construction features and structural evidence associated with the house, barns, and outbuildings may contribute important evidence that identifies when and where specific structures were built and the role they played in the changing farmstead over time.

Inconclusive architectural investigation currently indicates the house dates to the 1730s or early 1740s; however, archaeological research and architectural study of portions of the house not currently visible may find that portions of the structure were constructed earlier. Structural evidence of several barns and outbuildings known to have existed on the property may survive in the vicinity of the house. A freestanding barn was originally located near the road southeast of the house. A corn barn was also located in this area. A late 18" century blacksmith shop, not extant, also stood east of the house. A windmill was also originally present on the farm.

Detailed analysis of the contents of occupational-related features (trash pits, privies, wells) may also contribute important information related to the social, cultural and economic characteristics of the farm's inhabitants and activities that occurred in the many structures located on the parcel. Archaeological features may exist that contain the exclusive detritus of specific families and/or individuals. Stratified archaeological remains may also exist that document the changes at the house from one family, occupation, or function to another. Important information may also exist that documents the life and living conditions of boarders or hired hands known to have been living and working on the farm during the Byam period of ownership.

Structural evidence of outbuildings combined with evidence from occupational-related features may also help document the function of specific structures and the role they played in the agricultural evolution of the farm, as well as the importance of manufacturing and commercial activities over time, and with different families. Important evidence may exist that documents the relation of the blacksmith shop to agricultural production over time and its importance to the economy of several families who used the shop in the 18"" and 19" centuries. Important technological information may also exist related to blacksmithing (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approval No.

10245848 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA Section number 8 Page 11 technologies over two centuries and the types of items that were manufactured or repaired. Structural evidence associated with the house, outbuildings and the contents of occupational-related features may also contribute important evidence that indicates where shoe manufacture was conducted on the farm, (end) VPS Form 1 10.900-2 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 9 Page_ 1 OMB Approval No. 102458K8 - Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA 9. MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES Books, articles and manuscripts Allen, Wilkes. History of Chelmsford. Haverhill, MA: P.N. Green, printer 1820.

Byam, Edwin C. Descendants of George Byam. 1975. Drake, Samuel A., ed. History of Middlesex County, Vol. I. Boston: Estes & Lauriat, 1000. Hurd, D.H., ed. History of Middlesex County, Mass, Vol. II. Philadelphia: J.W. Lewis & Co., 1890. Stewart, Dwight C. From John Heald to Jane Hale Howerton: a Hale Genealogy. Louisville, KY: D.C. Stewart, 1994. Waters, Rev. Wilson. History of Chelmsford. Lowell: Courier Citizen, 1917. Public records: Vital records of Acton, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Concord, and Westford. Federal Agricultural Census: 1850, 1870, 1880. Massachusetts and U.S. censuses: 1790, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1855, 1865. Middlesex County Registry of Deeds. Middlesex County probate records. Massachusetts Historical Commission. Survey and Inventory of Historic, Architectural, and Cultural Resources of Chelmsford. - Reconnaissance Survey Report for Chelmsford. 1980.

Maps, plans, and atlases Beers, F.W. Atlas of Middlesex County. New York: F.W. Beers, 1875. Walker, George. Atlas of Middlesex County. Boston: 1889. Potter, Richard. Interview with Anne Forbes, 2004. (end) Hildreth-Robbins House Name of Property 10. Geographical Data Acreage of Property 1.32 acres UTM References (Place additional UTM references on a continuation sheet) 1.19 304640 4715760 Zone Easting Northing 2. Zone Easting Northing Middlesex, MA County and State 3. Zone Easting 4ione Easting - See continuation sheet 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 date October 2006 street & number 220 Morrissey Blvd telephone 617-727-8470 city or town Boston state_Massachusetts _ zip code_02125 Additional Documentation Submit the following items with the completed form: Continuation Sheets Northing Northing 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 Robert C.

Morse street & number 45 Clarissa Road city or town Chelmsford telephone state MA zip code 01824-3188 Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate stimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 18.1 hours per response including the time for reviewir structions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments reaarding this burden estimate or any aspect 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.

NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 10 Page_ 1 OMB Approval No. 10246848 Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA 10. GEOGRAPHICAL DATA, continued Verbal Boundary Description The boundaries of the nominated property are those of the parcel shown as Parcel 393/2, Chelmsford Assessors Map 116, at 19 Maple Road; also shown as "Lot 1" on "Plan of Land in Chelmsford," Middlesex North Registry of Deeds Book 209 Page 136, recorded October 17, 2002. Boundary Justification The National Register boundaries encompass the entire parcel on which the Hildreth-Robbins House stands.

(End) NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number data Page_ OMB Approval No. 10244848 Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA MAP# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 NAME OR DESCRIPTION Hildreth-Robbins House Fieldstone wall along road Driveway Granite hitching post Cart/livestock ramp/retaining wall Fieldstone retaining wall and steps Pond Granite block RESOURCE COUNT C=contributing; NC = non-contributing B= building; O= object; Si = site; St = structure DATE 1730s-early 1740s ca. early 19'-century 19" century 19'' century 2nd half, 19'' century ca. early 20# century ca.

1'''century 1gt' century STATUS TYPE C C C C C C St St St St TOTAL RESOURCE COUNT: BUILDINGS STRUCTURES: OBJECTS: SITES: TOTAL: Contributing 1 4 2 1 8 Non-contributing 0 0 0 TOTAL: NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number photo Page OMB Approval No. 10240818 Hildreth-Robbins House Chelmsford (Middlesex), MA PHOTOGRAPHS Unless otherwise noted, all photographs by Anne Forbes. 8 x 10" photographs 1. View looking north: south facades, 2003 2. View northwest: south and east facades, main block, 2003 3. Southeast first-story room: fireplace wall, 2003 4. Southwest first-story room: fireplace wall, 2003 5. Lobby entrance, 2003 4 X 6" supplementary photographs 6. View north to south façade of ell and barn, 2005 7.

View northeast with greenhouse, west entry addition, and west elevation of main block, 2004 8. View south to rear wall of main block, with later additions, 2004 9. View south to rear elevation of ell, 2003 10. View southwest with barn ramp and southeast corner of barn, 2004 11. View north-northeast over stone retaining wall and steps, overlooking pond, 2004 12. First story: rear (leanto) kitchen looking southwest, 2005 13. First story: looking east into rear kitchen from northwest pantry/bedroom, 2005 14. Second story, southeast chamber: fireplace wall, 2004 15. Second story, southwest chamber: fireplace wall 2004 16. Second story, southwest chamber: chalk graffiti on joist 2004 17.

Second story: rear chamber south wall, 2004 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET NOMINATION Hildreth--Robbins House REQUESTED ACTION: PROPERTY NAME: MULTIPLE NAME: STATE & COUNTY: MASSACHUSETTS, Middlesex DATE RECEIVED: DATE OF 16TH DAY: DATE OF WEEKLY LIST: 10/19/06 11/21/06 REFERENCE NUMBER: 06001090 DATE OF PENDING LIST: DATE OF 45TH DAY: 11/06/06 12/02/06 REASONS FOR REVIEW: APPEAL: REQUEST: N COMMENT WAIVER: VACCEPT ABSTRACT/ SUMMARY COMMENTS : DATA PROBLEM: N LANDSCAPE: N LESS THAN 50 YEARS: PERIOD: PROGRAM UNAPPROVED: N SLR DRAFT: N NATIONAL: REJECT 11.29.O6DATE Entered in tho National Rogtetes 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, nomination is no longer under consideration by the NPS.

HILDROTH - ROBBINS MOUSES CHOMSFORD, MA HIDROTH-ROBBIAS HOUSE CHEMSFORD, MA 3. HIDROTA- ROBBINS HOUSO CHEMSPORD, MA 4. HHUDRATA-ROBRINS MOUSE CHELMSFORD, MA HIDRSTA-ROBRINS MOUSE CHERMSFORD, MA 6 HICDRETH. ROBBINS HOUSÓ CHERMSPORD, MA 10 < 7-3 N/3-2 Creative Camera- 0505 7 HIDRETH-ROBBINS HOUSE CHOUISFORD, MA Creative Canera 8 HIDROTH. ROSBINS HOUSE CHOMSFORD, MA Creative Camera 9 IHIDROTH. ROBBIDS HoUSo CHERMSFORD, MA Lreativi HIDRUTH- ROBBINS HOUSE CHOrmS PORD, MA Creative Camera " HICORUTH.RORBINS HOUSE CHOrMSFORD, MA -2 N/ 1-4 Camera 0306 12 HIDRETA- ROBBINS HOUSU CHORMSFORD, MA 10 < >-2 N/ 2-8 Creative Camera 0505 13 HIDROTH - ROBBINS HOUSEr CHtormsFORD, not 10 < 7-2 N/ 2-5 Creative Canera 0505 14 Hidrerl - Robbins House Chelneufra, Mit 15 HICDRaTH.

ROBBINS HOUSó checmofod, ut 16 IILDROTH- ROBBADS AOUET Chelasfnd, ma 555555555353555332 32222333 17 Hiidretl - Dobtorus toose Chermafna. nA EHRETEIT CRLACTDAN The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Massachusetts Historical Commission October 12, 2006 Dr. John Roberts National Register of Historic Place Department of the Interio National Park Service 1201 Eye Street, NW 8" floor Washington, DC 20005 Dear Dr. Roberts: Enclosed please find the following nomination form: Hildreth-Robbins House, 19 Maple Road, Chelmsford (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, Betty rredherg Betsy Friedberg National Register Director Massachusetts Historical Commission enclosure CC: Anne Forbes, preservation consultant Robert C. Morse Linda Prescott, Chelmsford Historical Commission Michael McCall, Board of Selectmen Charles Wojtas, Planning Board 220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, Massachusetts 02125 (617) 727-8470 - Fax: (617) 727-5128 www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc