Nomination for Gay Farm

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Form No. 10-300 (Rev. 10-74) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY -- NOMINATION FORM FORNPS URATA SHEET RECEIVED APR 12 1977 DATE ENTERED SEP 2 2 1977 SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN HOW TO COMPLETE NATIONAL REGISTER FORMS TYPE ALL ENTRIES - COMPLETE APPLICABLE SECTIONS NAME HISTORIC Nichewaug Hill, Negus Hill AND/OR COMMON Gay Farm (Preferred) V Le Ches LOCATION STREET & NUMBER CITY.

TOWN Petershan Gay Drive, South Street off Nichewaug RdNOT FOR PUBLICATION CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT Petersham STATE Massachusetts VICINITY OF CODE 01366 COUNTY Worcester CODE 027 3 CLASSIFICATION CATEGORY _DISTRICT XBUILDING(S) _STRUCTURE SITE OBJECT OWNERSHIP _PUBLIC XPRIVATE _BOTH PUBLIC ACQUISITION _IN PROCESS LBEING CONSIDERED STATUS X OCCUPIED _UNOCCUPIED -WORK IN PROGRESS ACCESSIBLE XYES: RESTRICTED LYES: UNRESTRICTED -NO PRESENT USE -AGRICULTURE _MUSEUM COMMERCIAL -PARK _EDUCATIONAL XPRIVATE RESIDENCE _ENTERTAINMENT _RELIGIOUS _GOVERNMENT SCIENTIFIC _INDUSTRIAL -TRANSPORTATION -MILITARY _OTHER: OWNER OF PROPERTY NAME STREET & NUMBER Corinne Howe Babbitt Gay Drive, South Street off Nichewaug Road CITY. TOWN Petersham _ VICINITY OF 5 LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION GEGSTRY OF DEEDSETC Woxcester County Registry of Deeds STREET & NUMBER STATE Massachusetts, 01366 2 Main Street CITY.

TOWN STATE Massachusetts, 01608 Worcester 6 REPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYS TITLE DATE Inventory of the Historic Assets of the Commonwealth 1976 _FEDERAL X STATE COUNTY _LOCAL DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS CITY. TOWN Massachusetts Historical Commission Boston STATE Massachusetts, 02108 7 DESCRIPTION CONDITION -EXCELLENT _GOOD XFAIR _DETERIORATED -RUINS UNEXPOSED CHECK ONE _UNALTERED X ALTERED - CHECK ONE XORIGINAL SITE -MOVED DATE DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (IF KNOWN) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Description of the property

Gay Farm is located off Nichewaug Road in Petersham on a town road known as Gay Drive. A beautiful old stone wall lines the property in front of the house along the road. The house is set on a slight rise in a well landscaped lawn. The property originally encompassed 96 acres, 30 of which remain. The other 60 acres comprise a wildlif e sanctuary given to the Town of Petersham by Corinne Howe Babbitt in memory of her husband Lewis Hall Babbitt, a naturalist. The two story house with ell was built between 1740 and 1742. It is a gambre1 roofed structure with a central stone chimney and a stone founda- tion. The original wide shiplap boards on the exterior walls remain, but were entirely covered with shingles in about 1880. Sections of the sheathing were reshingled after 1926, and in the process the shiplap was exposed, but retained. The corner boards are plain.

The facade faces east toward Gay Drive. A simple wooden door is placed slightly off center, and is no longer used. One window to the left of the door and two windows to the right are 12/12 framed by simple flat archi- traves. There is a simple molded cornice on the overhanging eave. The second story contains three shed roof dormers with 8/8 fenestration. The south elevation contains the present main entrance in the west end bay. This entrance is covered by a shallow gambrel roofed porch with open lat tice work sides. There is a small bay window in the east end bay and a large small paned window directly to the left of the entry porch. In the second story there are two symmetrically placed 12/12 windows. The west, rear elevation has two 8/8 shed roof dormers above two 12/12 win- dows and one horizontal window.

An ell in the north end of the rear eleva- tion has a plain wooden door, twelve paned casement windows on the first story and twelve paned square windows on the second story. A large woodshed on the west end of the ell shows a plain wide wooden door with a 12/12 window directly to its right, and two 8/8 windows in the second story. The interior of the main house is typical .of the center chimney entry hall floor plan, with two rooms on both north and south sides. The first floor contains three fireplaces. The dining room fireplace retains a brick oven. In 1846 the stairway from what is now the dining room was moved to the front of the house. around the huge plastered chimney. At a later date, the upstairs was converted to a four bedroom plan. One bedroom has a fireplace. The ell was originally a summer kitchen.

In about 1940 this summer kitchen was panelled with wide hurricane boards and was protected by a new floor to insure warmth and convenience in the newly converted kitchen, bathroom and pantry (once a part of the original buttery). The second story of the ell has 1 bedroom and storage space. Near the house is a deep well and set to the south of the house is a 200 year old barn. There are two sheds on the property behind the house. Form No. 10-300a (Rev. 10-74) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTOR Y -- NOMINATION FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY RECEIVED DATE ENTERED APR 1 2 1977 SEP 2 2 1977 CONTINUATION SHEET ITEM NUMBER 7 PAGE 1 Between the house and the barn is a hill which contains an old cistern, which Lor many years was the only water supply to the house.

Most of the drinking water was brought from a spring in the woods west of the house. The cistern is approximately thirty feet deep, and is constructed of bricks. It is filtered with sand at the bottom.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

SIGNIFICANCE PERIOD _PREHISTORIC -1400-1499 - 1500-1599 -1600-1699 X1700-1799 -1800-1899 -1900- ARCHEOLUGY-PREHISTORIC ARCHEOLOGY-HISTORIC _AGRICULTURE X ARCHITECTURE ART _COMMERCE _COMMUNICATIONS AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE -- CHECK AND JUSTIFY BELOW _COMMUNITY PLANNING LLANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE _CONSERVATION -LAW _ECONOMICS _LITERATURE _EDUCATION X MILITARY LENGINEERING MUSIC _EXPLORATION/SETTLEMENT _PHILOSOPHY _INDUSTRY _POLITICS/GOVERNMENT _INVENTION _RELIGION _SCIENCE _SCULPTURE _SOCIAL/HUMANITARIAN _THEATER -TRANSPORTATION _OTHER (SPECIFY) SPECIFIC DATES 1740-1742 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE BUILDER

Statement of significance

/ARCHITECT William Negus Gay Farm is significant as the oldest remaining house in Petersham and as a building which housed the same family, the Negus family and descendants, for 234 years. The house was built between 1740 and 1742 by William Negus, who had come to Petersham during the 1730s. His son Joseph, born in Worcester in 1742, was deeded the house and 96 acres in 1769. Joseph was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. His regiment left Petersham in April, 1775 en route to camp at Cambridge. He was stationed at General Washington's Hudson River headquarters and superintended the building of Fort Clinton at West Point. After the Battle of Bennington, August 1777, he joined Captain Wing Spooner's Company which participated in the taking of British posts on Lake George in September 1777.

Joseph was commissioned Captain by Governor John Hancock in 1789 and Major by Governor Samuel Adams in 1794. He was the father of five daughters and four sons. Joseph deeded the' farm to his son Joel who was a Militia Captain, Justice of the Peace, Town Clerk, school teacher, land surveyor, appraiser, builder of hand looms, designer, decorator, painter, and master of hand lettering. Joel's eldest daughter, Arathusa Negus, was married to Jonas Howe. The couple lived in the Joel Negus home in town. When their son Thomas grew up and married, he moved back to his great-great grandfather William Negus' property. Here Thomas' daughter, Elizabeth Arathusa Howe, was born. She inherited her father's home and, upon her death in 1926, willed the property to Lewis Hall Babbitt whose widow Corinne Howe Babbitt still lives in the house.

The rest of the file

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

MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES Unpublished papers of the Negus Family. Coolidge, Mable; History of Petersham, Hudson Press, Hudson:1948. Howe & Wilder, Petersham Sketches, Transcript Press, Athol: 1950. Willson, Rev. Edmund, Centennial Address, 1855. Worcester County Registry of Deeds.

10GEOGRAPHICAL DATA ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY 24Acres UTM REFERENCES AL18 17|3,1|4/510/ ZONE EASTING 14,7104|9,1,01 NORTHING VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION BLu ZONE EASTiNG NORTHINGY NORTHING ULLLudLliL LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES STATE CODE COUNTY CODE STATE CODE COUNTY CODE 11 FORM PREPARED BY NAME / TITLE Blaine Mallory and Joseph Orfant, National Register Editor ORGANIZATION Massachusetts Historical Commission STREET & NUMBER 294 Washington Street CITY OR TOWN DATE November 23, 1976 TELEPHONE 617-727-8470 STATE Boston Massachusetts, 02108 12 STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER CERTIFICATION THE EVALUATED SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS PROPERTY WITHIN THE STATE IS: NATIONAL - STATE_ As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-665).

I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service. STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER SIGNATURE TITLE Aieheet Red amadon Executive Director, Mass. Historical Commission DATE 3/17/77 FOR NPS USE ONLY I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS PROPERTY IS INCLUDED IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER MAAEGTO Chaladlun ATTEST BOTITETRTEGIOYY r.Col 9.22.27 NATHLONA VATON Aitiny KEERER OETHOL22 RECTSTE ER GPO 892.453 Form No. 10-300a (Rev.

10-74) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY -- NOMINATION FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY RECEIVED DATE ENTERED APR 12 1977 SEP 22 1977 CONTINUATION SHEET ITEM NUMBER PAGE Gay Farm Petersham, Massachusetts Sketch Map Scale: 1"=100' GAY DRIVE 556.04- 539.37- DNELUNG ISHED (circal91o) SHED (circa 1910). OCISTERN BARN NICHEWAUA ROAD Property Gay Farm (Negus Hil1) State Working Number Massachusetts TECHNICAL Photos - 5 Maps L acnag include tau touthorisen 4.12.77.578 Worcester 77000201 CONTROL HISTORIAN Aceept Franklin 7.7.77 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN eborc 5.25.77 ARCHEOLOGIST OTHER HAER Inventory - Review - REVIEW UNIT CHIEF eccept 9.19.77 BRANCH CHIEF National Register Write-up Federal Register Entry /-1->7 Send-back Re-submit Entered United States Department of the Interior National Park Service WASO No.

7 KEEPER Huuigton 922.7 SEP 22 1977 INT: 2106- 74 Gay Farm Petersham, Massachusetts 1976 APR 1 2. 1077 SEP 2 2 1977 Corrine Howe Babbitt Gay Farm, Petersham, Mass. south and west clevations showing ell and attached shed. Worcester County PROPERTY OF THE NATIONAL REGISTER Gay Farm Petersham, Massachusetts APR 1 2 1977 1976 Corrine Howe Babbitt Gay Farm, Petersham, Mass. #2 05 SEP 2 2 1977 East facade and North elevation showing ell. Worcester County PCOPERTY OF THE NATIONAL REGISTER Gay Farm Petersham, Massachusetts 1976 Corrine Howe Babbitt Gay Farm, Petersham, Mass. #3 075 East facade. Warcester County APR 12 1977 SEP 22 1977 PROPERTY OF THE NATIONAL 1 Gay Farm Petersham, 1977 Massachusetts Robert E. Hunt APR 1 2 1977 SEP 2 2 1977 Gay Farm, Petersham, #403.5 Mass. Looking northeast toward south elevation of barn.

Worcester County PROPERTY OF THE NATIONAL REGISTER PHOTO TAKEN lan 22-1977 AT Tu Babbits Est. BY - Wobet Eltunt HAMES. PHOTO SHOP & STUDIO 527 MAIN ST. - ATHOL, MASS. 01331 Gay Farm Petersham, Massachusetts 1977 Robert E. Hunt APR 1 2 1977 SEP 2 2 1977 Gay Farm, Petersham, Mass. Iooking southeast toward nortin and west elevations of barn. Warcester County PROPERTY OF THE NATIONAL NEGISTER PHOTO TAKEN lan 22.1977 AT Aeces is Babbiti Est. BY - Uobert E Htun T HAMES PHOTO SHOP & STUDIO 527 MAIN ST. - ATHOL, MASS. 01331 ...... ... WASO-166 (August 1971) 1. CAI.L U. S.DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE TELEPHONE REPORT Gxl To: - FROM (Name) Joseph Orfant DATE April 14, 1977 TIME OF CALL 3:25 Xxx**xx PM 2. ADORESS (Tel. No. il nerded) 617-727-8470 3. SUBJECT, PROJECT NO., ETC. Gay Farm (Negus Hill) 4. DETAILS OF DISCUSSION Inquired about origin of preferred name. Charles M.

Gay lived in house from 1846 or 1847 until 1926 and it is still known by that name. .* NAME OF PERSON PLACING/HECEIVING CALL N. Rowland TITLE OFFICE ENTRIES IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER MASSACHUSETIS STATE Date Entered SEP 2 2 1977 Name Barton, Clara, Homestead Milford Town Hall Gay Farm (Negus H111) Location North Oxford vicinity Worcester County Milford Worcester County Petershan vicinity Worcester County Also Notified Hon. Edward M. Kennedy Hon. Edward W. Brooke Hon. Edward P. Boland Hon. Joseph D. Early State Hiatoric Preservation Officer Mre. Elizabeth R.

Amadon Executive Director, Massachusetta Historical Comnission 294 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 Reglonal Director, North Atlantic Region / 880 Mott 9/27/77 INT: 2950-75 NATIONAL REGISTER DATA 1NAME as it appears on federal register: 2 OTHER NAMES: 3 ) date of entry: ) county code: Gay Farm (Negus Hil1) SEP % 197 Nichewaug H111 -27th © LOCATION street & number city / town vicinity of state county 6)NPS REGION: of Petersham off Nichewaug Rd. Petersham MA Worcester NA DOWNER EPRIVATE COSTATE CMUNICIPAL CCOUNTY CMULTIPLE CFEDERAL (agency name) 8ADMINISTRATOR: 3) EXISTINGSURVEYS CHARS CHAER | [NHL(10) FUNDED? CYES ONO (11) CONGRESS. DISTRICT 2nd (12) SOURCE Of NOMINATION EISTATE CFEDERAL if state who prepared form? THN NATIONAL REGISTER HISHORIC DISTRICT? E WITHIN NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK? 1 ACREAGE OONO LOLYES.

NAME DHO 2 -3 OLOCAL LPRIYATE ORGAHLZATION 6 CONDITION -deteriorated Daltered Soriginal site 1features: ~OSUBSTANTIALLY INTACT-1 @ORSUBSTANTIALLY INTACT-2 2OSUBSTANTIALLY INTACT-3 Dexcellent Oruins Ounaltered -moved 2ONOT INTACT-O 9O NOT INTACT-O Dunknown ©ONOT INTACT - O Dgood Ounexposed Oreconstructed WUNKNOWN-4 -UNKNOWN-5 Qfair Ounexcavated SUNKNOWN-6 Dexcavated 20 NOT APPLICABLE -7 JO NOT APPLICABLE-8 ZONOT APPLICABLE-9 SACCESS OYES-Restricted DYES -Unrestricted - No Access - Unknown 1 ADAPTIVE USE DYES ONO SAVED? DYES IS PROPERTY A HISTORIC DISTRICT?

Dyes Ono OF SIGNIFICANCE : CENGINEERING -11 -LANDSCAPE ARCH.- 15 DARCHEOLOGY-prehistoric-2 -O POLITICS / GOVT.- 21 DRECREATION-28 OCOMMERCE-S DENTERTAINMENT-26 - LAW- 16 first'D CLAIMS: explain O RELIGION- 22 - SETTLEMENT-29 -ARCHEOLOGY-historic-i C COMMUNICATIONS-7 -EXPLORATION - 12 - LITERATURE-17 - SCIENCE- 23 CURBAN PLANNING-31 'oldest'a - AGRICULTURE -3 - CONSERVATION- 8 C HEALTH -27 L MILITARY- 18 - SOCIAL/HUMANITARIAN-24 DOTHER (SPECIFY) SARCHITECTURE-4 C ECONOMICS-9 C INDUSTRY- 13 C MUSIC - 19 - SOCIAL / CULTURAL- 30 DART-5 C EDUCATION-10 C INVENTION - 14 - PHILOSOPHY -20 D TRANSPORTATION -25 'only' 0 functions *dates of initial construction: ETHNIC GROUF WHEM HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT: ASSOCIATION major alterations : CURRENTLY: historic events: garciltactural styto(s) elonial Slandscape architect / garden designer: * interior decorator: @architeet: NEGUS @artist: master builder: *engineer: artisan: @builder/contractor: NAMES give role & date PERSOHAL: NeGUS Family EVENTS: INSTITUTIONAL: NATIONAL REGISTER WRITE-UP Frame, "' story, eetangulas, gambrel, with perpendicular rectangular bldep.

outbnildinzs(sauna)o auti aldest renaining house in Peteishum, in same fainly conteiuouly WL -Ab105/2577 SIF ADDITIONAL SPACE NEEDED. NUMBER&PUT ON REVERSE MEN