Nomination for Townsend House

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

FHR-8-300 (11-78) United States Department of the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries - complete applicable sections 1. Name For HCRS use only received MAR 3 1982 date entered APR 1 1982 historic Tewnsend House and/or common Same 2. Location street & number iNeedham çity, town 980 Central Avenue NA - not for publication NA -vicinity of. ,congressional district Ninth state Massachusetts 3.

Classification Category Ownership - district public X building(s) private structure both site Public Acquisition object in process - being considered code: 025 county Norfolk code 021 Status occupied unoccupied work in progress Accessible X yes: restricted + yes: unrestricted no Present Use agriculture commercial educational entertainment - government industrial military X museum park private residence religious scientific transportation other: 4. Owner of Property name Robert D. and Nancy Peck -71001 street & number 980 Central Avenue city, town Needham N/A vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state Massachusetts courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Registry of Deeds, Norfolk County street & number 650 High Street city, town Dedham state Massachusetts 6.

Representation in Existing Surveys Inventory of the Historic Assets title of the Commonwealth has this property been determined elegible? date 1977 federal X state - county - yes _ no .local depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Commission Boston city, town state Massachusetts 02108 7. Description NEEDHAM: Townsend House, 980 Central Avenue Condition excellent - good fair _ deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one unaltered X altered Check one X original site _ moved date Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

The Townsend House stands on its original site at the junction of Central Avenue and Nehoiden Street adjacent to Needham's early town center. Its site, which borders North H1ll and occcu- pies a slight rise surrounded by lawns, gardens, and shade trees, is part of the twenty acre parcel purchased by the first owner, Reverend Jonathan Townsend. The property is now sur- rounded by other private homes, primarily of a later date. Extensively remodeled during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Townsend House is presently square in plan and two rooms deep with a five bay center entry facade facing north. The two story wood frame structure is sheathed with clapboards and is enclosed by a mansard S/o in the maih fiors and i ia the dr rootwith patred interior chimneys.

Trim consists of paneled corner pilasters supporting a wide frieze and boxed cornice as well as molded window frames with corner blocks. Sash is Entries are located on the north and west elevations. The north entry consists of a paneled door enframed by sidelights and a transom and is protected by a Doric portico. The west entry is flanked by sidelights and has a more severe Doric portico which carries a balustrade. A one story shed roof porch extends from the east elevation, while a gable roof ell and hip roof garage partially obscure the south elevation. As originally constructed c. 1720, the house was a one room deep, two story structure with a central chimney and a center entry on the west elevation. On the first floor the south served as a kitchen while the north room served as a parlor and the upper rooms as chambers.

This original structure measured 50 feet by 23 feet and had a fieldstone foundation only under the parlor. Alterations were made following 1769 when the Reverend Samuel West, Needham's second minister. purchased the home. Mr. West added the northeast rooms on the first and second floors, giving the house an L-shaped plan. In 1837, the house changed hands again and significant changes were made including a shift from the central chimney house with a westerly orientation to a central hall house with a northerly orientation. This was achieved by adding a spacious stairhall reached by a porticoed Greek Revival entry on the north elevation. The other major exterior change was the addition of a similar Greek Revival enframement to the original west entry.

Interior renovations of this period included the neoclassical trim of the central hall and the northeast room which had been added in the previous building phase. The last major change occured c. 1870 when the missing southwest quarter of the now four- square house was added, and the composition was unified beneath a mansard roof. The third floor thus created was lit by three dormer windows on the east and west elevations and two on the north and south elevations. The kitchen/garage ell was added to the south elevation during the twentieth century.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance Period prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 1800-1899 1900- Areas of Significance-Check and justify below - archeology-prehistoric - community planning archeology-historic _ conservation X agriculture economics architecture education art _ engineering commerce _ exploration/settlement - communications - industry _invention X _ landscape architecture_X religion law literature military - music - philosophy politics/government _ science _ sculpture _social/ humanitarian theater _transportation other (specify) Specific dates 1720,1769,1837, 1870 Builder

Statement of significance

/Architect Rev. Jonathan Townsend (1720) Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) The Reverend Jonathan Townsend House possesses integrity of Tocation, design, setting, materials, and workmanship as well as significant historical associations with Needham's early ministers. Additionally, it is a good example of eighteenth century construction modified during the nineteenth century to meet changing needs. The Townsend House thus meets criteria B and C of the National Register of Historic Places. Rev. Townsend, who was born in Lynn on January 1, 1697, moved to Needham in 1720 to become ordained as the first minister of the town's First Church on March 23.

Two months later he married Mary Sugars of Boston and bought twenty acres of outlands as well as a separate eight acre house lot at the junction of Central Avenue and Nehoiden Street from the heirs of Thomas Aldrich of Dedham (Needham was set off from the original Dedham grant in 1711). Here he erected a two story wood frame house of one room depth, five bay facade, and central chimney plan. This house stood at the southern corner of the Central-Nehoiden juncture facing Central Avenue, and a footpath ran from the rear ofthe house to Nehoiden Street where the meetinghouse stood. Rev. Townsend served as the town's minister and occupied this house unitl his death on September 30, 1762. For the next two years Needham remained without a permanent pastor, making do with guest preachers who boarded with Townsend's widow Mary. It was not until the Rev.

Samuel west was ordained on April 25, 1754, that the post was finally filled. At first he boarded with various families in the town but shortly after his marriage to Priscilla Plymton of Medfield in February of 1769, he purchased the Townsend House with its eight acre houselot and thirteen acres of outland. It is believed that shortly thereafter, he added a two story ell to the house. Mr. West served as minister throughout the American Revolution, during which time the town's stock of ball, powder, and flint were kept in Townsend House. Following the War, the town found it increasingly difficult to pay Rev. West's ministerial wages, so he finally re- signed his post in December of 1788 and was installed as pastor of the Hollis Street Church in Boston in early 1789. Uponhis departure, the house was purchased by Mr. Thomas Hubbard Townsend who boarded visiting pastors of the First Church.

One of these guest preachers was the Rev. Stephen Palmer who accepted a call from the Needham Church in August 1789 and was ordained on November 7, 1792. He married Catherine Haven of Dedham, and following tradition, purchased the Townsend House in August 1793. Rev. Palmer was important to the town not only as minister, but also as a major proponent of a local public school system and as the author of the "Century Sermon" delivered on the occasion of Needham's Centennial Celebration in 1811. This historical sketch of Needham was the only printed history of the town available until George Kuhn Clarke, a much later occupant of the Townsend House, published his valuable "History of Needham, Massachusetts" in 1912. Following Palmer's death in 1821, and the death of his widow in 1827, tradition was broken and the house lost its close associations with the ministers of the First Church.

At that time it was sold to Rufus Mills, Palmer's son-in-law and the town's first postmaster, and it served briefly as the post office before that function was moved to Daniel Kingsbury's Store and the McIntosh Tavern. Mills was very active in town affairs and in addition to serving as postmaster until 1839, he was also Representative to the General Court, Town Treasurer, Assessor, School Committeeman, Coroner, and Justice of the Peace.

The rest of the file

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

Major Bibliographical References Clarke, George Kuhn, History of Needham. Cambridge, 1912 Jones, Frederic A., 01d Houses in Neeanam, Needham, 1953 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property 46,600 sq. ft. Quadrangle name - Natick UMT References A 1,9| Zone Quadrangle scale 1:25,000 31,45,4,0 Easting ILLL 4,68435,01 Northing Zone ¡ Lililu Easting Northing C E G DLULLILLL LILILU LULILJ LILILLL HLIJ Llan LadaLu Verbal boundary description and justification Northwesterly, by Central Avenue, 80 13/100 ft.; North- easterly, by Lot 7 on said plan, 100 ft.; Northerly by lots 7, 6, and 5 on said plan and by land 268.9 ft.; Southeasterly, by land of Gerry Schnelle, as shown on said plan, 294.08 ft.; (cont.sht List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state NA code county code state code county code 11.

Form Prepared By name/title Candace Jenkins, Registration Director with Needham Historical Commission organization Massachusetts Historical Commission date 1981 street & number 294 Washington Street (617) 727-8470 telephone" Boston Massachusetts 02108 city or town state 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national -_ state local As the designated StateHistoric 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 thecriteria and procedures set forth by the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service.

State Historic Preservation Officer signature Patuum I Wesluska title Executive Director, Massachusetts Historical Commission For HCRS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register delou Intered The adme keeper of the Mational Regiote, 8Ter date 2/17/82 date 4,182 Attest: Chief of Registration date GPO 938 835 FHR-8-300 (11-78) United States Department of the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form For HCRS use only received MAR 8 1982 date entered APR 1 1982 Continuation sheet Item number 8 Page 2 Mills and his family occupied the house until 1837 when it was sold to Royal McIntosh who in turn sold it to George Brigham Revere three years later.

Revere, who was a Boston merchant, is important to Needham history for his refusal to donate land to the Charles River Railroad Co., when they proposed to run a right of way along Central Street in the 1830's. His re- fusal caused the company to shift their route eastward from the existing town center to Needham Plain, which became known as Needham Square. The preeminence of this area which continues today was firmly established by 1886 when the site of the meetinghouse was moved there. Revere died in 1870 and the house was sold by his heir to George H. Kuhn of Boston. During Kuhn's occupancy from 1870-1878, the house assumed most of its present characteristics in- cluding four-square plan and mansard roof. The house was occupied by Kuhn's heirs until 1945, and has passed hands several times since.

FHR-8-300 (11-78) United States Department of the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form Continuation sheet Item number 10 VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION AND JUSTIFICATION: For HCRS use only received MAR date entered APR 1 1982 Page 2 Northeasterly by Lot 9, 136.13 ft. Plan No. 762 of land in Needham, Massachusetts, recorded with Norfolk Deeds, June 10, 1953. PHASE I PHASE III PORCH IV BEÀM PHASE II PARLOR FP PHASE II UP DOORWAY AND CENTRAL STAIRCASE. LAV DZZL=DN I CA - 15' OLD PARLOR OVEN LAUNDRY CL I -SÚMMER _-__- BEAM .. OLD KITCHEN KITCHEN +.

2 PORCHES ADDED 1837-1840, ORIGINAL FOUNDATION UNDER OLD PARLOR: 30'x23' ORIGINAL FRONT ENTRY TOWNSEND HOUSE -1720 - PHASE I = ORIGINAL 4-RODM HOUSE; 2%2 STOREYS, WITH PITCHED ROOF MAR 3 1982 IV GARAGE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION / RETURN SHEET Property: - Jownsend - Horce Stato, County: MA, Norfolk Federal Agency: resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Reviewer's comments: United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Working No.- 33/82-587 Fod. Reg. Datej- 2.1.83 Date Due: 1-824-17-82 Action: ACCEPT4/1/82 Entered In the - RETURN Natlona1 Regigtez REJECT_ photos maps / - sample - request - appeal - NR decision Recom. /Criteria. Reviewer. Discipline_ Date _ see continuation sheet -Nomination returned for: _ technical corrections cited below _substantive reasons discussed below 1. Name 2.

Location x3. Classification Cetagory Oumershis Y Pablic Acquisitien 4. Owner of Property Btatus Aecessible Prasont Uso 5. Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys has thie property been determined efigible? 7. Description Conditien .excelient good tair deteriorated ruins unexposed Chock ene unaltered altered Check one original site moved date ocoribe the prosent and originel (11 lunown) plysieal appoarance summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection 8. Significance Arons of Sl Ipeeifie datos Btatement ef Signifloanoo (in ene p summary paragraph completeness clarity applicable criteria justification of areas checked relating significance to the resource context relationship of integrity to significance justification of exception other - Major Bibliographical References 10.

Geographical Data Aorsage of nominated property - Guedrengle neme UMT References Verbel boundery descriptien and juetfficatien 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evelusted significance of thie property within the state is: national state ocal Bate Historic Preservation Officer eignature - 13. Other Maps Photographs Other dote Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to. Signed - Date.

Phone: 202 272 - 3504 Comments for any Item may be continued on an attached sheet NEEDHAM HISTORICAL COMMISSION Town Hall Needham, MA 02192 NOSAWM HINEX Townsend House 980 Central Avenue Needham, MA Kenneth Watson 142 Hillcrest Road Needham Photo #1 Of 2 West elevation 1980 MAR 3 1982 anu 086 28-7-98 LEEDHAM HISTORICAL COMMISSION Town Hall Needham, MA 02192 Townsend House 980 Central Avenue Needham, MS Kenneth Watson 142 Hillcrest Road Needham Photo # 2 of 2 North elevation 1980 MAR 3 1982 2020 WWH3N 8b °8-1-91 Name ENTRIES IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES STATE MASSACHUSETIS Date Entered APRIL 1, 1982 Location Melrose Town Center Historic District Melrose Middlesex County American Net and Iwine Company Factory (Cambridge Multiple Resource Area) Cambridge Middlesex County.

Townsend House Needham Norfolk County Lewis, Joshua, House Needham Norfolk County Notified Honorable Edward M. Kennedy Honorable Paul E. Isongas Honorable Edward J. Markey Honorable Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. Honorable John Joseph Moakley Mid-Atlantic Regional Office, NPS North Atlantic Regional Office, NPS State Historic Preservation Officer Mrs. Patricia L. Weslowski Executive Director, Massachusetts Historical Commission 294 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 For further information, please call the Nationel Register at (202) 272-3504