Nomination for Hale-Boynton House

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 (7-81) OMB NO.1024-0018 EXP. 10/31/84 United States Department of the Interior National Park 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 NPS use only MAR 2 received date entered 1983 historic Hale-Boynton House (preferred) = and/or common Boynton House 2. Location street & number Middle Street N/A not for publication city, town Newbury (Byfield) N/A vicinity of congreseienal dietriet- state Massachusetts 3. Classification Category Ownership district public X building(s) private - structure both .site Public Acquisition object N/A in process being considered code 025 county Essex code 009 Status occupied unoccupied work in progress Accessible yes: restricted .

yes: unrestricted no Present Use agriculture commercial X educational entertainment - government industrial military X museum park private residence religious scientific transportation other: 4. Owner of Property name Board of Trustees, Governor Dummer Academy street & number 1 Elm Street city, town (Byfield) Newbury N/A vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state Massachusetts courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Essex County Registry of Deeds street & number 32 Federal Street city, town Salem 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Inventory of the Historic Assets title of the Commonwealth #165 has this property been determined eligible? state Massachusetts _ yes X _ no date June, 1972 _ federal X state - - county _ local depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Commission, 294 Washington St Boston city, town state MA 7.

Description Hale-Boynton House, Middle Street, Newbury, MA Condition excellent -good .fair deteriorated _ ruins unexposed Check one unaltered X altered Check one - original site _ moved date N/A Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

The Hale-Boynton House (1764) is a Georgian period dwelling located on the campus of Governor Dummer School in Byfield, a subsection of the town of Newbury, Massachusetts. It is situated on a small rise, rolling east across Middle Road, formerly the Old Bay Colony Road. The Governor Dummer campus, an informally arranged group of domestic and moderate scaled institutional buildings, occupies a rural setting on the south bank of the Parker River. The house rises two-and-one-half stories high from a low rubble stone foundation. Above the symmetrical five bay main facade, two twin interior chimneys punctuate an expansive, steeply pitched gable roof. A one story addition, fifteen feet deep, extends across the rear of the house.

post and beam construction, the house is clapboarded on the main (east) and rear (west) elevations, and shingled on the side elevations.Decor- ative shingles in the gables date this alteration to c. 1890-1900, when the house changed ownership for the first time. Other extensive woodwork details such as the cornice and window casings are simple and restrained in design. The original six light transom above the wide central doorway is characteristic of late 18th century rural designs. Other elements of the entrance have been modified, although a c. 1951 view indicates that a simple surround existed even before 1960 rehabilitation, which also enlarged the earlier 6/6 sash to the existing 12/12 double hung sash. While the exterior is Istrikingly handsome for its generous proportions and dignified simplicity, it is the interior which has drawn the most comment from architectural historians.

From the traditional four room plan with back to back fireplaces, the plan departs significantly, arranging five rooms around a double and a triple fireplace chimney. The southern stack is rectangular with a shallow west room. The northern stack, almost trapezoidal in plan, originally had three fireplaces; a modest opening in the northeast room, and two angled openings, one of small size in the northwest room and the other for the kitchen of quite vast proportions. On the secod floor four shallow fireplaces are found in each of the corner rooms: angled in the northwest room and flush elsewhere. Through- out the house, raised panel wainscd of varying elaboration accentuates the chimney breast walls. The fireplace openings in the southwest room and the kitchen on the first floor are massive in size and contain some wrought iron cranes and hooks still in place.

Raised wood paneling stretches across the top of the openings with small closet doors near the ends. A smaller fireplace opening for the northwest room was filled in in the 1960 alteration. The raised panel wainscot on the chimney walls of the front parlors and bedrooms on the first and second floors is nearly identical. Cable (continued) NPS Form 10-900-8 (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Hale-Boynton House Continuation sheet Middle Street, Newbury Item number 7 OMB: No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 Far NPS usa anly received date entered Page 1 fluted pilasters flank the fireplaces and two-paneled chimneybreast. Bolection moldings surround the firplace openings which retain most of their early hearth brick.

Sections of bolection molding mark the dado on the vertically panelled flanking walls and breast closet doors. Though accoustical tile has been added to the first floor rooms, the fasciated cornice has been preserved in all the spaces and the center stairhall. Also preserved in the stairhall are the quarter-turn with landing stairs; sawn and turned balusters; undulating sawn string decoration; and both dado and wainscot raised panelling. The two rooms at the second floor rear exhibit modest versions of the wainscot in the front rooms. In the attic, several wall partitions of 18' wide, lapped sheathing appear to date from the early history of the house when students for the Academy were boarded here; plaster partitions probably were added c. 1960.

A one story, clapboard porch and bedroom addition existed across the rear of the house prior to 1950, and were enlarged to the present size about ne, ba thro oms 1960. At the same time, bathrooms were created out of small spaces on the first and second floors which involved the filling of the northwest fireplace opening on the first floor and removal of the rear stair between first ad second floors. New wood flooring was laid at this time as well. No outbuildings associated with the house remain standing, although sub-surface foundations may exist, as well as discrete and scattered trash deposits and evidence of past landscaping. These archaeological resources may yield information important for relevant research questions pertaining to changes in form, function, ownership, and rural lifeways.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance Hale-Boynton House, Middle Street, Newbury, MA Period prehistoric - 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 1800-1899 1900- Areas of SignificanceCheck and justify below _ archeology-prehistoric community planning - archeology-historic conservation - agriculture economics X - architecture education .art engineering commerce exploration/settlement communications industry invention landscape architecture law literature military - music - philosophy politics/government - religion science - sculpture . social/ humanitarian theater X _ transportation other (specify) Specific dates 1764 Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) Builder/Architect Unknown The Hale-Boynton House possesses integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association. Completed in 1764, it is significant for both its historic associations and the excellent preservation of its fine period architectural detailing. The house was built and owned for 133 years by the Hale family who were closely associated with Governor Dummer Academy, the oldest boys' boarding school in the U.S. Subsequently, it was owned by E. Moody Boynton, inventor of the M-toothed speed saw and the first working monorail system in the country. Architecturally, as noted by Abbott Lowell Cummings in 1956, "(the house) contains in an unusually unaltered condition, considerable typical woodwork and hardware of its period. In addition, it exhibits out of the ordinary arrangement of the fireplaces."!

Thus, the property meets criteria B and C of the National Register of Historic Places. The history of the property began for the English in 1634 when Richard Dummer, Richard Saltonstall, and Henry Sewall contracted for the importation of cattle and selected this territory along the Parker River for settlement. By 1658, they had built a bridge across the river and a road, which was an important segment of the highway from Boston to Ports- The Hales were among the first settlers in the area. By 1733 Joseph Hale had built and was operating a tavern on this Bay Colony Road; he was also a cordwainer and "gentleman." His son, Captain Joseph Hale began keeping family ledgers in 173°, which were maintained for over a century and are a source of information on the Hale-Boynton House. An entry of 1764 states that the tavern was taken down in that year and the new Hale house begun on the same site.

Ledger entry of 1775 describes the purchase of wallpaper and border for the house. Governor Dummer Academy was founded in 1763, and Deacon Joseph Hale and his son Deacon Daniel, (of the Byfield Congregational Church) served successive terms as trustees for the Academy from 1786 to 1837. latter boarded boys in the Hale house for $1.00 a week over a period of 45 years, and also supervised the Academy farm. One boarder later recalled: "I...was received by Deacon Hale... the other boys were gathered around an to ny oe ficoplaer.2damga tee putre fanous di the boarders in eseorted house was Edward Preble of Portland, Maine (1761-1807) was later to become Commodore Preble of the Tripolitan War - (1801-05); his squadron served as a training school for many distinguished subsequent naval officers. (continued) 9.

The rest of the file

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

Major Bibliographical References Architectural Preservation Associates. "The Hale-Boynton House, Byfield, Massachusetts." Unpublished manuscript on file, torical Commission, Boston, May, 1982. Massachusetts His- Clippings file, Governor Dummer Academy Archives, Byfield, Massachusetts.(Cont.) 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property - 3/4 acres Quadrangle name Newburyport West Quadrangle scale 1:25,000 UMT References A[12 13144141314 Zone Easting 14731471418 Northing Lu LILuJ Easting Northing cL1 EL D F H Verbal boundary description and justification See attached site plan. List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state code county code N/A state code county code 11. Form Prepared By Virginia A. Fitch, Preservation.

Planner with Sarah Sweetser Theis name/title and Bonnie Parsons Marxer, Architectural Preservation Associates organization Massachusetts Historical Commissiordate street & number 294 Washington Street telephone (617 )727-8470 city or town Boston state MA 02108 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national -_ state local 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 duna RWeslnski 2/24/83 title State Historic Preservation Officer MIC For NPS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register date Keeper of the National Register Attest: Chief of Registration date date 1/4/83 NPS Form 10-900-8 (3-82) United States Department of the Interior NationalPark Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Hale-Boynton House Continuation sheet Middle Street, Newbury Item number OMB: No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 For NPS usa anly recaived date entered 8 Page 1 On July 20, 1897 the Hale property was transferred by Mrs. Todd of Rowley and other Hale heirs to William D. Knapp of Somersworth, NH, but on March 9, 1898, William D. Knapp as trustee, transferred the property to E. Moody Boynton and Charles E. Boynton in trust for life.

Charles Boynton died shortly after leaving the property to E. Moody Boynton. The Boyntons were another Byfield family of equally long residence. However, whereas the Hale family typify steady and industrious farmers, tavern keepers and tradesmen, the Boynton family represents qualities of brilliant ingenuity coupled with synton tani.y represente quat a fabled eccentricity. Enoch Boynton, a locally controversial character, was noted for his experiments in cultivating silkworms and spinning silk. This attempt at creating a silk industry in New England failed when an especially harsh winter in 1834 destroyed most of the 42,000 mulberry trees which he had raised on the property adjacent to the Hale's. Enoch Boynton's grandson, Eben Moody Boynton, who took over the Hale house in 1898 was born in Ohio in 1840. E.

Moody first took residence in Mass- achusetts in 1857 before moving west to enter the lumbering business with his brother. Faced with the extreme difficulty of felling black walnut trees, he invented the M-toothed speed saw, an important advancement for the industry of its day. By the early 1860s, E. Moody was a millionaire from the sales of his patented saw. In the early 1870s, Boynton was sent as a representative of the prestigious New York Board of Trade to England, where, in recog- nition of his achievement, he was presented to Queen Victoria. In the mid-1890s he began working on a form of steam powered mass trans- portation known at the time as the Bicycle Railroad. Despite problems he an eo as nhe in financing a full system, he actually erected a short run at Coney Island proving the speed (over 100 miles per hour) of the double decker cars filled to capacity.

Boynton's plans for the system never came to fruition, blocked by the electric railroad lobby. Still, Boynton persisted, inventing along the way in 1918 "Unsinkable Passenger Ships and Ocean Freight Vessels for Sail or Steam Purposes."3 In 1920 ) the Interstate Commerce Commission filed Lunancy Proceedings against him which came to nought. In 1921, at the age of 81, E. Moody Boynton remarried in the parlor of the Hale-Boynton House, and died six years later. of the property to Governor Dummer Academy in 1929 and conveyed the house in 1951. campus, The Academy has since used the buildings, the second oldest on as a residence for faculty and students. Due to the long residency of the two family occupants, the house has under- gone very littler alteration from its original construction.

Each of the (continued) NPS Form 10-900- (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Hale-Boynton House Continuation sheet Middle Street, Newbury Item number 8 OMB No.1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 Far NPS use only recaived date entered Page 2 Iour major rooms on the two floors retains the original wood paneling, fireplaces and cornices. Ihe overall character of the exterior has also been preserved, with the 1960 addition sensitively added to the back of the house. As summarized by w. S. Appleton, Director of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities in 1933, "it is extremely good in some ways and very good in others, and a house well worth preserving in its present condition.

It has been altered at times but everything well done and in an interesting way, and the flavor of antiquity is over the whole. It is decidedly a worthwhile building."4 Abbott Lowel1 Cummings to Mrs. Moody Boynton, Correspondence in Collection of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, 1956. 2"Ny School Days at Byfield", Daily Evening Herald, March 3, 1885, clipping in Governor Dummer Academy Archives. 3patent no. 1, 279,079 of the issue dated September 17, 1918, Application Of EMB for Unsinkable Passenger Ships and Ocean Freight Vessels for Sail or Steam Purposes, Governor Dummer Academy Archives. 4william s. Appleton to Mrs. Moody Boynton, Correspondence in Collection of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, 1933.

NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Hale-Boynton House Continuation sheet Middle Street, Newbury Itemnumber 9 OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 Far NPS use anly recaived date entered Page 1 Elwe11, John Lewis. The Story of Byfield, A New England Parish, George E. Littlefield, Boston, 1904. Fuess, Carl M. (ed.) and Scott H. Paradise. The Story of Essex County, N.Y., 1935. Ragle, John. Governor Dummer Academy History, Newburyport, 1963. PORCH BR 3R STUDY DINING KITCHEN Red lines indicate wood cornice which should be preserved Wall surfaces high- lighted in yellow are wood paneling which should not be disturbed in the rehabilitation LIVING BR Boynton Horse Gov.

Dumme: Academy Proposed Rehabilitation 1ST FLOORNI PROJECT DATA Hud- KI UF DN D 2ND FLOOR Red lines indicate wood cornice which should be preserved. Wall surfaces high- lighted in yellow are wod paneling which should not be disturbed in the rehabilitation Boynton House Gov. Dummer Academy Proposed Rehabilitation up Hale-Boynton House First Floor c. 1955 Hale-Boynton House Second Floor c. 1955 Hale-Boynton House Attic Floor c. 1955 ATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES itted States Departmes « ol she lnteries tonal Park Semice Hale-Boynfon House Essep Co, MA EYALUATION / RETURN SHE Working Fed. Reg.

Date:- Date Due:_ Action: resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection -- ACCEPT - RETURN - REJECT- Federal Agency: - appeal Substantive Roview: sample _ request - _ appeal - NR decision nerev la mtate: Ihdshcrpe,dating thom 1as agongetongy under cuterion( bots tradtional andunique flossplan. - -Nomination returnedfor: - technical corrections cited below _substantive reasons discussad below 1. Name 2. Location 3. Classification Proccos ves 4. Owner of Property 5. Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Mo the property boon eatammaned dirgicss 7. Description escedtor pood - totenoraed ruins unexpoeed Choch cpo uartero arora mpnd (Il lnoroal porpessed summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity Chackone origenel site - moved dero - tersons sigmpicant E the localt'slt perhaps t the State"'s + Natisn's enN Nra.

sy enough reldked to 8. Significance Arces ol sh t od Sh oiroe summary paragraph - none pronded completeness clarity applicable criteria justification of areas checked ..'t h auterioi Bjustipcatior vas relating significance to the resource context relationship ofintegrity to significance justification of excepticn other 9. Major Bibliographical References 10. Geographical Data ef no mnond prosorty - srengte ron aT Potorena Farbed bosandery coctrtacten and haatthaet 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The eretuomed ang potoanoe of praie propem Man reganetan omoe epretur - 13.

Other Maps -Photographs Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to_ signoo Marplee Sor Date 47 82 Phone: 202 272 - 350 IATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES ntted States Departmant of the latorier stional Park Service Substantive Review Hale-Boynton House Essex County MASSA CHUSETTS EVALUATION / RETURN SHEE1 resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Reviewer's comments: Working No. MAR Fed. Reg. Date: 2. Date Due: 3/31/83- Action: 2 ACCEPT _ RETURN _ REJECT. Federal Agency:. 2 1983 84 16/83 4|14/83 sample - request _ appeal - NR decision Recom. /Criteria _B,C) Reviewer. Mar Drugal/ Discipline A-H. Date 4.16-83 -se0 continuation sheet technical corrections cited below substantive reasons discussed below -Nomination returned for: 1. Name 2. Location 3. Classification Uee 4. Owner of Property 5.

Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys te tale property been dotermained ol 7. Description _ deteriorate ruine hock en narorod Chock ene _ moved Do the procont and ertatned (il knoroai pfoyeieed copearano summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection 8. Significance tarter 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 9. Major Bibliographical References 10. Geographical Data baroago od nominatad property . Dustrengie rume - VITT Patsranees Farbel beadery desertallen and fastihteation 11. Form Prepared By 12.

State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The ouatusted agnificanoe of ohle propparty muthun eha elato la: seste -_ loca: Bate Mieterte Preservetten Officer slgneture 13. Other Maps Photographs Other Questions concerning .this nomination may be directed to. Signed Date. Phone: 202 272 -350 Comments for any Item may be continued on an attached sheet 1. Hale Boynton House 5/82 Bytleld, Mass. S. Sweetser Theis View west of entrance facade with 1959 addition on back. 2. Hale-Boynton House 5/82 Byfield, Mass- S. Sweetser Theis First Floor Entry and Stair 3. Hale-Boynton House 5/82 Bytield, Mass- S. Sweetser Theis First floor NE room paneling 4. Hale-Boynton House 5/82 Byfield, Mass- S- Sweetser Ineis Second Floor, SW room aneling, early doors anc nardware 5. Hale-Boynton House 5/82 Bytleld, Mass- S.

Sweetser Theis Second Floor, NE room paneling MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Office of the Secretary of State 294 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 617-727-8470 MICHAEL JOSEPH CONNOLLY Secretary of State February 24, 1983 Ms. Carol Shull, Chief National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Department of the Interior Washington, D.C. 20243 Dear Ms. Shull: Enclosed you will find the following nomination forms : Boston - Harvard Avenue Fire Station (Local) Dedham - Ames School (Local) Needham - Amos Fuller House (Local) -Newbury - Hale-Boynton House (Local) Northbridge - Rockdale Common Housing District (Local) Springfield - Upper Worthington Historic District (Local) Winchester - Town Hall (Local) All have been voted eligible by the State Review Board and have been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer.

Owners were notified of pending State Review Board consideration 30-75 days before the meeting and were afforded the opportunity to comment. Comments received to date are attached to the nomina- tion forms. Sincerely, Candace lenkins Candace /Jenkins Registration Director CJ/1k RECEIVED hADCNAL RECISTLR