Nomination for Brown, Col. Roger, 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 historic / Colonel Roger, Brown, House (preferred) and/or common Lot Conant of 1775 House 2. Location street & number 1694 Main Street city, town Concord N/Avicinity of state MA 3. Classification Category Ownership district - public X building(s) X private structure both _ site object Public Acquisition N/Ain process _being considered code 025 county Middlesex Status -occupied unoccupied work in progress Accessible X yes: restricted - yes: unrestricted no Present Use agriculture commercial educational entertainment government industrial military 4.

Owner of Property name Gail Reitzel street & number 3931 Tynewick Drive city, town Silver Spring N/A vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. South Middlesex Registery of Deeds street & number 40 Thorndike Street city, town Cambridge state MA 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Inventory of Historic Assets of title The Commonwealth of MA #129 has this property been determined elegible? date November, 1977 federal X state depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Commission city, town Boston state MA For NRs use only received DEC 271982 date entered N/A not for publication code 017 .museum -park X private residence religious scientific transportation - other: Maryland county yes X no _local 7. Description Colonel Roger Brown House. Concord.

MA Condition excellent X good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one unaltered X altered Check one - original site moved dateN/A Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

The Colonel Roger Brown House sits on a landscaped 4 acre site at the corner of Main Street and Pond Lane (part of the original road from Concord to Lancaster) in a business zoned area of Concord near the Assabet River. It is adjacent to the Damon Mill (NR) with which its early history is closely associated. The house was constructed to its present form in 1775. Although not firmly documented, local tradition holds that an earlier house on the site was rebullt during that year. Inis 15 substantiated by certain architectural teatures; however, the contiguration of the structure prior to 1775 is not known. The house is 2½ stories tall with a central chimney, symmetrical five-bay facade and a rectangular (28'8'' x 36'8'') four room plan. A fieldstone foundation, partially exposed, supports the structure.

The exterior is sheathed with painted clapboards, framed by an undecorated cornice and corner boards. The gable roof is of asphalt shingles and the rectangular stuccoed chimney is offset from the ridge pole towards the front. The symmetrical main facade is dominated by an enclosed entry pavillion with s1de windows, a pedimented gable root, corner boards, and pilasters at elther side of the panelled entry door. All the windows in the building contain 6/6 double hung sash The lower front and rear, and all end windows, are capped with a heavy, but simple projecting moulding. The full basement contains an unusual chimney brick vaulted foundation. Off each corner is a brick pier for hearth support on the first floor. The chimney consists of 2 side-by-side flues separated today by small bathrooms that rejoin in the attic and curve to avoid the ridge pole.

The first floor contains larger front rooms with doors off the front entry pavillion and stairwell. Each has a brick fireplace and hearth set in a full panelled wall; the remaining 3 walls are pine feathered panelling to the wainscot chair-rail. The panelling of these two rooms and the front entry and stairwell is in excellent condition. The wall partition which separated the rear two smaller rooms has been removed to form a larger kitchen/dining area. The second floor also has the typical four corner room layout. The two larger front rooms contain well preserved wainscot panelling. with boxed beams and gunstock corner posts are in good condition. - coer poe cre inde Lath and plaster walls and ceilings The attic is unfinished, displaying hand hewn and pegged rafter beams, purlins and jacks.

To date, no archaeological resources have been identified associated wIncluded within although the potential for their existence should not be discounted. the present property bounds is a one-story below grade studio building (c. 1960), well screened by siting and landscaping.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance Colonel Roger Brown House, Concord, MA Period - prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 XX 1700-1799 1800-1899 1900- Areas of Significance - Check and justify below archeology-prehistoric community planning archeology-historic conservation agriculture economics X architecture education art engineering commerce exploration/settlement communications X industry invention landscape architecture law .literature -military music philosophy politics/government _ religion science sculpture social/ humanitarian theater transportation other (specify) Specific dates 1775 Builder

Statement of significance

/Architect Unknown Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) arenitogtrsiy croning forenes oil gprca nd ntiel or le a catuin houses in the area which may indicate a pre-1775 original construction date. Its primary significance, however, lies in its association with persons of local industrial and military importance throughout its history. The house therefore meets Criteria A, B, and C of the National Register of Historic Places, In the late 1600's the property was associated with a small grist mill located most likely to the rear of the present Damon Mill (NR) near the site of a c.1660 bog iron The owner/operator of the mill built his house on or near the site of the present house. In 1715 the property, including the mills, passed from The George Hayward estate to the Conant family who owned it for several subsequent generations.

The Conant family had migrated westward from Salem, Massachusetts and were grand-and great-grand- sons of Roger Conant, the puritan founder of salem. They were farmers, running small grist mills and sawmills in the Concord area. Conant remains a prominent name in Concord, although their early recorded history in the town is sparse. Roger Brown, the son of William Brown of Framingham, a fulling mill operator, and Elizabeth Conant of Concord, was born in Framingham in 1749. By the mid-1770's, Roger Brown owned the Conant house and a portion of the Mill property in Concord (perhaps his mother's inheritance). Local tradition refers to the house as the "1775 House" as carpenters constructing or rebuilding the structure to its present configuration took arms at the Concord Bridge on April 18 of that year.

Roger was, at that time, a member of Captain Cleasons' Framingham Minutemen and was recorded by roll on April i ts Crpr Rr Br. He served for ten days. In 1 Rger Brown joined Captain Joseph Hosmer's Light Infantry Co. and later that year was drafted by Captain Hubbard's Concord Infantry. Apparently, he had then settled in Concord in his completed house. Roger Brown prospered as a tarmer and textile miller, Increasing his land holdings in Concord over the years. He married a Hartwell from Lincoln in 1779. n the early 19th century, John Brown, born 1783 to Roger Brown, inherited the property. with his cousin, Ephraim Hartwell of New Hampshire, he purchased the remaining Conant Mill property in 1808. As partners, they erected a five-story wood frame cotton spinning mill on the site of the present Damon Mill (NR).

This marked a change in industrial focus from providing a support service for local agriculture to commercial production on an expanded scale, although apparently with limited success. At about the same time, John Brown built his own house nearby and married Sarah Sogswell, grand daughter of William Dawes.

The rest of the file

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

Major Bibliographical References Biography of Roger Conant; Middlesex Co. Registery of Deeds; Hurd, History of Middlesex Co.; Brown Family Geneology, Brown; Corinthian Lodge, Biographies of Past Members, Factory Village, paper by Chas. Hammond. 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property 4 Quadrangle name Maynard, MA UMT References AL112| |3/011/91010/ 1417|012/61910| Zone Easting Northing CLL LULL LLL EL Quadrangle scale 1:25000 BL LIL LldLuL Easting Northing -LW# LLL Verbal boundary description and justification From the most easterly point of the property's frontage its side runs north to a point;thence southwesterly to a point 10' off the rear brick warehouse structure, parallel to that westerly to intersection with stone retaining wall along Pond Lane (including the 20 year old 400 s.f.

1-story below grade Ltumning wita the stonewal Back asooss the frontagr tonthe easteris stunt buesdiboundaries state follow the property's lot cope lines. state code N/A 11. Form Prepared By county code name/title Virginia Adams, Program Assistant with William H. Sullivan, General Partner Mill Square Partnership organization Massachusetts Historical Commission date August, 1982 street & number 294 Washington Street telephone 727-8470 city or town Boston state MA 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 Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service. State Historic Preservation Ofticer signature Valesie Avin lalmace title Executive Director, Massachusetts Historical Commission For HCRS use only hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register elous Dyen Entered National Register Keeper of the National Register date Dec.

15,1982 date 1/27/83 Attest: Chief of Registration date GP O 938 835 NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 For NPS use only received dale entered Continuation sheet Colonel Roger Brown House Item number 8 Page 1 Five years later Hartwell sold a third share to his uncle, Ephraim Bellows, who, four later, bought out four-fifths of John Brown's interest. Bellows took the mill operation into more prosperity for a time, but business fell off in the 1820's. Despite a lawsuit by John Brown against Bellows to regain control of the mill that was later won, the property was sold. Thus ended the Brown Family's relation to the mill which subsequently burned in 1862 and was replaced by the Damon Mill (NR).

As homestead to Roger Brown and birthplace to John Brown, the property was home to two significant citizen soldier carriers. Following his involvement at Concord on April 19, 1775, Roger Brown returned in 1786 as Captain of a company to suppress "Shay's Rebellion". Captain Brown quelled insurrections in Cambridge and communities through- out western Massachusetts which had been generated by general dissatisfaction with the fledgling Federal Government. Following Shay's Rebellion, he was elevated to the rank of Colonel. During the War of 1812, Lt. John Brown participated in holding Dorchester Heights against the British.

Architecture: MEGAS Although tradition ascribes a 1775 construction date to the house, evidence for an early to mid 18th century date is fairly strong and includes: projecting window mouldings; the longitudinal, side-by-side chimney flue arrangement; and the design of the entry The porch resembles a form found on early houses in Concord itself, and else- where in Middlesex County (Concord, John Bull House c.1753 and Peter Bulkely Esq. House 1667, both NR; Cambridge, Hooper-Lee-Nichols House c.1685)_(NR). The two room deep central chimney interior floor plan with fireplaces in the front rooms is fairly uncommon. More typical plans of the late 18th century consist of five rooms around a central chimney or a four room plan with central hallway and twin chimeys.

Possibly, the house was originally one room deep and enlarged to its more substantial, high style appearance as a reflection of settlement growth in Concord. Damon Mill Mill Warehouse Main Street 00000000 Studie Pond Lane Col. Roger Brown House 1694 Main Street Concord Middlesex County, MA Sketch Map scale: 1" = 20" approx. date: February 1981 source: Damonmill Square Partnership IATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES sited States Di mant of lhe lnterie ational Park Sen EVALUATION / RETURN SHEET Brown, Col. Roger, House Middlesex County MASSA CHUSETTS resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Roviower's comments: Working No./2 3295 Fed. Reg. Date; 7. Date Due: 1/27/83 - Action: -- ACCEPT 2/10/83 1/21/83 Entered in the - RETURN National Register .

REJECT_ Federal Agency: -sample - request _ appeal - NR decision -Nomination returned for: Recom. /Criteria - Reviewer Discipline Date . 6-- continuation sheet -technical corrections cited below .substantive reasons discussed below 1. Name 2. Location 3. Classification sogory dane daouanto 4. Owner of Property Prosoat Uao 5. Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys wes the property boon doeomaned ol -mº - n 7. Description goo0 fel tetort uine atgtnal (il keowel playeieet summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection Choch ene _ moved 8.

Significance ered Arese of SignificanceCheck and jestity belew Specific dates Suileer: Architect Statement of Significance (in ene peragraph) summary paragraph completeness clarity applicable criteria justification of areas checked relating significance to the resource coniexi relationship of integrity to significance justification of excepticn other 9. Major Bibliographical References 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property Quedrengle neme UMT Reterences Verbal boundary description and justitication 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national suate State Historic Preservation Officer signature date title 13.

Other Maps Photographs Other 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 Col. Roger Brown House 1694 Main Street Concord Middlesex County, Massachusetts Photo Credit: David Rhubi Negative filed : Damonmill Square Date: October 1980 Identification: Northeasterly view from south side of main street of Col. Roger Brown house, 1694 Main Street, Concord, MA Photo 1 gf 1 P140b MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION December 15, 1982 COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Office of the Secretary of State 294 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 617-727-8470 MICHAEL JOSEPH CONNOLLY Secretary of State Ms. Carol Shull National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Department of the Interior Washington, DC 20243 Dear Ms.

Shull: Enclosed you will find the following nomination forms: Boston - Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (national) Colrain - Arthur A. Smith Covered Bridge (state) Concord - Colonel Roger Brown House (local) Tisbury - William Street Historic District (local) Al1 have been voted eligible by the State Review Board ard have been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer. Owners were notified of pending State Review Board consideration 30-75 day- before the meeting and were afforded the opportunity to conment. Comments received to date are attached to the nomination forms. Sincerely, Candace Lenkins Candace Jenkins Registration Director Massachusetts Wistorical Commissior CJ/pg 110 RECEIVED DEC 271982 NATIONAL REGISTER