Nomination for Roebuck Tavern

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 (3-82) 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 received APR | 8 1984 date entered historic Roebuck Tavenn and/or common Roebuck Tavern 2. Location street & number 21 Dedham Street Wrentham N/A not for publication city, town state Massachusetts 3. Classification Category Ownership district public X_ building(s) private structure both site Public Acquisition object - in process N/A being considered code N/A vicinity of 025 county Norfolk code 021 Status .

occupied unoccupied X work in progress Accessible X yes: restricted - yes: unrestricted no Present Use - agriculture _ commercial educational entertainment - government industrial military museum park private residence religious scientific transportation other: 4. Owner of Property name RoebuckRealty Trust street & number P.O. Box 754 city, town Norwood N/A vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state Massachusetts courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Norfolk County Registry of Deeds street & number High Street city, town Dedham state Massachusetts 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Inventory of the Historic Assets title of the Commonwealth HABS 1937 has this property been determined eligible? -yes X _no date January 1967 #14 _ federal X state county _ local depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Commission city, town Boston state Massachusetts 7.

Description Condition excellent & good tair deteriorated ruins unexposed Roebuck Tavern, Wrentham, MA Check one _ unaltered - altered check one - original site _ moved date Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

N/A Located in the historic center of Wrenthan, the Roebuck Tavern presently occupies 4 acre of land and is set back twenty feet from Dedham Street. The lot on which it stands is unelevated; landscaping features of note are four maple trees which serve as a buffer between the house and a municipal parking lot. The tavern itself consists of a main two story, center entry section built ca. 1795 and a one story rear ell built in two periods during the 19th century. Typically federal in design, the Main block of the Roebuck Tavern is a five bay, rec- tangular plan structure with twin interior chimneys. Rising from a granite foundation, the house is covered with clapboards and enclosed by a pitched roof. Fenestration throughout the main portion of the building is 12/12 sash.

The building's five bay symmetrical facade (south elevation ) is framed by a molded boxed cornice and narrow cornerboards.: Its focal point is the center entry which is framed by 3/4 side lights and amelliptical fanligiit. Two of the,three remaining elevations (north and east) have fenestration which is asy- mmetrically aligned. Ihe west end of the bullding, however, contalns symmetrical bays consisting of a center entry and two flanking windows on the tirst story, three windows onthe second level,and two on the third story. This elevation's entry features a fanlight, but it is narrower than the one on the main facade and is capped by a hood which is supported by simple brackets. Placed at.a right angle to the main section of the building is a rear one story clap- boarded ell with a pitch roof pierced by a single tall chimney.

This addition was built in two stages, and although its date is not confirmed, was most likely constructed during the 19th century. The earliest portion is the two bay section which is closest to the main house. The later addition includes a small enclosed pavillion and what is now a one car garage at the northern end. Fenestration on this wing is asymmetrical con- sisting of windows of various size and sash configuration. Outbuildings originally associated with the Roebuck Tavern are no longer standing on the property.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance Roebuck Tavern, Wrentham, MA Period - prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 - 1800-1899 1900- Areas of SignificanceCheck and justify below . archeology-prehistoric X archeology-historic community planning conservation agriculture economics architecture education _art engineering X commerce exploration/settlement .communications industry invention landscape architecture_ law literature military music - philosophy politics/government . religion science sculpture social/ humanitarian theater transportation other (specify) Specific dates ca. 1795 Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) Builder/Architect Unknown The Roebuck Taven possesses integrity of location, design, setting, materials, and workmanship, as well as documented associations with the development of rentham during the late 18th and 19th centuries. It is significant as one of the town's best preserved examples of residential Federal period architecture and is also important for its re- lationship with a prominent local family in the 18th and 19th centuries. The tavern thus meets Criteria A, B, and C of the National Register of Historic Places. Constructed in 1795 for David Fisher and his familý, the Roebuck Taven was located'ad-! jacent to Wrentham's major Colonial Period crossroads in the towh's historic centér:*i More importantly, however, it stood on one of the Boston/Providence Turnpikes (Route 1A) which opened early in the 19th century.

This new route spurred a period of growth in Wrentham and hada great impacton the early use of the nominated property. Dur ing this era , the building served as avtavern, post office, toll collector's house, as well as a family's residence. Although initially used for these various functions, the building was best known as an inn and tavern and continued to be used in this manner through the early 20th century. The Fisher Family, long associated with the tavern and owners of the property until 1910, were among the community's early settlers in the mid 17th century. Serving as selectmen in the founding: years of the town, they were influential figures in its develop- ment.

In the early 19th century, David Fisher, for whom the tavern was built, kept the Fisher name prominent in the community: He acted not only as an innkeeper and toll collector, but also served as Wrentham's postmaster and ran one of the town's only commercial stores - the West India and English Goods Store: George Fisher, grandson of the tavern's original owner, was one of the family's most noteable members. In the late 19th century as a professor and Dean of the Yale Divinity School, he was a most disting- uished historian and author in the field of New England church history and theology.

In addition to its association with the growth of Wrentham Center in the early 19th century and its relationship to the Fisher Family, the tavern is also an architecturally significant structure representing an early and well preserved example of a residential building in the town center which uses Federal period detail in a well articulated manner. Because of these characteristics the building was recorded and documented by HABS in its 1937 Massachusetts Survey. The grounds surrounding the Roebuck Tavern should be considered as potentially sensitive for the presence of subsurface cultural material deposits and structural features related to the property's diverse uses throughout its history. Research oriented identification, investigation and evaluation of these resources using archaeological techniques may provide information relevant to our understanding of the past.

Questions that may be addressed include, but are not limited to, the development of Wrentham Center, trade networks and commerce, and 18th and 19th century lifeways, particularly with respect to multifaceted activities of the property as it changed through time.

The rest of the file

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

Major Bibliographical References Historic American Buildings Survey Catalog, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Fiore, Jordan D., Wrentham A History, 1673-1963, Thomas Todd Co., Boston, MA 1973. Ewing, Alice Bennett, Program for the 250th Anniversary of Wrentham, A Brief History of Wrentham, 1923. 10.

Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property - 10, 800 square feet Quadrangle name Wrentham Quadrangle scale 1:25,000 UT M References ^L9 E3t0 1 4101d Zone Easting 46 59670 Northing LIILLL ELy LALL LILILLL GLUJLLILLULILILIL Verbal boundary description and justification Easugorng LEu Northing LULLILILu FLUJLIILLL LILILLL Labrdd bla lu CTY30513 Beginning on the northerly side of Dedham Street, in Wrentham at the Southeast corner of land of the town of Wrentham thence running Northerly by said town land one hundred twenty List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state N/A code county code state code county code 11.

Form Prepared By name/title Kathryn Kubie, Preservation Planner with Mary Elizabeth Pyne Massachusetts Historical Commission organization date December, 1983 street & number 294 Washington Street telephone(617) 727-8470 city or town Boston state Massachusetts 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national state X 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.

etuu tWeslouste State Historic Preservation Officer signature State Historic Preservation Officer title Masachusetts Historical Commission For NPS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register Xelore Entered in tha fKeeper of the National Register National Register date -4/10/84 date 5/17/84 Attest: Chief of Registration date NPSForm 10.900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Continuation sheet Roebuck Tavern Item number 9 & 10 OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 For NPS uee only received date entered Page 1 -9. Major Bibliographical References (Cont'd) National Council of Congregational Churches of the U.S., Congregational Year Book, Fort Hill Press, Boston, 1910.

Registry of Deeds, Dedham, Duley, Doris, Wrentham Historical Commission, Notes and photos unpublished, Faverns and Inns. Interview, Roland Bainton, Professor Emeritus, Yale Divinity School, Author, Historian, Biographer, 4/7/83. Bruce Crowther, Secretary, Wrentham Historical Commission provided many details on David Fisher's Life from deed research and Congregational Church records. 10. Verbal Boundary Description and Justification (Cont'd) five feet to an angle thereof; thence Easterly by land of said town of Wrentham 86½ feet more or less to land of Minnie Corcoran; thence Southerly bysaid Corcoran land 125 feet to said Dedham Street, thence Westerly by said Dedham Street 85½ feet more or less to the point of beginning. 44t 22 82 2347 N/TXNV 52 53 ST. DEPOT 612 228 80 POTER EASENTE ettBR- 238 -TYNT 51 ,3° 58 -60 56 N/TAN PARK: 28 216 61 63 62 PED DEDHAMSI 6, 104 ON - * LON!H!

TAIN Ho 47 45 4+ COM x; ST. 50193 410 400 ST. Page # 20; lot .62 Scale 1inch = 200 Date 1982 feet Roebuck Tavern Wrentham, Mass. WASO Form - 177 ("R" June 1984) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET Roebuck Tavern Norfolk County MASSACHUSETTS resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Reviewer's comments: Lsample LJrequest Working No. APR | 8 1984 Fed. Reg. Date :-587 Date Due: Action: LACCEPT 5/17/84 Entered l 1n fhe -RETURN_ Natione. Seg.svom -REJECT - Federal Agency: -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 3. Classification Category Ownership Public Acquisition 4. Owner of Property 5.

Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Has this property been determined eligible? yes no 7. Description Condition excellent good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one unaltered altered Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection Status Accessible Present Use Check one original site J moved date 8. Significance Period Areas of Significance-Check and justify below Specific dates Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) Builder/Architect - summary paragraph completeness clarity J applicable criteria justification of areas checked relating significance to the resource context relationship of integrity to significance J justification of exception other 9. Major Bibliographical References 10.

Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property Quadrangle name UTM References Verbal boundary description and justification 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national state local State Historic Preservation Officer signature date title 13. Other Maps Photographs Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to Signed - Date - Phone: Comments for any item may be continued on an attached sheet Roebuck Tavern 21 Dedham St Wrentham, Mass mary Elizabeth Pyne april 1983 187 Seekonk ST Nor folk, MAss. Photo #I11 South east