Nomination for Carpenter, Ezra, House

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 (3-82) MB No. 1024-00 :xp. 10-31-8 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 historic Ezra Carpenter, House and/or common Witchie House 2. Location For NPS use only received DEC date entered 6 1984 JAN 3 1985 street & number 168 South Street- N/A not for publication city, town Foxborough state Massachusetts 3.

Classification Category district Ownership public _ building(s) - private structure both site Public Acquisition object N/A in process being considered code N/A vicinity of 025 county Nor folk code 021 Status Accessible X yes: restricted ..yes: unrestricted no Present Use agriculture commercial educational entertainment -government - industrial military museum park - private residence religious scientific transportatior X other: Currentl vacant 4. Owner of Property name Town of Foxborough, Historical Conmission street & number Memorial Hall, 2 South Street city, town Foxborough N/A - vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state Massachusetts 02035 courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Norfolk County Registry of Deeds street & number 10 High Street city, town Dedham state Massachusetts 6.

Representation in Existing Surveys Inventory of the Historic Assets title of the Commonwealth, #92 has this property been determined eligible? yes date 1981 federal X state county X local Massachusetts Historical Conmission depository for survey records Boston city, town state Massachusetts 7. Description Ezra Carpenter House, Foxborough, MA Condition - excellent good X fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one unaltered X altered Check one X original site moved Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

The Ezra Carpenter House is set back one hundred feet from South Street on a level lot of almost one acre. In front of the house are a broad lawn, two lilac bushes, and a large maple tree; the area behind the house is open except for a few old apple trees. Located in a residential area of single-family 19th and 20th century dvellings, the Ezca Carpenter House was built around 1800 along South Street, one of Foxborough's earliest roads. It consists of a 12 story main structure with an attached southern wing. In the rear is a small single-story addition, built ca. 1920. The house is a typical Federal-period cottage. The main house is five bays wide with a center entry. The roof is a shallow-pitched gable, and there is a small central chimney located forward of the ridge. The five-bay southern wing is original to the main house up to the second bay.

It was extended around 1830 to include three additional bays (two doors and a window). The house stands on its original cut-granite foundation. Its front doorway is em- bellished with flat pilasters with simple Doric capitals. The exterior clapboards are in part original, but the roof is now covered with asbestos shingles laid in a diamond hung sashelindov'frames are original but sashes have been replaced with 8/12 double- On the western side of the building, its main facade, four 8/12 simply framed windows flank the door and are flush with a plain frieze board spanning the front of the house. Plain wide corer boards frame the facade, which is capped by a comice of crown molding of late 19th century date. The western side of the wing, with three windows and two simply framed doorways, is framed by plain comer boards and comnice.

The northern elevation, a two-bay gable end, has its original raking comice and cornice The two first-floor windows have pegged frames; the single second-story window, centered beneath the gable, has Federal -period moldings across the top and along the sides. Ihe southem elevation of the main house contains a first-floor pegged frame window and a second-floor Federal-style window identical to that of the northem elevation. Ine second-story window is placed well off center, an indication that the southem wing is original to the main house. At the rear of the building, its eastern elevation, are three asymmetrically placed windows. Like the front facade, the rear has a plain frieze board and corner boards. The cornice is identical to that on the front facade. The flat-roofed shed with a brick chimney, in very poor condition, is a late addition of ca. 1920.

Set into the main house's roof is a rectangular hatch, also ca. 1920. The interior of the main structure, with a typica early 19th century floor plan, retains its original Federal-period cornice moldings and baseboards. The main house has two large rooms with fireplaces at the front and three smaller rooms at the rear. A stair case leads to an upstairs bedroom with fireplace and an attic storeroom. Iwo of the three fireplaces in the main house also retain original Federal mantels, including one in the southern front room of the main house where a large fireplace has been bricked in. No outbuildings remain on the property, although the foundations, of an early 20th century barn that bumed in the arly 1960s remain.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

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

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) Builder Architect Unknown Ihe Ezra Carpenter House possesses integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. It is significant as an intact Federal-perioc cottage and as the home of the patriarch of one of Foxborouch''s most prominent families, important center of straw hat manutacture. level for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The house was built for Ezca Carpenter (1753-1841) around 1800. The son of Nehemiah Carpenter, one of Foxborough's founders, Ezca was a hero of the Revolutionary War. He answered the sumons for minute men after the battle of lexington, served at Valley Forge, and crossed the Delaware River with General Washington on Christmas night, 1776. Atter the war, Ezxa retumed to Foxborough, which was then primarily a poor agricultura. conmnity.

He became a farmer and a straw merchant, travelling to Boston to trade braided straw. He is thought to have been the first straw merchant in a town that by the mid 19th century would become a major regional center for the straw hat and bonnet industry. The Ezra Carpenter House is architectucally important as one of the only intact Federal- period cottages remaining in Foxborough.. Other early cottages in Foxborough have had numerous additions, including front porches, that substantially alter their original appearnent hastbecored in thousse cetaiot the aten, tyd the propetty retains its nural. character, looking today much as it did when the first Carpenters lived there. Ezra Carpenter's children and grandchildren were leaders in Foxborough's civic and conmercial affairs throughout the 19th century. up in the house and inherited his father's small business.

He expanded the straw iis lacherentunai bustnes. His son, Daniels (1795-1889), grew enterprise to include bonnet manufacturing as a cottage industry. In addition, he was co-owner of a Foxborough box manufacturing mill, ran a thread mill, and invested in other businesses in neighboring towns. A successful businessman, Daniels Carpenter helped lead Foxborough from a relatively diverse economy toward a period at mid-century dominated by the highly profitable straw goods industry. In 1858, he served as a representative to the General Court. Descendants of Ezra Carpenter furthered Foxborough's industrial growth. ilis grandson, Erastus P. (1822-1902), and ousins, Oliver and Warren Carpenter, established the town's first formal straw works in 1844.

In 1853, Erastus consolidated several straw businesses into the Union Straw Works, for its time the largest straw factory in the Erastus was also one oi Foxborough's most prominent citizens. He was respon- sible for planning Foxborough Conmon in 1857, chaired the conmittee that built the town's Memorial Hall in 1868, and toward the end of his life served in Massachusetts' Senate and House of Representatives.

The rest of the file

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

Major Bibliographical References Jack Authelet, Glimpses of Early Foxboro. The Foxboro Company, Foxboro, Massachusetts, 1978 John Curtis, Architectural Evaluation, August 1, 1980. 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property - 42,292 sq. ft Quadrangle name Wrentham UTM References, A19 [31131420/ 46|51790 Easting Northing cLL Lulu LuLu uLul Quadrangle scale 1:25,000 F Easting..... ..: .:Northing Llu LLLLL LiLuLliLL LetadLeLeLuL Verbal boundary description and justification See attached assessor's map/ C.'! List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state N/A code county code state code 11. Form Prepared By county code name/title?

organization street & number Betsy Friedberg, Preservation Planner and Mary Elizabeth Pyne, Historic Properties Researci Massachusetts Historical Conmission 294 Washington Street date September, 1984 telephone. (617). 127-8470 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. ..*-:; State Historic Preservation Officer signature ValuieA. lalmage State Historic Preservation Officer title Valerie A.

Talmage date 1Nember 16,984 For NPS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register delarulgyer Entered in the National Register date 1 - 3-85 Keoper of the National Register Attest: Chief of Reaistration date NPS Form 10-900-e (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form OMB Na. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 eveg date entered Continuation sheet Ezra Carpenter House Item number 8 Page 1 Several other resources in Foxborough are associated with Ezra Carpenter's prominent descendants. In 1824, Ezca's son Daniels built a late Federal-style home on Main Street. The mansion still stands but it does not retain integrity.

Ihe Great Bonnet Shop, or Verandah House, which housed the first movest straw wörks 'that Erastus, Oliver, and Warren Carpenter established in 1844, still stands on Wall Street, a short distance from Foxborough Common. The house passed through a number of hands in the late 19th and early 20th centuries until 1911, when it was purchased by the Witchie family for use as a dairy farm.. Cows were kept in a large barn, which has since bured. Foundations of the barn remain in o a dain the northeaster portion of the lot. The Witchie family retained ownership of the Propertyo pla s 7o esen he unated io the Eutorouen Historical Camission the Archaelogical Considerations: The Ezra Carpenter House may retain intact archaelogical deposits relating to domestic use of the property and the owners' involvement in the straw industry. 985 STREET SOUTH #5482 42,292 sa. f+ No.

HIGH ST 3479 12.33 A FOXBOROUGH, MA Town of Foxborough Assessors Plan Scale: 1" = 80' Date: 1982 lot #: 5482 WASO Form - 177 ("R" June 1984) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET Carpenter, Ezra, House Norfolk County MASSACHUSETTS resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Reviewer's comments: LJ sample Lrequest DEC Working No. Fed. Reg. Dateps 4186 Date Due: //3 - Action: LACCEPT. Entered in the -RETURN. Natlone1 Regfgederal Agency: - - REJECT- -appeal -NR decision Recom./Criteria Reviewer. Discipline- Date _ see continuation sheet 6 1984 1/20/55 1-3-85 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 J 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 Builder/Architect Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) -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 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 EzRa Carpenter House 168 South st Foxboro, MAss mary Ehjakath Pyne March 1983 Neg. at Mem.

Hall, Foxboro photo #1 % 5 Western Slevation Ezra Carpenta House Foxboro 3/83 Northern Slevation photo #2 7 5 Ezra Carpenter Mouse Foxboro 3/83 Eastern Elevation photo #3f5 Ezna Carpenter House Foxboro 3/83 Eastern Elevation photo* 475 Ezra Carpenter House Foxboro 3/83 Southern clevations photo #5 g5