Nomination for Black Tavern

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 (3-82) 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 received APR | 0 1985 date entered MAY 9 1985 historic Black Tavern and/or common Same 2. Location street & number Dudley Center Road N/A not for publication city, town Dudley N/Avicinity of state Massachusetts 3.

Classification code 025 county Worcester code 027 Category district x building(s) structure site object Ownership public X private both Public Acquisition in process N/A being considered Status _ occupied X 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 X other: 4. Owner of Property name The Black Tavern Historical Society of Dudley, Inc. street & number P.0. Box 1804 Dudley Center Road city, town Dudley N/A- vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state Massachusetts courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Worcester District Registry of Deeds street & number Court House Hill city, town Worcester state Massachusetts 6.

Representation in Existing Surveys Inventory of the Historic Assets title oftheCommonwealth #55 has this property been determined eligible? - yes x- no date March 1981 federal X state county local depositary for survey records Massachusetts Historical Commission city, town Boston state Massachusetts 7. Description Black Tavern, Dudley Condition excellent good fair Check one deteriorated x unaltered Check one X original site x unexposed Northern ell ca. 1810; eastern ell ca. 1835; porches ca. 1890 Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

Located in the geographic center of Dudley, Massachusetts, atop Dudley Hill, 600 feet above sea level, the Black Tavern occuples a corner lot at the intersection of Dudley Hill Center Road andlanyardRoad. The building, which faces west, is set back approximately 20 feet from the road. Alongside its southern elevation are several mature trees, while the front lawn is simply planted with grass. The lot slopes away steeply behind the front of the building. To the immediate north of the building stands a former shoe shop (ca. 1805, #54), now a college dormitory. Typically Federal in its design, the tavern is rectangular in shape, with two ells added (see attached plan). Its main section, built 1n 1803-1804, 1s a five-day, center-entry, - 1/2-story building. It has a central chimney centered on the ridge.

To the east, rear of the building, a carpenter shop, 1 1/2 stories with a full basement, was added in 1810. In 1835, a three-bay, two-story ell, with central entry, was added on to the north side of the tavern. The main part of the building and its northern ell rise from a rough-quarried granite foundation, while the eastern ell sits on a raised brick foundation. The tavern is sheathed in clapboard throughout, except for the above-ground brick basement of the eastern ell, and plain corner boards frame the building. While it is believed that the original roof shingles were wooden, the present roofing material is asphalt. Much of the original fenestration, which is primarily 12/12 double-hung sash, remains Shutters surrounding many of the windows are also thought to be original. The main,western facade of the originalblock is composed of five symmetrically arranged bays.

Two simply framed windows flank a finely detailed doorway: dentilated pediment and fluted pilasters frame a semi-circular fanlight and paneled door. the fanlight is the inscription "AD 1804. ." A single window is centered on the second story above the doorway. there is a tall brick central chimney centered on the ridge. Running across the full length of the facade, including that of the northern ell, is a single-story, Stingte motii foned comice 70-foot-long porch of a later date (ca. 1890). Paired Doric columns on piers and a simple modillioned cornice support the slightly sloping roof and shallow central pedimented gable marking the entryway, described above. A low, shingled wall encloses the porch. The western facade of the northern ell (1835), essentially a continuation of the original block, is composed of four asymmetnically organized bays.

Closest to the building's main block are two windows with flat lintels on each of the two stories. A simply framed doorway set slightly off center provides access to the ell. Unlike the main block's entryway, this door is not balanced by a window above. To the left of the doorway, asingle bay consists of one window on the first floor aligned beneath another on the second floor. A continuation of the single-story porch also runs across the NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Continuation sheet Black Tavern, Dudley Item number OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 For NPS use only recelved date entered 7 Page ell's facade. The ell's side-gabled roof is lower (?) than that of the main block, and is half its height.

The narrow brick central chimney situated below the ridge is a later replacement. The south facade of the main block, four bays deep, is dominated by a well-detailed entryway in the third bay framed by a Colonial Revival-style portico. The door, topped by a five-light transom, is surrounded by simple pilasters and entablature. single-story pedimented portico is supported by chamfered columns, which rest on a low granite base. The entryway is flanked by two bays to the west and a single bay to the Four windows on the second story balance the fenestration below. All are 12/12. A single 12/8 window is centered beneath the moderately pitched gable. The cornice is unadorned, except for short cornice returns on either end. At a right angle to the main block and extending east of that block's south facade is the 1810 ell.

Essentially a 1 1/2-story block, the ell also includes an above-ground brick basement built into the hillside on which the ell sits. On its south side, the ell displays four bays. A vertical-plank door set flush inside a plain frame comprises the bay closest to the main block. Three 12/12 double-hung sash windows, also simply framed, complete the arrangement of bays on the first-floor level. Beneath these three windows is the exposed basement. Three asymmetrically placed windows flank a small, vertical-board shed with a single 3/3 window. Set off-center in the moderately pitched side-gable roof is a two-window pedimented dormer, probably added in the late 19th century at the same time as the front and side porches. The rear, east side of the tavern includes the simple rear facade of the carpenter shop ell and the more complex rear facades of the main block and northern ell.

The carpenter shop ell has a single bay of windows centered beneath the moderately pitched gable. With its narrow cornice and simple returns, this ell's roofline echoes that of the main block. The rear of the main blockreflects aseries of porches and lean-to additions, probably added in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when the building was used as a summer home. The north facade,nearly obscured by the shoe shop four feet to the north, contains a single 12/12 double-hung sash window on the first story. Above, the second story contains a pair of 12/12 double-hung sash windows. While the tavern's interior has deteriorated, a number of original features remain. These include several fireplaces, ovens, and doors with original hardware.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance Black Tavern, Dudley Period prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 X_ 1800-1899 X 1900 Areas of SignificanceCheck and justify below archeology-prehistoric community planning X archeology-historic conservation agriculture _ economics architecture X education art engineering X commerce exploration/settlement communications X industry invention landscape architecture law literature military music philosophy politics/government religion science sculpture social/ humanitarian - theater .transportation X other (specify) community development Specific dates 1803-1804; ca: 1810; Builder

Statement of significance

/Architect Hezekiah Healy, builder ca. 1835 Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) The Black Tavern, built 1n 1804, is an imposing Federal-period building, prominently situated at the top of Dudley Hill in Dudley. Its size and series of early 19th century additions bespeak its importance as a prominent tavern along the Boston-Hartford roadway, and it is one of the best-preserved Federal-period structures in the old section of Dudley. The Black Tavern possesses integrity of location, design, setting, materials, and workmanship, as well as associations with the development of the oldest part of Dudley. As a well-preserved example of a Federal-period tavern, and for its Tater associations with the community's development for its use as a summer home and then as a college dormitory, the Black Tavern fulfills criteria A and C of the National Register of Historic Places.

At the time of the Black Tavern's construction in 1803-1804, Dudley was a midway point on a stagecoach route between Boston and Hartford. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, central Massachusetts had a number of transportation routes linking the Commonwealth with points south, but only one passed directly over the hill that marked Dudley Center. A 1795 map of Dudley shows the intersection of a north/south "County Road" with an east-west "Town Road" as one of the few routes available throughthe area. Ten years-later, the nominated property occupied a site at the intersection of these two roadways. Other turn-of-the-century development at this intersection helped form the nucleus of the town. The hill and its immediate vicinity were first the focus of English settlement in the early 1720s, and the town of Dudley was established in 1732.

The area had long been the site of native villages--the Pegan tribe, a branch of the Nipmuck Indians, occupied Dudley Hill as late as the 1730s, but gradually sold their property to the English BASEA settlers. Throughout the 18th century, the village's development was primarily through scattered agricultural settlement. Although hilly, the town contained some of the best soil in Worcester County; Dudley's fields produced hay, grains, and vegetables, and also By the close of the 18th century, the town boundaries also included four sawmills and four gristmills to the north and west(?). But thevillage center at the top of the hillwas primarily residential and institutional, including as it did several houses and a meetinghouse (erected 1734, replaced 1834). The Black Tavern was erected by Hezekiah Healy(1766-1816), a Dudley militiaman, cabinetmaker, and inventor.

When it first opened, the tavern was called the Healy Inn, but local legend has it that the inn was dubbed "Black Tavern" after Captain Healy: decided to paint the building black, reasoning that it was the color requiring the very least amount of maintenance. Trim on the building was white. The tavern was located directly opposite the meetinghouse and the village common.

The rest of the file

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

Major Bibliographical References Dudley, Mass., "Anniversary Book." 1932. "Commemorative Bulletin." 1976. Goodell, Charles, Black Tavern Tales. McDonald and Co., 1932. My Mother's Bible. Lee and Shepard, 1891. (see continuation sheet) 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property 8,242 sq. feet Quadrangle name Webster, Mass. - Conn. Quadrangle scale 1:25,000 UT M References A [119| 12|517/51010/ 1416|518/71810) Easting Northing Zone AliLi Easting Northing DLULILL LuLu LLILUJ LELLLL HLULLILL LIlaLu LLd LILILuL GLUJLLILL LILILLL Verbal boundary description and justification see attached sheet 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 Betsy Friedberg, Preservation Planner, Mass.

Historical Commission with name/title Charles Moseley, Black Tavern Historical Society organization Massachusetts Historical Commission date January, 1985 street & number 80 Boylston 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. State Historic Preservation Officer signature Executive Director, Mass. Historical Commission Vaune A.

dlmage title State Historic Preservation Officer date March 21,085 For NPS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register loreso Batered lot1onal gteten date 5-9-85 Keeper of the National Register Attest: Chief of Registration date U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1983 0 - 419-311 NPS Form 10-200-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 date entered Continuation sheet Black Tavern, Dudley Item number 8 Page 1 The common served as a mustering ground for the local militia; after drill practice, it was said, the troops retired across the road to the tavern. Black Tavern also became a popular spot for watering horses and feeding stage passengers, as well as a village gathering place.

Thus it catered to both transients and the local population, a trait it shared with other similar establishments throughout the region. The original tavern was a two-story, five-bay, center-chimney-plan building with a center entry. Its close resemblance to the traditional Federal-period dwelling was typical of transportation-related buildings of central Massachusetts. Public rooms on the west and south flanked a large kitchen and pantry on the rear, east side of the building. A massive, twelve-foot-square brick chimney, with nine fireplaces, served both the three first-floor rooms and those above. Upstairs, on the south side of the building, a swinging partition divided the two end rooms. This partition could be hooked to the ceiling to accommodate a party or dance.

In 1810, a l 1/2-story ell was added to house Captain Healy's carpenter shop and to provide living quarters for the Healy family. Dudley Center thrived in the early decades of the 19th century, its growth fueled by its 20 e i its), et0re an uea i nene, al s ren t sructures eoctoned tth Nichols Academy, founded by Universalist Amasa Nichols in 1815. (The earliest Nichols Academy buildings do not survive, but the late 19th century structures that replaced them during the Academy's heyday do remain.) In 1823, a second meetinghouse for the growing community was erected (again, no longer extant). While elsewhere within the concers devefoped, Dudlyr 5 canter ree fined a resideno th and tnstituttonat rnusstriat In 1829, the residential nature of Dudley hill was confirmed.

In that year, the Central Turnpike, one of a series of transport improvements in central Massachusetts effected by investors, was completed, bypassing Dudley Hill. Instead, it passed through 1ower ground to the southeast of the hill. Traffic throughthe town center diminished, development slowed, and the Black Tavern ceased to be the popular resting spot that it had been during the first decades of its existence. While elsewhere in Dudley, textile manufacturing and other industrial concerns developed, Dudley Hill's growth declined markedly. Hezekiah Healy died before the completion of the Central Turnpike, but his widow, Becca, and two daughters remained at Black Tavern. In 1824, Becca Healy (1772-1845) sold land behind the tavern to the town of Dudley. A stone schoolhouse (#187) was erected there for $400 in 1825, and both daughters taught there.

Becca's younger daughter, Clarinda Healy Goodel1, a Methodist, donated additional Healy land for the Methodist Church that would be built just to the north of tavern in 1845 (destroyed 1924). NPS Form 10-300-8 (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Continuation sheet Black Tavern, Dudley 8 Item number OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 For NPS use only received date entered Page 2 A two-story ell added to the north of the original tavern building in 1835 served as a story and post office in the mid 19th century. Black Tavern's most important period of significance was during the early 19th century, and few details of its use in the later decades of the century are known. The tavern served as a residence for the descendants of Hezekiah Healy for two generations. In the 1880s, Dr.

Charles Goodell, Methodist minister, evangelist, and grandson of Hezekiah, used the tavern as a summer home. (Dudley Center's increasing isolation after the construction of the Central Turnpike made the hill an ideal vacation spot.) At that time (ca. 1890), several Colonial Revival-style alterations were made to the building, including a single-story porch with Doric columns and central pedimented gable across the full-front facade and a smaller portico on the southern side elevation. Dr. Goodel1 died in 1937. After his widow's death in 1946, the property passed into the hands of Nichols Academy, now Nichols College. substantial contributions for new college buildings in the late 19th century and the institution, which had been, like the rest of Dudley Hill, in a state of decline, began to grow. Black Tavern became a student dormitory.

It remained in the ownership of the nor leh otie, br bil y ti Te 1itg College benefactor Hezekiah Conant made In recent years, the tavern has been poorly maintained. The college considered demolishing the structure, but instead deeded it (and over 8,000 square feet of land surrounding it) to the Black Tavern Historical Society of Dudley, Inc., a non-profit organization that hopes to restore the building.

Given its integrity of setting, the Black Tavern has a high potential for significant archaeological remains including: builder's trenches and related construction features, evidence of outbuildings, and past landscaping, as well as refuse scatter, trash pits, LRes eraco to the fayermng Given the tavern's central location in Dudley and its importance as a formal and informal meeting place, especially between 1804 and 1829, surviving archaeological resources have a high potential for contributing to the understanding of Dudley's social, cultural and economic development. NPS Form10-300-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Continuation sheet Black Tavern, Dudley Item number 9 OMB No.1024-0018 Exp.

10-31-84 For NPS use only received date entered Page 1 Mosely, Marion, "History of Black Tavern." 1983 Steinitz, Michael, et. al., "Historic and Archaeological Resources of Central Massachusetts." Massachusetts Historical Commission, 1985. NPS Form 10-000-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Continuation sheet Black Tavern, Dudley 10 Item number OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 For NPS use only received date entered Page 1 Verbal Boundary Description "BEGINNING at an iron pipe set at the northwest corner of tract herein described on the easterly side of Main Street, also called Center road, also called Dudley-Oxford Road; THENCE S 62.

48' 39" E along other land of Nichols College, a distance of eighty-nine and seventy-four hundreths (89.74) feet to an iron pipe set at the northeast corner of tract herein described; THENCE S 28- 38' 43"Walong other land of Nichols College, a antran piee seln ee northerly stde of Tanyard Road, THENCE w 67 h1 (42i ) fong the northerly sise oon the Tanyard Road, a distance of eighty-six and sixty-two hundreths (86.62) feet to the easterly side of Main Street; THENCE N 26- 20' 00" E along the easterly side of Main Street, a distance of seventy-seven and fifteen hundreths (/1.15) feet to a drill hole found in granite step; THENCE N 28- 43' 16" E along the easterly side of Main Street, a distance of fourteen and eighty-five hundreths (14.85) feet to the point of beginning." Worcester District Registry of Deeds Plan Book 517, Plan 84. See also attached assessors map.

WASO Form- 177 ("R" June 1984) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET RErIt 8500098) Black Tavern Worcester County MASSACHUSETTS resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Reviewer's comments: sample -request APR 1 O 1985 Working No._ Fed. Reg. Date:c2 Date Due: _ 9185 - Action: LACCEPT - Entered in the _RETURN_ National Register _REJECT_ Federal Agency: 5/25/85 5-9-55 -appeal LJNR 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 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 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 RECEIVED JAN O? 1985 MASS. LSIN COMM. S2V BF Valerie A. Talmage Executive Director State Historic Preservation Officer Massachusetts Historical Commission 80 Boylston Street Boston, Ma 02116 Dear Ms. Talmage: The Black Tavern Historical Society of Dudley and the Dudley town Historical Commission are very happy that the Black Tavern registration is to be considered Feb.

13. We are very desirous of getting successful listing completed. This building is important to Dudley as the only publically available structure marking the site of first settlings to be nominated by us for historic registration; it identifies the site of the first incorponated village in the area of Webster and Dudley;it has much history of its own; its restoration is bringing to light from the descendants of the early families recollections of names, lives, and events of Dudley and New England historical development; it can help us retain for future residentis the way our present community facilities came about and the significance thereof to us all. It will help us understand ourselves We feel that every local area should have its own evidences of the past to relate our local history to the larger state, regional, and national histories.

Our activity has already generated interest and diffusion of knowledge now in the memories and minds of individuals . which could easily be lost as the lives of those individuals culminate. I would like to know if our presence at the Concord meeting is desirable or permissable. Chares morely Charles Moseley Black Tavern Historical Society Dudley Historical Commission