Nomination for Nickerson Mansion

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 (3-82) DMB 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 JAN 2 3 1986 date entered FEB 20 1986 historic Fieldstone Hall and or common 2. Location Nickerson Mansion (preferred) street & number 2871 Main Street n/a not for publication city, town Brewster n/a vicinity of state Massachusetts 3.

Classification code 025 county Barnstable code 001 Category district X building(s) structure site object Ownership public X private both Public Acquisition in process n/abeing considered Status - occupied X unoccupied _ 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: unoccupied 4. Owner of Property name Corcoran, Mullins, Jennison, Inc. street & number 1776 Heritage Drive city, town Quincy n/avicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state Massachusetts 02171 Plan Book 352 courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Barnstable County Registry of Deeds Page 33 street & number Main Street city, town Barnstable state Massachusetts 6.

Representation in Existing Surveys Inventory of the Cultural Assets of title the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has this property been determined eligible? yes x date 1979, Area form A, Inventory form 28 federal X state - county local depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Commission, 80 Boylston Street city, town Boston state Massachusetts 7. Description Condition excellent X good fair . deteriorated ruins unexposed Nickerson Mansion, Brewster, Massachusetts Check one _ unaltered X altered Check one X original site moved date Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

The Nickerson Mansion (and adjacent Carriage House) is located on Route 6A in Brewster, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. It is just east of the center of Brewster on the north side of the road overlooking Cape Cod Bay. Route 6A is heavily tree lined but suddenly opens to reveal the broad lawn in front of the mansion and carriage house. The buildings are set back approximately 500' from the road. The front lawn is approxinately 500' wide. Cape Cod Bay is 1300' to the north of the buildings, but because the topography of the site slopes dramatically (a 30' change in elevation) toward the Bay, it is highly visible from the two buildings and from the approach to the building. The effect is a dramatic change from the scale, sitting and character of the neighboring village. The parcel on which the Mansion stands preserves the property's original frontage as well as its major 1andscaping elements.

The mansion was designed by Chapmnan and Frazer for Samuel Mayo Nickerson. The house was completed in 1908. It was built on the site of the Nickerson's previous summer house, a Victorian structure that was claimed by fire in 1906. EXTERIOR The Nickerson House is a two-and-one half story structure constructed in part of fireproof materials (steel frame, terracotta block and concrete slab floors at the basement and first stories) and wood framning (second story and attic). The building has a complex plan consisting of a main house with a service wing (east), porte-cochere (west) and terrace (north). Elevations are covered with stucco trimned with cast-stone (copings and balustrades) and wood (cornices, window trimings and second-story balustrades). The structure is enclosed by a complex hip roof covered with red slates.

Sash varies in size and configuration throughout the building; however, most windows contain double-hung wooden sash, the upper half of which contains diamond panes and the lower half of the which contains a single pane. Some leaded glass transoms and casement windows exist at the first story of the main house. The mansion's facade is asymmetrical; at the main house it consists of a central entry set in a shallow entry court created by pavilions that have bay windows at the first story and overhanding second stories. The main entry consists of a panelleddoor flankedby leadedglass casements, all of which stand beneath a veranda supported by stucco-covered columns. Above the entry at the second story is a recessed porch; three dormers with hipped roofs exist at the attic..

At the west end of the main house is a two-story porch that is framed by piers and low arches at the first story and piers with e:226i0 Continued NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Nickerson Mansion Continuation sheet Brewster, Massachusetts Item number 7 OMB No.1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 For NPS use only received date entered Page 1 stucco-covered columns standing in antis at the piers, wood brackets, a wooden cornice and balustrade at its roofline. East of the main house is the service wing, the facade of which is set back 14' from that of the main house. The south elevation of the wing contains an entry set beneath a slate-covered hood and paired windows; at its roofline is an eyebrow dormer.

The east elevation of the wing consists of a center entry protected by an open porch with a hipped roof. Fenestration is asymetrical except for a dormer that is centered on the roof. Exposed portions of the main house's east elevation contain tripartite casements (south of the wing) and double-hung sash (north of the wing). The north elevation mimics the form of the south elevation, having (at the main house) a central entry flanked by projecting porches and pavilions that rise to half-hip roofs at the roof. Details consist of a five-sided bay window (east of the entry), wooden balustrades at the roofs of the open porches and two dormers and a skylight at the attic. This elevation of the main house is dominated by a high, undecorated basement that serves as the base of the rear terrace.

Finishes on the terrace include quarry tile floors and stucco-covered railings with cast-stone copings. The west elevation is approached by a curved driveway that is surrounded by a stucco-covered wall with cast-stone copings. The elevation is dominated by a two-story porch, three bays wide and one bay deep and by a one-bay porte-cochere. Finishes are the same as at the facade (south elevation) of these structures. INTERIOR In addition to its well preserved exterior, the Nickerson House possesses exceptionally fine interior details. The most significant of these are its vaulted and panelled entry hall, neo-English Renaissance staircase, its panelled living room with an ornamental plaster ceiling and its neo-Medieval (Arts & Crafts) panelling, carved timbers and 1imestone chimneypiece in its northwest corner room.

The former dining room and trophy room on the first story preserve equally fine decorative details. Second story rooms are less ornate but retain excellent Arts & Crafts and Colonial Revival mantelpieces, coved plaster ceilings and paneling. The first story contains four principal public rooms arranged about a central great hall and staircase. Designed in varying styles, each of these rooms contains paneled walls, ornamental plaster work, decorated chimney pieces and hardwood floors. Paneling is made of various woods (Walnut and Gumwood). Continued NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Nickerson Mansion Continuation sheet Brewster, Massachusetts Item number 7 OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp.

10-31-84 For NPS use only received date entered Page 2 Wood finishes in the principal public rooms consist of stain and varnish in some areas and oiled finishes elsewhere. East of the principal public rooms are a rear entry hall with a tile floor and panelled walls, a former butler's pantry with original shelves, cabinets and butter's pantry with, bott finishes, a kitchen and former servants' hall, both of which have undecorated plaster walls, cerainic tile and linoleum floors. The second story contains several bedrooms laid out along a central corridor. With the exception of the bedroom at the southeast corner of the wing and the room over the entry, all bedrooms havefireplaces with decorated mantelpieces, plaster cornices, wood cornices,panelled doors and hardwood floors. Bedrooms are separated by closets and bathrooms.

The attic currently consists of a central corridor opening, off of which are eight former servants' bedrooms, two bathrooms and storage closets beneath and eaves. Finishes consist of plaster walls, panelled doors and tongue-and- groove wainscots (hallway only). Finishes remain in basically good condition. OUT BUILDINGS Carriage House: The Carriage House is a one-half story structure of mixed wood-frame and nasonry construction, built in three stages (1890, 1906 & ca. 1940). The building has an irregular floor plan, asymmetrical massing and a complex hip roof. Exterior finishes consist of fieldstone and rock-faced granite trimnings at the first story of the west end of the building (1890), stucco at the east end of the first story and at the upper story (1906), and painted wooden shingles on the roof (1906).

Although window sizes vary,nearly all windows are equipped with double-hung sash, the top half of which contains diamond-pane sash while the lower half contains a simples two-pane sash. The facade is asymnetrically arranged about a central, two-story semi-octagonal bay, east of which is a entry porch and undecorated wall surfaces containing two windows and a diamond-pane light between the entry and the east end pavilion. The east end pavilion contains two windows at each of a tri-partite window and at the end of the structure, an added one-story garage ca. 1906-1925). The roof possesses two dormers west of the one doriner east of the central bay; dormers have hipped roofs and contain one window each. Significant features of the facade are the cobbled stonework of the western half of the building, the mnain entry with its panelled door and Tuscan Continued NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) OMB No.

1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Far NPS uaa only received date entered Nickerson Mansion Continuation sheet Brewster, Massachusetts Item number 7 Page 3 colunns, and the stone-arched carriage entry (which has suffered the loss of its original doors). The east elevation is an undecorated stucco-covered wall with four windows at each of its two stories. Sections of the building's rear wing have undecor- ated, exposed east elevations containing fenestration like that on the facade. The north elevation is asymmetrical; at its first story is an enclosed porch (east end), a rear wing with two windows (central section) and the circular base of a water tower (west end).

At the roof are two regular dormers and a 1arge five-sided dormer that seems originally (1906) to have served as a loading bay for hay and other supplies. At the center of this dormer is a large carved beam originally used for a hoist. The west elevation of the building is asymmetrical and mostly blank. At its north corner is a three-story water tower that rises from a circular base to an octagonal top story above which is an octagonal hip roof with a copper finial. Immediately south of the water tower is a smnall exposed section of the rear wing which contains a leaded-glass window (in the position of a former carriage entry) and a dormer; next southward is the end of the main body of the Carriage House which is mostly concealed by the garage.

At its west elevation the main body of the Carriage House contains one set of paired leaded casements at the first story and a wide dormer with two windows at the roof. The garage possesses tri-partite windows set in its base, which is a blank stucco wall and a hip roof. Built in 1890 and retaining this date in its stonework, the Carriage House originally consisted of the west end of the present structure. As originally designed, this building had a stone base above which were shingled walls and a hipped roof with dormers. In 1906-1908, the original bullding was extended eastward approximately 20', its shingled walls were stuccoed to inatch the Nickerson House and the present water tower was built at the northwest corner of the building. At this time or shortly thereafter, the garage was added to the west end of the Carriage House.

Following the sale of the property in the 1940s, the building was enlarged again by the construction of the east end pavillion, the conversion of former storage areas to dormitories and the alteration of former carriage and horse stalls into a chapel. In its present condition, the building retains significant features from both its 1890 and 1906 periods of construction; furthermore, the Carriage House preserves an important element of the property's development as a summer estate in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Garage: There is a small garage near the northeast corner of the Carriage House that was built between 1925-1940. Its styling is utilitarian.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance Nickerson Mansion, Brewster, Massachusetts 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 X economics X architecture education art engineering commerce exploration/settlement communications industry invention landscape architecture law literature military music philosophy politics government Builder/Architect Chapman and Frazer religion science sculpture - social/ humanitarian theater transportation other (specify) Specific dates 1906-1908 Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) The Nickerson Mansion possesses integrity of design, materials, workinanship, setting, and historical associations with the Nickerson family of Chicago and Cape Cod, and with the Boston architectural firm of Chapman & Frazer. For its associations with the Nickerson family, and as a well-designed, early 20th century summer residence in the Arts and Crafts style, the Nickerson Mansion meets criteria B and C for listing to the National Register of Historic Places, with significance at the local level. A menher of the seventh generation of the Nickerson Family that settled in Cape Cod in 1640, Samuel Mayo Nickerson moved to Chicago as a young man.

Having engaged in various banking and railroad enterprises during the development of the west, the Nickerson was the founder and president of the First National Bank of Chicago from 1867 to 1891, now among the largest banks in the country. He also founded and was president of the Chicago Street Railroad Company. Samuel Nickerson served as president of the Union Stockyards Nationa! Bank and as a trustee of the Chicago Art Institute, to which he donated his large art collection. His business abilities were crucial to the rebuilding of Chicago after the great fire in 1871 and during the national depression of 1873. In the late nineteenth century, Nickerson purchased the site of the present house, on which he but suner house.The original house of 1890, named "The Pines" by the family, was built as a gift for Nickerson's only son Roland, his wife Adeline and their three children.

It was an ornate three-story Colonial Revival/Shingle Style dwelling with multiple chimney's, dormers and bays (see Figure 1). Roland Nickerson was not active in business, as his father had been; his major activities were his terms as an elected member of the Massachusetts Governor's Council under Governors John L Bates in 1903 and William L Douglas in 1905. He resigned the latter position because of poor health due to a heart condition. Aong the social events said to have taken place at the house under his occupancy were receptions for President Grover Cleveland and the actor Joe Jefferson. In 1906, The Pines burned. The fire was reported to have started by the ignition of oil rags in the basement. Only two weeks after the fire, Roland Nickerson died; the fire was said to have hastened his demise. summer retreat until 1912, afterwhich he lived here permanently until his death in 1914.

The property remained in Mrs. Nickerson's ownership until Continued 9. Major Bib ographica References Architectural Record, May 1909, Vol. 25, No. 5. Andreas, A. T. History of Chicago (Chicago, 1885). Morris, Henry C., History of the First National Bank of Chicago (1902). Withey, Henry F. and Elsie R., Biographical Dictionary of American Architects, 1740-1952 (Los Angeles: New Age, 1956) 10.

The rest of the file

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

Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property 4 acres Quadrangle name - Harwich Quadrangle scale 1:25,000 UT M References A |19/ 4|12/5 10/ /416 kA18B 0/ B Easting Northing Zone cLL ELL ULLL L, Li Easting LUILLL FLL LILLL Northing LLLLLLL uliLuL ILLL Verbal boundary description and justification See attached. 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 Sarah Sweetser Theis organizationBuilding Conservation Technology date 11/15/85 street & number 461 Beacon Street telephone 617/247/0312 Boston city or town state Massachusetts 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 Vallue A l almace Executive Director, Massachusetts Historical Commission title State Historic Preservation Officer dato an. 15,1956 For NPS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register Xluse Entered 1y Jyau furKeeper of the Mational Resbster National Register date 2/20/86 Attest: date Chief of Registration U.S.

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1983 419-311 NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Nickerson Mansion Continuation sheet Brewster, Massachusetts Item number 8 OMBNO.1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 For NPS uee only received date entered Page 1 1934, when she donated an extensive area of land for a game preserve to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In 1940 the heirs to Mrs. Nickerson sold the main house, carriage and grounds to the LaSalette Fathers, a religious organization. The present house was designed by Horace Frazer, a principal in the firin of Chapman & Frazer of Boston. Trained in the offices of Cabot & Chandler and Peabody and Stearns, Frazer became known in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as a designer of expensive city and surburban homes.

Characteristic of the most lavish houses of the period in which it was built, the Nickerson House is a fireproof structure that possesses an eclectic assortment_of Arts & Crafts, neo-Renaissance and Classical Revival style details. The building's exterior is primarily Arts and Crafts in style with its stucco finishes, batteries of casement windows, and carved timber trimmings. Interior finishes are outstanding both for the high quality of their original design and for their well-preserved condition. WASO Form - 177 (''R" June 1984) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET Nickerson Mansion Barnstable County MASSACHUSETTS resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Reviewer's comments: sample request 86000300 JAN 23 1986 Working No. Fed. Reg.

Date: 2-3-87 Date Due: 30/86 - 3/9/86 Inberal 1x 1 Action: ACCEPT - 2-20-86 RETURN Natiemal Registez - 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 L 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: GPO 918-450 Comments for any item may be continued on an attached sheet Nickerson Mansion 2871 Main Street Brewster, Massachusetts Photographer and Date: Richard Kelsey, March, 1980 Location of Negative: CMJ, Inc., Quincy Photograph number of 3 Description of View: Aerial view of Nickerson Estate Nickerson Mansion 2871 Main Street Brewster, Massachusetts Photographer and Date: Michael Maloney, March, 1984 Iocation of Negative: CMJ, Inc., Quincy Photograph number Z of 3 Description of View: South elevation of Nickerson Mansion Nickerson Mansion 2871 Main Street Brewster, Massachusetts Photographer and Date: Michael Maloney, March, 1984 Location of Negative: CMJ, Inc., Quincy Photograph number 3 of 3 Description of View: South elevation of Carriage House TOREWSTER LDER Town of Brewster BREWSTER, MASSACHUSETTS 02631 (617) 896-3701 MAS OFFICE OF: BOARD OF SELECTMEN BOARD OF ASSESSORS BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS O.L TRCORONO TED November 22, 1985 Caro1 Shull, Chief National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Department of the Interior 18th and C Streets, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20240 Dear Ms. Shull: The Chief Executive Officers recognize that the following property will be considered for Nomination to the National Register of Historic Places by the Massachusetts State Review Board at its meeting on December 11, 1985: Samuel & Roland Nickerson House 2871 Main Street Brewster, MA 02631 The Chief Executive Officers are aware of both the incentives and disincentives of the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 and other consequences of National Register listing and hereby waive by right the 30 day commenting period. Thank you. Very truly yours, Lawrence Lawrence B. Doyle, Chairman B. Taneg a Crcker Camf ita le Lawler CC: Marion H. Wylie Brewster Historical Commission CORCORAN, MULLINS, JENNISON, INC. November 26, 1985 Carol Shull, Chief National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Department of the Interior 18th and C Streets, N.W.

Washington, DO 20240 Dear Ms. Shull: Ocean Edge Inn Limited Partnership recognizes that the following property will be considered for Nomination to the National Register of Historic Places by the Massachusetts State Review Board at its meeting on December 11, 1985. Fieldstone Hall (Nickerson Mansion) 2871 Main Street Brewster, MA Ocean Edge Inn Limited Partnership is aware of both the incentives and disincentives of the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 and other conse- quences of National Register listing and hereby waives by right the 30 day conmenting period. Thank you. ery truiy yours, al ct Paul A. Estabrook OCEAN EDGE INN, INC. General Partner SC/ns CC: Sarah J.

Zimmerman, Preservation Planning Director Massachusetts Historical Commission One Heritage Drive, Quincy, MA 02171 (617) 328-3100 Four Fifteen Equitable Bank Center, Columbia, Maryland 21044 (301) 730-6710 NOV 29 1985 P157 781116 IDCLAC JEVE HRAT The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Office of the Secretary of State Michael Joseph Connolly, Secretary Massachusetts Historical Commission Valerie A. Talmage Executive Director State Historic Preservation Officer January 16, 1986 Ms. Carol Shull, Chief National Register of Historic Places Department of Interior National Park Service P.O. Box 37127 Washington, D.C. 20013-7127 Dear Ms. Shull: Enclosed you will find the following nomination forms: /Brewster, Nickerson Mansion, 2871 Main Street 2 HPCA's pending: 0421-83-MA-83-0413 and 0516-84-MA. Duxbury, Captain Daniel Bradford House, 251 Harrison Street.

All have been voted eligible by the State Review Board and have been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer. Owners were notifed 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 nomination forms. Sincerely, sarab@Simmermer Sarah J. Zimmerman Preservation Planning, Director Massachusetts Historical Commission SJZ/1k Enclosure 80 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116 (617) 727-8470 MCDA The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Office of the Secretary of State Michael Joseph Connolly, Secretary Data bace has buer Corrected but nomenate coudnt erend- Shoald be changal" Utter goes infile 86000300 Barnstable Co. Massachusetts Historical Commission Valerie A.

Talmage Executive Director State Historic Preservation Officer April 10, 1986 Carol Shull National Register of Historic Places Department of Interior National Park Service P.O. Box 37127 Washington, D.C. 20013-7127 Dear Ms. Shull: This letter is to inform you of an error in the recent listing for a building in Brewster, Massachusetts. The building was formally listed as "Nickerson Hal]" on February 20, 1986. The correct name should be "Nickerson Mansion," as indicated on the nomination form. The original name of the building was "Field- stone Hall," but the longstanding common name is the preferred name. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, Slly Zimmeenan Sarah J Zimmerman Director, Preservation Planner Massachusetts Historical Commission SJZ/1k 80 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116 (617) 727-8470 Petmoticc on hit, ow wkindens APR 23 1986 APR 231986 25/86