Nomination for Cary, Otis, House

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 (3-82) MB No. 1024-001 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 For NPS use only received FEB 12198 date entered historic Otis Cary House and/or common Same 2. Location street & number 242 South Street n/anot for publication city, town Foxboro state Massachusetts 3. Classification Category district X building(s) structure site object Ownership public X private both Public Acquisition . in process n/a being considered code n/a vicinity of 025 county Norfolk code 021 Status x occupied unoccupier work in progres!

Accessible -x yes: restricted yes: unrestricted no Present Use agriculture commercial educational entertainment government industrial military museum X private residence religious scientific transportation other: 4. Owner of Property name William and Betty Calder street & number 242 South Street city, town Foxboro n/a vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state Massachusetts courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Norfolk County Registry of Deeds street & number 10 High Street city, town Dedham 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Inventory of the Cultural Assets title of the Commonwealth has this property been determined eligible? date 1981 Inventory #68 federal X state state Massachusetts - yes _X no county local depositary for survey records Massachusetts Historical Commission city, town 80 Boylston Street, Boston state Massachusetts 7.

Description Otis Cary House, Foxboro, Massachusetts Condition * excellent _ good fair _ deteriorated ruins unexposed 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

neighborhood in southern Foxboro. The two-acre site is primarily wooded, and 10 ect rone souin suret, ar ine pronereed, and highest point. The lot is fronted by a low fieldstone retaining wall. Built in 1837, the Otis Cary House is a five-bay, central entrance_Greek Revival-style building that rises 2 1/2 stories to a gable roof. The house consists of a main block with rear 2 1/2-story ell. The main block's front and side rest on a dressed granite foundation, while the rear and ell sit on ashlar rubble. The main facade's first floor is sheathed in its original wide horizontal boards. The remainder of the main block and the ell are presently sheathed in vinyl siding, which was applied in such a way that the building's details survive intact. Beneath the siding is shake shingle siding and beneath that is the original clapboard sheathing.

The building is joined to a barn (built in the mid 19th century) by a single-story modern breezeway. The building is oriented with its main facade facing northwest. The primary elevation's first story is fronted by a full-width porch whose slender posts are vernacular interpretations of Greek Revival columns. These are early-mid 20th century replacements of earlier columns. Three-quarter side lights over inset shadow panels flank the central entrance. Corner boards with flat pilasters and the hint of a capital, and a deep frieze beneath a projecting roof cornice, frame the building. 6/6 windows here and elsewhere in the building have molded window enframements. Two brick interior chimneys are located behind the gable roof's ridge. The building's main block is two bays deep with a fully enclosed pediment at each gable end. The gable contains two windows on both east and west elevations.

The front porch is continued around the western elevation and leads to a protected side entryway within an enclosed portion of the porch. This entryway is in all likelihood contemporary with the rest of the main block. The rear ell, set at a right angle to the main block at its southeastern end, It too has a gable roof, pierced by a single chimney at the rear of the ell. Like the main block, the ell is enclosed by pilastered corner boards, a broad frieze, and deep overhanging cornice. The gable end is not enclosed. A single-story ell extends behind the main block's southeastern corner and is joined to the ell along its southeastern end. This infill was added ca. 1961. Continued NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) Inited States Department of the Interio Jational Park Servic National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form Continuation sheet Otis Cary House, Foxboro, :.

Massachusetts tem number For NPS use only received date entered 7 Page Extending west at a right angle to the rear ell is a single-story breezeway built in the early 20th century. It joins the house to the frame 2 1/2-story which is sited with its gable end to the street. Located on a hillside and sitting on a fieldstone foundation, the barn has a secondary entrance at its below-grade cellar level. Except for the addition of a modern garage door, the barn retains its integrity as a mid 19th century farm structure. The interior of the house retains many of its original features, including several fireplaces surrounded by fluted pilasters and deep friezes, paneled doors, wide-board flooring, and beaded molding throughout the original portions of the house.

ARCHAEOLOGY No prehistoric sites are recorded on the property; however, sites may be present due to the large lot size, minimal disturbance away from the house, and proximity to Furnace Lake. Any survivals would be significant since the patterns of prehistoric occupation in Foxboro are poorly documented. There is potential for occupation-related features around the house (a trashpit and filled well have been reported). Historic archaeological resources may have been seriously compromised by the construction of a swimming pool in the back yard. Any surviving historic archaeological resources would be significant, helping to document and define the social, cultural, and economic patterns of the household and, possibly, the presence of structures no 1onger extant. OMB No. 1024-0011 Expires 10-31-81 1 8.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance Otis Cary House, Foxboro, Massachusetts Period prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 X 18001899 1900 Areas of Significance - Check and justify below archeology-prehistoric community planning archeology-historic conservation - agriculture economics architecture education art engineering commerce exploration/settlement communications X industry invention landscape architecture law literature military music philosophy x . politics government Specific dates 1837 Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) Builder Architect Unk nown The Otis_Cary House, a Greek Revival-style dwelling located in the southern part of Foxboro, in southeastern Massachusetts, retains integrity of location, design, setting, feeling, and association. The house holds associations with the beginnings of industrialization in Foxboro, as Otis Cary was a successful Eury ass weil a manufactor in the town in the early and mid 19th century, as well as a local politician and community leader. While the building's primary significance lies in its historical assocations, the Otis Cary House is also architecturally significant as an example of the Greek Revival style. house thus fulfils Criteria A, B, and C of the National Register of Historic Places on the local level.

Otis Cary (1804-1888), the first owner of the nominated property, was born in Bridgewater but came to nearby Foxboro while in his twenties. In 1834, Cary bought the Mill Street Iron Foundry,_located near the cary_house, along the Cocasset River (no longer extant). The area was south of Foxboro's town center. Cary's business prospered when he discovered a new process for extracting additional ore from the vast quantities of waste ash that were dumped around the foundry. He was thus able to continue producing cast items while substantially reducing the cost of his raw materials. In 1848, Cary purchased the Nason Cotton Mill on Water Street (also nonextant), which he then sold--at a profit--to Oliver Carpenter, who operated it as the South Branch of the Union Straw Works, Foxboro's prinary industry in the mid 19th century.

Because both the foundry and the straw mill do not survive, the cary House stands as one of the only structures related to this early part of Foxboro's industrial development. During his time of ownership of both foundry and mill, Cary became convinced that a new town center would evolve at this secondary node of development, a conviction that never became reality. In anticipation of an influx of population close to the location of his house, he donated land and money to build a new two-story school on South Street in south Foxboro in approximately 1850. While the influx of pupils never materialized, the school bearing Cary's name continued to function as a school until ca. 1920, although the asvar choor um second story was never used as classroom space. The school was used during the 1920s as a piano store; it has since been converted to residential use.

Cary served as a representative to the General Court from 1860 to 1861, and was a state senator from 1863 to 1864. In addition, at various times during his career he served as selectman (for four terms), overseer of the poor, and town moderator: he was founder of the Wrentham National Bank and served as president of the Foxboro Savings Bank, Rock Hill Cemetery, and the Foxboro Branch Railroad Company. He was known throughout the town for his liberal Continued religion science sculpture social/ humanitarian theater transportation other(specify) 9.

The rest of the file

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

Major Bibliographical References See continuation sheet. 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property _2 acres Quadrangle name Wrentham, MA UTM References *L119 13111 29161d [416|517|01810 Zone Easting Northing CULLILL LILu LLILLL LLLILLL ULLLuJ Lul Lu Verbal boundary description and justification See attached assessors' map. Quadrangle scale 1:25,000 BLu LAL LIlILu Easting Northing DLLLILL LILILLL FLU LLILA LILILLL LLLILLLIL 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, name/title Mary Elizabeth Pyne, Preservation Planner, with Preservation Consultant organization Massachusetts Historical Commission date October 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 valuue A. Ialmase Executive Director. Massachusetts Historical Commission State Historic Preservation Officer For NPS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register Xlelacce Intocad Ix yer Iatiomol Ropiat Keeper of the National Register date 2/3/86 date 3-13-86 Attest: Chief of Registration date U.S.

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1983 0 - 419-311 NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) OMB No. 1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 nited States Department of the interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Continuation sheet Otis Cary House, Foxboro, Massenhsete For NPS use only received date entered Page views--he was active in temperance and anti-slavery movements in Foxboro, and was the first in the area to hire Irish Catholic workers who had arrived in the area in vast numbers after the potato famine of 1846. Cary's son, Rev. Otis Cary Jr., born in the nominated property, was a noted missionary, writer, and educator. Long interested in the Orient, Cary set off to work in Japan in 1877, after being ordained as a minister. It was only two decades after that country had opened its doors to the West.

He lived in Japan the rest of his life, working as a missionary and teacher of sociology. Another member of the Cary family of note was his grandson, Frank Boyden, who was also born in the nominated property. Educated at the Cary School in Foxboro and at Amherst College, Boyden served for 66 years as the headmaster of Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Architecturally, the Otis Cary House is significant as a good example of a vernacular Greek Revival farmhouse. Despite the presence of vinyl siding, most of the building's exterior details are retained. 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 Otis Cary House, Foxboro. Massemnumber OMB NO. 1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 For NPS use only received date entered 9 Page 1 9.

-MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES Authelet, Jack, Glimpes of Early Foxboro, The Foxboro Company, 1978. Carpenter, R.W., The History of Foxboro, Town of Foxboro, 1890. Lane, Mr. and Mrs. Clifford, This Was Foxboro, Rea-Craft Press, Foxboro, 1966. The Foxboro Reporter, Obituary notic for Otis Cary, Jr., July, 1932. Amherst Graduates Quarterly, Obituary notic for Otis Cary, Jr., 1932. Foxboro Historical Commission, Letters of the Cary family.

SOUTH TTIN 5, 26E 17 89,400 298.65 st: 28941 STREET 4930 997 sf 201.38 2153 PLAN aSSESSORS Scale 1"= 80" Date 1981 Page *144 Lot #377l N 247.5 42,010sf 3584 3N*7 homerog 318375 OTIS CARY HOUSE 242 South Street Foxboro, MA WASO Form - 177 ("'R" June 1984) Rel#86000379 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET Cary, Otis, House Norfolk County MASSA CHUSETTS resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Reviewer's comments: Lsample Jrequest FEB 12 1986 Working No. Fed. Reg. Date: 2/3 Date Due:_ 3/13/86 Entored 1n Action: 3/29/86 _ LACCEPT ... 3-13-86 National Regiates -RETURN -REJECT Federal Agency: Lappeal LJ 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 J deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one J 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 J original site - 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 J justification of exception other 52110 .a: Icealton 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 Comments for any item may be continued on an attached sheet Phone:_ GPO 918-450 Itis Care House 242 South St Foxboro. 9/83 Meg. at menorial Hall, fox. Northwest elevation - FACADE prom across south Street photo #147 Hio Cary House 242 south Streat Foxboro i981 reg. at memorial hall, Fox. Southwest elevation and pert of Focade brom across street phott #2067 Otis CaryHouse 242 south street roxboro, Mass 9/83 neg. at memorial Hall, Foxboro, Mass. Front entry, Flush siding bovids phito #3 of7 Otis Cary House 242 South Street Foxbiro, Mass. 9/83 neg. at memorial Hall, Forboro, Mass. side entry, southwest ele. phito # 4 af 7 House otis Cary House 242 South St. Foxboro, Mass 9/83 Southeast Elevation photo #5 87 Barn at Ofis Cary House 242 Jortth st Foxboro.

Mass 9/83 Northwest Ele phote #6067 Barn at Otiz Cry House Foxboro. Maos 9/83 Southwest ele. phote #7067 GOI AmCRATET The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Office of the Secretary of State Michael Joseph Connolly, Secretary P284880608 Massachusetts Historical Commission Valerie A. Talmage Executive Director State Historic Preservation Officer Reid FE3 12 :00 February 4, 1986 Carol Shull National Register of Historic Places Department of Interior, National Park Service P.O. Box 37127 Washington, DC 20013-7127 Dear Ms. Shull: Enclosed you will find the following nomination forms: Boston (Roxbury), HARRISWOOD CRESCENI, 60-88 Harold Street (inclusive), 15 properties. Boston (Charlestown), MONUMENT SQUARE HISTORIC DISTRICI, 1-50 Monument Square, 47 properties, HPCA #0641-85-MA-85-0651, denied, appeal pending. Foxboro, CARY, OTIS HOUSE, 242 South Street.

Marblehead, STORY GRAMMAR SCHOOL, 140 Elm Street, HPCA pending #0621-84-MA-84-0624. All have been voted eligible by the State Review Board and have been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer. of pending State Review Board consideration 30-75 days before the meeting and were afforded the opportunity to conment. Comments re- ceived to date are attached to the nomination forms. Sincerely, seran J. Zimmerman Sarah J. Zinmerman Director, Preservation Plarning Massachusetts Historical Conmission SJZ/dr Enclosures 80 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116 (617) 727-8470