Nomination for Tobey Homestead

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 MAY T 1986 date entered 6-5-86 historic Tobey Homestead and/or common 2. Location same street & number Main Street and Sandwich Road N/A not for publication city, town Wareham N/Acinity of state Massachusetts 3.

Classification Category district X building(s) -Structure site object Ownership public x private both Public Acquisition N/ An process being considered code 025 county Plymouth code 023 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:vacant 4. Owner of Property name TobeyHealth Systems, Inc. street & number 43 High Street Wareham city, town N/A vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state Massachusetts courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Plymouth County Registry of Deeds street & number Russel1 Street, Box 3535 city, town Plymouth 6. Representation in Existing Surveys state Massachusetts title Inventory of the Historic Assetfas,this property been determined eligible?

of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts - yes date 1985 federal x state - county _ no local depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Commission, 80 Boylston Street Boston city, town state Massachsuetts 7. Description Tobey Homestead, Wareham, Massachusetts Condition excellent good fair X deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one unaltered X altered (see text) Check one Xoriginal site moved date Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

The Tobey Homestead, Wareham, was built ca. 1825 and remodelled ca. 1870. It sits on a low rise in the center of Wareham, a coastal town on Buzzards Bay. The property faces east overlooking the Wareham Narrows Bridge (also known as Nicholson Bridge). To the rear of the property is the Tobey Hospital complex, separated from the house by an asphalted parking area; to the south are the driveway and access space for the Tobey Hospital Emergency Room. The eastern and northern sides of the property retain a sloping lawn, clipped hedges, and a low granite retaining wall. The property's southern neighbor is the Alden Besse House. (ca. 1835)The nominated property is set back approximately 30 feet from the intersection of Main Street and the Narrows Bridge (Sandwich Road, or Route 6). While the house is located at the front of a lot of some 30 acres, the lot includes Tobey Hospital.

Only the area immediately around the house, encompasing half an acre, is included within the nomination. The hospital complex includes associated storage buildings, a small administrative building, and a trailer within the above-mentioned Emergency Room access area. The Hospital has announced plans to expand the Emergency Wing out toward the Tobey Homestead, but not within the area proposed for listing on the National Register. A 1985 fire destroyed a number of the small outbuildings previously associated with the house, and burned part of the rear ell. The main body of the house and its back wing suffered only some minor fire and smoke damage. In appearance, the house is generally Second Empire in style and detail, the result of a ca. 1870 remodelling of a preexisting Federal-period structure.

Its plan is that of a typical rectangular Federal-period building, five bays wide and two bays deep, with two end-wall chimneys and a shallow ell at the rear that was extended during the remodelling process. A single-story sun porch, which wraps around the southern and western sides of the main structure, is also an addition of the same period. The building's main block is three stories in height, with a full basement and cut-granite foundation. The present dormered mansard roof was added during the late 19th century alterations. The ell, likewise, received a mansard roof treatment, while the 1 1/2-story rear was capped by a mansard with gable roof.

In its present configuration, the building is L-shaped in plan, with a 2 1/2-story main block with shallow rear 2 1/2-story extension, a l l/2-story ell behind the northern side of the main block extension, and the single-story sunporch mentioned above. The east-facing main facade is five bays wide with a central entrance. Partial sidelights and a leaded-glass fan form the entryway surround. Six over six sash remain in the first story windows and predate the late 19th 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 Tobey Homestead, Wareham, Massachusetts Continuation sheet Item number eceivec date enterec 7 Page century remodelling; other fenestration is l/1.

Fronting the entry and extending to the edges of the flanking bays is a portico of ca. 1870 with broad overhanging cornice and widely spaced brackets; Doric columns resting on heavy pedestals support the flat roof. On the second story, a central bay with segmental-arched 2/1 sash rests on the entry portico's flat roof. A broad, lightly molded entablature and narrow corner boards define the building. Three broken-pedimented dormers with elaborated surrounds--the central one containing a pair of roundheaded windows, those flanking it with segmental arches--project from the mansard roof.

The northern elevation contains asymmetrical fenestration, the result of the 1870 alterations: three bays on the ground floor, including a shallow Italianate rectangular bay and four irregularly spaced windows on the second floor (the location of three of the windows was a configuration original to the building, while a fourth is clearly a later addition). Iwo dormers with broken pediments, smaller than those on the main facade, project from the roof, as does one of the building's three narrow brick chimneys (a fourth more massive chimney is located at the rear of the sunporch). The l l/2-story rear gable on mansard-roofed wing, two bays deep, is set flush with the main block. On its southern side, the building is two bays deep with a six-bay, single-story enclosed sunporch ell extending along its full length.

At its rear, the porch joins a large, polygonal bay with deep, bracketed flat roof and the tall brick chimney mentioned above. (The sunporch continues across the back of the building.) The main block's mansard roof again contains two broken pedimented dormers with ornamented surrounds flanking a narrow end-wall chimney. Visible on the building's western, rear facade are the back of both the main block and ells of the building, with the mansard roof containing simple gabled dormers unadorned by any elaborated surrounds, the rear of the sunporch, and the 1 1/2-story rear ell with bracketed entry porch. A metal fire escape leads from a main block dormer to the sunporch roof; access to the ground is provided by a metal ladder affixed to the sunporch's rear wall.

As a result of the 1985 fire, much of the rear ell was burned, its windows broken, and its framing and upper floor exposed to the elements. Other fenestration is 6/6. While rooms were converted in 1940 for use as a nurses' residence (including modernized ceiling and wall surfaces, flooring, and bathrooms), a number of original details remain. These include four Federal-period mantels, Indian shutters, and a fine staircase and bannister. 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 Continuation sheet Tobey Homestead, Wareham, MA Item number OMB No. 1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 TC TVeC date entered 7 Page 2 Ar chaeology While no prehistoric archaeological sites are recorded on the property, there is a moderate potential for significant survivals.

Located on a bluff overlooking the (tidal) narrows of the Wareham, it is likely that native people used the area intensively. Very little is currently known about wareham's prehistory; therfore any surviving sites would be significant. There is also a potential for historical archaeological remains. Controlled testing may help to document the date of construction as well as the configuration of outbuildings. Occupation-related features (trash pits, privies, wells) may have to document the changing social, cultural, and economic patterns that characterized the important Wareham famililies who lived there.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance Tobey Homestead, Wareham, Massachusetts Period prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 1800-1899 1900 Areas of Significance-Check and justify below _archeology-prehistoric community planning _ archeology-historic conservation - agriculture economics X architecture education art engineering commerce exploration/settlement communications X industry invention landscape architecture - religion law literature military music philosophy politics/government science sculpture X social/ humanitarian theater transportation other(specify) Specific dates ca. 1825-1922 Builder

Statement of significance

/Architect Unknown Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) The Tobey Homestead, Wareham, retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, and association. Built ca. 1825 as a late-period Federal-style residence, the house was altered ca. 1870 with the application of well-executed Second Empire features. It retains its Federal-period plan and details, and thus today the building is architecturally significant as an amalgamation of these two distinct 19th century styles. It is historically significant for its associations with a locally prominent industrial family, the Tobeys, whose iron foundry and philanthropic efforts contributed greatly to Wareham's 19th century development. The Tobey Homestead thus fulfils Criteria B and C of the National Register of Historic Places on the local level.

Three rivers, the Weweantic, the Wankinco, and the Agawam, flow through War eham. The nominated property is located on a prominent location overlooking the Wareham Narrows near the mouth of the Agawam River. built in Wareham's center ca. 1825 by Jared Pratt, a native of nearby Middleborough, who with his brother Isaac had founded the Wareham Iron Works in Iron-related industries dominated Wareham's economic development for much of the 19th century, made possible by the town's fortuitous combination of excellent waterpower, ready access to the 18th century ironworking skills of interior Plymouth County artisans, and a rapidly developing coastal trade in iron ore and products. While the iron industry throughout the colonial period had used locally obtained bog and pond ore from interior Plymouth County, by the late 18th century rock ore from New Jersey mines became preferable.

By 1804, ore was transported from Egg Harbor, N.J., to Wareham by sloop, and processed there in local blast and air furnaces. Many ironworkers who had worked inland began to move to the coast to process the imported ore and manufacture secondary products, particularly nails and hardware. These factors helped to draw ironmasters from all over the country to wareham. Together with iron-related industries elsewhere in southeastern Massachusetts,including Bridgewater and Middleborough, wareham manufactories supplied cities and towns throughout New England with nails and other hardware for much of the 19th century. In 1819, the Pratt brothers arrived from Middleborough with a recently invented nail-making machine (nails had previously been made by hand) and organized I. & J. Pratt & Company (later Wareham Iron Works) on the banks of the Wankinco River.

By 1822, they had built a rolling mill near the same location, where nails of various sizes could be produced in large quantities. In 1834, the Pratt companies failed and their properties were sold. The nominated property was purchased in 1837 by Joshua Briggs Tobey for $2,750. Tobey was married to Isaac Pratt's daughter, susanna. Continued 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 .5 acre Acreage of nominated property Quadrangle name Wareham UT M References * L119| [3| 517/51010/ Zone Easting [416/213/91610/ Northing E Zone Easting -LJLILL FLL LUILL Quadrangle scale - 1:25000 LILL Northing LuLL LLLLL Verbal boundary description and justification (See Continuation 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, Massachusetts Histerical Commission, name/title with Ben Dunham, Wareham Historical Society organization Massachusetts Historical Commission date March 1986 street & number 80 Boylston Street telephone 617-727-8470 city or town Boston state Massachsuetts 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 Vaeuie Talmag title State Historic Preservation Officer date Mau 2, 1986 For NPS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register/ Entered in the delressyen Keeper of the National Register Natioml Rerister date 6-5-86 Attest: Chief of Registration date U.S.

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1983 0 - 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 Tobey Homestead, Wareham, Massachusetts Continuation sheet Item number OMB No. 1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 date entered 8 Page 1 The Tobey family settled on Cape Cod in the 17th century, and by the late 18th century, Curtis Tobey was a well-known and successful cotton manufacturer just across Buzzards'Bay, in wareham. His son, Joshua Briggs Tobey (1807-1870), began his career in 1827 as agent for the Washington Iron Works on the Weweantic River, a forerunner of the Tremont Nail Company, which under the direction of the Tobeys would shortly dominate Wareham nail manufacturing for much of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Joshua Tobey used his inherited fortune to buy real estate in the Wareham Narrows area and to continue his father's cotton factories and to expand his empire into the nail manufacturing business. During his long career, Tobey was president of both the Wareham National Bank (for 20 years) and the Wareham Savings Bank (for 23 years), and held directorships of the Cape Cod branch of the Old Colony Railroad, the Tremont Nail Company, and mining enterprises, cotton factories, and iron mills not just in Wareham but throughout the country. A 19th century local historian, the Rev. Noble W.

Everett, described Joshua Tobey in his 1884 history of Wareham, shortly after Tobey's death, as a man "using great ability, good judgment, keen foresight, and untiring perseverance" to rise steadily "until he ranked with the wealthiest and best businessmen of Southern Massachusetts." Joshua Tobey died in 1870; it was shortly after his death that the building was remodeled and the mansard roof added. Tobey's sons, Gerard (1832-1911) and Horace (1838-1918), continued their father's far-reaching business interests and by the third quarter of the 19th century had managed to consolidate all of Wareham's nail manufactories into their own Tremont Nail Company. In 1884, they served the company as president and treasurer, respectively.

In addition, the family had full and partial interests in the wharves that were located on the east side of Main Street, across the way from the nominated property. Neither brother married; they lived in the house with their mother, susanna (1811-1911), after their father's death. In 1918, after Horace Tobey's death, the house became the property of his niece, Alice Tobey Jones (d. 1922). Mrs. Jones, a wealthy and charitable woman, was a resident of New York City; she used the house primarily as a summer residence. In a trust fund set up upon her death, the Tobey Homestead was donated to the people of Wareham for use as a hospital,to be established after the death her husband (he lived until1938). It was to be wareham's first hospital. Mrs.

Jones' bequests also funded the Wareham Free Library, established by her uncle Horace, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the Bidewell Home for orphans in New York, as well as endowing religious and charitable organizations in Wareham. Continued NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior NationalPark Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Tobey Homestead, Wareham, Massachusetts Continuation sheet Item number OMB No. 1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 8 Page 2 By the time Mrs. Jones' estate was settled after Mr. Jones' death, Wareham had grown too large for its potential hospital quarters in the Tobey Homestead. Instead, in 1940, a new, larger hospital building was erected on land behind the house that had been part of the Tobey estate, and the homestead was converted to a nurses' residence.

It remained in use by the hospital (now Tobey Health Systems, Inc.) until 1985, when it was damaged by fire. The building is now vacant. Architecturally, the Tobey Homestead retains integrity of design for both its Federal and Second Empire features. In plan, the house is a simple, well-proportioned five-bay, center entry building with two end chimneys, typical of the Federal style, and featuring a fine, fanlit entryway. The building's Federal-style characteristics remain clearly evident. The 1870 remodelling added the large mansard roof with symmetrical dormers and elaborate trim, bays, and entry porch. The late Federal-period interior finishes were retained.

Wareham's architectural resources include two other mansard-roofed buildings (one, the former Glencove Hotel, built in the late 19th century in the resort community of Onset, and the other a single-story cottage in West Wareham); however, the Tobey Homestead in its amended form is the only Second Empire-style building in Wareham's Center and by far the grandest of the three properties. Its size and location overlooking the War eham Narrows at the juncture of Wareham's two major roadways--Front Street (now Main Street) and the Old Sandwich Road (now Route 6)--make the building a prominent landmark at Wareham's waterfront. NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Tobey Homestead, Wareham, Mas sachusetts Continuation sheet Item number OMB NO.

1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 For NPS Ual recelved date entered 9 Page 1 9. MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCED Everett, Noble W. "History of Wareham," Plymouth County History. Plymouth, MA: 1884. Jerome, Sibyl. Wareham, 1776-1976, Revolution and Bicentennial. Wareham: War eham Bicentennial Commission, 1977. Lovell, Daisy Washburn. Glimpses of Early Wareham. Wareham: Wareham Historical Society, Inc., 1970. Representative Men and Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts. 3 Volumes. Chicago: J.H. Beers & Co., 1912. Rider, Raymond. Various articles. Wareham Courier. Wareham: 1980-5. Wareham, Mass. Ancient Town Records, 1739-1845. Tr. James W. Lincoln. Unpublished. Wareham Free Library. Town Records, Births, Marriages, Deaths, 1843-1915. Tr. James W. Lincoln. Unpublished. Wareham Free Library.

NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Tobey Homestead, Wareham, Massachusetts Continuation sheet Item number OMB NO. 1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 recelvec date enterec 10 Page 1 10.. VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION AND JUSTIFICATION The nominated property includes a l/2-acre portion of the 30-acre parcel now belonging to Tobey Health Systems Inc. Specifically, the northerly corner of a parcel of land including the Tobey Homestead owned by Tobey Health Systems, Inc., and held by said Tobey Health Systems under a trust created by the will of Alice Tobey Jones, said land beginning at the Southeasterly corner of land owned by Mrs.

Forlevisi and Main Street, and running Southeasterly in a line with Main Street to a stone wall bordering the Emergency Room driveway for Tobey Hospital, thence along the edge of said driveway and attached parking space to a point 20 feet to the South of the Southern corner of the Tobey Homestead, thence Northwesterly in a line parallel to Main Street to the line of said Forlevisi property, thence Northeasterly following the line of said Forlevisi property to the beginning. (See Assessor's Map). These boundaries are established to protect the building itself and the open space to its North that connects it to the historic property on the Forlevisi property. The boundaries do not restrict the Hospital or access to its Emergency Room, nor incur upon space planned for an expanded Emergency Wing.

OS SU SEE SHEET CEDAR 820 STREET SFLOI orai" :.S82 33 90151 1.021 GEOI 337 0E2II COCTI C211 0081I 300 00 g 0001 BANSA 00'61Z 3 5266 SBOI 660z 3821l2 atOl C901 o520 OSOI BLESI 258 210.4 272,65 200 BIL "SS1 20394 1040 1t01 09192 13381S ...0s 70 7.756 IOSPITA TOTTE7 J1041B 599 07901 LCOI COl BEOI 1C991 ctO DE28 -,Os821 ISOI 20'5A 2S0I 5,761 1 21681 9211 5292'ts 1211 CuE 215022 BEsSE PaCx AOLL GAWAM ROAD TOBEY HOMESTEAS 50253 614287 B5L7I Eput roool 730.65 10008 =005992 ICO +9EZ7 250 OIEO Mg009'02 CCOI 19244 83r05z2 2090 imaca # LoSSa: 9uIl -000'01 2501 1,9% risk 756.37 10,3954 5 ot 0612 13381S 0757 a28r9 120 65 123% 830 a.04 122 12728 1240 ocSl 273T COLONY BRANCHI 2oll 00.00 1,751 SOGEIE 620 * 6201 r.71 $619'9 190 CENTER aacech 0901 6501 57 76 STREET 8901 26-78 % -rooy 21 148.60 10041 s0sz9s ergzul Eprto 033 E FOOgL B2O WEKL D2LL 6zCC 190 aLTl -(301 219.60 233 (950 P0 bI 116.13 517 VU9O ..ca SLT SOn 180.00 12508 3SZBI LO11 -sol E Scale: 1" = 120' Sheet 95, Lot 1118 Wareham Assessors Map Wareham, MA Main Street and Sandwich Road Tobey Homestead 25 :E3tb 86001219 WASO Form - 177 ("R" June 1984) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET Tobey Homestead Plymouth County MASSACHUSETTS resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Reviewer's comments: sample Jrequest MAY 7 1986 Working No.

Fed. Reg. Date: 2/3/87 Date Due: _C 6/21/86 Eatered 1Action: _LACCEPT- 6-5 -86 Matioml Rogistez_RETURN _ REJECT- Federal Agency: _ -appeal LNR 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 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 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 Tobey Homestead Main St. & Sandwich Rd., Wareham by B. Dunham - 1985 2586 Cranberry Hwy, Wareham, MA Photo lof 2 Tobey Homestead Main St. & Sandwich Rd., Wareham by B. Dunham - 1985 2586 Cranberry Hwy., Wareham, MA Photo 2 of 2 TOBEY HOSPITAL, INC. 43 HIGH STREET TELEPHONE (617) 295-0880 WAREHAM, MASSACHUSETTS 02571 April 7, 1986 Ms. Valerie A. Talmage Executive Director State Historic Preservation Officer Massachusetts Historical Commission 80 Boylston Street Boston, Ma. 02116 Dear Ms. Talmage: The Board of Trustees of Tobey Hospital, Inc. endorses the prospect of including the Tobey Homestead for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.

We request a favorable review by the State Review Board and believe the building worthy of such a designation. We will be happy to work with you and answer any questions you may have. Sincerely, Cahal X Charles S. Kinney CC: Mr. Edwin H.B. Pratt, Jr. Mr. Ralph Hayden CSK: pmk 4 093546536 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 April 24, 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: Acushnet, LONG PLAIN FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE, 1342 North Main Street. _Wareham, TOBEY HOMESTEAD, Main Street and Sandwich Road.

Weymouth, WASHINGTON SCHOOL, 8 School Street HPCA 0677-85-MA-85-0690/10196 MA. All have been voted eligible by the State Review Board and have been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer. Owners were notified of pending State Review Board consideration 30-75 days before the meeting and were afforded the opportunity to com ment. Comments received to date are attached to the nomination forms. Due to a technical error, the property owner of the Washington School was notified less than 30 days prior to the State Review Board's meeting. For this reason, the owner has waived its right to the 30-day commenting letter, and fully supports the nomination. The Chairman of the Board of Selectmen in Weymouth was notified in time, so no waiver is necessary.

Sincerely, ally Zmmenen Sarah Zim merman Director, Preservation Planning Massachusetts Historical Com mission SZ/1s MAY 7 1986 80 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116 (617) 727-8470