Nomination for Smith, James, House

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 (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 See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries-complete applicable sections 1. Name For NPS use only received JUL 25 1986 date entered historic . James Smith House and or common 2. Location Same street & number 706 Great Plain Avenue N/A not for publication city, town Needham N/A vicinity of state MA 3. Classification Category Ownership district public X building(s) X private structure both site Public Acquisition .

object N/A in process - being considered code 025 county Norfolk code 021 Status X occupied 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 other: 4. Owner of Property name street & number Claude and Margaret Hodges - 706 Great Plain Avenue city, town Needhan N/vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state MA courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Norfolk County Registry of Deeds street & number 650 High Street city, town Dedham 6. Representation in Existing Surveys state MA Inventory of the Historic Assets of thieas this property been determined eligible?

Commonwealth of Massachusetts #32 - yes x no date 1977 _ federal state - county -local depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Comnission, 80 Boylston Stret city, 1 Boston statelassachusetts 7. Description James Smith House, Needham, Massachusetts Condition excellent good. fair Check one - deteriorated .ruins unexposed unaltered X X altered Check one original site moved date see text Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

The James Smith House, Needham, is located on Great Plains Avenue, one of the earliest transportation routes in this suburban community 12 miles southwest of Boston. With a 1 1/2-story rear ell built ca. 1730 and a 2 1/2-story, five-bay main block added ca. 1810-1830, the Smith House is one of the ol dest structures in Needham. The building is of wood construction, the main block sheathedin clapboard and the ell presently cedar-shingled, and rests on a brick foundation. Both main block and ell sit above full basements. Originally part of a 15-acre parcel on Needham's "Great Plain," the house now stands on a level lot of less than one acre in a residential neighborhood dominated by single-family dwellings constructed in the 20th century. The house faces north and is set back almost 20 feet from the road.

It is fronted by a picket fence and plantings of flowering bushes and evergreen trees. On the building's east side is an asphalt driveway. A clapboard barn (ca. 1960) stands at the rear of the property. The present James Smith House was constructed in two phases in the early 18th and early 19th centuries, with a third phase overlaying stylish ornamentation later in the 19th century. It is apparent that the earliest portion, ca. 1730, survives partially intact as a rear ell of the present house, while the main Federal-style front portion dates to the occupancy of the Smith family ca. 1810-1830. (It is also conceivable that the main block may have been built as late as 1832-1835, when the property was acquired by George G.

Stevens.) The Greek Revival-style alterations to the house, notably a front porch (now removed), mantels in the front rooms, and new roof over the main block, were undoubtedly done during George Stevens' occupancy ca. 1840-1860. A former woodshed, one story in height with a gable roof, appended to the ell's rear wall, also dates to the mid 19th century. The surviving components from the different periods of the house are enumerated below. See attached plan (Figure 1). Eighteenth Century House The rear ell consists of the nearly intact frame of a ca. 1730 structure. The heavy posts and chamfered girts are typical of the period, as is the summer beam and the low stud height of the structure. The double thickness board and batten door with strap hinges is also representative of the period.

It appears from the mortises for studs and corner braces in the underside of the girt near the probable former woodshed (a nineteenth-century addition) that this was originally an exterior end wall. 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 James Smith House, Needham, Massachusetts Continuation sheet Item number 7 OMB NO. 1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 For NPS use only received date entered Page 1 Thus, the house as of ca. 1730 seems to have been a typical story and a half structure of a single room, with the chimney formerly in the present stair location.

The presence of e or orick undero imntin g brick underpinning around the foundation perimeter suggests that the house may have been moved onto this location, or that it was raised and the foundation altered when the front portion of the house was built. The basement room was used as a kitchen after the construction of the front portion of the house; a chimney base, brick oven, and evidence of a former fireplace remain. Early Nineteenth Century The two-story front section of the house dates to the first quarter or early second quarter of the nineteenth century: the end-lapped clapboards fastened with cut nails and other details suggest a date after ca. 1810 and before 1835. The front doorway with its six flat panels and the profile of the muntins of the sidelights of this doorway are typical of this period, as are the cased postsvisible on the first floor.

On the second floor, these posts are buried in thicker walls. Windows are 6/6 throughout the main block. Typical of the datable details of the Federal period is the front stair newel post, similar to that illustrated in Asher Benjamin's American Builder's Companion of 1806-1827 (Figure 2). Mid-Nineteenth Century and Later Alterations The house underwent a further remodelling, ca. 1840-1860 when Greek Revival-style details were added. The changes at this time included a new roof with typical overhanging eaves and rake at the gable ends, new exterior trim at windows and doors, a new verandah visible in an old photograph, and new interior doors and mantels on the ground floor. A representative example of similar woodwork details of the period is shown in a plate from a later Benjamin book, The Builders Guide of 1839-1845 (Figure 3).

Door, window, and mantel trim on the ground floor--including shallow pitched "pediment" and fretwork designs--are similar to those depicted in Benjamin's book. Later changes to the property, such as the removal of the front porch, the large angled bay added to the rear of the parlor and the rebuilding of the parlor chimney, as well as the addition of east and west ell dormers, occurred early in the twentieth century. Archaeology While no prehistoric sites are currently recorded on the property, it is possible that sites may be present. Located on a south facing terrace the Charles River, the area would have been attractive for prehistoric 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 James Smith House Continuation sheet Needham, Massachusetts Item number 7 OMB No.

1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 For NPS use only received date entered Page 2 settlement. Since very few sites have been reported in Needham, any survivals would be significant. There is also potential for significant historical archaeological deposits, especially oscupation-related features such as privies, trash pits, and wells. Archaeological testing may also help to document the construction dates for the different sections of the building. Careful sampling and analysis of the surviving historical archaeological features would be significant in documenting, detailing the social, cultural, and economic patterns which characterize the house's occupation over nearly two and a half centuries.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance James Smith House, Needham, 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 architecture education art engineering commerce exploration/settlement communications industry invention . landscape architecture -. religion law science literature sculpture - military social/ music humanitarian philosophy theater politics/government transportation X . other (specify) Community Development Specific dates ca. 1730, ca1810-1835Buiider/Architect Unknown ca. 1840-1860 Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) The James Smith House, Needham, retains integrity of location, design, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. Architecturally, the property is significant as a demonstration of the evolution of building practices and styles in the colonial and early national periods, as the building was altered to suit changing needs. A modest ca. 1730 dwelling survives as the building's rear ell; the main block, a five-bay, 2 1/2-story structure was built ca. 1810-1835, and Greek Revival-style decorative features were added in the mid 19th century. The James Smith House thus fulfils Criterion C of the National Register of Historic Places on the local level. Needham, originally part of the 1636 Dedham grant, was incorporated in 1711. By ca.

1712, a meetinghouse stood west of the Great Plain (at the intersection of Great Plains Avenue and present-day Central and Nehoiden Streets). years later, a bridge had been built across the Charles River. Great Plains Avenue evolved early in the 18th century as a link from Dedham west to a growing village center. The Plain and the banks of the Charles River were the first areas settled, with scattered farmsteads. The village as a whole remained rather isolated and undevel oped up to the eve of the Revolution. The smal1 structure that is now the rear ell of the nominated property, built ca. 1730, was probably the Smith family farmhouse, although this assumption is unproven. It is known that James Smith arrived in the area and owned this piece of property by 1727.

The name of James Smith first appears in town records in 1726, when he and his wife Mary were admitted to membership in Needham church, shortly after they arrived from Ireland. They presented a testimonial from the minister of the congregation in Ballykelly, in Londonderry. In 1727, James Smith bought from John Fisher fifteen acres of 1and on the road from Dedham to Needham, now Great Plain Avenue, and here he built his house and established a farm shortly thereafter. His name appears in town records in subsequent years in connection with town and parish affairs. He died in 1754 and was buried in the old town burying ground. Robert Smith, the next owner and occupant, first appears in town records in 1759 when he served with the colonial troops in Nova Scotia during the French and Indian War.

In May 1775, he was appointed a member of the Conmittee of Correspondence, and that same year, he was also elected captain of the militia company of East Needham; he was probably chosen because of his earlier military experience. He was in command of the East Needham Militia Company on April 19, 1775, when it responded to the Lexington Alarm. On the morning of that day, he mustered the company in the open space before the church and 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 Acreage of nominated property Less than one acre Quadrangle name Newton UTM References 1,9 3116 31910 Zone Easting L416/813/01810/ Northing ELL Quadrangle scale 1:25000 LILILL Zone Easting Northing -LULILL LILIL FLU LLILILLILILIL HLJLLILL LILILLL See Assessor's Map Verbal boundary description and justification Northerly by Great Plain Avenue 793 feet Easterly by Lot#1, 152 feet Southerly by land or formerly by McGarry, 78 feet/Westerly by lot #3, 138,87 feet 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 Historical Commission w/ name/title Needham Historical Commission organization Massachusetts Historical Commission date June 1986 street & number 30 Boylston Street telephone 617-727-8410 city or town 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 valmet lalmage State Historic Preservation Officer title Executive Director, Massachusetts Historical Commission k21,1986 date June1936 For NPS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register Entered the Melores Bye ferkooper of the National Rogister National Register date 8-21-86 Attest: date Chief of Registration GPO 911-399 NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form James Smith House Continuation sheet Needham, Massachusetts Item number OMB NO. 1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 For NPS use only received date entered 8 Page 1 marched them off toward Lexington. They encountered the British troops in their retreat from Lexington to Boston and fought in the engagement now known as the Battle of Menotomy.

Five Needham men died in that engagement. Captain Smith later served during the Siege of Boston and with General Washington at Dorchester Heights. In 1774, he was a member of the town committee appointed to direct the payment of town bounties to the town's enlisted soldiers. He was paid for guard duty in 1778, and in 1780 he was appointed to a committee charged with the enlistment of new men. After the war, Captain Smith remained active in militia affairs, and he served the town in various offices; in 1793 he was elected a selectman. He died in 1800, and he too was buried in the town burying ground. The small, simple house remained in Smith family ownership until it was sold in 1832 to farmer George Gay Stevens, who had earlier lived in the West Needham Parish.

In addition to maintaining the farm, Stevens was a distinguished member of the conmunity, serving as deacon of the First Parish Church for fifteen years and as a "noted surveyor of highways" (the latter according to a 19th century town history). At some point during the change in ownership, the small original house was moved back to become the rear ell of the present main block, which was built before 1835. In 1875, Stevens died; at that time, the original fifteen-acre lot was divided. Tax 1ists of 1887 show Harriet Stevens, George Stevens' wi dow, owning 6 3/4 acres, a barn and shed (both demolished).

The house remained in the Stevens family from 1832 until 1914, and during these years it came to be known as "the Stevens Homestead." While in possession of the Stevens family, the building received its modest Greek Revival-style ornamentation, including a new gable roof with overhang, a porch (now removed), and interior finishes. Since 1914, the house has had a succession of owners who have carefully preserved the historical characteristics of the house. By 1945, the parcel had dwindled to its present one-quarter acre. In 1973, it was bought by Claude and Margaret Hodges, the present owner-occupants. Architecturally, the James Smith House is significant as a representative of the evolution of building practices over two centuries. At its rear, the building retains the modest 1 1/2-story house that remains one of the few early 18th century houses still standing in Needham.

Its small size and sturdy construction evidence both the construction methods of an early eastern Massachusetts agricultural community and the relative isolation and apparently impoverished state of a community where such a modest structure would survive essentially unchanged for close to a century. The building's later history of construction is typical of many early Massachusetts dwellings, as the simple Continued OMB No.1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior For NPS use only National Park Service National Register of Historic Places received date entered Inventory - Nomination Form -James Smith House Continuation sheet Needham, Massachusetts Item number Page dwelling of an early settler was relegated to the rear of a more up-to-date Federal-style two-story house ca. 1810-1835.

That larger structure was modernized in the middle of the nineteenth century in the then fashionable Greek Revival style. Further changes in the twentieth century, including the addition of a large bay window at the rear of the parlor, and of attic dormers, as well as the removal of a mid 19th century front porch and rear privy, have made it a comfortable house for today. Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form James Smith House Continuation sheet Needham, Massachusetts Item number 9 OMB No. 1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 Far NPS use anly received date entered Page 9. Major Bibliographic References Clarke, George Kuhn, History of Needham, Massachusetts, 1777-1911. Cambridge, 1912. Detwiller, Fred, "Field Inspection Report, 706 Great Plain Avenue, Needham, Mass." Needham, 1983.

Needham Historical Society files. Needham Town Archives, Needham Public Library. Norfolk County Records, Dedham, Mass. James Smith House 706 Great Plain Avenue Needham, Massachusetts Figure 1. FIG. 1. 706 GREAT PLAIN AVE., NEEDHAM, MA. FIRST FLOOR PLAN PRINCIPAL FEATURES A FORUEREND WALL WITH MORTIBES T- IN GIRT FOR CORNER BRACES E STUDS , PROB. | B EARLY BATTEN DOOR E HSRDWARE [PRIVY BETWEEN HEAVY SHOULDER POSTS & CHSMFERED GIRTS © CASED SUMMER BEAMEGIRTS WOOR SHED D FEDERSL PERIODCHIMNEY WITH EVIDENCE OF FORMER KITCHEN FIREPLACE & OVEN BELOW TT- FEDERAL STYLE NEWEL POST AND SIX PAUEL FRONT DOOR WITH SIDELIGHTS 20THC. FCD 19THC. FORHER CHIMNEY LOCSTION 18THC. KITCIHEN 20THC. ADPITION EARLY 19THC. PARLOR DINING d, FORMER MID I9THC. PORCH EARLY END-LAPPED CLAPBOARDS AND LATER TRIM É SASH 19THC. (EARLY) ROOF REBUILT MID-19TH C. GREEK REYIYAL STYLE MONTELS AT FROUT SPNEA.

JUNE 1978 NOT TO SCALE James Smith House 706 Great Plain Avenue Needham, Massachysetts Figure 2. Plate 43 Fig1. Fig 4. a n D Fig 2 Fig 3. h a f a A 2 ABrýrmin Diz. Wighimen sa 2 Asher Benjamin - American Builder's Companion, 1806-27 James Smith House 706 Great Plain Avenue Needham, Massachusetts Figure 3. CHIMNEY PEICES. 11.1.11. * 6 1% 6% 6% 8% 1% 3.0 2% 8%, 6% C.H.Bozion Sr. 3 Asher Benjamin - Builder's Guide, 1839-45 WASO Form - 177 (''R" June 1984) 86001845 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET Smith, James, House Norfolk County MASSACHUSETTS resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: ] sample Reviewer's comments: J request Working No.. JUL 2 5 1986 Fed. Reg.

Date: 23/81 Date Due: 21/86 - 9/8/86 Intered in thAction: ~ACCEPT- 8-21-86 Wational Register -RETURN 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 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 C S clarity applicable criteria justification of areas checked relating significance to the resource context relationship of integrity to significance justification of exception other Sen0 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 James Smith House 706 Great Plain Avenue Needham, Massachusetts Needham Historical Commission 1984 Town Hall, Needham, MA Photo #1 of 2, North Elevation James Smith House Photo #/ North Elevation NEEDHAM HISTORICAL COMMISSION Town Hall Needham, MA 02192 Z6Z0 N NOSAM 3 HINNIM 09-01-sd James Smith House 706 Great Plain Avenue Needham, Massachusetts Needham Historical Commission Town Hall, Needham, MA 1984 Photo #2 of 2, East Elevation James Smith House Photo #2 East Eleration NEEDHAM HISTORICAL COMMISSION Town Hall Needham, MA 02192 NOSINA 2 11 NOSIWA3 HLINNEN 2s-n-bd 093 546421 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 July 21, 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: Duxbury, OLD SHIPBUILDER'S HISTORIC DISTRICT, located on both sides of Washington Street from Rowden Avenue to just north of South Duxbury. Harwich, BERRY, CAPTAIN JAMES HOUSE, 37 Main Street, Harwich,SOUTH METHODIST CHURCH, 270 Chatham Road. Needham, SMITH, JAMES HOUSE, 706 Great Plain Avenue. All have been voted eligible by the State Review Board and have been signedby 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 comment.

Comments received to date are attached to the nomination forms. Sincerely, Saran J.? Sarah J. Zinmerman Director, Preservation Planning Massachusetts Historical Commission SJZ/dr 80 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116 (617) 727-8470