BlockThe nomination, in full
Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.
FORM B - BUILDING MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION 80 BOYLSTON STREET BOSTON. MA 02116 AUG 2 1 1989 NATIONAL REGISTER 1528 AREA FORM NO. 92 WALTHAM, MA MRA waltham, MA dress 132 Church Street storic Name Rex. Thomas Hill House Sketch Map: Draw map showing property's location in relation to nearest cross streets and/or geographical features. Indicate all buildings between inventoried property and nearest intersection(s). e: Present Residential Original Residential SCRIPTION te 1845 urce Church bistory, biographies yle Greek Revival/Italianate chitect unknown Exterior Wall Fabric Siding Outbuildings garage-NC or Alterations(with dates) Sunporch .d.), rear ells (n.d.) dition Excellent ed no Date n/a eage 1.3A 57,600 sq.ft. 51-8-2 ting - Set far back on an extensive wn in residential section with Ith and 20th c.
houses UTM REFERENCE 19/316200 /4694700 USGS QUADRANGLE LEXINGTON SCALE 1:25,000 Recorded by Nancy S. Seasheles Organization Walthan Historical Comm. Date August 1986 revised C. Jenkins 2/88 NAILUNAL KEGISIEK UKLICKIA SIAILMENI (it applicable) The Thomas Hill house is a good example of an early Italianate house with some Greek Revival elements. Its major importance, however, is that it was built for and was the residence of one of Waltham's most famous nineteenth century citizens, Rev. Thomas Hill. The house was owned by Hill throughout his active "career, from his graduation from Harvard Divinity School in 1845 to his death in 1891, and is the Waltham property most closely connected with his life. It possesses integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and associations, and meets criteria B and C of the National Register of Historic Places.
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE Describe important architectural features and evaluate in terms of other buildings within the community. Set at the back of a large expanse of lawn in a residential area of nineteenth and twentieth century houses and garden apartments, this house is a good example of an early Italianate with some Greek Revival elements. Its Italianate characteristics include the three-by-two bay profile with a center entrance, two narrow ridge chimneys, wide overhanging eaves with brackets, roundhead windows in the gables, cornerboards, and bracketed canopied window heads on the first floor. Greek Revival elements are evident in the pedimented attic, full entablature and the entrance with sidelights. There is a substantial ell on the north, also with an entablature and brackets. The glazed east sun- porch on fieldstone foundation appears to date to the early 20th. century.
The front ver- andah with its Italianate bracketed cornice appears to have been rebuilt at the same time as it displays Tuscan columns and a prominent fieldstone base. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE Explain the role owners played in local or state history and how the building relates to the development of the community. This house was built in 1845 by Thomas Hill, the new minister of the First Parish Church. Hill was born in 1818 in New Brunswick, NJ, and decided at an early age to be a minister. He entered Harvard in 1839 and graduated second in his class in 1843, having done exceptionally well in mathematics and been offered the directorship of the National Observatory in Washington, which he declined. In 1845, he graduated from Harvard Divinity School, preached five Sundays in Waltham in July and August, and then was offered the ministry of the First Parish Church.
He was married in November 1845, and by the beginning of December was living in Waltham, presumably in this house. According to Hill's own account, his most significant contribution while in Waltham was to the public schools; he served on the School Committee from 1845 to 1859 and was chairman for much of that time. During his tenure the per-pupil expenditure increased and his ideas on teaching, similar to those of Horace Mann, were adopted to the extent that in 1860 the Waltham schools were considered the best in the state. 1 CONT BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES Stearns, George A. 1914 Ihe First Parish in Waltham. Boston: Privately printed. Sanderson, Edmund L. and Elizabeth D. Castner History of the First Parish in Waltham. Typescript. Waltham Public Library. Castner, Betty and Listy Smith First Parish Newsletter. Typescript. Waltham Public Library. Gitelman, Howard M.
1974 Werking Men ef Waltham: Mobility in American Urban Industrial Development, 1850-89. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins. Waltham News Iribune. May 4, 1951 Maps and atlases - 1854, 1875, 1886, 1900, 1911, 1915, 1923 Directories - 1911, 1923 WALTHAM, MA MRA INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Office of the Secretary, Boston Commmi ty : Form No: Waltham, MA 92 Property INare Thomas Hill House Indicate each item on inventory form which is being continued below. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE (cont'a) Hill left Waltham in 1859 to succeed Horace Mann as president of Antioch College; the college was in serious financial difficulties and most of his time was spent raising money to cover operating expenses. In 1862 Hill was elected president of Harvard College and remained in that post until he resigned in 1868.
He returned to Waltham in 1869 and lived there until 1873, when he became the minister of the Unitarian Church in Portland, ME. He received a D.D. from Harvard in 1860 and an L.L.D. from Yale in 1863. In addition to his contributions to eduction and theology, Hill continued his interest in science. He invented a calculator, called an arithmometer, that was used by the Smithsonian Institute to calculate the solar eclipse of 1858. heologial soskea ane was He published poetry as well as scientific and theological works and was a founder of the Waltham Sentinel in 1856. Hill died in Waltham in 1891 while still minister in Portland. It is difticult to determine who lived in this house when Hill was not in residence, though apparently Arthur Lyman lived here from 1884 to 1886.
After Hill's death the house was owned by his son and a son-in-law and in the early twentieth century was acquired by James S. Robinson, a real estate and insurance agent. Frederic I. Robinson, also in insurance, still owns and resides at the house. po 1. Staple to Inventory form at bottom NPS Form 10-000# (8-06) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number - Page OMB Approvel No. 1024-0018 AUG 2 | 1989 Multiple Resource Area Thematic Group Name State Waltham MRA Middlesex County, MASSACHUSETTS Nomination/Type of Review 41. Hall, Henry C., House ttered in the Natiozed Registex 42. Hammond, Ephraim, House Substantive Revlew 43. Hammond, Jonathan, House Entered in the National Register 44. Hardy, Nahum, House 45.
Harrington Block Intered In tha Mationad Regtater Entered in the Nationad Register 46. Harrington, Samuel, Housentered 1n the Mational Begister 47. Hill, Rev. Thomas, Houseentered in the National Register 48. Hobbs Brook Basin Gate House 1 1 tLA da20td 49. Holbrook, Richard, Houses antered in the Mational Register 50. Johnson, Edwin C., House Entered in the National Regiater Date/Signature F Taopor 9/2064 Attest Sar xeapor BatkK. Saunge 9 hols9 /keeperAeluueBgun 2/20/84 Attest VReeper AelmuByu 9/18/84 Attest VReeper ulreAgua 2/25/64 Attest VKeeper eletyea 2/244 Attest /ReeperAhlmuayu 9/26/54 Attest /Keeper AelreBgun 9/20/24 Attest /Keeper_ AelvesBgun 9/28/84 Attest Keeper _ Shlrrebyan 9/28/59 Attest UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET REQUESTED ACTION: NOMINATION PROPERTY Hill, Rev.
Thomas, House NAME: MULTIPLE NAME : Waltham MRA STATE & COUNTY: MASSACHUSETTS, Middlesex DATE RECEIVED: DATE OF 16TH DAY: DATE OF WEEKLY LIST: 8/21/89 9/21/89 DATE OF PENDING LIST: 9/05/89 DATE OF 45TH DAY: 10/05/89 REFERENCE NUMBER: 89001528 NOMINATOR: STATE REASONS FOR REVIEW: APPEAL: N DATA PROBLEM: N LANDSCAPE: N LESS THAN 50 YEARS: N OTHER: N PDIL: N PERIOD: N PROGRAM UNAPPROVED: N REQUEST: N SAMPLE: N SLR DRAFT: N NATIONAL: N COMMENT WAIVER: N VACCEPT RETURN REJECT 9ps/89 _DATE Entered in tha Hationad Reglatez ABSTRACT/SUMMARY COMMENTS: RECOM./CRITERIA REVIEWER DISCIPLINE DATE DOCUMENTATION see attached comments Y/N see attached SLR ./N CLASSIFICATION count _resource type STATE/FEDERAL AGENCY CERTIFICATION FUNCTION historic current DESCRIPTION architectural classification materials descriptive text 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 justification of exception other BIBLIOGRAPHY GEOGRAPHICAL DATA acreage UTMS verbal boundary description boundary justification ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTATION/PRESENTATION sketch maps OTHER COMMENTS -USGS maps photographs presentation Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to Phone Signed Date Hill Hse 130Church 5t.
Waltham MA.MICH #92 Hill, Rev. Themas Heise - eHur WALTHA AM, MA;MRA Ht.H, Rev: Tera Hill Hsc 130 Church St Waltham MA MKA #92 Hill Pevr Themas, Herse 223.5 59 12 23-25 123 30 129 AVE21 ,6 5003 1.23 4703 425(s) 76 53.13 9 52.94 63. 1345 1402 86 183(s) 12:25 B SUMMER 30.82 136.61 142.42 195.75 155.32 5.55 437-135- 6455 -+5313H 136.134 132-:30 54.67 85 31(s) 78 cr -127- 425-121 - 128-126-122-120 4Z 20 59 21, 68.88 717 ST. 355 : 45.79 974 98.33 49 7. 1533g 62 17 8 489 432 150.46 16 1 83.78 15 10 6294 102.0S 40 3> 4 VOSg 17.25 PEIOAA 125 3-008 130 TOS 55 3 5635 CHURCH 6 127.05 11 76.8 14 5 2g 77.29 103.75 6 -86 80 90.32 (600) -76a8 145(g) 785(s) 68-70 - 42.99 450.04 A 478.28 3A782 292 40,3 102.29 3 g5(51 CENTA 29-94 138.92 29-94 2 273.05 905(s) Vocational School WALTHAM, MA MRA Rev. Thomas Hill House 130 Church Street 1" = 100' 1975; updated to 1987 Waltham Engineering Dept.
lot #51-8-2 #92 O01 co 16281 278.58 146-148 Please refer to the map in the Multiple Property Cover Sheet for this property Multiple Property Cover Sheet Reference Number: 64000301