BlockThe nomination, in full
Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.
ORM B - BUILDING IASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION O BOYLSTON STREET OSTON, MA 02116 Fhotos 12.8A facade 2.4A 2nd floor, southwest Ioom LIRSI FERIOD DURVEY AN *4 1990 177 FORM NO. 93 Town North Reading Address 235 Elm St. Historic Name John Bickford House 017 12:7A 2nd floor, southwest I0om, corneI post, plate and end tie etch Map: Pieasart st. (Surie see ititr rixic) X + Use: Present residence Original residence DESCRIPTION Date 1735 Source deeds Style First Period / transítional Architect unknown Exterior Wall Fabric clapboard Outbuildings 1985 small prefab barn Major Alterations (with dates) eas: ell added 1986, kitchen ell c.1940,19th c.?
rear ell Condition good Moved -30 Date n!a Acreage Lm 7.2 acres Setting surrounded hy open land cn road with rew residential develapmen- REFERENCE S QUADRANGLE LE Z E N 19 / 330-350 / 4715-730 Reading 1:25.000 Recorded by sone Brcpb: Organization Boston triversit! Date December 1995 INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Office of the Secretary, Boston Commmity: NORTH READING Form No: 93 Property Name: John Bickford House Indicate each item on inventory form which is being continued below. SIGNIFICANCE The John Bickford House retains integrity of location, design, materials and workmanship in its late transitional First Period frame and contemporaneous early Second Period finish, making it eligible under Criterion C as a well-preserved example of a transitional house.
The unusual gambrel roof construction is worthy of further study which may yleld important information on early gambrel framing methods under Criterion D. The combination of gambrel roof with First Period framing is relatively rare. This unusual combination of old framing and more progressive roofing and finishing styles as late as 1735 is not common in the North Reading John Bickford, who purchased the land in 1733 and seems to have built the house in 1735, moved in that year from Salem to North Reading, and the late First Period details may be attributable to conservative Salem tastes.
(Bickford's Salem connections even in North Reading seem to have been strong; he bought his land from his father-in-law (he married in 1724) Samuel Hayward, also formerly of Salem.) EXTERIOR DESCRIPTION The John Bickford house is a 2 1/2 story, 5 bay, central chimney clapboarded structure 2 cells deep with an original gambrel roof. The main facade has six-over-nine windows with simple surrounds and a Greek Revival frontispiece with a heavy, flat cornice and fretwork pilasters framing rectangular side lights on either side of the door. A possibly 19th century 1 1/2 story shed whose roof continues the rear lower slope of the gambrel projects from the rear left bay, and extends slightly past the west end of the house. A simple door fills the south face of the shed projection. A one story 1940's kitchen ell projects from the right rear.
A 1 1/2 story garage-shed as long as the house itself stretches from the west end of the shed addition. A 1 1/2 story 1986 "sun room" addition extends from the center of the east gable; it is clapboarded, and has a low brick foundation and long, single-light windows. MAJOR FIRST PERIOD FEATURES The house's combination of largely exposed and quirk-beaded frame, simple Second Period paneled fireplace walls, and unusual gambrel roof make it an excellent example of late transitional First Period architecture. The first floor rear rooms were altered in the 1940's, but the front rooms retain their original finish. Both rooms are approximately 14' wide by 17' deep, with very high ceilings. All first floor posts are covered with boxes. In the right-hand (southeast) room, the exposed longitudinal summer beam, chimney, end, front, and longitudinal chimney girts are guirk-beaded.
The first floor southwest room has all four girts exposed and quirk-beaded. 1 Staple to Inventory form at bottom INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Office of the Secretary, Boston Commnity : NORTH READING Form No: 93 Property Name: John Bickford House Indicate each item on inventory form which is being continued below. On the second floor, the front and rear girts and both end ties are exposed and quirk-beaded in all five rooms. The longitudinal chimney girt is beaded on both sides wherever it is visible in the front and rear rooms. The two summer tie beams, one on each side of the chimney, are also beaded. The two chimney girts, which extend the depth of the house, are beaded only on their outer edges. In the rear center room.
the exposed inner (east) face of the left (west) chimney tie is roughly square finished while the outer face is smoothly finished with a quirked bead. The tie rests on a gently curving flared post which also has quirk beading on its outer/west side and is unfinished on its inner side. It is not possible to see the inner face of the other chimney tie, but it is likely to be similarily unfinished. Ihis seems to be an interesting construction shortcut developed by carpenters with allegiance to both traditional and new building techniques. The unfinished inner edges are covered by boxes in the front stairwell, but left exposed and unfinished in the less important rear rooms. Another explanation may be that a new missing partition once covered the beam there. The four second floor corner posts are exposed, flared and quirk-beaded; all other posts have beaded boxes.
The very wide pine floorboards on the second floor may be original. In the attic, the unusual early construction of the gambrel roof is visible. The roof has a ridge pole but only a single curved piece of wood in each bay supporting both upper roof slopes by crossing under the ridge pole and joining on each side the rafters of the lower slope. is unusual in a gambrel with as shallow an upper slope as this house has; (see a similar construction technique in the Timothy Johnson House at 18-20 Stevens St., North Andover.) OTHER SIGNIFICANT FEATURES As a transitional building, the John Bickford House exhibits wel1-preserved early Second Period details as well as considerable First Period finish. The chimney girt in the right-hand (southeast) first story room has simple applied molding beneath it running along the top of vertical feather-edged paneling which covers the fireplace wall.
The deep but narrow fireplace opening is surrounded by bolection molding and surmounted by a simple mantel. An oven and ash pit open separately into the chimney stack in the wall to the right of the fireplace. In the first floor southwest room, the longitudinal summer beam has molded boxing only on its sides, with the boxes projecting down past the bottom of the beam. The fireplace has a bolection molding surround larger than the recent opening. Two long horizontal raised-field panels surmount the fireplace. To the left is a narrow closet door with field panels, to the right, very deep vertical feather-edged sheathing. The other walls are wainscoted midway up in raised-field paneling.
2 Staple to Inventory form at bottom INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Office of the Secretary, Boston Commnity: NORTH READING Form No: 93 Property Name: John Bickford House Indicate each item on inventory form which is being continued below. n the second floor, all posts save the corner posts are boxed. The second floor southeast (right) room has elaborate molding applied to the beaded summer and chimney girt and around the room to create a cornice; the fireplace wall has vertical featheredged paneling with a simply molded mantel and fireplace surround larger than the present narrow but deep altered opening. The left hand (southwest) chamber has vertical raised-field paneling and two horizontal field panels over a simple mantel and bolection molding fireplace surround.
3 Staple to Inventory form at bottom NPS Form 10,000a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number Page. OMB Approvel No. 1024-0018 e/4/4° Multiple Resource Area Thematic Group Name State First Period Buildings of Eastern Massachusetts TR Nomination/Type of Review 81. White--Preston House Entered in the Hational Register Date/Signature -Reeper_ RelanuByun 3/9/26 82. Whittemore House Entered in the National Register Attest PReeper felauByen Attest 3/9/90 83. Woodberry--Quarrels House Entered in the National Register LKeeper_ delureßga 3/9/50 Attest 84. Woodbury, Peter, House 85. Bacon, Stephen, House Entered in tne Hational RegisterKeeper Helmußgan 3/9/90 Attest Entered 1n the Hatlonad Register (Keéper_ Slareßgen 3/9/90 86.
Bickford, John, House Entered in the Hational Regiater Attest Léeper Aelareßgen 3/9/90 Attest 87. Brewer, Moses, House Entered in the Hational Register Entered in the National Register Keeper_ Aeluressye 3/9/90 Attest 88. Brown--Stow House CReeper_ Lularesbyen 3/9/90 89. Browne, Abraham, House Attest untered in tne Hat1onad Boglatos (Reeper Aelaeßge Attest 3/5/90 90.
Buck, Ephraim, House Entered in the Mational Register Akeeper Allresya 3/9/90 Attest UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET REQUESTED ACTION: NOMINATION PROPERTY Bickford, John, House NAME: MULTIPLE First Period Buildings of Eastern Massachusetts TR NAME: STATE & COUNTY: MASSACHUSETTS, Middlesex DATE RECEIVED: 1/24/90 DATE OF 16TH DAY: 2/23/90 DATE OF PENDING LIST: 2/07/90 DATE OF 45TH DAY: 3/10/90 DATE OF WEEKLY LIST: REFERENCE NUMBER: 90000177 NOMINATOR: STATE REASONS FOR REVIEW: APPEAL: N DATA PROBLEM: N LANDSCAPE: N LESS THAN 50 YEARS: N PDIL: PERIOD: PROGRAM UNAPPROVED: REQUEST: N SAMPLE: N SLR DRAFT: N NATIONAL: N N N COMMENT WAIVER: N LACCEPT RETURN REJECT 3/4/9 00ATE Entered in the Hational Register ABSTRACT/SUMMARY COMMENTS: RECOM./CRITERIA REVIEWER DISCIPLINE DATE DOCUMENTATION see attached comments Y/N see attached SLR Y/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 photographs sketch maps USGS maps OTHER COMMENTS Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to Phone presentation Signed Date - John Bick ford HousE 235 Eim tt.
No. Reading, MA Ist pored Duild ings a E. Ma, i anajl. Ju room fereplace wael itie 1585 82:4A John Bickford House 235 Elm St. No. Resding, MA Ist Porid Beidlingsaf Fer Ma; TR and floor Sw. Noom corner post, place, end quit 1985 82:7A 82:8A dohn Bickford House 235 ZIm Strest No. Reading, MA. Ist Porid Buldlings df E. Mo., TR ExTErior 5+W end 1985 Please refer to the map in the Multiple Property Cover Sheet for this property Multiple Property Cover Sheet Reference Number: 64000281