Major Bibliographical References (Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form on one or more continuation sheets.) Previous documentation on file (NPS): Primary location of additional data: _ preliminary determination of individual listing (36 X State Historic Preservation Office CFR 67) has been requested -Other State agency _previously listed in the National Register - Federal agency _ previously determined eligible by the National - Local government Register _ University _ designated a National Historic Landmark Other _ recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey Name of repository: # Massachusetts Historical Commission _recorded by Historic American Engineering Record # Rev. Samuel Gay House Name of Property 10. Geographical Data Worcester County, Massachusetts County and State Acreage of Property 7.02 acres UTM References See continuation sheet.
(Place additional UTM references on a continuation sheet) 1 Zone 745340 4707050 Easting Northing Zone Easting Northing Zone Easting Northing Zone Easting _ See continuation sheet Northing Verbal Boundary Description (Describe the boundaries of the property on a continuation sheet.) Boundary Justification (Explain why the boundaries were selected on a continuation sheet.) 11. Form Prepared By name/title_Susan McDaniel Ceccacci, Preservation Consultant, with Betsy Friedberg, MHC, National Register Director organization Massachusetts Historical Commission date_October 1997 street & number 220 Morrissey Boulevard _telephone 617-727-8470 city or town Boston state MA _zip code_02125 Additional Documentation Submit the following items with the completed form: Continuation Sheets Maps A USGS map (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's location.
A sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resources. Photographs Representative black and white photographs of the property. Additional items (Check with the SHPO or FPO for any additional items) Property Owner (Complete this item at the request of the SHPO or FPO.) name _ Michael and Susan Rayne street & number _ 10 Williamsville Road _telephone 978-928-5570 city or town Hubbardston state MA zip code 01452 Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.).
2222 Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average18.1 hours per response including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Chief, Administrative Services Division, National Park Service, P.0. Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127; and the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reductions Project (1024-0018), Washington, DC 20503. NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Section number 1 Page Rev. Samuel Gay House Hubbardston, (Worcester County) Massachusetts 7. DESCRIPTION The Federal style Rev.
Samuel Gay House is situated on 7.02 acres on Williamsville Road in Hubbardston, a rural town in Worcester County, Massachusetts. The main facade of this two-story, single-pile, five-bay, center-entry, center-hall dwelling faces southward toward the road. Sheathed in clapboard and wood shingle, the house is of timberframe construction and rests on a brick foundation (Photos #1, 2, 3). It has a hip roof and paired brick chimneys. L-shaped in plan, it has a hip-roofed, two-story rear ell extending from the eastern end of the north facade of the main body of the house. A secondary entrance occupies an off-center position in the five-bay eastern facade of this ell. Attached to the north end of the ell is an ell addition -- a one-and-a-half-story workroom/shed section with a gable roof.
Along the north side of the single-pile, main body of the house is a one-story, shed-roofed addition with an enclosed porch on its north side. Both of these structures are later additions, possibly dating from the mid-19th century. The house is in good condition and has undergone few significant alterations over time. Setting With several mature maple trees standing tall along the road in front of it, the house sits on a gentle rise on the north side of the road. In keeping with its period of construction, there are no plantings around the foundations. Fields, fenced pastures, and wooded areas surround it at the sides and behind. Also in keeping with the rural setting is a small farm pond to the east of the house, which is screened from view on the south by large willow trees. Two 20th century woodframe outbuildings stand northeast of the house (Plan # 1).
Both are woodframe, shed-roofed barns. The early 20th century hay barn, a former chicken house, is two stories high. The 1988 stallbarn (Photo #4) is a single story. Specific Features When viewed from the front of the house, major chimneys read as a pair of interior rear-wall chimneys (see Photo # 1). In reality, however, they have two separate positions. The western chimney is an interior rear-wall chimney located in the main body of the house. The eastern chimney is more massive and is positioned slightly northward of the first, in the integral rear ell (see Photo #2). Two smaller chimneys are located in the workroom section of the one-and-a-half-story addition to the ell. Windows on the main two-story portion of the building are trimmed with window caps and have 6/6 sash. Windows in the workroom/shed section have plank frames and 6/6 sash.
Second story windows are placed close under the eaves as was common during the Georgian and Federal periods. The elaborateness of architectural trim found on the L-shaped two-story portion of the house reflects the important social position held by the original owner of the house. The most elaborate and imposing (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a 8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number - 7 Page - 2 OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Rev. Samuel Gay House Hubbardston, (Worcester County) Massachusetts ornamental feature is the formal entry on the main facade. Also more elaborate than usual for ordinary farmhouses of the period, both in Hubbardston and in central Massachusetts in general, are the eave moulding and window trim.
Main Entrance Doorframe The doorframe of the main entrance (Photo # 1) is of slim, Federal style proportions and low in relief. Both the doorframe and fanlight appear to be original and unaltered. It is also likely that the six-panel door itself is original. The doorframe consists of a tall, pilaster/architrave/cornice outer frame around an inner moulded frame. A pair of tapered, fluted Doric pilasters support an architrave and frieze separated by a filet moulding. Flared, funnel-shaped dentils trim the tip of the frieze, just below the projecting cornice cap. Delicate incised ornamentation in a repeated scallop pattern is seen on the inner frame around the door. Incised vertical lines, inspired by Classical triglyphs, decorate the lower (architrave) portion of the doorcap.
Repeated incised vertical lines, recalling the tooling of stone, and a simple incised central floret trim the corona of the projecting cap of the doorframe. Above the six-panel door and enclosed within the doorframe is a round-arched fanlight with tracery of narrow wood muntins in a Federal style "spiderweb" motif. Eave and Window Trim Projecting eaves extend around the entire two-story portion of the building (Photo # 1). They are trimmed with moulded cornice and with heavy bed and fascia moulding. Window caps for the second story windows are expressed as projecting sections of the bed and fascia eave moulding. Lower windows are framed with projecting plank surrounds crowned with narrow projecting moulded cornice caps.
Upraised strips along the inner edge of the window frames at both levels of the two-story section appear to have been added later to accommodate window sash that were thicker than the original. Significant Alterations The Rev. Samuel Gay House is a well-preserved example of its type and style, and has undergone only a few notable exterior changes. The most significant change appears to have been the alteration of the doorframe of the entry on the east side of the ell. The present doorframe is simple with a moulded frame and a cornice cap. An undated photograph shows that this is not the original design and that it once was taller and more highly ornamented, apparently with a full Federal style entablature above. The photograph is not clear enough to tell whether there was a transom above the door or precisely what the ornamental features were (Illustration # 1).
(continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Section number - Page - 3 Rev. Samuel Gay House Hubbardston, (Worcester County) Massachusetts The same photograph shows that the eastern roofline of the one-and-a-half-story ell addition extended out much further than it does now. It created a porchlike protection, but without porch posts, all along the length of the eastern facade of the ell addition. This feature, which has since been removed (Photograph # 2), appears to have been intended to offer protection over the entrances to the shed and over what appears to have been an entry vestibule (no longer existing) in the east wall of the ell addition. Barns and outbuildings original to the house do not survive on the property.
The existence of a former barn at the northeast corner of the ell addition (see Plan #1), possibly dating from the mid or late 19th century, is shown on the 1898 atlas map. Although the one existing historic photograph of the house does show the barn, it is largely obscured by trees (Illustration # 1). However, it seems to have been an American barn with its entrance on the gabled main facade facing the road. Having been converted to a chicken house during the mid 20th century and having later fallen into unsafe condition, the barn was removed in 1988. A small gable-roofed, one-story building, possibly dating from the mid-19th century, once stood just south of the present stallbarn (see Plan # 1). This building, which was in a deteriorated state at the time of its demolition in 1988, had served as a Finnish sauna during the mid 20th century.
Existing outbuildings include two small shed-roofed, woodframe barns oriented with their main facades facing south (see Plan # 1 for location). Both are extremely plain and have few aesthetic aspirations. The older and larger of the two is a two-story, rectangular structure sheathed in wood shingle. Nine bays wide across the main facade, it was built in the early 20th century as a chicken house and is now used as a hay barn. Most of the once numerous window openings on both the ground and second story levels of the main building have been boarded over to adapt the space to use as a hay barn. The newer one-story stall barn was built in 1988. It is 10 bays wide, has wide door openings with sliding doors at the north end of either side, and is covered with vertical boards. Interior The greatest amount of interior ornament is concentrated in the two front rooms on the ground floor.
Although some interior alteration has occurred, random wide board floors attached with wrought nails and Federal period trim are still largely in place throughout the house. The greatest interior alteration has occurred in what must have been the north end of the parlor, the original kitchen, the present kitchen, and upstairs in the northwest corner of the ell where a bathroom has been added. Most other rooms are generally well preserved. An ample central hall greets those who enter through the main entrance on the south facade.. A wide staircase rises from its west side (Photo # 5). Although moulding trims the side of the stairway, the railing is spare in its treatment.
The balusters and newel post are of slim proportions, square in (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet 7 4 Section number Page OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Rev. Samuel Gay House Hubbardston, (Worcester County) Massachusetts section, and entirely unadorned. The handrail is cylindrical. This extreme simplicity is typical for the period in Central Massachusetts towns. Although the hall is wide enough to allow for a passageway, its back wall is blind and has no doorway. It seems likely that a passageway did exist here originally but was blocked off when a closet was added for the parlor in the mid 19th century. To the left of the entry hall, on the west, is what may have been Rev. Gay's study.
Reference is made to the existence of a study in the inventory made at the time of Gay's death. At that time, the study contained, among other things, books, a secretary, and a writing desk. Also listed in the study were a bed and bedding, indicating that it doubled as a bedroom. To the right of the entry hall, on the east, is what must have been the parlor. Although the parlor is slightly more elaborate, both the study and the parlor are trimmed in the Federal style. Of note in these two rooms are wide moulded window frames with decorative moulded bases and fireplace surrounds composed of pilasters, architrave, and a moulded mantelshelf (see Photos #6, 7, 8, 9). Of interest in the northernmost second floor bedroom is a painted wall decoration that was recently uncovered during a wallpapering project. It is not presently visible, since fresh wallpaper has been installed over it.
Found underneath later layers of old wallpaper was a decoration of brushy white polka dots, about three and a half inches in diameter, painted on a medium blue ground. The date of this treatment is not presently known. Its unpretentious character suggests an early-to-mid-19th century date. Not the earliest paint layer found in this room, this motif was painted over an earlier layer of solid, medium terracotta pink. Further paint and wallpaper study will be necessary to understand the decorative chronology of this room. To date, this is the only early interior decorating scheme that has been identified in the house. Archaeological Description While no prehistoric sites are currently recorded on the nominated property or in the general area (within one mile), sites may be present.
Locational characteristics of the property (slope, soil drainage, distance to wetlands) are not particularly favorable for most types of prehistoric sites. The Gay House is located over 1,000 feet from major wetland resources; however, a small farm pond located east of the house may indicate the location of a spring that was enlarged to form the farm pond. This factor, combined with the knowledge that the Williamsville Road was a Native American trail route, can indicate a high potential for prehistoric sites in this area. There is also a high potential for the recovery of historic archaeological resources on the Gay House property. Structural remains may survive on the property from buildings described on two lots purchased by Rev. Gay in 1812. The Gay House was constructed on one of those lots in 1817.
Structural remains can also survive from historic outbuildings, including barns, which do not survive (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number _, 8 Page 3, 1 OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Rev. Samuel Gay House Hubbardston, (Worcester County) Massachusetts intact on the property. Extant noncontributing outbuildings on the property all date to 20th-century construction. At least one barn is known to have existed in the late 19th-century at the northeast corner of the ell addition. That barn was later a chicken coop, then removed in 1988. An earlier barn may have also existed. A second outbuilding is also reported south of the present stall barn. This building functioned as a Finnish Sauna in the mid 20th-century and was also demolished in 1988.
Occupational- related features (trash pits, privies, wells) also likely survive on the property dating to the 1817 construction of the house and possibly earlier if associated with the structures that may have been present when Rev. Gay purchased the property. (end) 8. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE The Rev. Samuel Gay House possesses integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association and meets National Register Criteria A, B, and C at the local level. Under Criterion A it is significant for its role in the development of the town during its period of growth and prosperity in the early years of the 19th century. Also under Criterion A it is significant in Hubbardston's ethnic history for its association with the town's Finnish community during its mid-20th century ownership by Otto and Lyyli Laitinen.
Under both Criteria A and B the property is significant for its association with Rev. Samuel Gay, a controversial figure in the 1827 Calvinist-Unitarian split of the established church in Hubbardston. Under Criterion C it is significant as a well preserved example of Federal style architecture with a finely considered contributing elements. The 1988 stallbarn is considered non-contributing. Biography of Samuel Gay This house was built for Rev. Samuel Gay (1784-1848), who was born in Dedham, Massachusetts, in 1784, and graduated from Harvard College in 1805. He married Elizabeth Chickering of Dedham in 1812, about two years after he had taken his post in Hubbardston as minister of the First Church. Together the couple had eight children, only three of whom lived to adulthood. Portraits of the Rev. and Mrs.
Gay were painted in 1815 by Ethan Allen Greenwood, a Hubbardston native then working in Boston (see Illustration # 2 for the portrait of Rev. Gay). These portraits, and one by an unidentified artist of their daughter Rebecca are owned by the Hubbardston Public Library. Gay built his house on Williamsville Road in 1817 about the time of the birth of their third child. He continued to live there until his death at the age of 64 in 1848. Family members owned the house for several years following his death. (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet 8 2 OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Section number Page Rev. Samuel Gay House Hubbardston, (Worcester County) Massachusetts Construction of the House It is clear that when Rev.
Gay accepted his post in Hubbardston, he was thinking of building a house. In his letter of acceptance, he mentioned that the salary he had been offered was sufficient since it included the provision of firewood and of "lumber, should it be my lot to build in town." The fact that he purchased property in town that very same year, 1812, further supports the idea that he intended to build a house. The lot upon which the present house was built seems to be one of two lots bought by Rev. Gay from Luther Goodnow of Hubbardston in 1812. Containing 23 acres and 44 rods, it was described as a "tract of land in Hubbardston nearly one half mile northwest of the meeting house with buildings thereon". It is not known what buildings stood on the property at that time or what happened to them. According to the records of the Hubbardston Historical Society, Samuel Gay built the present house in 1817.
No other information regarding its construction has yet been found. The Early Development of Hubbardston The territory that is now included in the town of Hubbardston was originally part of the Naquag Purchase, which was bought from five Native American owners in 1686 and was first surveyed in 1715. Containing 93,160acres, it included not only Hubbardston, but also the present towns of Rutland, Oakham, and Barre, and portions of the towns of Paxton and Princeton. What is now Hubbardston was known as the Northeast Quarter. It stood vacant and unclaimed until the 1730's. In 1738, in order to divide this section among the Naquag proprietors, the Northeast Quarter was surveyed and laid out as sixty-eight house lots of 100 acres each and 33 great farms of 500 acres each.
Lots were immediately subdivided, ultimately causing the settlement to become much more dense than had originally been planned. The first settler in the Northeast Quarter arrived in 1737, but active settlement was slow to begin. It was not until the 1760s before any considerable number arrived to settle on their claims here. Hubbardston was incorporated as a town in 1767. A school was built in the area of the present Common in 1770. In 1773 the frame of the present First Church was erected. The Samuel Gay House in the Context of Hubbardston Settlement Patterns The Samuel Gay House occupies part of a 100 acre parcel that was designated as Lot 2 on the 1738 survey and assigned to Henry Franklyn. Lot 2 was situated just north and west of Lot 30, which had been set aside in 1738 for the school and meeting house.
Because of its vicinity to Lot 30, portions of Lot 2 ultimately became part of the town center. (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet 8 3 OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Section number Page Rev. Samuel Gay House Hubbardston, (Worcester County) Massachusetts With the establishment of Hubbardston as a town in 1767, a north-south county road to Rutland was laid out along part of the route of an old Native trail that ran from near Asnacomet Pond to the Burnshirt River. From north to south, the county road followedalong the present course of Old Templeton Road, Williamsville Road, Main Street, and Worcester Road. Part of both the Native trail and the subsequent Williamsville Road is one of the oldest and most longstanding routes of travel in Hubbardston.
After the Revolutionary War, during the properous Federal period, settlement patterns in Hubbardston began to change from mostly dispersed farms to include a more dense clustering at the center village. During the 1790s, Hubbardston was the fastest growing town in Worcester County. New houses began to be built closer together in the vicinity of the meeting house and common. Although still set some distance apart, the greatest concentration occurred along Worcester Road and Main Street. When the Rev. Samuel Gay House was built on Williamsville Road in 1817, it stood at the far northern end of the town center cluster. Rev. Samuel Gay and the First Church in Hubbardston Rev. Samuel Gay, became the third minister of the First Church of Hubbardston on October 17, 1810. Organized in 1770, the First Church was the town's established church.
From the 17th century until 1833, established Congregational societies had legal sanction to function as part of municipal governments in Massachusetts communities. The founding fathers had considered the intertwining of church and secular government as essential to community morality and to the regulation of society. During this period in Massachusetts, municipal funds were used to build a single meetinghouse for church services and town meetings Municipal taxes supported both the secular and the religious life of the community. Not only were they used for regular town expenses, such as schools, but they also maintained the Congregational Society, its minister, and the meeting house. Rev. Gay's acceptance of the ministerial position in Hubbardston came during a time that was fraught with potential religious discord.
His arrival in town coincided with a period of doctrinal reassessment in Congregational societies throughout the region. The so-called "Second Great Awakening" in New England religious life had taken place around 1800. A renewed interest in religion at that time was followed by continuous revivals through the early 1830s. During this period, old factional differences within Congregationalism were reignited. "Calvinist" and "Unitarian" distinctions began to grow strong within individual parishes. As a result, communities throughout the region were being shaken by dissent. To oversimplify the controversy, Calvinists or Orthodox Congregationalists clung to the traditional doctrine of predestination and required a "conversion" experience for full church membership.
"Liberals" or Unitarians claimed that through self dedication and good works individuals could improve (continued) OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet 8 Section number Page 4 Rev. Samuel Gay House Hubbardston, (Worcester County) Massachusetts their own destinies. They believed that a specific "conversion" experience was not essential to a good Christian life and that there should be no distinction within a congregation between communicant and non-communicant members. Another element of the distinction between Unitarians and Orthodox Congregationalists was often social. Unitarianism typically drew from the more wealthy and more educated in a community. It is unclear whether this was a factor in the controversy in Hubbardston. The period during which Rev.
Gay was serving in Hubbardston was a contentious one in Massachusetts religious history. Whatever his beliefs might have been when he began his ministry there, he could not have helped being influenced by the religious trends and widespread discussion of religious doctrine that prevailed during the early years of his career. In the early 19th century, the growing strong division between Calvinists and Unitarians was manifested in the establishment of separate institutions for the training of the clergy. The Orthodox Theological Seminary was established in Andover, Massachusetts in 1808 and the Unitarian-oriented Harvard Divinity School was formed in Cambridge, Massachusetts between 1811 and 1819. Beginning about 1815 and continuing for years afterward, an enthusiastic barrage of religious tracts flew back and forth -- for and against Unitarianism.
By 1815, many of the oldest Congregational societies in New England were becoming Unitarian, leaving members who were not in agreement to establish new congregations of their own. The trend toward Unitarianism was particularly strong in Boston and along the New England coast. Of Boston's fourteen Congregational churches, only two had not become Unitarian by 1815. During this same time, social diversity and the strong appeal of evangelical religious groups such as Baptists and Methodists were growing in the commonwealth. As a result, communities all over Massachusetts were beginning to question the legal right of an established Congregational society to serve as the sole religious body in individual towns. Disputes were becoming more and more common over whether a town had the right to collect taxes from all of its citizens for the support of a single religious denomination. Rev.
Gay's ministry in Hubbardston was often stormy. The initial vote to call him to his post was split. Some believed he was too liberal in his doctrinal views. In the years that followed, the Hubbardston congregation often remained divided on the course of its actions. Gay's own personal demeanor may also have contributed to the lack of accord within the parish. He has been described as "a Man of uncompromising principles...fearless in the utterance of what he believed to be right...fearless in rebuking wrong." It is also said that he "sometimes gave offence by the plainness of his speech." The first invitation to dissention within the congregation came in regard to a political matter, rather than a religious one. Rev. Gay's outspoken opposition to the War of 1812 offended many.
This was true despite the fact that opposition to the war was particularly strong in Massachusetts and in New England in general. In the region and in Hubbardston as well, response was weak to calls for volunteers to the army and for funds to sustain the effort. In Hubbardston, when only half of the quota could be enticed to (continued) OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet 8 Section number Page Rev. Samuel Gay House Hubbardston, (Worcester County) Massachusetts volunteer, the remainder was raised by the draft. According to J. M.
Stowe's 1881 History of Hubbardston: "The sentiment of this town was very equally divided on this subject [of the war], and political excitement probably never ran higher in all its history, than at this period." Soon twenty-seven families withdrew from the First Church in opposition to Gay's lobbying against the war from the pulpit. They joined a Baptist congregation in the Coldbrook community. Several of these dissenters then refused to pay taxes to the town for the support of the established church. After the dispute had passed and the town had agreed to abate their ministerial taxes for the years 1813 and 1814, some of the dissenters returned to the congregation. Several years later, religious beliefs replaced politics as the cause for dispute within the First Church. As philosophical dissent grew in Congregational societies elsewhere, so it did also in Hubbardston.
During the early 1820s, some members of the congregation complained about the doctrinal leanings of the minister. It was said that his stated beliefs were not the same as they had been when he was first hired. He was thought by some to have been too liberal at that time. Liberal leanings were not out of keeping with Gay's training at Harvard, which, even before the establishment of the Harvard Divinity School, was strongly Unitarian in its views. Yet, now his views were criticized for their Calvinistic, rather than Unitarian or liberal, leanings. Current research has not documented exactly what Rev. Gay's views were at various points during his career. It is also presently unclear what were the views of the two separate factions in his Hubbardston congregation, either in 1810 when he started out, or in the 1820s when this controversy arose.
By 1825, more than thirty-eight families had become members of the "First Restoration Society." This society was apparently organized to express lack of support for Rev. Gay and to avoid paying the town ministerial tax that provided his salary. At town meeting in 1826 a direct vote was taken to dismiss him but failed to receive a majority. At town meeting the following year, the opposition to Gay had increased and was able to garner a small majority. Yet, it was not great enough to dismiss him. At a subsequent meeting, the margin of opposition was greater, 106 to 65, but still not great enough. In April of the same year, before another meeting could be held, the supporters of Rev. Gay organized the First Calvinistic Society of Hubbardston. Eighty-eight persons joined immediately and filed their certificates of membership with the town clerk.
When another town meeting vote was taken on May 7, 1827, the vote to dismiss Gay was 114 for and none against. A meeting was held on September 3 at which it was resolved to divide the First church into two separate congregations, with the Rev. Mr. Gay as the minister of the seceding Calvinistic society and with the First Church remaining the town church. According to records, 94 went with the newly formed society and thirty remained with the First Church. Following the split, the First church declared itself Unitarian. The consequences of the split did not die quickly. Until well into the 20th century, citizens of Hubbardston were strongly distinguished by their church membership, whether they were Unitarians or Congregationalists.
(continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet 8 OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Rev. Samuel Gay House Hubbardston, (Worcester County) Massachusetts Section number Page - Rev. Gay and Hubbardston's Calvinistic Society On October 31, 1827, the Calvinistic Society duly established itself as a church with Rev. Gay as its minister. The following day, on November 1, 1827, it dedicated a new meeting house for its use. That building, enlarged and turned in the 1840s and again remodeled in the 1860s, still stands at the intersection of Gardner and Williamsville roads, only a short distance east of Rev. Gay's farm on Williamsville Road. With the establishment of a second religious society with its own meeting house, the controversy was not yet over.
Resolutions that accompanied the establishment of the new religious society had stated that the congregation was the same as that which had been associated with the town and that the minister was to hold the same relationship to it that he had held before. The name of the society was never officially changed and the Rev. Mr. Gay was never formally reinstalled. For this reason, a question arose as to whether Gay was acting legally in his position as pastor. An attempt was made to have him indicted for performing marriages against the law. This case was dismissed by the Grand Jury after review of the documents regarding the establishment of the new society. Rev. Gay's term as minister of the Calvinistic Society appears to have been largely tranquil and prosperous for the next ten to twelve years. He was successful in building up the size of the congregation of the new society.
Over a ten year period, he brought about 200 new members into the congregation. Then, according to Stowe's History of Hubbardston, Gay "was guilty of growing old, and much dissatisfaction began to be manifested, and efforts were made to have him dismissed." After he was dismissed from his post on December 1, 1841, he retired to his farm on Williamsville Road where he lived until he died in 1848. It is presumed that Mrs. Gay continued to live in the house at 10 Williamsville Road for several years after her husband's death. In 1849 the property was sold to Jonathan Whitney, the husband of her daughter, Rebecca. It seems likely that Mrs. Gay and her daughter and son-in-law lived here together during Whitney's ownership. The house was sold out of the Gay family in 1855, when it was purchased by Hollis Pond (b.1812).
Pond, who had married Betsy Goodspeed in 1836, moved here with a family of six children. They continued to own the property until about 1885. From about 1889 to 1893, it was owned by Loring B. Chapman (1839-1923), who wife was Phoebe Ann Leach (d.1892). The owner in 1896 was Hannah S. Frost Rice (d.1915), the wife of Francis Rice (1824-1912) (married 1873). From 1901 to 1929 the property was owned by Herbert W. Pond (1851-1930), who was a distant cousin of Hollis Pond. He was married to Rhoda Wheeler (d.1919). the daughter of Herbert and Rhoda Pond. Laura Pond Dobie Cushman was the owner from 1933 to 1939. Her first husband was John Dobie, Jr., who died in 1917. At the time of the transfer of the property to Whitney in 1849, the acreage was given as 20 acres. By that date, the southern boundary was defined by the road. A portion of the original parcel purchased by Rev.
(continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number . Page- Rev. Samuel Gay House Hubbardston, (Worcester County) Massachusetts Gay, which included land on the south side of the road, was no longer included with the house. A review of deeds, through as recently as 1901, indicates that the property was not further subdivided during the 19th century. In the 1980s the 16 acres that still accompanied the house was broken up into smaller parcels. Today only 7.02 acres of the original lot is still associated with the house.
10 Williamsville Road and the Finns in Hubbardston From 1939 to 1967 the property was owned by Otto Laitinen (1896-?) and his wife Lyyli (Mansikka) (1899-1976), Finnish immigrants who operated a liquor store in a front room of the house. Also, during their ownership, a largely Finnish group organized the Asnacomet Credit Union at a meeting held here. It charter was drawn up in March of 1955 and Otto Laitinen was named Vice President. The credit union was the town's first financial institution and also was a late expression of the cooperative movement among Hubbardston's Finnish residents, who had earlier formed a successful Farmers' Cooperative. The credit union initially consisting of ten members with only $100 in assets. The first office was located in the Farmers' Coop Hall on Main Street (no longer standing).
For some time it was kept in a front room of this house and later in the Public Library building at 7 Main Street. Still in operation today, the Asnacomet Credit Union occupies a small building at 34 Main Street, built in 1971. Finns were Hubbardston's second but most important immigrant group. The first immigrants to arrive here in any number were the Irish. Seventeen Irish immigrant families settled in town during the 1850s and by 1900 that group made up five percent of the population. Around 1900 Finns also began to arrive. By 1950 about one quarter of the population of Hubbardston was Finnish. Many Finns bought farms that were being sold by old Hubbardston families as the younger generations abandoned farming for life in cities or to work in factories. Most of Hubbardston's Finns came here from industrial centers, such as nearby Worcester and Gardner, where they were working.
When they had saved enough money,they bought the farms they had dreamed of owning. The town's first Finnish immigrant was, Asa Loukoo, who arrived in 1894. Several others came about 1898, mostly settling in the Pitcherville section of town. The Pitcherville group, known as the "Church Finns" , was very conservative. They established a closeknit community and a Finnish church. Finns arrived here only gradually through the end of World War I. Then, from 1918 to 1930, their numbers increased. More and more Finns left their homeland to avoid the political strife created by strong anti-Communist sentiment engendered by the Russian Revolution in 1917. About 70 percent of the town's Finns came at this time. About 45 percent came from Worcester and 35 percent from Gardner. The remaining 20 percent came directly from Finland or from other places in this country.
The majority of the town's Finnish immigrants from this period settled in scattered locations around town, wherever they found farms to buy. The Laitinens belong to this group. As the Finnish Church bound the (continued) OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 NPS Form 10-900-a 8-86 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 8 Page 8 Rev. Samuel Gay House Hubbardston, (Worcester County) Massachusetts "Church Finns" of Pitcherville together, the Farmers' Cooperative established by Finns in 1927, served to maintain ethnic unity among this more widely dispersed group. The Federal Style in Hubbardston Hubbardston's earliest buildings are mostly of the Federal style.
Except for the 1773 frame of the First Church on Main Street, the earliest surviving buildings in the town center date from about 1795 through about 1830, the period during which the Federal style was popular in New England towns. Because the town ceased to grow after about 1850, Hubbardston still has a strong early-mid 19th century flavor to it. The buildings that line Main Street and intersecting streets in the center are mostly Federal or Greek Revival in style. The Rev. Samuel Gay House belongs to this group. Comparison of the Gay House and Other Federal Houses in the Center The Rev. Samuel Gay House, built in 1817, is among the most elegant and best preserved of the Federal style buildings in the town center. Two other houses in the center are comparable to it in design.
All three represent the overall simplicity of detail and low-relief effect that is characteristic of vernacular expression of the Federal period houses of their size and type in Central Massachusetts. Abijah Clark House The Gay House, in its two-story, five-bay, center-entry, single-pile form, L-shaped plan, hip roof, and paired chimneys, is similar in overall appearance to the Abijah Clark House, 3 Main Street (MHC #27), built in 1820. The Clark House has a broader pilaster/architrave/cornice doorframe with swagged frieze, sidelights, and no fanlight, yet, it is similar to the Gay House in its slim proportions and in the low-relief treatment of its ornamental features. Also similar is the concentration of the major ornamental features at the main entrance.
Jacob Waite Inn The circa 1803 Federal style Jacob Waite Inn, 2 Worcester Road (MHC#46), is also of the two-story, five-bay, center-entry, hip-roofed type with paired chimneys. Like the Gay House, the Waite Inn has two major entrances -- a front entrance and a side entrance. Yet, it is more imposing and more highly ornamented than either the Gay House of the Clark House. Its double-pile, hip roofed form, and heavy, paired, interior chimneys create a much more massive appearance. Its front door frame, trimmed with urn motifs and a round-arched fanlight, was originally much more elaborate than it is today. Extensively altered, it now has a plain pilaster/architrave/cornice frame with no fanlight. The round-arched doorway at the side entrance has a slim frame and elegant floral swags in its fanlight.
Unlike the Gay House, it has a Palladian window with Federal trim above the entrance on each of its two main facades. Eaves are more highly ornamented than either the Gay or Clark houses -- trimmed with repeated Federal style (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 8 Page 9 Rev. Samuel Gay House Hubbardston, (Worcester County) Massachusetts funnel motifs. This same funnel motif is used much more sparingly on the Gay House, where it appears just below the projecting cornice cap of the doorframe at the main entrance. It is not known whether any of the similarities found among these three houses are due to a single builder. At the present time, little is known about individual Hubbardston builders of the period.
Among several other excellent and well preserved examples of the Federal style in Hubbardston, two are worthy of mention in comparison with the Rev. Gay House. They are the 1802 Joseph Wright House, Old Westminster Road (MHC # 102-103), located on a rural road outside the town center, and the c. 1800 William Marean House, 11 High Street (MHC # 20), in the center. Both are more highly ornamented than the Rev. Gay House, the Clark House, or the Waite Inn. Their ornament is also more imposing and more sculpturesque - more strongly influenced by the earlier Georgian style. Archaeological Significance Since patterns of prehistoric settlement and subsistence in the town of Hubbardston are poorly documented, any surviving sites could be significant.
Prehistoric sites in this area can provide information on Native American settlement and subsistence within interior portions of Connecticut River tributary drainage basins and the overall Connecticut River drainage. The location of the nominated property along a Native American trail and the potential presence of a spring or water hole can indicate resources associated with habitation-type sites or special purpose-type sites related to stopover stations or sites along this transportation corridor. Prehistoric sites in this area can contribute important information indicating the relationship or hierarchy of sites in the area and the role they played with other specialized sites or larger sites, possibly core areas, along the Chicopee and Connecticut Rivers.
Historic archaeological resources described above have the potential to document the layout and social, cultural, and economic characteristics that typified a farm whose inhabitants played a major role in the development of a town during its period of growth and prosperity in the early 19th century. Further documentary research combined with archaeological survey and testing can document the layout and construction dates of buildings and features on the property as built and modified after 1817. Archaeological study can also document landuse patterns and possible structures that may predate the purchase of the land by Rev Gay. The location and analysis of outbuilding sites can document the extent to which agricultural activities were pursued at the farm or supplemented the religious duties of Rev. Gay during the first half of the 19th century.
The same analysis can also determine the nature and extent to which agricultural pursuits changed upon the death of Rev. Gay and the occupation of the house by his successors. The analysis of occupational-related features can also play an important role in these studies by providing detailed information on the lives of inhabitants at the house and agricultural activities at the farm. The above analysis can contribute information relating to the conditions of life for the Gay family and the extent to which they reflected the philosophies of Rev. Gay's religious life. These beliefs, which may be reflected in material goods and practices, may also survive with archaeological survivals of (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet 8,9 Section number Page OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 Rev. Samuel Gay House Hubbardston, (Worcester County) Massachusetts agricultural practices on the property. Archaeological survey and testing can also help clarify or fill gaps in the documentary record by establishing the presence or absence of earlier structures on the property and as a result, can clarify which lot purchased by Rev. Gay eventually became the site of the existing 9. MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES Maps Fagan, L. "Map of the Town of Hubbardston, Worcester County, Massachusetts". Philadelphia: Richard Clark, 1855. Beers, G. W. "Atlas of Worcester County Massachusetts" . New York: F. W. Beers, 1870. Reprinted Rutland, Vt.: Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1971. Richards, L, J. :Atlas of Worcester County Massachusetts". Springfield, Ma.: L.J.Richards & Co, 1898. Published Works Ahlstrom, Sidney E. A Religious History of the American People.
New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1972 Sherback, Maureen; Haynes, Marilyn; McCauley, Jane. Hubbardston Pictorial. Hubbardston: Hubbardston Historical Society, 1982. Stowe, Rev. J. M. History of the Town of Hubbardston, Worcester County, Mass. Hubbardston: Published by the Committee, 1881. Sullivan, Leo H. History of the Town of Hubbardston, 1881-1876. Hubbardston: Historical Commission, 1993. Unpublished Hepler, Margaret. "Samuel Gay House, 10 Williamsville Road, Hubbardston, Massachusetts" (MHC Form B, Inventory Form), 1995. - Hepler, Margaret. "A History of Hubbardston: Evolution of a Townscape," 1995. Massachusetts Historical Commission. "Hubbardston Reconaissance Report," 1984.
(continued) NPS Form 10-900-a 8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number _9, 10 Page 2, 1 OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Rev. Samuel Gay House Hubbardston, (Worcester County) Massachusetts Deeds Worcester County Registry of Deeds, Deeds 183/114; 452/45, 46, 48; 1284/223; 1439/552; 1510/589; 1076/292; 1686/50 (end) 10. GEOGRAPHICAL DATA Verbal Boundary Description The Rev. Samuel Gay House is included on Hubbardston Assessor's Map 5-C (see copy attached). The house and outbuildings are located on Lot 12, which contains 7.02 acres. Boundary Justification The boundary includes lot 5-C/12, which forms a portion of the original approximately 23 acre parcel bought by Rev. Samuel Gay in 1812.
Lot 5-C/12 retains its association with the house and outbuildings and contains fields, a pond, fruit trees, and wooded areas that contribute to the still rural setting of the property. Lot 5-C/126, a wooded three-acre tract that is located at the northwest corner of Lot 5-C/12, is also owned as port of this property today. It has not been included within the boundary for this nomination because it appears not to have been part of the original lot owned by Rev. Gay. (end) 119 136 139 108 118 117 107 104 137 TANYARD POND 5 100 138 6 IAMSVLLE 126 I31 ROAO 132 98 102 I01 99 IIA 112 127 97 8-A 13 12 96 95 I0IA 8A-N -NOTE 1e Not Inlended Thie Meap ha Conterancaee ASSESSORS MAP REV.
SAMUEL GAY HOUSE, 1D WILLIAMSVILLE ROAL HUBBARPSTON, WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS GARONER MAN 26 27 125 124 16 93 134 135 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 15 14 92 91 89A 89 28 123 5/ 50 48 44 43 42 29 30 31 45 32 41 33 40 34 39 35 38 90 37 36 8785 85 84 76R 10 129 IBA 76 77 83 SIREET 60\72 OWELK 81 83 88 P47 46 ---- HORSE PASTURE TRIDNGARENA L-- BAO 111l N L SITE oF FoRHEE BARN. APPLE SITE OF FOAMER SAUNA POND A SITE PLAN REV. SAMUEL GAY HOUSE HUBBARDSTON (WORCESTER COUNTY) MASSACHUSETTS S.CECCACCI MARCH 1996 PLAN #1 LEGEND _ BOUNDARY LINE O-00- STONE FENCE - --- WOOD FENCE VIZA EXISTING BUILDING L SITE OFFORMER BUILDING GRANITE POSTS MATURE TREE GROVE OF TREES VANTAGE PONT OFFHOTO SHED HH WORKROOM Y2BATH L NEW KITCHEN OLD KITCHEN PORCH NEW ROOM POWN STUDY PARLOR.
UP SKETCH PLAN, GROUND FLOOR SAMUEL GAY HOUSE HUBBARDSTON, WORCESTER COUNTY MASSACHUSETTS NOT TO SCHLE PLAN #2 9.CECCACCI, MARCH 1996 ILLWSTRATION'# 1 P53 ENLARGED PHOTOCOPY OF PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION OF HUBBARDITON HISTORICAL SOCIETY IO WILLIAMSVILLE ROAD, HUBBARDSTON, MA , DATE UNKNOWN, POSSIBLY LATÉ LATHCENTURY. MAIN FACADE HIDDEN BY TREES, EAST SDE UNOBSCURED, BARN ON RIGHT BEHIND TREE! ILLUSTRATION#2 PORIRAIT OF REV SAMUELC.GAY PAINTEO 1815 BY ETHANALLEN GREENWOOD OWNEDBY HUBBARDSTON LIBRARY UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET REQUESTED ACTION: NOMINATION PROPERTY NAME : Gay, Rev.
Samuel, House MULTIPLE NAME: STATE & COUNTY: MASSACHUSETTS, Worcester DATE RECEIVED: DATE OF 16TH DAY: DATE OF WEEKLY LIST: 10/24/97 11/20/97 DATE OF PENDING LIST: 11/04/97 DATE OF 45TH DAY: 12/08/97 REFERENCE NUMBER: 97001450 NOMINATOR: STATE REASONS FOR REVIEW: APPEAL: N DATA PROBLEM: N LANDSCAPE: N LESS THAN 50 YEARS: N OTHER: REQUEST: N PDIL: N PERIOD: PROGRAM UNAPPROVED: SAMPLE : NSLR DRAFT: N NATIONAL: N N N COMMENT WAIVER: N VACCEPT RETURN ABSTRACT/SUMMARY COMMENTS : REJECT 11'24-97DATE Entered in the Natiopal Roetata RECOM./CRITERIA REVIEWER TELEPHONE DISCIPLINE DATE DOCUMENTATION see attached comments Y/N see attached SLR Y/N REV.
SAMUEL GAY HOUSE WORCESTER COUNTY MASSACHUSETTS PHOTOGRAPHER: S.CECCACCI DATE: MARCH 1996 NEGATVE: ONNER VIEW : MAN (SOUTE)FACADE, LOOKING NOR WILLAMSVILE POAD, GRANITE FENK REMAINS OF GATE ARE SEONIN FORE PHOTO#I 26501 REV, SAMUEL GAY HOUSE WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS PHOTOGRNFHER: S,CECCACCI DATE : MARCH 1996 NELSATIVE: OWNER VIEW: EASTSIDE WITEI MAIN FACADE ON WEST FROM EAST FHOTO#2 KEV. SAMUEL GAY HOUSE WORGESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS PHOTOGRARHER: S. CECCACCI DATE: MARCH 1996 VEGATIE: OWNER VIEW: NORIH WEST SDES LOOKING PHOTO# 3 H1093E RE), SAMUEL GAY HOUSE WORCESTER COUNTY, MAESICHUSETTS PHOTOBRAPHER:S.
CECCACCI DATE : MARCH 1996 NEGATIVE : OWNER VIEW: NORTH & WEST SIDES LOOKING SOUTHEAST PHOTO#: 3 REL, SAMUEL GAY HOUSE WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS PHOTOGRARHER: SICECCACCI DATE: MARCH 1996 NEGATIVE: OWNER VIEW: EAST SIDE OF HOUSE WITH SALLBHRN ON RIGHT, VIEW FROM WLLAHSURLER STONEFENCE IN FOREGROUND PHOTO# 4 REV. SAMUEL GAY HoUsE WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS PHOTOGRAPHER: S.CECCACCI DATE: MARCH (996 NEGATIVE: OWNER VIEN: STAIRRAIL& STARTRIM, MAIN STAIR IN MAN ENTRYITALL, SEEN, FROM, E LOOKINGW DoOR ON LEFT IS TO STUÓY PHOTO#:T REV, SAMUEL GAY HOUSE HOTOGRAPHER: S: MACSACHUSETTS DATE: MARCH 1996 NEGATIVE: OWNER VIEW: SE CORNERISWALL OF PARLOR, SCENFROM NW, SHOWING ORGINAL CORNER POST & ORIGINAL WINDOW FRAME WITHRECENT CEILING CORNICE PHOTO #, 6 REU.
SAMUEL GAY HOUSE WORCESTER COUNTY,IMAESHCHUSETTS PHOTOGRAPHER: 9,CECCACCI DATE: MAROH 1996 NEGSTIVE: OWNER VIEW: SWCORNER IW WALLOF PARLOR, SEEN FROM NE, SHOWING ORIGINAL BOXED CORNER POST 7 ORIGINAL DOOR $ DOORTRAME, ZOTHC. FLOORING TRECENT CELUNGCORNICE PHO1O#:7 991 REV, SAMUEL GAY HOUSE WORCESTER COUNTY, MASCHCHUSETTS PHOTOGRAFHER: S.CECCACCI DATE : MARCH 1996 NEGATIVE: OWNER VIEW: SE CORNER +SOUTEHWALL OF SUDY, SEEN FROM NW XOWING ORIGINAL WINDOW FRAME & Z0TH C. REPLACENENT SASH PHOTO#8 1H10586 SMUEL GAY HOUSE WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS PHOTOGRAPHER: S.CECCACCI DATE: MARCH 1996 NEGATIVE: OWNER VIEW: NORTHWALLOF STUDY SEEN FROM SOUTH, SHOWING FREPLACE PHOTO#9 N1110C86 Cpetran Cruaoe The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Massachusetts Historical Commission October 17, 1997 Ms.
Carol Shull ational Register of Historic Plac epartment of the Interic National Park Service Mail Stop 2280, Suite 400 1849 C Street, NW Washington, D. C. 20240 Dear Ms. Shull, Enclosed please find the following nomination form: Rev. Samuel Gay House, 10 Williamsville Road, Hubbardston (Worcester Co.), MA The nomination has been voted eligible by the State Review Board and has been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer. The owners of the property were notified of pending State Review Board consideration 30 to 45 days before the meeting and were afforded the opportunity to comment. Sincerely, Betoy.
Friedlerg Betsy Friedberg National Register Director Massachusetts Historical Commission enclosure CC: Michael and Susan Rayne, owners Richard Lyon, Chair, Hubbardston Historical Commission Dennis O'Donnell, Chair, Hubbardston Board of Selectmen Susan Ceccacci, Preservation Consultant 220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, Massachusetts 02125 - (617) 727-8470 Fax: (617) 727-5128 TDD: 1-800-392-6090 Website: www.magnet.state.ma.us/sec/mhc
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