Stoneholm

Stoneholm, also known as the Horace Lothrop House, occupies a 2.73 acre parcel at the northwest corner of Ames and East Streets, in a residential section of Sharon. The property is surrounded by a border of trees, most of which appear to be original plantings, and contains a carriage house in addition to the property's main:house. The main house is a Second Empire style building, two-and-one-half stories high with a mansard roof and cupola. Extending from the house's north elevation is a one-storey rear wing with a flat roof. The house is built of locally-quarried, rock-faced granite ashlar. Corner quoins and window trim (i.e. sills, quoined surrounds, arches and keystones) are made of rock-faced granite, but of a darker color than that of the walls.

The concavely cured mansard roof rests on a wooden cornice with paired brackets and is covered with slates which are cut to create a hexagonal pattern. All sash, except where noted otherwise, 15 2/2., A: ZULI The Facade (south elevation) is symmetrical; at its first storey is a wooden porch, three bays long and one bay deep with a low, half-hip roof. Each bay is framed by posts which have small brackets beneath the porch's solid apron and larger brackets set on their outer faces, supporting the cornice. The porch's center bay contains an additional pair of posts from which deep brackets rise to support a low pediment over the entry bay- At the center of the first storey is a rectangular opening containing paired doors with . panelled bases and arched lights.

On each side of the entry is a single window set in a low-arched, quoined surround. At the second storey, two windows (identical to thase of the storey) flank a central, paired window.. keystone.

/Architect Architect Unknown Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) Stoneholm, also known as the Horace Lothrop House, retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship and historical associations to sharon's leading industrialist of the mid-nineteenth century. A unique local example of Second Empire style architecture, the house, as wetl as its stable, remains essentially unaltered and retains many high quality details, particularly in its fine stonework. Iwo stone-lined chambers exist beneath the house's front lawn; these chambers are believed to have con- tained water and chemicals which were combined to provide the house with gas for lighting and heating. The original owner of Stoneholm, Horace A.

Lothrop (1828-1898), was born in Easton, Massachusetts where his father, the Honorable Howard Lothrop was active in business and civic affairs. Having completed his education and some business training, Horace Lothrop moved to sharon in 1847, where he and J. R. Packard had bought a cutlery Factory from John Ames. Ames had operated this factory since 1835, using a mill privilege at Massapoag Lake, one-quarter mile distant from Stoneholm. Under Lothrop's direction, the business expanded and became known, locally, for its practice of continuing production during business recessions and panics, stockpiling its unbought goods rather than laying off its employees. In 1870, Iothrop was a founder of the firm of Lothrop and Watson, manu- facturers of shoe shanks.

In 1878, Lothrop established the Niantic Hose Company. During this period, Lothrop served as a director of the Neponset National Bank in Canton, Mass- By 1883, Lothrop was forced by ill health to retire from his business interests. CrC.