Sadler, Herbert A., House

The Sadler House, a Colonial Revival style structure, is situated in the center of an almost square lot, with a broad expanse of lawn fronting on Newport Avenue. An unpaved driveway runs under a porte cochere on the west side of the house to a one-and-a-half story brick and frame garage (now converted into a residence) in the southwest corner of the property. The two-and-a-half story frame house is three bays wide and two bays deep with a raised basement and a hip roof with deep eaves. The basement walls are concrete blocks cast to simulate rock-faced ashlar ; the roof is covered with square red asbestos tiles laid in a diamond pattern. The main (north) facade has a prominent central bay composed of a colossal portico with paired Ionic columns supporting an elliptical pediment.

The portico projects from a shallow pavilion framed by fluted Ionic pilasters. The first story of the pavilion, the vestibule, has a panelled frieze with applied plaster urns and stained glass windows framed by pilasters. On the second story, a central doorway with a carved sunburst tran- som and sidelights forms a palladiän motif. Above the portico is a large central dormer "The dormer's gable roof projects as a pediment supported by two pairs of Ionic columns. Within the pediment is a decorative plaster shell flanked by rosettes. The dormers on the east and west sides are treated similarly, although their applied ornament has deteriorated. The southern dormer is plain and has a hip roof.

Geometric iron cresting on the roof ridge contrasts in its lightness with the internal chimney on the west slope, built of simulated ashlar blocks and terminating in battlements.

/Architect Samuel Fuller Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) The Herbert A. Sadler house is a fine example of Colonial Revival style architecture and is one of the most prominent residences in the village of South Attleboro. The two-and- a-half story frame house with its giant portico was built in 1906 by Samuel Fuller of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, for Herbert Sadler, the senior partner of Sadler Brothers, one of the oldest and largest industries in South Attleboro. The building has historical signifi- cance at the local level for both the landmark qualities of its architecture and as a mon- ument to the prosperity of the South Attleboro jewelry industry at the turn of the century.

The house retains integrity of design, materials, worknanship, setting and location; it meets criteria A and C of the National Register of Historic Places. Herbert Austin Sadler, the eldest son of George W. and Melissa Sadler, was born on Novem- ber 11, 1860, in Mansfield, Massachusetts. In 1863, George Sadler moved with his family to the village of South Attleboro, where he established a small shop on Newport Avenue for the production of jewelry, with Daniel Stanley, then with his brother, Albert Sadler, and finally as the sole proprieter of George W. Sadler and Company, proved to be a successful pioneer in the jewelry business. In 1883, he was one of the leading manufacturers in South Attleboro, employing fifteen hands in the production of gold-plated bracelets.

Upon his father's death in 1884, Herbert Sadler assuned control of the enterprise; he was shortly joined in partnership by his brother, Charles. The third brother, Thomas, who had been apprenticed under Herbert in the family business, replaced Charles after the latter's death in 1889, and remained Herbert's partner for over thirty years.