Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. A historic map-sheet match is not published yet. The record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary.
“The William Murphy House is a historic house located in Brookline, Massachusetts.”
Wikipedia article William Murphy House, CC BY-SA 4.0.
one of 249 National Register listings in Norfolk County · listed in 1985 · category: Building · one of 2 National Historic Landmarks in Norfolk County.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
The chapter on Brookline Town in A History of Brookline, Massachusetts, from the First Settlement of Muddy River Until the Present Time;, published 1906 names Brookline. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
THERE are only six cities and no individual towns in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with a larger tax list than the town of Brookline. The town of Milton is the only one approaching it in the value of its taxable property, ami the relative value on the tax lists of the two towns is as $65,- 000,000 is to $20,000,000. Watertown, Westll(.l,l Detlham, Manchester, Framingham, Plymouth, Falmouth, Weymouth, N'atick, Attleboro, Marblehead and Amesbury, all delightful colonial towns, each brin- to the Commonwealth a tax income of less than one tenth the amounl contributed by Brookline.
Passage source: A History of Brookline, Massachusetts, from the First Settlement of Muddy River Until the Present Time;, published 1906.
When the town of Brookline was bom mi November 13, 1705, Massachusetts bad over sixty towns in her family ranging in age from one to eighty-five years. The same form of town government inaugurated at the birth of each has been preserved by Brookline and carried nut in the town meetings of cad, year. The officers taking part in the celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of Brookline's birth, November 13, [005, were elected to office and performed the same functions as did i1m.sc chosen in 1705 to stand sponsors t<> the infant town. The voting list df the town lias increased to 1,300 and the limits of the town include the villages of Cottage population at the time of the celebration of its -w,, hundredth birthday numbered over 23,000. Brookline is unique, as a Massachusetts town, its limits, the only exception being electric motors and philosophical instruments. Its wealth and importance is due mainly to its natural and acquired beauty, and its healthfulness a- a residential town. The private fortunes of its inhabitants furnish the means for its multiplying wealth of attractions as a place of suburban residence, and unlike most Massachusetts towns, no rich corporations are sheltered within its borders.
Passage source: A History of Brookline, Massachusetts, from the First Settlement of Muddy River Until the Present Time;, published 1906.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Read the whole chapter on Brookline Town - 94,686 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 21 fires within 5 miles of Murphy, William, House between 2015 and 2020, burning about 20 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 7 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 2 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 2 September 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | BROOKLINE |
| 2 September 2017 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | QUINCY |
| 26 August 2017 | Smoking | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | BROOKLINE |
| 9 July 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 23 July 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | BROOKLINE |
| 23 July 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | BROOKLINE |
| 6 June 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | DEDHAM |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 12,566 specimens collected within 10 miles of Murphy, William, House between 1810 and 1975: 5,165 Plantae, 3,815 Fungi, 3,119 Animalia, 193 Protozoa, 177 Chromista, 64 Unrecorded, 33 Bacteria. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by (MARSDEN, H W), ?, ? ex Herb. W.G. Farlow and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.
| Image | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Araiospora pulchra Thaxt. | 1900 | R. Thaxter | Stony Brook |
 | Lysimachia × producta (A.Gray) Fernald | 1900 | A. P. Chute | |
 | Thalictrum L. | 1810 | Boott, J.W. | Near Boston. |
 | Anemone L. | 1815 | Boott, J. | Andover Turnpike, 7 miles from Boston. |
 | Corydalis Vent. | 1815 | Boott, F.M.B. | Worcester turnpike, 6 miles from Boston. |
 | Corylus L. | 1815 | not recorded | Cambridge Port, 2 miles from Boston. |
| Ericaceae | 1815 | Boott | Boston, U.S.A. | |
 | Hepatica Mill. | 1815 | Boott, F.M.B. | Sweet Auburn. |
 | Limonium vulgare Mill. | 1815 | not recorded | On Cragies Road [=near Cragies Bridge], 1 1/2 miles from Boston. |
 | Mollugo verticillata L. | 1815 | Boott, F.M.B. | Boston. |
 | Nuphar Sm. | 1815 | Boott, J.W. | Worcester Turnpike 6 miles from Boston. |
 | Persicaria (L.) Mill. | 1815 | Boott, J.W. | Craigie's Road, 2 miles from Boston. |
All 12,566 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Murphy, William, House: 7 plants, 1 past producer. 7 still produce. What was taken out: Iron, Lead, Tantalum, Niobium (Columbium). Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C. J. Mabardy | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Nrc Inc--Newton, Ma. | Tantalum, Niobium (Columbium) | Plant | ||
| Whittemore Prdts Inc--Boston | Perlite | Plant | ||
| (Facility) Cambridge Smelter Co | Lead | Plant | ||
| General Metals & Smelting--Boston | Lead | Plant | ||
| Industrial Serv. Centers--Cambridge | Iron | Plant | ||
| Us Steel Supply Div--Boston | Iron | Plant | ||
| Wheelock-Lovejoy--Cambridge, Ma. | Iron | Plant |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Brookline, the town this property stands in, in 19 storm reports between 1995 and 2022: 13 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood, 2 flood, 1 hail. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brookline | $15,000 | Several trees and wires on Cottage Street and Dean Road were downed by thunderstorm winds. In addition, an amateur radio operator reported a 58 mph wind gust. |
| August 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brookline | $10,000 | Several trees and wires on Route 9 were downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brookline | $10,000 | A tree on Beacon Street was downed onto a car. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brookline | $10,000 | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brookline | $3,000 | A tree on Forest Street was downed by thunderstorm winds, blocking the street. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brookline | $3,000 | Several large branches near Hellenic College, Lars Anderson Park, and on Park and Avon Streets were downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brookline | $2,500 | In Brookline, at 1259 PM EST (159 PM EDT), a tree was down onto a building on Perry Street. At 101 PM EST (201 PM EDT), a tree was down on the 200 block of Walnut Street. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brookline | $1,100 | In Brookline, a tree and power lines were down on Walnut Hill Road and wires were down on Wolcott Road. |
| October 2022 | Flood | Brookline | - | In Brookline, street flooding closed Woodland Road at Hammond Street and Goddard Avenue at Cottage Street. Report relayed by amateur radio. |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brookline | - | Several trees were downed by thunderstorm winds. Several tents at an amateur radio field day event were blown over. |
| August 2010 | Flood | Brookline | - | Portions of Route 9 (Boylston Street) were flooded with up to three feet of water. Newton and South Streets and Clark Road were impassable due to flooding. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brookline | - | An anemometer at the Clay Center Observatory recorded a wind gust of 61 mph. |
| August 2015 | Hail | Brookline | - | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brookline | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brookline | - | no account filed |
| October 1996 | Flash Flood | Brookline | - | no account filed |
| October 1996 | Flash Flood | Brookline | - | no account filed |
| October 1996 | Flash Flood | Brookline | - | no account filed |
| October 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brookline | - | no account filed |
No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Richmond Court | 0.1 miles | 1985 |
 | Second Unitarian Church | 0.1 miles | 1985 |
 | Linden Park | 0.2 miles | 1985 |
 | Standish, James H., House | 0.2 miles | 1985 |
| Milestone | 0.2 miles | 1985 | |
 | Saint Paul's Rectory | 0.3 miles | 1985 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 85003303 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Norfolk County | All 249 listed properties in this county. |
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