Smith, James, House

The James Smith House, Needham, is located on Great Plains Avenue, one of the earliest transportation routes in this suburban community 12 miles southwest of Boston. With a 1 1/2-story rear ell built ca. 1730 and a 2 1/2-story, five-bay main block added ca. 1810-1830, the Smith House is one of the ol dest structures in Needham. The building is of wood construction, the main block sheathedin clapboard and the ell presently cedar-shingled, and rests on a brick foundation. Both main block and ell sit above full basements. Originally part of a 15-acre parcel on Needham's "Great Plain," the house now stands on a level lot of less than one acre in a residential neighborhood dominated by single-family dwellings constructed in the 20th century.

The house faces north and is set back almost 20 feet from the road. It is fronted by a picket fence and plantings of flowering bushes and evergreen trees. On the building's east side is an asphalt driveway. A clapboard barn (ca. 1960) stands at the rear of the property. The present James Smith House was constructed in two phases in the early 18th and early 19th centuries, with a third phase overlaying stylish ornamentation later in the 19th century. It is apparent that the earliest portion, ca. 1730, survives partially intact as a rear ell of the present house, while the main Federal-style front portion dates to the occupancy of the Smith family ca. 1810-1830. (It is also conceivable that the main block may have been built as late as 1832-1835, when the property was acquired by George G.

Stevens.) The Greek Revival-style alterations to the house, notably a front porch (now removed), mantels in the front rooms, and new roof over the main block, were undoubtedly done during George Stevens' occupancy ca. 1840-1860.

(in one paragraph) The James Smith House, Needham, retains integrity of location, design, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. Architecturally, the property is significant as a demonstration of the evolution of building practices and styles in the colonial and early national periods, as the building was altered to suit changing needs. A modest ca. 1730 dwelling survives as the building's rear ell; the main block, a five-bay, 2 1/2-story structure was built ca. 1810-1835, and Greek Revival-style decorative features were added in the mid 19th century. The James Smith House thus fulfils Criterion C of the National Register of Historic Places on the local level. Needham, originally part of the 1636 Dedham grant, was incorporated in 1711. By ca.

1712, a meetinghouse stood west of the Great Plain (at the intersection of Great Plains Avenue and present-day Central and Nehoiden Streets). years later, a bridge had been built across the Charles River. Great Plains Avenue evolved early in the 18th century as a link from Dedham west to a growing village center. The Plain and the banks of the Charles River were the first areas settled, with scattered farmsteads. The village as a whole remained rather isolated and undevel oped up to the eve of the Revolution. The smal1 structure that is now the rear ell of the nominated property, built ca. 1730, was probably the Smith family farmhouse, although this assumption is unproven. It is known that James Smith arrived in the area and owned this piece of property by 1727.

The name of James Smith first appears in town records in 1726, when he and his wife Mary were admitted to membership in Needham church, shortly after they arrived from Ireland. They presented a testimonial from the minister of the congregation in Ballykelly, in Londonderry.