Shick House, 183-185 Grove Street, Watertown

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS MA-1355. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Originally located at Grove Street, Watertown, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Latitude: N., and Longitude: E., which was obtained 01 April using Latlong.net Geographic Tool. There is no restriction on its release to the public. Now located at the same address. However, the house must be moved to another site or it will be demolished by the current owner.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS MA-1355. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Jacob and Mary Shick purchased the house around They were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania. They were already dairy farmers who lived and worked in the West End of Boston, but moved to Watertown to be closer to their farm. The family was one of the first Jewish settlers in the town, and one of the only Jewish dairy farmers in the state, They became an integral part of the ethnic and religious diversity that has marked Watertown s history. They were the archetypical immigrant success story: backbreakingly hard workers, with a fierce determination to succeed, and a willingness to take chances. They built the business into one of the largest dairy farms in the state, with over 200 head of cattle at its peak.

Even after the farm itself moved to Wayland, descendants of the original settler s family lived in the house until For nearly 100 years, the Shick family, and the house they loved, were synonymous with Watertown s history. The house is included in the Massachusetts Cultural Resources Information System (MACRIS) database under the French, A. house, #WAT Description: Built in the the house is one of the few remaining examples of the Italianate style of architecture in Watertown. The style, exemplified by the house, harkens back to medieval Italian villas, reinterpreted in the United States to form an indigenous style.

The tall proportions, richly ornamented 6 x 6 windows, double arched windows, imposing doorway surrounds, including the front entrance with its transoms of stained glass, and porches evoke a bygone era of pastoral life that no longer exists in Watertown. The interior detailed plasterwork and fireplaces, and the carved stone hearths, are other features of the house that are no longer found in contemporary houses. Around the exterior of the house was sheathed in aluminum siding, with considerable loss of architectural detail, but the principal rooms are untouched and retain the original windows, fireplaces, woodwork and plaster. History: The 160-year-old Italianate Shick House is situated on Grove Street at the south eastern corner of the property.

It was built sometime around for SHICK HOUSE HABS No. MA-1355 (page 2) Abner French who was a local broker. From about - the property was owned by Joshua C. Stone, a market gardener. Between and Jacob Shick acquired the property from Mr. E. L. Stone for Jacob and Maete (Mary) Gordon Shick were Lithuanian immigrants who had started a two-cow dairy farm with Maeta s life savings. They wanted to expand the business to follow the flow of immigrants to the suburbs. She admired the big yellow house on the hill with its large stable for racing horses and imagined the stable could easily accommodate 25 cows. She was soon delivering 200 quarts of milk per day in Watertown and Boston, and by the Watertown dairy was one of the region s largest dairies, competing with Mr.

Harvey Hoods dairy in Charlestown. Maete s story represents the American immigrant experience at its best. In her book, The Burden and the Trophy, Maete describes the Watertown farm as quiet and countrified with a large cemetery across the street Hardly a day passes but the children say, look Ma, another funeral. in summer the cemetery overseer would deliver truckloads of fresh-cut grass, and their cows grazed on a track of meadowland along the Charles River. The Watertown dairy operated from this property until the when the property began being used for a used car business. The Shicks continued to own the property until when it was sold to Mount Auburn cemetery which in turn has sold it to Buckingham Browne & Nichols School as of

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS MA-1355. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Massachusetts Cultural Resources Information System (MACRIS) Database. French, A. house #Wat Laubenstein, Christine. Wicked Local, Watertown s Mount Auburn Cemetery welcomes ideas for future use of Shick house. June 15, Digital Commonwealth. Shick House: Grove North Fa ade photos except and South Fa ade , accessed March Angiolillo, Paul. Patch. Residents Pondered the Question: What Do You See on Grove Street? April 5, Kelly, Joyce. Historical Society of Watertown, Watertown, MA Photographs, Interior and North Fa ade February Bruner/Cott and Associates, 130 Prospect Street, Cambridge, MA Architectural measured drawings, October 8, SHICK HOUSE HABS No. MA-1355 (page 3) Bloomberg, Robert.

The Shicks of Watertown , Town Crier, the Newsletter of the Historical Society of Watertown, January [A version of the article was published in the Jewish Advocate newspaper of Volume Number 11, March 13,

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS MA-1355. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The HABS project to document the Shick House was undertaken by the Historical Society of Watertown (MA), Robert Bloomberg, Project Lead for Todd Rivers, Archivist for Joyce Kelly, Chief Archivist for Rena Baskin, Recording Secretary for The project took place during the spring of and continued through the fall of The fieldwork for the measured drawings was undertaken by Bruner/Cott & Associates, Cambridge, MA. Joyce Kelly undertook photography. The historical report was prepared by Todd Rivers and Robert Bloomberg. SHICK HOUSE HABS No. MA-1355 (page 4) Figure 1: Basement plan, Bruner/Cott and Associates, SHICK HOUSE HABS No. MA-1355 (page 5) Figure 2: First Floor Plan, Bruner/Cott and Associates, SHICK HOUSE HABS No.

MA-1355 (page 6) Figure 3: Second Floor Plan, Bruner/Cott and Associates, SHICK HOUSE HABS No. MA-1355 (page 7) Figure 4: Third Floor Plan, Bruner/Cott and Associates, SHICK HOUSE HABS No. MA-1355 (page 8) Figure 5: Perspective view of North Fa ade, Figure 6: View of North Fa ade, SHICK HOUSE HABS No. MA-1355 (page 9) Figure 7: View of North Fa ade, Figure 8: View of North Fa ade, SHICK HOUSE HABS No. MA-1355 (page 10) Figure 9: View of South Fa ade, SHICK HOUSE HABS No. MA-1355 (page 11) Figure 10: View of Double Arched Windows, Doorway Surrounds & Stair Railing-2nd Floor SHICK HOUSE HABS No. MA-1355 (page 12) Figure 11: View of Foyer, Cornice, Medallion, Doorway Surrounds & Stair Railing 2nd Floor SHICK HOUSE HABS No.

MA-1355 (page 13) Figure 12: View of Foyer, Cornice, Doorway Surrounds, Stairs & Railing 1st Floor SHICK HOUSE HABS No. MA-1355 (page 14) Figure 13: View of Ceiling Cornice Front Right Room, 1st Floor Figure 14: View of Cornice, Window Surrounds, Floor & Fireplace Front Right Room, 1st Floor SHICK HOUSE HABS No. MA-1355 (page 15) Figure 15: View of Fireplace Front Right Room, 1st Floor Figure 16: View of Window Detail & Surround Back Left Room, 1st Floor SHICK HOUSE HABS No. MA-1355 (page 16) Figure 17: Window & Door Surrounds, Floor & Fireplace Back Left Room, 1st Floor Figure 18: View of Fireplace Back Left Room, 1st Floor SHICK HOUSE HABS No.

MA-1355 (page 17) Figure 19: View of Fireplace Front Left Room, 1st Floor Figure 20: View of Light Fixture & Medallion Front Left Room, 1st Floor SHICK HOUSE HABS No. MA-1355 (page 18) Figure 21: View of Foyer, Cornice, Doorway Surrounds, Railing, Light Fixture & Medallion, Transom & Sidelights Front Entrance