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Home My Public Portal AboutMainSt_2537, BRE.194Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.12/12 FORM B  BUILDING MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Photograph Locus Map N Recorded by: Eric Dray, Preservation Consultant, for Organization: Brewster Historical Commission Date (month / year): November, 2017 Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number 78-75 Dennis A,G,I BRE.194 Town/City: BREWSTER Place:(neighborhood or village): East Brewster Address: 2537 Main Street Historic Name: Paine, Rowland and Almira House Uses:Present: Residential/Commercial (part of Sea Pines Inn) Original: Residential Date of Construction: ca. 1840 Source:Deed research, vital records Style/Form: Greek Revival/ Full Cape Architect/Builder: Unknown Exterior Material: Foundation: Stone, cement (rear addition) Wall/Trim: Wood shingles/ Wood Roof: Asphalt shingles Outbuildings/Secondary Structures: Small shed (late 20th c.) Major Alterations (with dates): Large rear addition, 1983 (see Photo 3) New front entrance Condition: Good Moved: no yes Date: Acreage: 0.57 acres Setting: This house is located in East Brewster on the north side of Main Street. The surrounding area is developed with a mix of historic and contemporary residential, commercial and institutional buildings. This building is set very close to the street on its level parcel. An asphalt driveway shared with the Old Sea Pines Inn leads to a parking area behind the house. The parcel is informally landscaped with lawn in front of the house, dense trees around the perimeter of the property and mature foundation plantings partially obscuring the house. The rear panhandle portion of the parcel connects to a small outbuilding. INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 2537 MAIN STREET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 1 A,G,I BRE.194 Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form. Use as much space as necessary to complete the following entries, allowing text to flow onto additional continuation sheets. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION: Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community. This is a relatively intact example of a mid-19th century Greek Revival-style Full Cape. The walls are clad in wood cedar shingles with narrow cornerboards. The roof is clad in asphalt shingles and has a narrow molded cornice. The front elevation may originally have been clad in wood clapboard and the roof was likely originally clad in wood shingles. A large brick chimney is centered on the roof ridge. The centered location of the chimney is typical of Full Capes and indicates the interior arrangement of rooms around the chimney core. The front elevation is characteristic of the Full Cape form, with a centered entrance flanked by pairs of windows on each side. Fenestration consists primarily of wood, replacement 9/6 double-hung sash set in flat surrounds. The 1980 version of this Form B states that the windows on the front elevation at that time were wood, 2/2 double-hung sash and correctly speculates that the windows originally were likely 6/6. The front entrance has been altered. The entrance likely originally had full sidelights that have since been replaced with wood panels. Unlike Colonial-era Capes, the front elevation of this Cape has a higher stud wall and the windows and front entrance do not abut the roof cornice. The side elevations also have 9/6 windows on the first story and 6/6 windows on the second story along with small rectangular windows set close to the gable eaves with two-lite sash. A rear ell connects to a modern two-story addition (see Photo 3). HISTORICAL NARRATIVE Discuss the history of the building. Explain its associations with local (or state) history. Include uses of the building, and the role(s) the owners/occupants played within the community. This house is described in the Old Kings Highway National Register nomination as a Greek Revival-style Full Cape built ca. 1840. The 1980 version of this Form B does not provide a date for the house but describes it as Georgian, which does not appear to be accurate. The form of the Cape, including the windows being set well-below the roof eave on the front elevation, and the broad pilasters and lintel visible on the 1980 Form B suggest that this is a Greek Revival-style Cape that was likely built in the 1840s. It should be noted that, according to the current owner of this property, the house was moved here from either Billingsgate of Nantucket. Deed research traces ownership back to Rowland Paine (1805-1893). He married Almira Berry in 1839. This marriage date further supports a construction date of ca. 1840. Rowland worked as a farmer (1855 State Census, 1870 US Census). The house is shown on the 1858 Map of Cape Cod and the 1880 Barnstable County Atlas with the name “R. Paine.” The house passed to their youngest son, James H. Paine. James married Emma Higgins in 1880 at which time James was working as a sailor. By 1900, he was working as a US mail driver. They inherited the house following his father’s death in 1893. They did not have any children. Emma retained the house following her husband’s death in 1913. Following Emma’s death, her heirs conveyed the property in 1928 to Anna and Faith Bickford (Book 452/ Page 433). The Bickfords purchased this property for the expanding campus of the Sea Pines School. This house was referred to as West Cottage, and was used as a teachers’ residence for Sea Pines School. The Sea Pines School ran successfully until the mid-1950s when Faith’s age appeared to have impacted the school’s reputation and enrollment declines sharply. Faith Bickford offset operating costs by selling parcels of land that she inherited from her father, recording the large Sea Pine Neighborhood subdivision in 1948 (see attached plan). Perhaps due to financial difficulties, in 1957 Faith Bickford conveyed the Sea Pines School to Russell E. and Esther Spargo Walp of Marietta, OH (Book 982/ Page 558). According to the 1948 Michigan Alumnus, Russell Walp was an Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of Michigan, and Esther had been a long-time member of the staff at the Sea Pines summer camp and was then serving as its director. INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 2537 MAIN STREET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 2 A,G,I BRE.194 That same year, Bickford also conveyed this house to Russell L. and Esther S. Walp of Marietta, OH (Book 982/ Page 558) and in 1970, the Walps conveyed this property to Sea Pines School, Inc. (Book 1483/ Page 28). The school subdivided the property creating a parcel close to its current size in 1972 (Plan Book 262/ Page 17). The school took out a mortgage with Cape Cod Five Cents Savings in 1975. The bank took the property in a foreclosure deed in 1977. That same year, the bank conveyed the property to Stephen B. and Michele A. Rowan of Brewster (Book 2622/ Page 181). The Rowans, who also purchased what is now the Old Sea Pines Inn next door, continue to own the property through the Old Sea Pines Realty Trust. This parcel is located within the Old King’s Highway Regional Historic District adopted in 1973, and the house is a contributing resource in the Old King’s Highway National Register District, listed in 1973. BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES 1858 Map, Map of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, & Nantucket, Walling, Henry. 1880 Map, Atlas of Barnstable County, Boston, MA: George H. Walker & Co., 1880. 1910 Map, Atlas of Barnstable County, Boston, MA: Walker Litho. & Publishing Co., 1910. Barnstable County Registry of Deeds Michigan Alumnus, University of Michigan, 1948 www.ancestry.com - Vital records, US Census (1870, 1880, 1900, 1910), State Census (1855) Brewster Assessor sketch. Photo 2. View looking northeast. INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 2537 MAIN STREET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 3 A,G,I BRE.194 Photo 3. Rear addition, looking west. Photo 4. View of cottage, looking northwest. INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 2537 MAIN STREET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 4 A,G,I BRE.194 1948 Sea Pines Subdivision Plan, Plan Book 82, Page 83 (arrow added).