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Home My Public Portal AboutMainSt_2663, BRE.432Follow 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 89-19 Dennis BRE.432 Town/City: BREWSTER Place:(neighborhood or village): East Brewster Address: 2663 Main Street Historic Name: Foster, George and Winifred House Uses:Present: Residential Original: Residential Date of Construction: [1892-1910] Source:Deed research, historic maps Style/Form: Vernacular cottage Architect/Builder: Unknown Exterior Material: Foundation: Not visible Wall/Trim: Wood shingles/ Wood Roof: Asphalt shingles Outbuildings/Secondary Structures: Gable-front barn (early-20th c.) Cottage (ca. 1925) Major Alterations (with dates): None Condition: Good Moved: no yes Date: Acreage: 0.26 acres Setting: This property is located in East Brewster on the north side of Main Street. The narrow L-shaped parcel connects to Winslow Landing Road. The surrounding area is developed with a mix of historic and contemporary residential and commercial buildings. This house is set back from the street on its level parcel. A gravel driveway leads along the west edge of the property to a barn and cottage behind of the house. The parcel is informally landscaped with lawn dotted with mature deciduous trees and shrubbery. INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 2663 MAIN STREET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 1 BRE.432 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 small, 1½-story, gable-front vernacular cottage. The elevations are clad in wood shingles with narrow cornerboards. The roof is clad in asphalt shingles and has projecting open eaves with exposed rafter tails. There is a small, shallow gable wall dormer on the left (west) roof slope. A small brick chimney rises from the main roof ridge. Fenestration consists of wood windows with a variety of muntin patterns. The earliest windows appear to be those with 2/2 double-hung sash. An enclosed porch with hipped roof and 8/8 double-hung windows spans the front elevation, and the roof forms a pediment over the front entrance. A stepped down rear ell connects to a larger addition with a gable roof. The property includes a gable-front barn that may have been one of the outbuildings shown on the 1910 Barnstable Atlas, in which case it was relocated to be directly behind the house. The wood shingle-clad building has a New England barn form, meaning the main barn doors are on the gable end instead of a side elevation (English barns). The property also includes a one- story cottage with a hipped roof (see Photo 3). This cottage is not present on the 1910 Atlas map and has an Assessor date of 1925. 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. There is no house shown in this location on the 1880 Barnstable County Atlas. There is a house located to the west with the name “Miss G. Hopkins.” This refers to Reliance Hopkins. In 1892, Reliance Hopkins, a widow, along with her son Godfrey Hopkins, and daughters Malissa Crosby and Louise Knowles, conveyed 30 acres of land to George T. Foster (Book 202/ Page 331). This deed references a dwelling house and outbuildings. Perhaps this large tract of land included the homestead of Reliance Hopkins referenced above. By 1910, however, there is no house in that location any longer, but there is a house and multiple outbuildings in the location of 2663 Main Street under the name “G. T. Foster.” The main house is no longer extant but may have been the Reliance Hopkins house relocated to this site (see attached detail of 1910 Atlas map). The modest house that does survive appears to have the same location and footprint as the smaller house to the west associated with the name G. T. Foster. This would mean the house was likely built sometime between the sale in 1892 and 1910. George Foster (1860-1930) married Winifred Phinney in 1882. George worked as a carpenter. Sometime before 1913, George and Winifred divorced. In 1913, perhaps as part of a settlement, George conveyed a portion of the 30 acre property that included this parcel to Winifred (Book 330/ Page 158). In 1920, she conveyed a smaller part of that property to her son George W. Foster. George W. Foster (1896-1969) married Mary (Marion) Boxstrom in 1915. Like his father, George W. worked as a carpenter. The house remained in the Foster family throughout the 20th century. In 1997, the estate of Marion Foster conveyed the property into a trust (Book 11018/ Page 338). This parcel is located within the Old King’s Highway Regional Historic District adopted 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 www.ancestry.com - Vital records, US Census (1880, 1900, 1920) INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 2663 MAIN STREET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 2 BRE.432 Assessor sketch. Photo 2. View looking north. Photo 3. View of cottage, looking northeast (2008 Assessor photo).