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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
90-161 Dennis A, G BRE.38
Town/City: BREWSTER
Place:(neighborhood or village): East Brewster
Address: 2929 Main Street (formerly 2923 Main Street)
Historic Name: Hurd, Gould and Belinda House
Uses:Present: Residential
Original: Residential
Date of Construction: [1833-1835]
Source:Deed research
Style/Form:Federal/ ¾ Cape
Architect/Builder: Unknown
Exterior Material:
Foundation:Brick
Wall/Trim: Wood shingles/ Wood
Roof: Wood shingles
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Gable-front cottage (19th c.)
Side-gable cottage (mid-20th c.)
Root cellar (early 20th c.)
Major Alterations (with dates):
Removal of front dormer (post-1979)
Condition: Good
Moved: no yes Date:
Acreage: 1.61 acres
Setting: This property 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 and commercial buildings, with the large Ocean
Edge property abuts much of the property. The main house
is set relatively close to the street on its level parcel. A
driveway circles the main house. The parcel is informally
landscaped with lawn, mature deciduous trees and
shrubbery.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 2929 MAIN STREET
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
A, G BRE.38
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 Federal-style ¾ Cape with a series of large additions. The house rests on a brick foundation. The walls are clad in
wood shingles with plain cornerboards. The roof is clad in wood shingles and has a molded box cornice with narrow two-part
frieze boards on the side gables. The main block has the four-bay configuration with off-centered entrance typical of a ¾ Cape.
The front elevation has a higher stud wall with the windows set well below the cornice – a feature which often distinguishes
early-19th century Capes from Colonial-era Capes. The front entrance is typical of the Federal style with its four-panel wood door
flanked by elegant tapered pilasters which reach through the lintel above, and the door is surmounted by transom lights and a
narrow projecting, molded lintel that abuts the roof trim.
As can be seen in Photos 2 and 3, and in the Assessor sketch, there is a complicated addition that extends to the northeast.
There is a shed-roofed ell extending from the Cape that connects to a 1½-story, side-gable component that has a centered wall
dormer with a steeply pitched gable roof indicative of the Gothic Revival style. Based on a review of an historic view (Photo 4)
and the 1979 Form B photo (Photo 5), and comparing them to Photo 3, the front portion of the side ell that extends from the
Cape was added sometime after 1979. This may have also been when the front shed dormer was removed. As is seen in Photo
2, an open porch with hipped roof supported by chamfered posts extends along the west elevation of the Cape. Fenestration on
the main block includes wood 9/6 double-hung windows on the first story and 6/6 double-hung windows on the second story, all
set in projecting frames. The ells/additions also have 6/6 windows.
The property includes three outbuildings. Two consist of 1½-story cottages, one side-gable and one gable-front in form (see
Photo 6). The smaller gable-front cottage rests on a fieldstone foundation and may date to the 19th century. The larger, side-
gable cottage rests on a cement foundation and is likely mid-20th century. The third outbuilding, a root cellar, is the most high-
style building on the parcel (see Photo 7). The small, square one-story building has a prominent flared hipped roof and
fenestration consists of Queen Anne-style windows with multi-colors lights. This building is likely early-20th century.
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.
A house is shown in this location on the 1858 Map of Cape Cod with the name “C. Hurd” and on the 1880 Barnstable Atlas map
with the name “G. Hurd.” Vital records and deed research revealed no one in Brewster with the first name beginning with the
letter “C.” It seems possible that the 1858 Map of Cape Cod is in error and first initial should be “G” like the 1880 Map. In 1833,
Albert Mayo of Brewster conveyed land that stretched from County Road to the sea to Gould Hurd and Samuel Rogers, both of
Orleans (Book 12/ Page 85). Rogers is described as a mariner and housewright. Two years later, Rogers sold his share of the
property to Hurd – this deed describes the parcel “on which said Gould Hurd’s Dwelling House now stands.” This would mean
the house was built sometime between 1833 and 1835.
Gould Hurd (1799-1882) married Belinda Sears (1802-1880) in 1821 in Orleans. Gould Hurd was listed as a seaman (1850 US
Census), mariner (1855 State Census), farmer (1870 US Census) and retired ship master (1880 US Census). It is unclear how,
but in the 1880s, this house came into the ownership of Roland C. Nickerson from Chicago, IL (1859-1906). In 1886, Roland
married Addie D. Daniels, also from Chicago, and they had three children, Roland Jr., Samuel, and Helen. In 1890, they built a
large stone summer house, Fieldstone Hall, west of this house. By 1900, they were living in Fieldstone Hall and used the house
at 2851 Main Street (BRE.165) as an "over flow" house for the family. In 1906, Fieldstone Hall was destroyed by fire, and Roland
died two weeks later, purportedly due in part to the grief and shock of losing the house and its contents. Roland's wife Addie and
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 2929 MAIN STREET
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 2
A, G BRE.38
his father, Samuel, began construction of a new residence on Fieldstone Hall's original foundation. The new house, referred to
as both the Mansion and Fieldstone Hall, was completed in 1912 (2871 Main Street, BRE.36).
In 1891, Roland Nickerson conveyed this house to his mother-in-law, Ann A. Daniels (Book 195/ Page 338). Ann Daniels (1825-
1918) was widowed and living in this house with one servant, Jennie Peterson, as of 1900. In 1909, Ann Daniels conveyed this
property to Jennie E. Washburn, unmarried, of Brewster (Book 295/ Page 291). In 1928, Washburn conveyed the property to
Leila S. duMont of Greenfield, MA (Book 456/ Page 189). Interestingly, this deed included the requirement to offer this property
to Roland Nickerson’s widow, Addie Nickerson, first in the event of a sale. It was not until 1970, however, that the estate of Leila
duMont conveyed this property to The Cooper House, Inc. (Book 1560/ Page 238). The property changed hands a few more
times and since 1994 is now owned by Greg Ohanesian of Bennettsville, SC (Book 9377/ Page 315).
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
Boyd, George H. III, Brewster, The Way We Were, George H. Boyd III: Brewster, 2016.
www.ancestry.com - Vital records, US Census (1850, 1870, 1880, 1900) State Census (1855)
Brewster Assessor sketch. Photo 2. View looking east.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 2929 MAIN STREET
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 3
A, G BRE.38
Photo 3. View looking northwest.
Photo 4. Historic view of house, looking northwest, likely early-20th century.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 2929 MAIN STREET
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 4
A, G BRE.38
Photo 5. 1979 Form B photo.
Photo 6. View of two outbuildings, looking northeast.
Photo 7. View of third small outbuilding, looking northwest.