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Home My Public Portal AboutMainSt_3171, BRE.184Follow 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 102-17 Dennis A, G BRE.184 Town/City: BREWSTER Place:(neighborhood or village): East Brewster Address: 3171 Main Street (3169 in MACRIS) Historic Name:Berry House Uses:Present: Institutional (Brewster Historical Society, Spruce Hill) Original: Residential Date of Construction: Early-18th century Source:Deed research Style/Form: Federal / Full Cape Architect/Builder: Unknown Exterior Material: Foundation: Cement block Wall/Trim: Wood shingles/ wood Roof: Asphalt shingles Outbuildings/Secondary Structures: Four small outbuildings behind house (see Photos 5, 6) Major Alterations (with dates): Concrete block foundation Enclosed porch addition on east side Condition: Good Moved: no yes Date: Unknown Acreage: 18.7 acres Setting: This property is located in East Brewster on the north side of Main Street. The surrounding area is developed primarily with residential buildings dating from the 19th through the 20th century, and the large camp property to the west. This house is set well back from the street on a rise. A broad lawn extends down to the street with few mature evergreen trees. The very large parcel extends to Linnell Landing Beach. INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 3169 MAIN STREET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 1 A, G BRE.184 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 modest version of an early-19th century, Federal-style Full Cape with ells/additions. The building is unusually located high on a hill - 19th century Capes were invariably located closer to the road. The building rests on a raised concrete block foundation. This foundation is further evidence that the house was relocated to this site. The building is clad in painted wood shingles with plain cornerboards. The roof is clad in asphalt shingles (likely wood shingles originally) and has a modest molded cornice. There is no centered chimney (possibly removed when the building was moved), but there is an exterior chimney on the right side elevation. A gable dormer is centered on the front roof slope. 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 6/6, double-hung sash set in flat surrounds with projecting sills. The front entrance door is flanked by sidelights and narrow pilasters with a lintel set into the roof fascia. A one-story porch fully fenestrated with wood 6/6 windows extends from the east side elevation of the Cape. The rear roof slope of the Cape has a lean-to form, and there is a rear ell (see Photos 3 and 4). The property includes a string of four outbuildings behind the house (Photos 5 and 6). The most intact and high-style example is the hip roof garage (see Photo 6). The garage rests on a fieldstone foundation, has wood 2/2 double-hung sash, and likely dates to the 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. According to the 1980 version of this Form B, the house dates to the early 1800s and was used as a farm. The 1980 Form B noted that the foundation of a former barn is still visible. Deed research tracks this large property back to Benjamin Berry (1802- 1864). He was, like his father, a ship master, and was involved in many land purchases in Brewster. In 1840, Benjamin Berry of Brewster conveyed this property to widow Susan (Susanah) Mayo (b. 1790). The property was described as comprising 20 acres with a dwelling and outbuildings, along with 2,100 feet of salt works, two salt houses and a mill. This deed also referenced separate woodland and salt meadow. In 1855, Susan Mayo conveyed the property to Elkanah K. Paine of Eastham, described as a carpenter in the deed (Book 59/ Page 146). That same year, Elkanah conveyed the property to Alvin Loker of Brookline (Book 63/ Page 495). Alvin Loker was born in 1804 in Natick and died in 1868 in Lincoln, MA. He married Lucy Simonds (1800- 1887) in 1828. They lived in both Brookline and Lincoln, and he was always listed as a famer in Census records. In 1861, Lucy Loker conveyed this property to James S. Rutledge of Boston (Book 78/ Page 5). In 1866, Rutledge conveyed the property to Owen Kaler (Keeler) of Brewster (Book 90/ Page 501). Both the 1880 and 1910 Barnstable County Atlas maps show this house with the name “O. Keeler.” Owen Keeler was born ca. 1824 in Ireland and immigrated to the US in 1850. He appears to have married twice and left this property to his son Eugene Keeler. In 1912, Eugene Keeler conveyed this property to Alfred Castiglioni of Hudson, MA (Book 311/ Page 385). Alfred (b. 1896) was a wholesale liquor merchant (1920 US census) and later a manager of a restaurant in Providence (1940 US Census). The house remained in the Castiglioni family until 1985, when the Town of Brewster purchased the property by eminent domain as conservation land (Cert. of Title 105228). The house was restored by the Brewster Historical Society who used it as their headquarters until they completed the restoration of the Elijah Cobb House at 739 Lower Road (BRE.96) in 2016. This parcel is located within the Old King’s Highway Regional Historic District adopted in 1973. INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 3169 MAIN STREET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 2 A, G BRE.184 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 (1850, 1870, 1920, 1940), State Census (1865) Brewster Assessor sketch. Photo 2. View looking northwest. INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 3169 MAIN STREET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 3 A, G BRE.184 Photo 3. View of rear elevation, looking south. Photo 4. View of east elevation, looking west. Photo 5. View of easternmost outbuilding, looking north. Photo 6. View of other outbuildings, looking northeast.