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HomeMy Public PortalAboutMainSt_2851, BRE.165Follow 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): June 2017 Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number 90 153 0 Dennis BRE.A, G BRE.165 Town/City: BREWSTER Place:(neighborhood or village): East Brewster Address: 2851 Main Street Historic Name: Crosby, Josiah and Betsey House Uses:Present: Residential Original: Residential Date of Construction: ca. 1835 Source:Family records Style/Form: Full Cape Architect/Builder: Unknown Exterior Material: Foundation: Stone slab (granite), concrete block Wall/Trim: Wood shingles/ Wood Roof: Asphalt shingles Outbuildings/Secondary Structures: 2 ½-story barn (19th c.) Cottage, mid 20th c., possibly earlier, moved to this location in 1987 (Photo 4) Major Alterations (with dates): Porch in front of east ell widened and remodeled (1968) Front dormers added (date unknown) Front entrance remodeled (date unknown) Condition: Good, some deferred maintenance evident Moved: no yes Date: [1880-1910] , reoriented to street Acreage: 4.08 acres Setting: This property is located on the north side of Main Street (Rt. 6A) in East Brewster. The large, level parcel abuts (and was originally part of) the much larger Ocean Edge property to the east, giving this house a relatively isolated setting despite being located in a densely developed part of Brewster. The house is set well back from Main Street. Landscaping includes an unusual curvilinear concrete wall along the street. A concrete walkway leads from the street to the front door. The property also fronts on Ellis Landing Road. An asphalt driveway leads from Main Street along the east side of the house to a large barn immediately behind the house. INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 2851 MAIN STREET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 1 BRE.A, G BRE.165 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 an intact example of an early-19th century Full Cape that has received a series of additions, including a prominent two- story east side ell, the footprint of which can be seen in the 1880 Barnstable Atlas map (see attached detail of map, and see attached 19th c. photograph, Photo 2). At that time, the building was oriented to the southeast and did not directly front on the street. By 1910, the house had been oriented to the street and received many of the rear additions (see attached detail of 1910 Barnstable Atlas map). The 1979 version of this Form B states that the house has a “stone slab” foundation, which likely means granite blocks, and some portions of the ells/additions appear to have concrete block foundations. The walls are clad in painted wood shingles with plain cornerboards. The roof is clad in asphalt shingles and has a projecting cornice on the front elevation of the main block and narrower two-part trim boards on the side elevations. The frieze board below the cornice on the front elevation is decorated with dentil (teeth-like) molding. The 1979 version of this Form B speculates that the dentil molding was added when the front entrance was remodeled, but dentil molding is a decorative feature found on early-19th century, Federal-style houses so it may be original to the house. An historic view of the house is not clear enough to answer this question (see Photo 2). A large, brick chimney is centered on the roof ridge of the main block (which replaced an earlier narrow chimney), and a narrow brick chimney rises from the east ell. Two single-window dormers with hipped roofs are evenly spaced on the front roof slope (a later addition, date unknown). The front elevation of the main block is characteristic of the Full Cape form, with a centered entrance flanked by two evenly ranked windows on each side. The front entrance has been altered and now has a Colonial Revival-style pediment supported by pilasters, and full sidelights (which may be original). At some point in the 20th century, a ½ wrap-around porch was added, and the front entrance may have been altered when that was added or removed. Fenestration consists mostly of wood 6/6 windows set in flat surrounds. The 6/6 muntin pattern would be consistent with the pattern found on Federal-style Capes. Small, square 2/2 windows are located close to the roof eaves on the side elevations and, unusually, another 2/2 window is set high in the gable peaks. This detail is also found on the Colonial-era Full Cape at 593 Lower Road (BRE.216). The property includes a large, 2 ½-story barn, which may be the outbuilding shown on the 1880 and 1910 Atlas maps behind the house. If it is the same building as that shown on the 1880 and 1910 Atlas maps, then it was also moved on the site. It served originally as a horse barn with maids’ quarters above, and carriage house in the rear. The carriage house component was remodeled as an office for Samuel Nickerson III, and the horse barn is now used as a garage. This barn has a New England form - barns with doors on the end gables are classified as New England barns, as opposed to English barns with doors on the side elevations. The property also includes a small cottage set well behind the house (see Photo 4). This cottage was originally located on the beach to the right of Ellis Landing and dates to the 1950s or possibly earlier. It was moved to this location in 1987 and was referred to as the Beach House by Samuel and Frances Nickerson. This property is located within the Old King’s Highway Regional Historic District (adopted 1973). 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 research by the town archivist, together with information from Frances Nickerson gathered when the 1979 version of the Form B was prepared, and a photograph of the house with Addie Nickerson's handwritten note stating that Roland Crosby and Sally Crosby built the house, this house was built ca. 1835. Roland Crosby (1799-1874) married Sally Nickerson in 1820. The 1858 Map of Cape Cod shows this house owned by R. Crosby. By the 1870 US Census, they were listed as owning land INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 2851 MAIN STREET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 2 BRE.A, G BRE.165 and buildings with a substantial valuation and he was listed as a farmer. Following Roland’s death, Anna Crosby continued to live in the house, and it is shown on the 1880 Atlas map under the name Mrs. R. F. Crosby. It should be noted that a child of Roland’s brother and sister-in-law, Isaac and Eunice Crosby, is buried on this property, or at least his gravestone is located here. Isaac Jr. died in 1836 at the age of five. Isaac Sr. and his wife Eunice built a substantial Greek Revival-style house in ca. 1840 farther to the east on the corner of Main Street and Crosby Lane (BRE.42). That house was lost to fire in the late-20th century. Anna Crosby died in 1888, and the following year her sons, Charles and Uranus Crosby, who were both living in Chicago, conveyed this property to Roland Crosby Nickerson, son of (and possibly paid by) Samuel M. Nickerson (Book 186/Page 303). As detailed by Simeon Deyo in his 1890 History of Barnstable County, there was a tradition in Brewster and other Cape towns of residents traveling to Chicago in the mid-late 1800s to make their fortunes, including many in the Crosby family. This included Charles and Uranus Crosby. Uranus, in particular, made a fortune in the distillery business. This is of interest because Samuel M. Nickerson also made his fortune in the distillery business in Chicago, and the families appear to have worked together. According to the 1979 version of this Form B, the transfer of the property from the Crosby to the Nickerson family was due to the fact that Matilda P. Crosby married Samuel M. Nickerson in 1858. In fact, Mathilda was the daughter of Isaac and Eunice Crosby, i.e. this was her grandparents’ property. Samuel M. Nickerson (1830-1914) was born in Chatham to Ensign and Rebecca Nickerson and moved to Chicago where, as noted above, he made his fortune as a distiller. He later founded and was president of the First National Bank of Chicago. He married Matilda P. Crosby (1837-1912) in 1858 in Brewster and had one son, Roland C. Nickerson (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, northeast of this house. By 1900, they were living in Fieldstone Hall and used this Cape house as an "over flow" house for the family during the summer months, and then closed it up for the winter. 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 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). Matilda died that same year, and Samuel died two years later. The Mansion remained in the Nickerson family until 1945, when the property was subdivided and it was sold to the LaSalette religious order, which used it as a seminary. Corcoran Jennison purchased the property in 1980 and opened Ocean Edge Resort and Golf Club in 1986. Roland’s wife Addie died in 1938, and in 1941, her son and grandson recorded a plan of this property, at which time the house was referred to as the “The Lodge” or “The Fieldstone Hall Lodge” and the parcel extended to the bay (see attached Plan Book 67, Page 55). According to the 1979 version of this Form B, in 1954, the Lodge became the year-round residence for the family of Samuel Nickerson III (1912-1972). The property remained in the Nickerson family until 2011, when the estate of Samuel’s wife, Frances Mapes Nickerson, sold the property to an LLC controlled by the owners of Ocean Edge. 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 Deyo, Simeon L., ed., History of Barnstable County, Massachusetts: 1620-1890, New York: H. W. Blake & Co., 1890. Information provided by Faythe Ellis, July 2017. www.ancestry.com - Vital records, US Census (1800, 1810, 1870, 1900), State Register (1855) http://www.oceanedge.com/about-ocean-edge/ INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 2851 MAIN STREET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 3 BRE.A, G BRE.165 Brewster Assessor sketch. Photo 2. Mid-late 19th c. photo, from left, Mary Myrick (adopted daughter), Roland Crosby, wife Sally Ann Crosby (seated), hired man in foreground. Photo 3. View looking north. INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 2851 MAIN STREET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 4 BRE.A, G BRE.165 Detail of 1880 Barnstable Atlas map of Brewster. Detail of 1910 Barnstable Atlas map of Brewster. 1941 Plan, Plan Book 67, Page 55. Photo 4. View of cottage, looking northeast (2008 Assessor photo).