The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My Public Portal AboutStonyBrookRd_1119, BRE.307Follow 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 36-35-0 Dennis BRE.C,G,I BRE.307 Town/City: BREWSTER Place:(neighborhood or village): West Brewster Address: 1119 Stony Brook Road Historic Name: Foster, Capt. Jonathan and Polly House Uses:Present: Residential Original: Residential Date of Construction: 1828 Source:Family history Style/Form: Greek Revival/ ¾ Cape Architect/Builder: Unknown Exterior Material: Foundation: House – unknown, Barn - fieldstone Wall/Trim: Wood clapboard/ Wood Roof: Wood shingles Outbuildings/Secondary Structures: Large garage/barn (19th c., see Photo 4) Major Alterations (with dates): Rear ells/additions (dates unknown) Condition: Good Moved: no yes Date: Acreage: 1.92 acres Setting: This house is located on the north side of Stony Brook Road. The surrounding area retains its rural character with conservation land and Smith Pond across the street, and a few historic and contemporary houses. This parcel slopes up to the house, which is set close to the street, and then down behind the house. There are two open parcels totaling 5.84 acres that extend north to Dollar Pond that have the same owners. A privet hedge runs along the street, and an asphalt driveway leads past the east side of the house to the converted barn in the rear. INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 1119 STONY BROOK ROAD MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 1 BRE.C,G,I BRE.307 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 Greek Revival-style house is a variation on the ¾ Cape form. The 1 ½-story, side-gable main block with high stud walls is four bays wide by two bays deep, and there is a series of one-story ells extending from the right (east) side elevation. The elevations are clad in wood clapboard with broad cornerboards. The roof is clad in wood shingles and has a projecting molded box cornice with partial returns across the gable ends (a Greek Revival-style detail). There is a corbelled brick chimney centered on the front roof slope of the main block, an exterior brick chimney rises from the first side ell, and a third chimney rises from another section of the ells. The front elevation of the main block has four evenly-ranked windows (if this were a traditional ¾ Cape, one of the inside windows would instead be the main entrance). Fenestration on this and other elevations consists primarily of wood, 6/6 double-hung sash set in slightly projecting molded frames with projecting sills. The left (west) side elevation has the two small windows set close to the gable eaves typically found on historic Capes. This detail is not found on the right (east) side elevation. As noted above, there are a complex series of ells extending from the right (east) side elevation. Located to the northeast of the house is a large barn, now converted to a garage. The barn has an “English” form, meaning the primary barn doors, now converted to garage openings, are on the side elevation as opposed to the gable end. As can be seen in Photo 4, this barn is set on a sloping portion of the parcel and the fieldstone elevation is more exposed on the north side. 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 located in West Brewster, on a road that was originally part of Old King’s Highway. Laid out in 1665, Old King’s Highway, also historically referred to as King’s Highway and County Road, was the region’s major east/west corridor. In Brewster, the original route followed Stony Brook Road, avoiding the wetlands and marshes associated with Quivett Creek and Stony Brook. By the mid-19th century, causeways and bridges were built across tidal and wetland areas allowing for the straightening of Old King’s Highway, including northwest of this house near the Dennis town border. Mill sites on Stony Brook became an important economic engine and led to early development in West Brewster, including extant residential resources from the 18th and 19th century along Stony Brook Road. The name “Stony Brook Road” was in use by the early-20th century. According to the 1980 version of this Form B, this was the home of Capt. Jonathan Foster (1790-1862), a sailing ship master in the lumber trade who sailed to Central and South America to buy rare wood such as teak and mahogany, taking it to Liverpool England where it was sold to furniture makers. He commanded the ship Konohassett, among others. Capt. Foster died in 1862 and his wife, Polly, died in 1863. Their son Herbert Foster inherited the house. Herbert (1854-1942) was a house painter and he used the barn for his paint distribution shop. The property is currently for sale, and according to information provided to the listing by the current owner, Henry Norman Foster, who is a direct descendant of Capt. Foster, the house was built in 1828. This property is located within the Old King’s Highway Regional Historic District (adopted 1973) and the house and 19th century barn are contributing resources in the Old King’s Highway National Register District (listed 1996). 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 INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 1119 STONY BROOK ROAD MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 2 BRE.C,G,I BRE.307 Sears, Henry J., Brewster Ship Masters, C. W. Swift, Publisher: Yarmouthport, MA, 1906. www.ancestry.com - Vital records, US Census ( ) www.nausetmedia.com/1119-stony-brook-road-brewster-cape-cod-ma/ Brewster Assessor sketch. Photo 2. View looking northwest. INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 1119 STONY BROOK ROAD MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 3 BRE.C,G,I BRE.307 Photo 3. View looking southeast (www.nausetmedia.com/1119-stony-brook-road-brewster-cape-cod-ma/). Photo 4. Aerial view of barn, looking southwest (www.nausetmedia.com/1119-stony-brook-road-brewster-cape-cod-ma/).