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Home My Public Portal AboutStonyBrookRd_1186, BRE.423Follow 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 47-66-0 Dennis BRE.C,G,I BRE.423 Town/City: BREWSTER Place:(neighborhood or village): West Brewster Address: 1186 Stony Brook Road Historic Name: Eldridge, John and Celia House Uses:Present: Residential Original: Residential Date of Construction: [1885-1907] Source:Deed research Style/Form: Greek Revival Architect/Builder: Unknown Exterior Material: Foundation: Fieldstone Wall/Trim: Wood clapboard, wood shingle/ Wood Roof: Asphalt shingles Outbuildings/Secondary Structures: Gable-front barn (now attached) Major Alterations (with dates): None on record Condition: Good Moved: no yes Date: Acreage: 1.89 acres Setting: This house is located on the south side of Stony Brook Road and bounded on the west by Great Fields Road. The surrounding area retains its rural character with conservation land and a few historic and contemporary houses set close to the street. The house is set back from the street on a deep parcel. An asphalt driveway leads from the street to a barn east of the house. A broad lawn extends from the street to the house. INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 1186 STONY BROOK ROAD MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 1 BRE.C,G,I BRE.423 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 house is a good example of a 1 ½-story, Greek Revival-style house with a gable-front main block and lateral ell. The house is clad in wood clapboard siding with broad cornerboards. The roof is clad in asphalt shingles and has a projecting box cornice with partial returns across the gable ends, and broad frieze boards below. A narrow brick chimney rises from the ridge of the side ell. The three-bay, gable-front elevation has an off-centered entrance which consists of five-panel wood door, with the upper tow panels infilled with etched glass. The door is flanked by pilasters and surmounted by a broad lintel with projecting cornice. Fenestration on this elevation consists primarily of replacement 1/1 double-hung sash set in surrounds with flared lintels. One of the windows is infilled, and the window in the gable peak has a round top. The lateral ell has what appears to have been an open porch that was later enclosed with mullioned 1/1 windows. East of the ell is a short shed-roofed addition which connects to a large, gable-front barn. 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. The house was built on land that William P. Doane sold to John H. Clark in 1885 (Book 162/Page 441). There is no house shown in this location in the 1880 County Atlas. Doane was selling a portion of his property – his house was to the east and he owned cranberry bogs south of this property. When the property was sold in 1907, the dwelling had been built. John H. Clark (1850-1927) married Celia Eldridge (1859-1929) in Brewster in 1882. In 1907, the Clarks sold the property to Franklin B. Crocker (Book 286/Page 458). Franklin (1856-1917) was a grocer who married Mercy Snow (1859-1944) in 1883. In 1936, Mercy Crocker conveyed the property to her son and daughter-in-law, Henry T. and Pauline E. Crocker (Book 611/Page 537). Henry Crocker (1888-1970) worked as a grocer (1920, 1940 US Census) and as postmaster (1930 US Census). In 1944, the Crockers sold this property to Adele and George F. Weierich of Newton (Book 616/Page 324). George Weierich (1885-1979) worked as a photographer. They moved to Brewster. Adele died in 1979, and George died the following year, at which time his estate conveyed the property to William and Shirley Payne of Upper Montclair, NJ (Book 2978/Page 99). The Paynes were living in St. Augustine, FL when they sold the property to Christopher and Daryl Bladen of Arlington, VA (Book 7157/Page 237). The property remains the Bladen family. This property is located within the Old King’s Highway Regional Historic District (adopted 1973) and the house, barn and shed are contributing resources in the Old King’s Highway National Register District (listed 1996). INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 1186 STONY BROOK ROAD MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 2 BRE.C,G,I BRE.423 BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES 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, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940) Brewster Assessor sketch.