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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): June 2017
Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
15-40-0 Dennis BRE.C,
G
BRE.58
Town/City: BREWSTER
Place:(neighborhood or village): West Brewster
Address: 311 Stony Brook Road
Historic Name: Sears House
Uses:Present: Residential
Original: Residential
Date of Construction: 18th c.
Source:Building form, method of construction
Style/Form: Full Cape
Architect/Builder: Unknown
Exterior Material:
Foundation: Fieldstone
Wall/Trim: Wood shingles/ Wood
Roof: Asphalt shingles
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Barn (ca. 1770), Jelly House (ca. 1770), three small sheds
Major Alterations (with dates):
Kitchen ell (ca. 1800)
Rear gable-roof addition (ca. 1900)
Shed roof ell (1932)
Condition: Good
Moved: no yes Date:
Acreage: 2.55 acres
Setting: This house, with many outbuildings, is located on
the north side of Stony Brook Road on a large open parcel
that slopes down from the street. The surrounding area
retains its rural character with both historic and
contemporary houses set on large lots. In general, the
historic dwellings are set closer to the street than later
houses. This house is set close to the street at a slight
angle. An asphalt driveway leads between the house and
the barn (antique shop) which is also set close to the street.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 311 STONY BROOK ROAD
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
BRE.C, G BRE.58
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 excellent example of a Colonial-era Full Cape. Noteworthy is the scale, including the width of the house, with the
fenestration broadly spaced, and similarly the depth of the house. The building rests on a fieldstone foundation. The walls are
clad in wood shingles with narrow cornerboards. The broad roof is clad in asphalt shingles and has a slightly projecting molded
box cornice on the front elevation with trim (or frieze) boards below, and narrower trim boards on the side elevations. A large,
corbelled brick chimney is centered on the roof ridge. The front elevation is characteristic of the Full Cape form, with a centered
entrance flanked by pairs of windows on each side. The front entrance has an eight-panel wood door set in a surround
decorated with narrow pilasters and a transom light. The door lintel is set into the cornice trim, a feature often seen on Colonial-
era Capes. Fenestration consists of replacement 6/6 windows set in flat surrounds which appear to have been altered. The
window casings also rise into the cornice trim, and they have molded lintel caps. Small square windows are located close to the
roof eaves on the left side elevation but not on the right elevation. There is a one-story addition that extends from the rear of the
main block.
The property includes a barn, converted into an antique shop. This tall, side-gable barn is built into its sloping site (see Photos 4,
5). The main barn door opening was on the front elevation. This would classify the barn as English in form (barns with doors on
the end gables are classified as New England in form). Fenestration consists primarily of wood, 6/6 double-hung sash in molded
casings. The large Greek Revival-style door surround was added to the east end gable (see Photo 4) sometime after the antique
shop was moved to the barn in 1932.
The property also includes the so-called Jelly House. This one-story, side-gabled building has a center entrance and a large
multi-paned, wood window to the right. The building lists severely to the left (west).
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.
Research has traced ownership of this farmhouse back to Reuben Sears (1753-1844). Reuben Sears is named as the owner of
this house in a deed where he sold the house next door, 347 Stony Brook Road (BRE.59), to his son, Elijah Sears (see (Book
24/Page 369). No prior title records have been discovered which reveal how or when the Sears family came to own this property.
This may be due to the fire in 1827 which burned almost all the records in the original Registry of Deeds. While some deeds
were re-recorded, many were lost.
This house appears to have passed to one of Reuben Sears’ grandchildren, Charles Sears. Charles’ father, Thomas Sears, had
built his home ca. 1830 down the street to the east (373 Stony Brook Road, BRE.60). Charles Sears and his wife Susan had
three children - Charles, Susan and Thomas. According to the 1850 and 1860 US Census, Charles (Sr.) was “at sea” or a
mariner. By the time of the 1870 US Census, Charles was listed as a farmer, and by the 1880 Census, he was listed as a
saltmaker. Like his father, Charles was also involved in numerous transactions in West Brewster involving upland and, in his
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 311 STONY BROOK ROAD
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 2
BRE.C, G BRE.58
case, cranberry bogs. The property passed to his daughter Susan (Susie), who had married James F. Ryder of Brewster in
1907. Records show that, like her father, she was active in purchasing cranberry bogs.
In 1920, Susie A. and James F. Ryder sold this property with dwelling and barn, as well as 12 acres on the south side of the
road, to Evelyn A. and Henry L. Clarke of Andover (Book 374/Page 356). Prior to moving to Brewster, Henry Clarke had worked
as a doctor in Andover. He opened The Packet Antiques and Country Store, which was initially located in the house, and then in
the smaller shed referred to as the Jelly House (see Photo 6). The shop name was inspired by Packet Hill across the street to
the south where a beacon was used to guide packet boats. Henry moved the store into the barn in 1932 and built the shed-
roofed addition by the street in the 1930s. The property was inherited by their son, Henry Bradford Clarke (1897-1961). He and
his wife Katherine F. Clarke lived in Brewster. In 1964, Katherine F. Clarke, then a widow, sold the property to Lloyd S. and
Elizabeth S. Godwin of Winchester. The house now belongs to their son, photographer Stan Godwin. The antiques business
continues.
As noted in the 1980 version of this Form B, the form of the Cape suggests an 18th century construction date (although the
source of its assertion that the house dates to 1761 or earlier is unclear):
The method of construction and interior details leads one to believe this house was here by 1761, perhaps earlier. It is a
Full Cape, very low in the walls, note that there are two windows set wide apart on the first floor side wall and there is
only one window on the top story. Not including the two half sized windows on either side of this top one. Inside the
house one finds that most of the rooms appear to have the original wide boards on the floor. The fireplace walls are
completely paneled in pine in the traditional method.
This property is located within the Old King’s Highway Regional Historic District (adopted 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
Oral history – Stan Godwin (current owner)
www.ancestry.com - Vital records, US Census (1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1920)
Brewster Assessor sketch.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 311 STONY BROOK ROAD
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 3
BRE.C, G BRE.58
Photo 2. View looking west.
Photo 3. View looking northeast.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 311 STONY BROOK ROAD
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 4
BRE.C, G BRE.58
Photo 4. View of barn, looking northwest.
Photo 5. View of barn, looking northeast.
Photo 6. View of Jelly House, looking north.