Abraham Jaquith House
Abraham Jaquith House | |
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| Location | 161 Concord Rd., Billerica, Massachusetts |
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| Coordinates | 42°32′53″N 71°16′50″W / 42.54806°N 71.28056°W |
| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | c. 1725 |
| Architectural style | Colonial |
| MPS | First Period Buildings of Eastern Massachusetts TR |
| NRHP reference No. | 90000166[1] |
| Added to NRHP | March 14, 1991 |
The Abraham Jaquith House, also known as Farley Garrison house, was a historic house in Billerica, Massachusetts. Built about 1725, it was one of the oldest surviving colonial era houses in the town, prior to its deconstruction in 2000. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.[1]
Description and history
The Abraham Jaquith House was prominently located at the northeast corner of Concord Road and Middlesex Turnpike. It was a 2-1/2 story timber frame structure, with a gable roof, central chimney, and clapboarded exterior. Its main facade was five bays wide, with a center entrance sheltered by a 19th-century Italianate hood. The rear roof extended to the first floor in leanto fashion, giving the house a saltbox profile. Windows were rectangular sash, with a slightly smaller one above the entrance. The interior included exposed beams, a narrow winding staircase in the entry vestibule, and feathered woodwork around the fireplaces. The chamber in the leanto section showed evidence that it was a later construction.[2]
Local tradition historically credited this house's construction to George Farley, one of the area's first colonial settlers (arrived 1654), but architectural analysis of the western three bays, its oldest portion, place their construction closer to 1726-27, around the time when Farley's daughter married Abraham Jaquith. The leanto and original eastern two bays were added during the 18th century. Family lore says that the eastern half of the house was allowed to deteriorate in the late 19th century by one of two brothers occupying the house. That portion eventually collapsed, and was poorly reconstructed in 1922.[2] In 2000, building owner Peter Jaquith Casey had the house disassembled and stored in New Hampshire in order to preserve it. Parts of the structure were dismantled and re-assembled on 12 acres in Gilmanton, New Hampshire by Gilmanton resident Douglas Towle in 2010, who then sold it as a private dwelling alongside reconstructed outbuildings, including a barn typical of the 1700–1800s and an old schoolhouse and corn crib.[3] It is unknown whether the reconstruction included a new reproduction of the eastern half of the house.
See also
- List of the oldest buildings in New Hampshire
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ a b "MACRIS inventory record and NRHP nomination for Abraham Jaquith House". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2017-12-08.
- ^ Restoration Process for Farley Garrison House, at 1246 Province Rd, Gilmanton, NH 03237, featuring Douglas Towle, http://www.nhhomemagazine.com/May-June-2012/Relocating-history/ Archived 2015-06-26 at the Wayback Machine
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