Abraham Jaquith House

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]

Abraham Jaquith House
Abraham Jaquith House is located in Massachusetts
Abraham Jaquith House
Abraham Jaquith House is located in the United States
Abraham Jaquith House
Location161 Concord Rd.,
Billerica, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°32′53″N 71°16′50″W
Area1 acre (0.40 ha)
Builtc. 1725 (1725)
Architectural styleColonial
MPSFirst Period Buildings of Eastern Massachusetts TR
NRHP reference No.90000166[1]
Added to NRHPMarch 14, 1991

Description and history

The Abraham Jaquith House was 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 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 credited this house's construction to George Farley and his wife, Christian Bietres Farley, one of the area's first colonial settler families (both arrived in Massachusetts colony in 1639, founded the town of Billerica after moving there with several other families in 1653/54).[3] However, architectural analysis of the western three bays, its oldest portion, estimated a date of 1725, around the time when the Farley's daughter married Abraham Jaquith. The lean-to and 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.[4] It is unknown whether the reconstruction included a new reproduction of the eastern half of the house.

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. "MACRIS inventory record and NRHP nomination for Abraham Jaquith House". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2017-12-08.
  3. Barnes, Shirley Moore (2005). Pioneers of Billerica : settling the Shawshine wilderness, 1654-1660. [Billerica, Mass.]: Billerica Historical Society. ISBN 0-9772673-0-X. OCLC 70666788.
  4. 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
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.