FORM B - BUILDING In Area no. Form no.

11,1ASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION /i

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1. Town :Harlborou:(r~

Address 115 Union .3treet

Name Fairviev; Farm '

Present use Residence

Present owner Hr. Pau~ F. Shaughnessy

3. Description: 2t Story Center HaLl,

Date ~700

Source Pub. Local Histories

Style Colonial

4. Map. Draw sketch of building location Architect None

in relation to nearest cross streets and
other buildings. Indicate north. Exterior wall fabric 'i-lood Clapboard

Outbuildings (describe) 2 Large Barn~ ~:._

Other features Center Ha~l builtin

1825 but rear ell dates to ~700

Altered Date

Moved Date

5. Lot size:

B One acre or less Over one acre X

o
L.. Approximate frontage 250 Feet
r Approximate distance of building from street
a &3 OD 00 150 Feet
r
--:::--;~-;:-V_N~I:..-(}.....:....N.:.... 5 U
I:l n 0 0 Q ~ r-CJ-CJ--O-O-" S 6. Recorded by Ernest Ginnetti

Organization Marlborough Historica1

Q ~ Q r COmmJ.ss~on

tJ~lJ RE~t:~------
(ov r)
c.
JUL 6 1978
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5
T"
MASS. HiST. COM'
7. Original owner (if known)__3_o_s_e_'C_,h_H_,_O_Yl_e_2_n_d_, _

Original use_.C'_'::t_"
rr._J
r _
I
\

Subsequent uses (if any) and dates_R_e_s_l_'

d_,_e_n_c_e ', _

8. Themes (check as many as applicable)

Aboriginal Conservation Recreation

Agricultural x Education Religion
Archi tectural X Exploration/ Science/
The Arts settlement X invention
Commerce Industry Social!
Communication Military -X- humanitarian
Community development x Political Transportation
--(
9. Historical significance (include explanation of themes checked above)
(
Fairview is an appropriate name for this house, and. it is still one
of the most beautifull properties in Marlborough.
It wa s in 1660 wnen Abraham Howe moved to Harlborough from I.-laterto~...m
whe re he established the Howe Tavern. He married. Hannah ~-lardand they
had eleven children, among whom was Abraham Jr. who with Col. Thomas
Howe in l70L~ marched to Lancaster to defend. that town from the Indians,
who had previously burned Marlborough along with the first Meeting
House, was killed. ~nth Benjamin Hutchins at the time of that engagement,
His brother Joseph Howe married Dorathy Martin in 1688, and. became
a large landholder in Harlborough and elsewhere. He owned probably
the first Grist Mill in Feltonville (Hudson) before 1700, and. his
house is also included in this survey located on Bolton Street.
Among their children was Joseph 2nd who built Fairview Farm in
1700 (although it was not then known as Fairview Farm), and it was
enlarged in 1825 and agalin remodled in 1895. A skin parchment deed
signed by Great James and John Woomscon, Indian Chiefs, is the only
recorded de.ed.of the home place accord.ing to Ella Bigelow in 1910.

10. Bibliography and/or references (such as local histories, deeds, assessor's records,
'early maps, etc.)
Historical Reminiscences of Marlborough, Ella Bigelow, 1910.

History of Marlborough Mass., Charles Hudson, Boston 1862.

1803 map of Marlborough Silas Holman Surveyor •

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FO'RM B In Area no.'; . Form rio.

MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICALCOMMISSION
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Office of the Secretary, State House, Boston

-----
--- 1. Town Marlborougb

Address 115 Union Street

Name william Howe Homestead

Present use Residence

2. Photo (3x311 or 3x5")
Staple to left side of form
Photo number
Present owner Mr. Paul F. Shaughnessy

3. Description: Central HalL.~~ stories

Date 3rd Qtr. 18th Century

Source Pub. Local Histories

Style Colonial (Late)

4. Map. Draw sketch of building location Architect

in relation to nearest cross streets and
other buildings. Indicate north. Exterior wall fabric Wood Clapbosrd

N Outbuildings (describe) 2 large Ba:rns

Other features lt story ell west,

2 chimneys, due to the house width
a large example of the central hall
type.
8
ObODD o
DO DO L Altered Date
T Moved Date
o
N 5. Lot size:

One acre or less Over one acre X

Vf\lt<?1V
s Approximate frontage 200 ft.
----~-----
1; Approximate distance of building from street

100 ft.

.
NOT
~ WRITEIN THIS SPACE 6. Recorded by Ernest Ginnetti
$GSjQuadrant
/,-.7 --------
Ivrnzation . Mar1. Hist.
C Photo no. RE Date Feb. 20. 1974
.:~.~. ",'

~;.~~'}~X';~'~ MAR 1975

(over)

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MAS~.":';~'-',JlM,
 7. Original owner (if known)

Original use

Subsequent uses (if any) and dates

8. Themes (check as many as applicable)

~~.. ~;: -
,...'-':;;;-Aboriginal
Conservation Recreation
Agricultural Education Religion
~rchitectural x Explorati 0 n/ Science/
~The Arts settlement invention
'~:.<,>~Commerce Industry
't~:;:' Communication Military
Social!
humanitarian
.:{,,: Community development Political
)-'~:
__.1
. .• Transportation
: 9. Historical significance (include explanation of themes checked above)

•, ,

. "

t~"-/
:;'lo·~·,Bibliography and/or references
.
(such as local histories, deeds, assessor's records,
·tij;t:j , early maps, etc.)
~~~~, Homestead names taken from )Oct. 24 1803 map o~ Marlborough by
~,Silas Holman Surveyor. Which includes the town of Hudson.
, Histories taken from Historical Reminisces of Marlborough by
~:El1a ~igel0l>? 1910.
 '~~Homestead names taken from )Oct. 24 1803 map of Marlborough by
S:l:tasHolman SurveYor. Which includes the town of Hudson.
EllaHistories taken from Historical Reminisces of Marlborough by
~igelo~ 1910.
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.,£::••~~,.: ve.
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INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Community Property

Marlborough Joseph Howe II/William

and William L. Howe
House

Massachusetts Historical Commission

80 Boylston Street Area(s) Form No.
Boston, Massachusetts 02116 y 18

Additional information by Anne Forbes, consultant to Marlborough Historical Commission,

7/8/95:

ASSESSOR'S #43-80 5.7 acres PHOTO #95-19: 4

ARCIDTECfURAL DESCRIPTION.
Along with its neighbor at 19 Ash Street, this house is one of Marlborough's best examples of the
large, twin-chimney "double-pile" house-type. According to family records, it was originally built
in about 1733 as a story-and-a-half saltbox, and attained its double-pile form a century later, in the
mid-1830's. At least part of a two-story, L-plan rear wing dates to about 1860. The main house
is a 2 1/2-story five-bay structure. It is sheathed in wood clapboards, and stands on a granite block
foundation. Most of the windows are 8-over-12-sash in projecting, molded enframements that are
somewhat more characteristic of the earlier Federal period than the 1830's. A pair of 6-over-9's
under each end gable are an even earlier window form. (This could indicate that the enlargement
of the house took place earlier than believed, or that the 6/9's, at least, were relocated during the
renovations.) Other visible exterior detail is also in the Federal style, including the molded, boxed
cornice with large bed molding and returns. A large polygonal bay window on the east gable end
would probably have been added in the second half of the nineteenth century. The main entry is
covered by a wide, pedimented Colonial Revival hood on Tuscan columns, which was recently
enclosed into a vestibule The hood apparently post-dates 1910, as photos of about that time show
the house with the large wraparound porch which was added in 1895.

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE, cont.

Map evidence shows that several descendants of Joseph and Dorothy Howe, who had a large farm
south of Fort Meadow at the beginning of the eighteenth century, established their own homesteads
on parts of Joseph's large land holdings between Bolton and Mechanic Streets. According to Howe
family records, Joseph acquired much, if not all, of that property by buying out the other heirs of
his father-in-law, Thomas Martin.

One of the proprietors of the Ockoocangansett (Indian) Plantation, Thomas Martin, who died in
1701, appears to have taken part in both the legally-sanctioned and quasi-legal acquisitions of the
Indian lands during the 1680's, and owned much of the area between Bolton and today's upper
Mechanic Streets, and possibly more north of Fort Meadow and east of Bolton Street. The Howe
family records indicate that his house stood somewhere on this property, probably about 200 feet
north of the present building.

Although Joseph and Dorothy's house may be incorporated in the building at 370 Bolton Street
(see Form 73), the homes of several of their descendants are gone, including the farmhouse of two
later Josephs on the site of today's 184 Mechanic Street. This one remains, however, as one of the
better-preserved of Marlborough's early farmhouses. According to both Ella Bigelow and family
records, the first section of it was built by Joseph and Dorothy's son Joseph Howe II (1697-1775).
He could not, of course, have built it in 1700, however, as Ella Bigelow claims. A more likely
estimate is the family account of his building a story-and-a-half saltbox in about 1733. (cont.)
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Community Property

Marlborough Joseph Howe II/William

and William L. Howe
House
Massachusetts Historical Commission
80 Boylston Street Area(s) Form No.
Boston, Massachusetts 02116 y 18

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE, cont.

It is not known for certain which member of the next generation might have owned this property.
Joseph Howe II left his homestead to his wife Ruth and son Joseph Howe III, but the latter may
have built his own house by the time of his father's death. The map of 1803 shows that by then the
owner of this house was William Howe (1764-1820), the son of Joseph II's second SOD, Thaddeus,
who had inherited the east part of Joseph I's farm, and lived at 370 Bolton Street. Ella Bigelow
says that the house was updated and possibly enlarged in the mid-1820's, but family history shows
that a four-room, two-story section was added to the front of the old house in 1833.

Although architectural evidence is more consistent with the mid-1820's, either date would
correspond to the period of ownership by William and Elizabeth's son William Loring Howe (b.
1797) who by then had both come into his inheritance, and married Persis Sawyer (in 1822). He
was apparently called Loring Howe; hence the "L. Howe" shown as owner on the maps of 1830 and
1835. Those maps also clearly show the pound that was located between this house and Hudson
Street. It probably served as a holding pen for several of the farms in the vicinity--the town
histories mention sizeable herds of cattle at both 370 Bolton and the later Joseph Howe farm that
stood at 184 Mechanic Street, and this farm undoubtedly had cattle at that time, as well.

The next owner of the property was apparently William Loring's son, William Nelson Howe. He
married Abbie Witt in 1850 (and later Elizabeth Wilkins), and ran a large dairy farm here until the
end of the nineteenth century. William No's son, Elmer D. Howe, who handled the distribution of
milk for his father, succeeded to the farm, and it was probably he who was responsible for the 1895
updating of the house, and for calling the property Fairview Farm.

ADDITIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Maps and atlases: 1803, 1830, 1835, 1853, 1856/57, 1875, 1889, 1900.
Marlboro vital records.
Marlboro directories and tax valuations.
Marlboro Historical Society: House files.
Bigelow, James. "Photographs and Descriptions of Some Old Houses in Marlborough." 1927.

[X] Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, a completed
National Register Criteria Statement form is attached.
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Community Property

Marlborough Joseph Howe Il/William

and William L. Howe
House

Massachusetts Historical Commission

80 Boylston Street Area(s) Form No.
Boston, Massachusetts 02116 y 18
Massachusetts Historical Commission Community Property Address
80 Boylston Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02116 Marlborough 115 Union Street

Area(s) Form No(s).

y 18

National Register of Historic Places Criteria Statement Form

Check all that apply:

[x] Individually eligible [ ] Eligible only in a historic district

[ ] Contributing to a potential historic district [] Potential historic district

Criteria: [x] A [] B [x] C [] D

Criteria Considerations: [] A [] B [] C [] D [] E [] F [] G

Statement of Significance by _An_n_e_F_o_rb_e_s _

The criteria that are checked in the above sections must be justified here.

As one of the best-preserved examples in Marlborough of the through-hall, twin-chimney, "double-

pile" house form, which apparently incorporates a former saltbox of ca. 1733, the Joseph II and
William Howe House qualifies for the National Register under Criterion C. It also meets Criterion
A because of its nearly 200-year association with Joseph Howe II and his descendants-vall of whom
were farmers, and for generations maintained what became one of Marlborough's longest-lived dairy
farms at this location.

The property retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and
association.
I FORM B - BUILDING Assessor's number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number

Massachusetts Historical Commission I 43-56 II Marlborough I y 646

80 Boylston Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02116

Town Marlborough

Place (neighborhood or village) _

157 Union Street

Nurses' Home, Marlborough

City Hospital
Present offices

Original nurses' quarters

Date of Construction 19_2_4 _

Moineau Photo Collection

Federal Revival

Taylor & Bigelow' archt s

T.P. Hurley: builder
Exterior Material:

Sketch Map Foundation brick

Draw a map of the area indicating properties within
it. Number each property for which individual Wallffrim stucco
inventory forms have been completed. Label streets,
including route numbers, if any. Attach a separate Roof asphalt shingle
sheet if space is not sufficient here. Indicate north.
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures _
I~L. ~4~
I-·-;W-~ (this is a secondary stmctllTe on Marlborough
hospital property)
Major Alterations (with dates) _
l~ ~ 0
~-r: Late 20th C' all windows changed to metal;
U~\ oN 0 O
Q concrete ramp. stair w metal rail on facade
~~ rJ Condition good
~
~ Moved [X] no [ ] yes Date __ N_/A _

Acreage 19 acres

"ecorded by Anne Forbes Setting Faces west over parking lot and

Organization for Marlboro Hist Comm landscaped hospital grounds, end to street

Date 7/27/95 In modern residential area

BUILDING FORM

ARCHITECfURAL DESCRIPTION [ ] see continuation sheet

Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings
within the community.

For an institutional building, the Nurses' Home of the Marlborough Hospital is remarkable well-
preserved. Except for its replacement windows and the addition of a long ramp and railing, this is
essentially the same handsome stucco building that was designed in 1924 by local Marlborough
architects Kendal Taylor and John Bigelow. The construction was by the local contracting firm of
T.P. Hurley. It is a long three-part, 2-story building with a side-gabled roof. The main center
;
section is five bays wide, with five small gabled dormers on the front roof plane, and parapet end-
walls with paired integral chimneys. Flanking the main section is a pair of short, two-bay wings, their I
facades slightly stepped back from the front wall of the main building. The wings also have parapet \
ends, but no chimneys. The main entry is a very large 6-panel door (one panel has been replaced
by glass). The entry surround consists of a divided transom and 2/3-length sidelights, and an open-
pedimented hood supported on square columns and pilasters, with a Sh0l1doweled balustrade at the
sides.

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE [ ] see continuation sheet .'

Explain 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 building is significant as the only intact remaining section of the early-twentieth-century
Marlborough City Hospital. In 1890, a group of seventeen local citizens formed a corporation to found
the Marlborough City Hospital. The first board of trustees included Dr. E.G. Hoitt, president, Frank
A. Howe, Secretary, and Dr. Hannah E. Bigelow, the main founder and principal financier, as
treasurer. The next year they purchased the house at 27 Hildreth Street (see Form #83) for the first
hospital building. The hospital opened in 1893, but in August of 1894 it closed for lack of funds. The
institution remained closed for over ten years. It reopened in 1904 on a more sound financial footing,
and in 1910 the trustees purchased eleven acres of land on Union Street from the Silas Simonds estate
as the site for a new modern hospital. The hospital moved to this location in 1912, where it has
operated since that time.

Although the 1912 hospital building has been replaced by a modern facility, the Nurses' Home, which
was added in 1924-25, remains in essentially original condition. Nurses were first housed here under
the hospital's longtime matron, Minnie O. Robbins, R.N., who held the position for 38 years, serving
at both the Hildreth and Union Street locations. Miss Robbins retired in 1941 and was succeeded by
Dorothea Rice, R.N. until 1946.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES [] see continuation sheet

Bigelow, Ella. Historical Reminiscences of Marlborough, Mass. 1910.
Centennial '90: Marlborough, the City. 1990.
Marlborough Historical Society files.

[] Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, a completed
National Register Criteria Statement form is attached.