a a o Ye o s a Other features 2t Story ell at rear Approximate distance of building from street OT o 6' (J~

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1 FORM B - BUILDING In Area no. Form no. :MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Office of the secretary, State House, Boston I rn Marlborough ress 615 Berlin Road le Eber Howe Homestead sent use Residence sent owner f.lr. Edi"in Flint ~ Story Brick urce Pub. Local Histories 4. Map. Draw sketch of bui lding location in relation to nearest cross streets and other buildings. Indicate north. Architect None Exterior wall fabric Brick Outbuildings (describe) None Other features 2t Story ell at rear probably original house, it is wood clapboarded Altered Date Moved Date Lot size: 6'0 1 (J~ a a o Ye o s a OT o One acre or less Over one acre_x Approximate frontage 75 Feet Approximate distance of building from street 20 Feet 6. Recorded by Ernest Ginnetti Organization Marl borough Historical Comm~ssion Date 6/23/78 (over),-i U 1_. i; 1978 iom-s-77

2 , ṯ, Residence Original owner (if known) Sylvanus Howe Original use Farm Subsequent uses (if any) and dates 8. Themes (check as many as applicable) Aboriginal Agricultural Architectural The Arts Commerce Communication Communitydevelopment x x Conservation Education Exploration/ settlement Industry Military Political -x- Recreation Religion Science/ invention Social! humanitarian Transportation 9. Historical significance (include explanation of themes checked above) ) Ella Bigelow credits Eber howe \o7ith building this house, however " on the 1803 map of Marlborough his father ~ylvanus HO~Teis clearly ~ shown as living at this location. Both Sylvanus and son Eber are descendants of the Abraham Howe family one of the original proprieters of the tovm in Sylvanus Howe was born Dec. 27, 1765 and married Sarah Gleason Hay 12, 1791, daughter of Joseph Gleason. He died Sept. 15, 1815 at the age of 50, Sarah died March 31, 1825 at the age of 60. Eber Ho,.,e was born Dec. 1, 1795 and married Louisa Bigelow, Gershom Bd.geLow' s daughter Sept. 182l~. Eber BO'i'Tewas a hard working farmer who lived to be 77 years old, and. for many years was a Selectman of Harlborough. 10. Bibliography and/or references (such as local histories, deeds, assessor's records, ear ly maps, etc.) Historical Reminiscences of Marlborough, Ella Bigelow, Marl History of Marlborough Mass., Charles Hudson, Boston map of Marlborough, Silas Holman Surveyor.

INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Community Marlborough Property Sylvanus/Eber Howe House Massachusetts Historical Commission 80 Boylston Street Boston, Massachusetts 02116 Area(s) AM Form No.

3 INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Community Marlborough Property Sylvanus/Eber Howe House Massachusetts Historical Commission 80 Boylston Street Boston, Massachusetts Area(s) AM Form No. 4 Additional information by Anne Forbes, consultant to Marlborough Historical Commission, 5/11195: ASSESSOR'S # 27-1B; 2.47 acres. PHOTO #95-11: 7 ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION -. If, as the map evidence indicates, part of this building dates to the late eighteenth century, its style and form reveal that it was built in two stages. Allor part ofthe two-story, wood-frame rear wing would be the oldest, pre-1800 section. Historic photos (see Bigelow, p. 266), indicate that this was a five-bay, two-story house, possibly with a center chimney. The front part of the house, however, is typical of the late Federal period at its transition to the Greek Revival, and was probably built during the 1820's. It is a tall, five- by one-bay, 2 1I2-story building of the "I-house" type, with a large chimney positioned just behind either end of the roof ridge. For its time, it is an extremely rare brick building for Marlborough. The position of each chimney as it rises through the end wall has necessitated the placement of the gable-end windows slightly forward of the wall center-van awkwardness of design that probably reveals the hand of a relatively untrained country mason, possibly Eber Howe himself, who was a builder and carpenter. The molded roof cornice is somewhat altered, and the entry has been replaced. The 2-over-2-sash windows, which date to the second half of the nineteenth century, have no adornments. The foundation is dressed granite; the roof is asphalt. The rear wing, which is perpendicular to the brick section, is clapboarded. It has a long, turn-ofthe-century porch (and one one-story bay), supported on replacement metal posts. Twentiethcentury additions to the building include a shed-roofed section at the rear of the wing, and two one-story ells--one at the west end of the main house, the other attached to the northeast comer of the wing. A wood-frame garage remains from what were several outbuildings; the others were torn down in the late 1950's for the building of interstate Routes 495 and 290, which intersect a short distance north of the house. Several trees remaining from an old apple orchard are located to the west of the house. HISTORICAL NARRATIVE, cont. As Ernest Ginnetti suggests, it is most likely that it is only the rear section of this building that dates to the late eighteenth century, and that it was built by farmer Sylvanus Howe ( ). In 1791, as was typical of interrelationships in the outlying districts of town, he married the daughter of the farmer whose property adjoined this to the east-sarah Gleason, daughter of Joseph Gleason. The 1824 marriage date of Sylvanus and Sarah's son, Eber Howe, (who is shown as the owner in 1830), would be a likely time for the building of the front part of the house. He was a carpenter as well as a farmer, and sometime between 1835 and 1856 he built a carpentry shop just east of the house. (Cont.)

INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Community Property Massachusetts Historical Commission 80 Boylston Street Boston, Massachusetts 02116 Marlborough Area(s) AM Sylvanus/Eber Howe House Form No.

4 INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Community Property Massachusetts Historical Commission 80 Boylston Street Boston, Massachusetts Marlborough Area(s) AM Sylvanus/Eber Howe House Form No. 4 HISTORICAL NARRATIVE, cont. It is likely that the shop was later converted to a dwelling (today's # 609 Berlin Road). Eber Howe, referred to as "Esquire", served as a selectman from 1846 to The house directly across the street, which was standing by 1856, was apparently built by another family member, probably Eber and his wife, Louisa's, son, Silas Howe. Of Eber and Louisa's many children, their daughter, Augusta married Alanson S. Howe. He was also a carpenter and farmer, and they apparently acquired or inherited this property after the death of her parents. After Augusta's death, he married her sister, Cordelia, and had several more children. Three of their daughters married members of the Wheeler family, and by 1889 the house, farm and carpentry shop are listed under the name of A. Wheeler. This may refer to one of the sons-in-law, probably Walter A. Wheeler, the husband of their daughter, Ella. In the 1890's, when the old farm still stretched northeast to abut the former Gleason farm on Pleasant Street, it was purchased by the Nankervis family, who had come to this country from England. Mr. Nankervis soon died, and his wife's two brothers came to Marlborough to help with the farm. In this century, the property was owned for many years by one of her relations, Edward Flint. Most of the farm was acquired in the 1950's by the commonwealth for the building of Routes 495 and 290. The 2+ acres that remain here, as well as ten on the east side of Route 495, are still owned by the family today. ).,.",..!\". _~-_ ~'.,,~ BIBLIOGRAPHY, cont. Maps and atlases: 1803, 1830, 1835, 1856/7, 1875, Marlboro vital records Marlboro directories and tax valuations. Bigelow, James. "Photographs and Descriptions of Some Old Houses in Marlborough." Interview with owners: [X] Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, a completed National Register Criteria Statement form is attached.

$I I Marlborough I _A_M 65_2 ~ Town Ma rlhorojlgh 'lace (neighborhood or village) _,. \\ ~ddress 616 Berlin Road Rabin Hill Iistoric Name S.$

5 I I'-ORM B - BUILDING Assessor's number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number Massachusetts Historical Commission I Boylston Street Boston, Massachusetts I I Marlborough I _A_M 65_2 ~ Town Ma rlhorojlgh 'lace (neighborhood or village) _,. \\ ~ddress 616 Berlin Road Rabin Hill Iistoric Name S. Howe/Austin Howe House dwcljing dwej)jng ate of Construction ca ]850 maps; visual evidence le/form Greek Revival.rchitect/Builder unknown Exterior Material: Sketch Map Draw a map of the area indicating properties within it. Number each property for which individual inventory forms have been completed. Label streets, including route numbers, if any. Attach a separate sheet if space is not sufficient here. Indicate north. Foundation (not visible) WaU(frim wood shingle Roof asphalt shingle Outbuildings/Secondary Structures _ two-ca r ga rage Major Alterations (with dates) l-story additiod,.sf..rear; some window sash replaced; main fatly Condition smcound altered fair j f Moved [X] no [ ] yes Date N/A I Acreage 1_6_a_Cf e_s _... ecorded by Anne Forbes Setting Opposite 18th,L19tb-C bouse, in Organiza tion for Marlboro His! Carom.area of pl;marj]y modern houses Open yard Date ---_51.1 ]/9~ with sbmbs and mature trees

BUILDING FORM ARCHITECfURAL DESCRIPTION [] see continuation sheet Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community.

6 BUILDING FORM ARCHITECfURAL DESCRIPTION [] see continuation sheet Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community. In spite of a change in siding and some other alterations over this years, this house is significant as the only representative in Marlborough of its type-vthe small Greek Revival side-hall-entry gable-end house with its roof extended over a two-story facade colonade with columns of unequal height. Like the earlier house across the street, its design shows a certain awkwardness that suggests the hand of a local carpenter, possibly builder Eber Howe or another Howe family ( member. Here the four columns of the facade are square, with echinus-molded capitals. The returns of the main cornice, in fact, function as oversized capitals for the outer columns. Those ( two are considerably wider than the interior pair, which rise, in two sections, to a triangular panel under the main gable, which is adorned with a typical triangular Greek Revival louvered panel. The second-story balcony of the colonnade has a dowel balustrade. Two side-hall entries are placed one above the other on the three-bay facade. The lower one, though its surround appears to have been altered somewhat, has one of the few examples in Marlborough of a distinct Greek Revival door type, with two long panels. The windows are 6-over-6-sash, with molded surrounds. mstorical 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. Further research will be necessary to discover who the first owner of this house was. It was built directly opposite the Sylvanus and Eber Howe House (see Form #4), in about 1850, and is first shown in 1856 as belonging to S. Howe. This is most likely to be Eber Howe's son, Silas, who married Ann Snell of Northboro. By 1875, however, it is shown under the ownership of Austin B. Howe, who was the son of Silas's sister, Augusta, and her husband, Alanson S. Howe, who became the owners of the main farm, and the house at 615 Berlin Road, after Eber Howe died. Austin Howe was very active in the civic affairs of Marlborough. He was a member of the first Common Council when Marlborough became a city in 1890, and later served as an Alderman, and as a member of the committee for the building of the new high school in the late 1890's. By 1889, the property is shown under the name of S.H. Howe. This may be Austin Howe's distant relation, S. Herbert Howe, the wealthy shoe-manufacturer who owned considerable property in Marlborough in the latter part of the nineteenth century. BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES [X] see continuation sheet Maps and atlases: 1856/7, 1875, 1889, Bigelow, Ella. Historical Reminiscences of Marlborough Hudson. [ ] Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, a completed National Register Criteria Statement form is attached.

Exterior wall fabric ;.lood Clapboard Other features House faces south with Lot size: .--E. k- M- L...

Exterior wall fabric ;.lood Clapboard Other features House faces south with Lot size: .--E. k- M- L... 'I 4"';0. - ~~ ~./ '. FORM B - BUILDING MASSACHUSETTSHISTORICALCOMMISSION OffiC'Qnf tha ~A~1"p.bl.T'V_ ~tatp. House. Roston 1. Town Marlborough In Area no. Form no. Address 340 Bigelow Street Name Abraham