Tag Archives: Lenox History

169 Main St., Church on the Hill – 1805

169 Main St., Church on the Hill - 1805
169 Main St., Church on the Hill – 1805

From Surveys Completed 2011-2012 by the Lenox Historical Commission

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:

This Federal style building has two stories, an asphalt shingle roof and is intact. It has a three-bay center entrance; six bays deep; wood frame; front gable roof w/dentiled pediment; bell-tower at front of gable peak with a tall, square, balustraded base with large clocks on front and rear sides (clock replaced in 1899). It has Palladian window on left (West) side, topped by an octagonal belfry with Roman-arched vented openings and smaller balustrade and an octagonal cupola with bell-shaped roof and weather vane atop it. It has wood clapboard siding; corner pilasters; 1-bay wide. The entrance pavilion is one-bay deep with dentiled pediment, corner pilasters; Palladian window with tracery, door surround with pediment (short returns), modillions, entablature, paneled pilasters. It has double front entrance doors, wood paneled w/small window high up on each. The two-story square apse on rear facade has a rose window. There is a brick right side wall chimney and an exposed brick left side wall chimney. There are 12-over-12 windows with molded window headers and authentic window blinds. The foundation is large cut stone.

Architect Captain Isaac Damon (1783 – 1862)

Following FROM: http://nhsteeples.org/newport/project_glossary/isaac_damon.html

 

Isaac Damon, architect

 

Isaac Damon was born in 1781. At age 30, he moved from Weymouth (MA) to Northampton (MA). His wife died the following year, and he married Sophia Strong (pictured), who delivered eight children.  Over the course of his career, Damon built at least 13 churches, 14 other buildings, and 25 bridges. Most of his buildings were constructed in the Connecticut River Valley, but his bridge work took him farther afield.  His fully-enclosed bell towers and steeples are easily recognized throughout his region of influence. He retired in 1852 at the age of 71 and died ten years later.

 

Following From: Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased) by Henry F. Withey, AIA & Elsie Rathburn Withey. (Los Angeles, CA: Hennessey & Ingalls, Inc., 1970).

“Damon, (Captain) Isaac

“Architect-building in western Massachusetts for more than three decades, his work included a number of public buildings, mainly churches. It is believed that Damon was one of the junior draftsmen in the Town & Davis office in New York, and when in 1811 he was called to Northampton to build the First Congregational Church, it seems probable that Ithiel Town helped prepare the plans (*). The church, one of the largest and most elaborate in New England at the time of its erection stood until 1878 when it was destroyed by fire. In Northampton Mr. Damon also designed the Town Hall built in 1823 (*).

“In the course of years he executed many important commissions, and the drawings, some of them in India ink, showed skill in draftsmanship. In his work as builder he was one of the first to understand the use of a truss and incorporated it in the bridgework of a number of buildings. Thirteen or more churches in the western part of the state are ascribed to him among which should be named the First Church at Lenox, dating from 1814; the First Church at Springfield, 1818 (**); the old Meeting House at Ware, 1820 (**), and the Unitarian Meeting House at Greenfield. In addition he was architect of the county Court House at Lenox (an early building from 1814); and probably designed (at least he was paid for making the plans) the oldest group of buildings at Amherst College, including the North and South halls and the Chapel between 1821 and 1827 (***).

“- References: Dictionary of American Biography; “Town and Davis, Architects,” by Roger Hale Newton (*); “Greek Revival Architecture in America,” Talbot Hamlin, 1944 (***).”

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE  

In 1803, a special town meeting was called in Lenox, and it was voted to begin construction of a new church to replace the meeting house which had been built about 1770. The new church was to be built on or near the same site. The church was completed in 1805, and on the first day of 1806 it was dedicated in a service led by Rev. Samuel Shepard. As the official town and state church it held an important place in the political and social, as well as religious life, of Lenox. Although other churches were incorporated in the early nineteenth century, and their members exempted from paying taxes to support the Congregational Church, this church was not disestablished until 1834, and even then it retained its important position in the town.

“The Church on the Hill,” as it came to be known, was prized by visitors to Lenox for its picturesque beauty and its embodiment of New England tradition. Guide books never failed to mention it, and its white steeple became a landmark visible for miles around. Even the wealthy summer residents who belonged to the Episcopalian Church took a special interest in the Church on the Hill, and contributed to its restoration.

The Church on the Hill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places Sept. 30, 1982.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES:

Church records

“The Church on the Lenox Hilltop…”, New England Magazine. October 1900

Lenox – Massachusetts Shire Town. David H. Wood 1969

Lenox Assessor’s database 2012

 

142 Main, Thomas Post House – c.1870

142 Main St., Thomas Post House - c. 1870
142 Main St., Thomas Post House – c. 1870

From Surveys Completed 2011-2012 by the Lenox Historical Commission

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:

This Gothic Revival style building has two stories, an asphalt shingle roof and has been altered. It has a two-bay; wood frame; front gable roof; large brick center chimney; wood clapboard siding; front entry porch with steeply pitched gable roof with decorative trip in gable supported by four chamfered pillars; balcony above front porch with geometric railing; door surround with two-light transom; double entrance doors. It has a two-story box oriel on front facade (base tapers in from top to bottom). There is a large two-story rear ell with gable roof and interior brick chimney. There is a two-story rear lean-to at inside corner on right side of main house and rear ell. There is a two-story recessed, cross-gabled wing on the left side with shed-roofed porch on front, three turned.

Design is not Stick Style; details cited in original B form are common to both Gothic Revival & Queen Anne styles.

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE:  

This house was built for Thomas Post, listed in the 1885 directory as lawyer, Justice of the Peace, Postmaster, telegraph operator and farmer. He was also a State Senator and “trusted counselor of all this region.”[1] He owned the entire lot up to Hubbard Street. He was in part responsible for the development of the Maple-Ash-Reynolds Street area, as he sold off his land in house lots in the 1890’s and early 20th century. Post, who had his law office in the Lenox Library (the second county courthouse), lived there until his death in 1913 when the property was inherited by his widow, Elizabeth.

After subsequent changes in ownership the building was sold to Timothy E. Blair in 1998. It is currently divided into six apartments.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES:

Lenox Assessor’s Report

County Atlas of Berkshire, Mass., F.W. Beers, 1876

Atlas of Berkshire County, Mass., Barnes and Farnham, 1904

Sanborn Maps: 1898, 1905, 1911

Gazetter of Berkshire County, Mass. 1727-1885, Hamilton Child, 1885

Lenox Assessor’s database 2012

[1] New England Magazine, “The Church on the Lenox Hilltop and Round About It,” Frederick Lynch, October 1900, vol. 23, p. 210

135 Main St., Eliza Williams House – c.1861

Butternut Cottage_0001_NEW

135 Main St., Eliza Williams House - c. 1861
135 Main St., Eliza Williams House – c. 1861

From Surveys Completed 2011-2012 by the Lenox Historical Commission

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:

This Colonial Revival style building has two stories, an asphalt shingle roof and has been minimally altered. There is a three-bay, center entrance; wood frame; gambrel roof; and large exposed brick chimney on both end walls of the original house. It has wood clapboard and shingle siding. The front façade (facing Main St.) has three steeply pitched gable dormers. The large addition off the right side of the original house has an end wall chimney and second floor balcony on the right side. There is a series of three gambrel-roofed sections along rear ell off of which is a cross-gambrel wing with a large brick end wall chimney and a one-story extension off its left side, basement exposed with access at ground level. There are some original 6-over-6 and 2-over-2 windows.

LANDSCAPE: There is an allee’ of trees along the entrance driveway which curves northward from Main Street ending in two interlocking circular drives, with adjacent parking areas. There are large bluestone walkways up to front and left side entries, with stone retaining and planter walls. It is a large property with open lawn, many mature trees and shrubs, ornamental, hardwood and evergreen trees and a wood picket fence along Main St. right-of-way.

The 1861 date for the original house suggests that the gambrel roof (as well as the steeply pitched gable dormers) is not original or that this is a much earlier house.

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE:

The original portion of this house was built by Susan and Eliza Williams on the site now occupied by 101 Main Street. Eliza Williams lived here until 1873 when the house was purchased by Mrs. Kuhn who had built “Hillside” around 1870. Eliza Williams may have continued to live in the house as a tenant, as she is listed in the 1885 directory as having a house and lot on Main Street.

In 1905, the house was sold to Caroline Katherine Carey (Miss Kate Carey), who moved the front portion of the house to its present location, adding on an extensive wing containing servants’ quarters and a storeroom, and apparently remodeling the entire house. Miss Carey used part of the first floor servants’ wing as a carpentry shop, where she built doll and bird houses. Upon her death in 1945, the property was deeded to Trinity Church, who in turn sold it to Joseph Reynolds. In 1951, it was sold again to Maria Veselik, who renamed it Garden Gables and opened it as an Inn and gift shop.

In 1988 it was owned by Lynn Mekinda, Mario Mekinda as of 1998 and is owned (as of 2006) by Vittori Properties LLC.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES:

Lenox Assessor’s Report

Registry of Deeds, Pittsfield, Mass. 172.44, 276.319, 219.425

Conversations with Mary E. Higgins Delasco (daughter of Miss Carey’s coachman) and Maria Veselik

Lenox Assessor’s database 2012

136 Main, Congregational Church Parsonage – c.1895

136 Main St., Congregational Church Parsonage
136 Main St., Congregational Church Parsonage

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION: 

This is a fine example of the Queen Anne style, and displays the eclectic decorative elements characteristic of the style. The cut shingles and half-timbering provide surface interest, while the varied window shapes are another decorative feature. This is perhaps an unusually ornate residence for a Congregational minister, but it reflects the prosperity of Lenox at the time of its construction.

This Queen Anne style building has two stories, a slate roof and is intact. It is a two bay, wood frame house with a cross-gable roof. There is a gable dormer on the front and gabled wall dormers on the left and right sides. There is a Palladian attic window in each dormer and the cladding is wood clapboard and decorative shingle.

The organization is asymmetrical and there is an irregular footprint. The enclosed front porch is glazed with turned posts and a gable feature over the entry. There is a two-story box bay on the front facade to the right of the entry with sunburst decoration on corner brackets supporting a gable roof overhang.

There is a two-story faceted bay window on the right side. A right-side porch extends from the bay window and has a hipped roof, slender Doric columns and spindled balustrades. There are 2-over-1 and 2-o-2 windows and a stone foundation

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE: 

This house stands on the site of the original Congregational parsonage, a brick building dating from 1852. By the 1890’s it had fallen into disrepair and the congregation elected to build a new house on the same site.

According to a turn-of-the-century magazine article, “Few Congregational Churches in Massachusetts have so fine a home for their ministers”. This reflects the prosperity of Lenox during this period.

This house was used as a parsonage until 1925, when the Congregational Church was given the Worthington House on Cliffwood Street which became the home of the minister. For many years it was the home of Edith O. Fitch, a long-time Lenox Librarian. The old parsonage was acquired by the Toole family and then in 1978 by the Biancolo family. It has since been used as a private residence.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES:

Church records.

New England Magazine, “The Church on the Lenox Hilltop and Round About It” by Frederick Lynch. October 1990.

Lenox Assessor’s database 2012

134 Main St., St. Ann’s Rectory -c.1880

134 Main St., St. Ann's Rectory - c. 1880
134 Main St., St. Ann’s Rectory – c. 1880

From Surveys Completed 2011-2012 by the Lenox Historical Commission

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:

This Queen Anne style building has two stories, an asphalt shingle roof and has been minimally altered. It has a three-bay, center entrance; wood frame; hipped roof; hipped dormer on the right side; and a brick end-wall chimney on the left side. It has a full front porch with six Doric columns, spindled balusters. There is a three-story faceted bay window with a hipped roof left of the center entrance and a two-story faceted bay window with a hipped roof to the right of the entrance. It has Queen Anne-style windows with small square lights surrounding a large one. The two hipped roof pavilions on the right side of the house have an enclosed/ glazed balcony between them. Below this balcony, a previous open porch was altered and enclosed after 1939 (per Sanborn Map).

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE:

The initial structure was built as a rectory for the original St. Ann’s (1871), and used as such until 1912, when Father Grace moved into The Willows, which had been purchased by the church in 1905. After that, the house was sold and converted to use as a funeral home. Later it was once again converted for church use.

First depicted on 1893 and 1939 Sanborn Maps

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES:

1893 Sanborn Map

Historical Sketch – Centenary of St. Ann’s Church, Lenox, Massachusetts 1870-1970.

Lenox Assessor’s database 2012

 

132 Main St. St. Ann’s Catholic Church – 1911

old St. Ann's Church_1871
Old St. Ann’s
132 Main St., St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church - 1911
132 Main St., St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church – 1911

From Surveys Completed 2011-2012 by the Lenox Historical Commission

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:

This Norman Gothic Revival style building has one plus stories, a slate roof and is intact. It has a front gable roof with graduated slate shingles, and parapets on gable ends. There is a Greek Cross at the front peak. The church has fieldstone cladding, cast stone trim which is also known as “Case Cement”, a three-bay front façade with center entrance over which is a large rose window. There are four bas relief plaques depicting evangelists Mathew, Mark, Luke and John surrounding the rose window. There are arched oak double doors with elaborate decorative wrought iron strap hinges. They have Roman-arched door surrounds that are heavily carved with geometric and curvilinear designs springing from engaged columns. A crenellated square tower extends to the right of the front facade and incorporates a porte-cochere with gargoyles at corners. There are lancet windows with slate louvers at the belfry level. There are five-bay side elevations defined by buttresses with Tudor-arched stained glass windows between. There are projecting entrance bays on both the left and right sides proximate to the rear. There are lantern light fixtures in the yard.

Architect Francis Burrall Hoffman,

undated (c.1980) uncited obituary from newspaper:

LENOX – Francis Burrall Hoffman, 98, former summer resident here who was the architect of the present St. Ann’s Church, died last Thursday at his home in Hobe Sound, Fla.

Born in New Orleans, La., March 6, 1882, he was the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Francis Hoffman. He spent most of his life in New York City, where he was a professional architect. While a summer resident here, he designed the granite St. Ann’s Church structure that was built in 1912 to replace the former wooden church on Main Street.

He was a 1903 graduate of Harvard. During World War I, he served with the 42nd Infantry Division in France.

He leaves two brothers, Albert Hoffman of Florida and Murray Hoffman of New York City.

A funeral mass was held Saturday at St. Christopher’s Church in Hobe Sound. Burial will be in St. Ann’s Cemetery tomorrow at 10 a.m. The Roche Funeral Home is in charge of local arrangements.

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NY Times, 1-12-1965:

  1. Burrall Hoffman, architectural consultant on addition to Gracie Mansion (lead architect Mott B. Schmidt)

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Following FROM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._Burrall_Hoffman

 

 

 

Francis Burrall Hoffman (March 6, 1882 – November 27, 1980) was an American born architect best known for his work with James Deering’s Villa Vizcaya in Miami, Florida.

 

Francis Burrall Hoffman  

 

Biography

Francis Burrall Hoffman ( March 6, 1882 in New Orleans, Louisiana – November 27, 1980 in Hobe Sound, Florida) was an American born architect best known for his work with James Deering’s Villa Vizcaya in Miami, Florida.

Francis Burrall Hoffman, Jr. was born to a wealthy and socially prominent New York family line that began with the emigration of Martin Hermanzen Hoffman from Sweden in 1657. The family remained closely tied to the history and politics of the state, with Hoffman’s great-grandfather, Murray Hoffman serving as a Justice of the Supreme Court of New York and his grandfather, Wickham Hoffman acting as the United States Minister to Denmark from 1883-93.[1][2]

Hoffman attended Harvard University, graduating in 1903. Hoffman spent his senior year as an apprentice at Carrere & Hastings, an architectural firm in New York. From 1903 to 1907, Hoffman attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, graduated with honors and returned to Carrere & Hastings in 1907[3].

In 1910, Hoffman left Carrere & Hastings to begin his own architectural firm in Manhattan. He shared an office space, as well as collaborating on projects with Henry Creighton Ingalls. Hoffman’s first commission was a mausoleum in the Woodlawn Cemetery for Edmund Walstein Davis.

In 1912, Hoffman was hired by James Deering as an associate architect for Villa Vizcaya. Collaborating with Paul Chalfin and Diego Suarez, the bayfront Italian style villa would become the largest and most notable project of his sixty year career.

Hoffman left the Villa Vizcaya project five years later in 1917 to enlist in the Army. During WWI, Hoffman served as Captain with the Corps of Engineers and later directed camouflage operations with the Second Corps, A.E.F. During WWII, Hoffman served overseas as a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy [4].

In 1927, Hoffman married Virginia “Dolly” Kimball. Kimball was from a wealthy Virginia publishing family and quickly established a career as an interior decorator, and was often enlisted in the design of her husband’s projects. After the stock market crash in 1929, Hoffman closed up his firm in New York and he and Dolly spent a majority of their time traveling between New York and Paris. Upon his returns to New York, Hoffman rarely engaged in more than one architectural project a year [5][6].

Hoffman completed many commissions, mostly designing large houses for wealthy clients. Hoffman’s last project was completed in 1974, when he was nearly ninety-eight years old . Hoffman died in 1980 in Hobe Sound, Florida[7].

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE:

Lenox was organized as a mission of the Roman Catholic Church in 1852. Mass was said in Town Hall until 1871, when Father Brennan led his parish to build the first St. Ann’s Church. The parish included some influential members of Lenox society; Rose Hawthorne (daughter of Nathaniel Hawthorne), who was born in Lenox in 1851 and was a convert to Catholicism, Grace Sedgwick, a member of the locally prominent Sedgwick family, and Mrs. Samuel Ward, both converts to Catholicism. Mrs. Ward’s husband built a chapel for her at his estate, Oakwood, and Mass was often said at that location.

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES:

 

Old Form B

Historical Sketch- Centenary of St. Ann’s Church – Lenox, Massachusetts 1870-1970

Lenox, Massachusetts Shire Town, David Wood, 1969

Lenox Assessor’s database 2012

120 Main St., John M. Cook House – c.1884

old St. Ann's Church - the willows 1884_NEW

120 Main St., John M. Cook House - c. 1884
120 Main St., John M. Cook House – c. 1884

From Surveys Completed 2011-2012 by the Lenox Historical Commission

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:

This Queen Anne style building has two stories, a slate roof and has been altered. It has a three-bay, center entrance that is wood framed. It has a gable roof, double bracketed eaves and two shed-roofed dormers with 18-light windows on the front over outer bays. There is a one gable-roofed rear wall dormer, a brick endwall chimney on the left side. The exterior is wood clapboard (1st fl.) and decorative shingle (2nd fl. and dormers) siding. There is a two-story front entrance pavilion with modillions. There is a Palladian window on the second floor with tracery in the center, an arched window, embellished with entablature complete with a dentiled cornice, and pilasters flanking smaller side windows. Modillions and six turned posts remain from the original porch. There are large Queen Anne-style 29-over-1 multi-pane sash windows that flank the pavilion on the second (small square lights in the upper sash). There are 15-light French windows on the side of the pavilion and a one-story box bay window on the right side. There is a one-story rear lean-to; original double front doors; and a stone foundation.

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE:

John M. Cook*, identified in an 1885 directory as a farmer and manager for E.J. Woolsey, purchased this lot from Elizabeth Bangs* in 1883 and built this house soon after. Cook resided here for a year or two, but by 1886 the house was rented out to Ambrose Kingsland of New York, and was thereafter rented to “distinguished summer visitors.”[1] In 1905 it was purchased by Father William F. Grace, acting on behalf of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Springfield, for use as a rectory for St. Ann’s. The Willows continued to be rented out until 1912, when the new church had been built and Father Grace took formal possession. It was used as a rectory until it was sold and converted to a funeral home currently owned by Edward J. Roche.

*”Henry Cook” on 1854 Clark Map; “C. Bangs” on 1876 Beers Map

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES:

1854 Clark Map, 1876 Beers Map

Old Form B

Town Assessor’s Report

Lenox Assessor’s database 2012

 

[1] Historical Sketch – Centenary of St. Ann’s Church, Lenox, Massachusetts 1870-1970

 

114 Main St., Cook House – 1790

114 Main St., Cook House - 1790
114 Main St., Cook House – 1790

From Surveys Completed 2011-2012 by the Lenox Historical Commission

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:

This Federal style building has two stories, a standing-seam metal roof and has been significantly altered. There is a five-bay, center entrance. It is wood frame; gable roof with two early gabled dormers; brick endwall chimneys, one each side. The house has wood clapboard siding; Roman-arched attic and dormer windows. There is a door surround with arched transom and 2/3rds-length sidelights; large two-story rear ell with expanded and an enclosed porch on the right side. The 1893 Sanborn Map depicts an articulated front porch extending nearly the full width of the house as well as a rear porch.

There is a large two-story addition off the original rear ell added by 1939 and a front entrance porch with slender Doric columns, c.1950. There are stone and concrete foundations; a wood picket fence around the front and side yards with large yard with open lawn areas, mature trees and shrubs, and stone sculpture.

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE:

This house appears to have been built as a farmhouse by the Cook family (Labeled “Henry Cook” on 1854 Clark Map).

Richard Sands Tucker of Brooklyn, N.Y. purchased the property in 1866, and resided here with his wife Margaret. After his death in the 1880’s his widow rented out the house for several years, and then sold it to Henry Sedgewick.

Caroline Katherine Carey (Miss Kate Carey) purchased the property in 1928 and established a Lenox brand of the Berkshire County Home for Aged Women. Common name was Meadow Place.

Since 1992 the home has been owned by Nathan B. Winstanley and used for offices for his firm.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES:

1854 Clark Map, 1893 Sanborn Map

Old Form B

Town Assessor’s Report.

Tucker Manuscript

Lenox Assessor’s database 2012

84 Main St., Julius Parsons Meat Market – c.1881

84 Main St., Julius Parson's Meat Market - c. 1881
84 Main St., Julius Parson’s Meat Market – c. 1881

From Surveys Completed 2011-2012

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:

This Italianate style building has two stories, an asphalt shingle roof and has been significantly altered. There is a one-story, storefront (c.1950 addition), four bays on the second floor and a front façade. The building is wood framed with a flat or shallow shed roof. It has a cornice band and four oversized decorative brackets (one on each end) with smaller scroll sawn brackets between. It has wood shingle siding glass and aluminum framed display windows and door, and a front parapet wall.

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE:

This building was originally owned by Julius Parsons, a butcher who operated his meat market from the ground floor and lived with his family upstairs.   In 1919 the property was purchased by Walcott Gregory, who opened Gregory’s Market on the premises. The market remained in the Gregory family until 1977. Common names included Gregory’s Market, Cimini’s Market and O’Brien’s Market.

This appears to be one of the few frame commercial buildings to have survived the 1909 fire which destroyed much of Lenox’s business district.

New research suggests the date of the building could be earlier. Building footprint changes are shown between 1854 (Clark Map) and 1876 (Beers Map). The property is labeled “H. Phelps” on the 1876 Beers which matches footprints in later maps, thus an earlier building could have been remodeled to this late 19th century style. The building was converted to a store by 1939 (Sanborn Map) and storefront addition (as noted above) were made after this date.

The property is currently a market and is owned by Daniel W. O’Brien.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES

1854 Clark Map, 1876 Beers Map, 1939 Sanborn Map

Old Form B

Town Assessor’s Report

Lenox Assessor’s database 2012

80 Main St., Harriet R. Hickok House – 1835

80 Main St., Harriet Hickok House - 1835
80 Main St., Harriet Hickok House – 1835

From Surveys Completed 2011-2012 by the Lenox Historical Commission

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:

This Greek Revival style building has two stories, an asphalt shingle roof and has been significantly altered. It is a three-bay wood frame. It has a front gable roof–simple pediment, and full entablature with a plain frieze. It has a brick center chimney, wood clapboard siding and paneled corner pilasters. There is a two-story rear ell with a gable roof. The foundation is stone.

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE:

“In 1835 Harriet R. Hicock bought this lot from Caleb Bailey and built this house. In 1858 the house and property was sold to Eunice M. Sears. In April 1887 Theodore J. Cowhig bought the property and built the ice houses in the rear. Teamsters and horses were also part of Mr. Cowhig’s business. He died young and his widow continued the family businesses which included the quarry on Hubbard Street. The property remained in the Cowhig family until 1976, when it was renovated by Mr. Soroken for use as a shop and gallery of pottery and other arts.”

New research notes that on the 1854 Clark Map, the property is labeled “Mrs. Hickok”; the 1893 – 1905 Sanborn maps show building footprint without any front porch but with right-side porches; the 1911 Sanborn depicts a small front entry porch (thus earlier B form statement about the front entrance porch dating to1860s is incorrect) and labels the building “Barbers”.

It was purchased in 2001 by Serge Paccaud and is currently used as a restaurant.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES:

1854 Clark Map, 1893 – 1905 Sanborn Maps

Old Form B

Town Assessor’s Report

Mr. William Roche

Lenox Assessor’s database 2012