THOMAS DANE HOUSE (47, FORMERLY 17, LEXINGTON ROAD, CONCORD, MASS.) COLLECTION, 1867-1998
VAULT A50, UNIT 11
EXTENT: 5 items.
HISTORY: The property on which the house stands was obtained by George Hayward in the original land grant in 1636. Some time before 1657, the Reverend Peter Bulkeley obtained ownership and in 1657 he sold the property to Thomas Dane. Dane may have built the original structure of what is now #47 Lexington Road. The house on the property was passed down in the family to Thomas's son Joseph and then to Joseph's daughter and her husband William Clark. The next owner was Jonathan Ball, who was deeded the property by Clark in 1742. It is likely that Ball's son lived here later, followed by either Seth Ross or Isaiah Barrett. The next known owner was Joseph Hunt, a doctor who later became an apothecary and ran his shop out of the house. He had moved in by 1793 and lived there until his death in 1812. He was survived by his wife Lucy, who probably stayed in the house until 1836.
In the late 1840s, the house was purchased by Joel Walcott, a grocer who started the company Walcott and Holden, which survived into the 20th owned the house until Mrs. Walcott's death in 1895. The next owner, Augustus P. Chamberlin probably bought the house the same year. He rented the house out to Mrs. Martha Brown and her six daughters. Chamberlin's 1909 obituary says that he "gave away his American houses." He may have given this house to Jessie Brown, one of Martha's daughters. Jessie lived in the house with tenants until 1925. From 1925 to 1934 the resident of the house is listed in the Concord Lists of Residents as Alfred Uhler, a seller of antiques and old books. Newell and Louise Garfield bought the property in 1935. Newell was a grandson of President James Garfield. He served as a Major in World War I and worked as an industrial engineer for a Montreal textile company from the 1940s on. Louise ran a tweed shop out of the house. They lived in the house until their deaths, Newell's in 1975 and Louise's in 1983.
The next residents were Peter and Sarah Blum, who lived in the house from 1984 to 1996 (Concord Lists of Residents, 1984-1996). Peter was a banker and Sarah was a homemaker. In 1997 or '98, Lorna and John Mack purchased the house and made some repairs. It was then that they found the building permits from the time when the Garfields were living in the house.
SCOPE AND CONTENT: Collection contains five items (1867-1998): four building inspection permits from the Town of Concord Department of Inspections and a fire insurance card.
ASSOCIATED MATERIALS: For more detailed architectural and historical description, see the Survey of Historical and Architectural Resources published by the Concord Historical Commission.
NOTES: Accessioned December 5, 2003; AMC #220.
SOURCE OF ACQUISITION: Gift of Lorna Mack, September 2009.
PROCESSED BY: Sarah Galligan, April 2012. Edited by Catherine D., December 2013.
CONTAINER LIST:
People’s Fire Insurance Company Card, Jan. 1, 1867.
Permit to build dwelling house for E.H. Campbell to work on the dwelling owned by Newell and Louise Garfield, May 18, 1937.
Permit to make alterations and additions for Edmund H. Campbell to build an addition on a dwelling for Newell Garfield, July 11, 1946.
Permit to move a structure or do miscellaneous construction or maintenance work for Edward H. Campbell to install new door and window for Newell and Louise Garfield, July 26, 1955.
Permit certifying Lorna and John Mack to remodel as per application and historic districts approval, Jan. 13, 1998..
c2012 Concord Free Public Library, Concord, Mass.
Not to be reproduced in any form without permission of the Curator of the William Munroe Special Collections, Concord Free Public Library.
Mounted 21st April 2012.; rev. 7th December 2013 rcwh.