The Historic District

Hi everyone,

I've been lurking for a while but have finally decided to create an account since you all seem like a kind, helpful bunch

And I will be needing help, lots of it, over the coming months (…years…ok, decades) as I've fallen hopelessly in love with a beautiful historic house that my little family will soon be calling our own. Briefly, it's a one-of-a-kind "First Period" farmhouse in Massachusetts, built in the mid-1600's. I really think you would all love it just as much as I do.

Obviously, it is so old that there have been many modifications made to the house over the years. Yet there are still many original features, my favorite being the classic central chimney which yields four beautiful fireplaces, and countless bats. Ha! I kid. There are probably only a few bats.

It is certainly, um, weathered and right out the gate we know we need to extensively repair/rebuild the back side of the lean-to of the house, which really took a hit with the winter we just had. While we're back there in the lean-to, there are two additional smaller chimneys coming out of that sloped roof that I just know lead to fireplaces down below - drywall coverup is evident. I'm dying to get my paws in there!

Interestingly, the house has no formal "historic restrictions" on it but I've become so obsessed with doing things "the right way" that my husband and I have been careful to enlist an architect with experience in this era of historic houses, who is also working with our town's archivist to approach the work in the most historically sensitive manner. Before we came upon it, it was supposedly going to be torn down…FOR. CONDOS.

Anyway, I just wanted to say "Hi" and solicit any preliminary thoughts of encouragement, advice, things to consider, etc. If anyone has had any experience with 17th century homes, it would be great to hear how you've approached your work! Thank you all in advance...

For my next trick, I'm going to attempt posting a small picture…apologies if this doesn't work on the first try - I've never actually posted on a forum like this before

welcome to wavyglass!

are you in north, south, east, west or southeast mass? I'm in western Massachusetts...you will indeed meet many friendly people here who are full of suggestions and support......

....jade

Looks like a great place! What's the inside like?

Chris

Pictures for all the little picture hounds?

Beautiful house. That is all I know about a house that old. Except I would like to explore to see what artifacts could be buried around, under or within parts of the house.

Just curious, when was the lean to added? Hope fully you can add vintage photos from the past.

Lovely house, congradulations, and THANK YOU for saving it!

Beautiful - and in much better condition (at least from the exterior) than what I expected from your description. What's up with the shutter on the left upper windows? Are they kind of squeezed in there?

Welcome to Wavyglass.

Thanks everyone! We are in eastern MA, north of Boston. "Old Salem Village" as they used to say in the 1600s I plan to divulge so much more and build some sort of blog once things really get underway (might be a while, however, until the plans can finally be put into action!).

The exterior is in pretty great shape and the interior is in surprisingly decent condition too, I think largely because it was used as a school for the past couple of decades up until roughly 2 years ago. Since the school moved, the house has been generally maintained but no significant work has been done. The majority of rooms really just need cosmetic freshening. I'll attach a picture of the master bedroom, which you can see damage to the floor and some strange brickwork around the fireplace. Generally, throughout the the house there are a lot of neon lights, exit signs and brackets in the walls that were used to hang things in the offices/classrooms. All of which need to go haha.
As mentioned, the whole back of the house really holds the biggest issues. Lots of rotting wood and peeling (probably lead) paint which we want to have taken care of before moving in (especially since we have two little ones).

From what I've read, the lean-to seems to have been added on shortly after the initial house was built, sometime in the later 1600's. As you can imagine, it's hard to find out exactly what things were done, and when. I know there have been so many renovations made here and there and this is definitely part of the investigative work I'm doing now. It's exciting and mystifying haha. For example, there's a breezeway to a giant barn (now garage) in the back of the house which apparently started out as a chicken coop. At some point, a second floor was added to it and it was used as a place to keep hay, and now it's back to one floor and is a lovely (but awkwardly spacious) breezeway from the kitchen to the garage. The kitchen is another beast - that was renovated circa 1970-80…the linoleum floor is going to be one of the first things to go! And yes, the shutters are definitely smushed in some places, haha! They seem to be there in the oldest pictures of the house (late 1800's) so they have definitely cozied right into those spaces over time.

Anyway, I will definitely be hanging around here a lot and will have lots of updates/questions/items needing advice. Thank you all again for your warm welcome!!!


PS - I'm attaching pictures of the master bedroom from the corner looking in towards the house (it's the second floor corner closest to you when you see the initial picture I posted). It may seem confusing but there is a giant built-in headboard, and the closets (and the lean to of the house) sit behind this. I'm also attaching a picture looking toward the room from the perspective of the bathroom…You might also notice there is a shower that you have to step down into! The third picture is of the aforementioned breezeway from the outside looking toward the front of the house.

Nifty house I'm glad you saved it! My in-laws owned a very old farm in Groton, MA The house had indian shutters; in fact the original owner was kidnapped by Canadian Indians. He eventually escaped & returned to Groton a few years later.