M H C 7-0-8 Lowell ASSACHUSETTS ISTORICAL OMMISSION

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FORM B BUILDING

MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION

MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING

220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125

Photograph (view from SW)

Locus Map (north is up; see detail maps below)

Recorded by: John D. Clemson

Organization: Dracut Historical Commission

Date (month / year): April, 2017

Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number

7-0-8 Lowell DRA.38

Town/City: Dracut

Place: (neighborhood or village): East Dracut

Address: 379 Methuen Road

Historic Name: Peabody - Wilson Farmhouse

Uses: Present: residential and agricultural

Original: residential and agricultural

Date of Construction: c. 1830 - 1840

Source: vital dates

Style/Form: Federal/L house

Architect/Builder: unknown

Exterior Material:

Foundation: granite

Wall/Trim: vinyl clapboards/vinyl

Roof: asphalt

Outbuildings/Secondary Structures: two barns, two sheds and a farmstand, all of recent vintage

Major Alterations (with dates): vinyl siding application,

1985-1990

Condition: fair

Moved: no yes Date:

Acreage: 827,640 square feet/19 acres

Setting: Agricultural with some recent residential in-fill.

INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET DRACUT 379 METHUEN ROAD

MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.

220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125

Continuation sheet 1

DRA.38

Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form.

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION: Although somewhat altered through the application of vinyl siding during recent decades, the Peabody - Wilson Farmhouse, likely constructed during the 1830s, is an example of the Federal or Neoclassical style of a house type known generally as the L house. This type, massed in a fairly complex manner with a formal, symmetrical, two-story, five-bay façade, represented an evolution from the previous period’s hall and parlor type. Here the 32-foot-wide and 19-foot-deep forward main body of the house is reserved for genteel activities while kitchen and work spaces are relegated to a rear ell. The ell on this example extends from the left-rear corner of the main body and is massed in a “knee-wall” fashion with a half-height second level (knee-wall construction was a new development during the early through-mid-19th century and is framed in a manner whereby the studs extended beyond the second floor and the rafters rest on a plate half-way into the second story).1 Within the re-entrant angle formed by the main body and ell on the back of the house is an extension of the ell to the side sheltered by a shed roof that is an extension of the ell’s gable. The shed terminates on the right side in a solid, utilitarian-appearing door at grade that suggests this is a work space or wood shed. The single-pile-deep main body, enclosed under a moderately pitched gable roof, is accessed by a formal center entry. Although the frontispiece appears to have been altered during recent decades and the door replaced, what are likely early or original ¾ sidelights survive. The location of two chimneys centered on each half of the rear elevation suggests a two-room-per-floor plan separated by ether a lobby entrance or a full-depth center circulation and stair hall. The fenestration pattern on each side elevation, in which a single bay of windows if off-set toward the front of the house, suggests an effort was made to maintain symmetry on the interior elevations of each room and that the voids flanking the fireplaces are filled with closet spaces. An exception to this is an at-grade door in the left elevation that either leads into the rear ell or several steps up into the left parlor. Although the cornice, side wall treatments and casings have been lost, the original two-over-two sash and six-light fixed sash that light the garret of the ell survive. The house is sited close to and facing the intersection of Methuen and Island Pond roads to the southwest so that it aligns with the latter. The property includes 19 acres of open, pastoral farmland that extends in a jagged pattern toward the northeast. Originally described as a 54 acre property, the adjacent open parcels to the west may either be part of the original acreage or more-recently subdivided. The house is carefully aligned with the intersection of Methuen and Indian Pond roads behind a carefully manicured circular drive. The front yard is landscaped with grass, foundation plantings and one specimen tree. At least five other detached buildings are located on the property generally in alignment with its western boundary (see figure 2 and 3). Directly behind and to the north of the farmhouse are two barns of recent vintage. The closer gabled barn, constructed of cinderblock with a wood trussed roof ca. 1980, has a large, tall garage door located in the right of two bays on the south-facing elevation. To its left is a small domestic one-over-one window, which is the only other opening on the building visible from a public way. A wood silo is attached to its southeast corner. The second barn, ca. 1980s, again further to the north, is wood-framed and sheathed in board and batten. Its only visible egress is a small domestically scaled door at the right end of the south elevation. It’s only ventilation two four-light, fixed-sash windows above at the loft level. A complex of open sheds is sited somewhat to the east but is barely visible from the public way. Finally what appears to be a mobile farmstand with a sign reading “Frank’s Farm” currently sits in the front yard. This small shed-roofed structure appears to have been jerry-built of sticks and beaver board scraps but has been carefully maintained and, in appearance dating to the 1940s or 1950s, represents an important component of the history of the farm.

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE The previous form associates this property with the early Dracut family of John Gilcreast, but records of that family’s ownership could not be located. The 1856 county atlas identifies the owner as “E. Peabody.” This was likely Ephraim Peabody, whose

1 See: James L. Garvin, A Building History of Northern New England (University of New England Press, 2001) p. 24; This type of framing is depicted as early as 1852 in a pattern book published by E.S. Jones & Co. of Philadelphia under the original title The Model Architect, currently in print under the title Sloan’s Victorian Buildings (Dover, 1980) Design XXVII.





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precise identity could not be readily ascertained (three figures by this name were born in Methuen between 1783 and 1832 and numerous branches of the Peabody family in Essex County had more than one generation of members named Ephraim). Although a title search was only able to identify owners as early as 1902 with certainty, these records, which identify previous owners, combined with genealogical research, demonstrate that this farm was owned and developed during the second half of the 19th century by Clifton Wilson (1811 – Jul. 19, 1887) and his descendants. Several deeds also indicate the family owned property in Pelham, New Hampshire, Clifton Wilson’s birthplace. He was the son of Pelham farmer Eliab Wilson; his mother was Demaris Tolipher. By 1865 Clifton Wilson was consistently recorded as residing in Dracut with his wife, Hannah (Williamson, 1816 – Jul. 14, 1901), a native of Vermont, and children Demaris (b. 1840), Franklin C. (1848-1915), Rosabell (b. 1851) and Carrie E. (b. 1861). Although a record of Clifton Wilson’s marriage could not be located, vital dates indicate it took place between 1830 and 1840, suggesting a possible date for the construction of the farmhouse. These dates are consistent with the form and massing of the building. Recent deeds reference the names of abutters matching those listed in 19th century census records: the Solomon Shattuck and Oliver Richardson families. Non population agricultural schedules of the U.S. Census for 1870 and 1880 indicate the farm was moderately productive during this period as Wilson approached old age, notwithstanding the assistance of his son, Franklin (see below). The farm’s value was average for the neighborhood given its size (approximately 75 acres), at $4,000 to $5,000. In 1870 it specialized in potatoes, hay and dairy, which was common in Dracut for the period. By 1880 the total value of its products, at $700, was very low compared to its neighbors; products of the farm that year included milk, Indian corn, and products of the orchard. After Clifton Wilson’s death in 1887 subsequent deeds suggest the property was held in undivided shares by his widow and children. After the death of his widow Hannah Wilson in 1901 the surviving heirs, including Demeris Reynolds and husband Berkley W. Reynolds, H. Maria Felton, Charles A. Wilson, Rosabel Jaques and husband Frank M. Jaques, Fred A. Jaques, R. Grace Gurney and George H. Gurney, transferred their shares in the property to Franklin C. Wilson, who had worked for his father and continued farming operations at the property.2 Franklin Wilson married Eliza D. Fox of Dracut (b. 1846) on Nov. 14, 1891 but there is no record of any children. In 1916, the year following her husband’s death, Eliza D. (Fox) Wilson sold the property out of the family to John Kalap.3 Due to variations in spelling few records regarding this figure could be located. His draft registration card during World War I indicated he was born in Russia and that he was a self-employed farmer residing in Dracut, but no spouse was listed. In 1923 Kalap gave a mortgage to the Lowell Five-Cent Savings Bank in the amount of $1,500 and in 1937 the bank foreclosed on the property and forced its sale.4 Between 1937 and 1944 the property was held by short-term owner Joseph Stampien, who sold it to Peter Kerepka. The third generation of that family currently owns the property. Again, due to variations in spelling few records regarding the family could be located, but in 1930 the farm was occupied and operated by John Kerepka, who’s relation to Peter could not be ascertained, his wife, Anna, and eight minor children.5 Both John and Anna Kerepka were natives of Poland and speakers of Polish, immigrating in 1910. All of the children were born in Massachusetts. In 1953 John and Anna Kerepka transferred ownership of the farm to son Frank Kerepka and his wife, Pauline, and in 2001 Pauline, then a widow, transferred it to Francis J. Kerepka, the current owner.6

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES Dracut Assessor’s Department, Assessors Online Database. Dracut Engineering Department, Engineering Assessors Map. Ancestry.com. Census Schedules, Vital Records, City Directories, Maps & Genealogies. Google Books. Larson Fisher Associates, Historic Preservation Plan & Town-Wide Survey of Historic Resources for Town of Dracut, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, 2012. 1856 Map of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Henry F. Walling, Surveyor; Boston: Smith & Bumstead.

2 MCNRD 340:480, Feb. 27, 1902. 3 MCNRD 561:148-149. 4 MCNRD 687:175, Aug. 9,1923; 987:38, Jan. 29, 1937. 5 MCNRD 1083:43, Sep. 26, 1947, Peter Kerepka to John and Anna Kerepka. 6 MCNRD 1231:207, Aug. 5, 1953; 12300:306, Nov. 1, 2001.





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1875 County Atlas of Middlesex, Massachusetts. New York: J.B. Beers & Co., Dracut map on file at Dracut Historical Society. 1889 Atlas of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Boston: George H. Walker & Co., Dracut map on file at Dracut Historical Society. Dracut Historical Society Collections. Directories, Assessors Records, Town Annual Reports, Photographs. Coburn, Silas Roger. History of Dracut, Massachusetts (Lowell, MA: Press of the Courier- Citizen Co., 1922). Middlesex County North Registry of Deeds, see footnotes.

FIGURES

Figure 1. Additional land depicted on an adjacent assessor’s map.





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Figure 2. Parcel detail showing farmstead. North is up.

Figure 3. Aerial screen capture, Bing, showing farmhouse (1), concrete barn (2), wood barn (3), farmstand (4), and shed complex surrounding (5). Note that the image had to be re-oriented with north to the right in order to produce a clear image.





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PHOTOGRAPHS

View from W showing left elevation, ell, and first barn.

View from S showing frontispiece detail





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Cinderblock barn. View from SW.

Board-and-batten barn. View from SW.





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Shed complex to the east of house and barns; view from Methuen Road, S.





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National Register of Historic Places Criteria Statement Form

Check all that apply:

Individually eligible Eligible only in a historic district

Contributing to a potential historic district Potential historic district

Criteria: A B C D

Criteria Considerations: A B C D E F G

Statement of Significance by____Jennifer B. Doherty________________________ The criteria that are checked in the above sections must be justified here.

The Peabody - Wilson Farmhouse, constructed ca. 1830-1840, is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing property to a larger Methuen Road historic district. The Peabody - Wilson Farmhouse is part of a cluster of historic farmsteads in east Dracut, some of which retain their historic acreage and which are still used for agricultural purposes. Although the historic acreage associated with the property has been subdivided and early outbuildings lost, the land around the Peabody - Wilson Farmhouse is still cultivated and the property generally retains integrity of workmanship, design, materials, association, location, setting, and feeling. The Peabody - Wilson Farmhouse has been used as a farmstead continuously since the house’s construction c. 1800, and is significant as an example of rural residential construction in Dracut from the early nineteenth century. It is therefore eligible for listing under criteria A and C.

Documents

M H C 7-0-8 Lowell ASSACHUSETTS ISTORICAL OMMISSION