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Rockland Ma. Historical Commission | |
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This is a typical five-bay to the street Cape Cod house of which there are many in Rockland. The central chimney identifies this as an early house with a symmetrical plan; however, the thin frieze and the pilasters supporting a heavy entablature show signs of Greek Revival influence in this design. The space between the lintels and the cornice also is part of Cape Cod design in the first half of the nineteenth century. The two small windows in the second story of the gable end are consistently found on Cape Cod houses in the area. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE James Pratt married Polly Show in 1818 and sometime between that year and 1830 he constructed this house for himself. By 1874 the house had become the property of Henry R. Curtis who died that year. The 1879 map gives the property of Henry R Curtis Heirs as the owner of the house. According to the 1867 directory Henry R. Curtis was a Union Street merchant. He may have had his shop here. As late as 1903, H.R. Curtis Heirs seem to still own the house. In 1910, however, the owner was William Bradford, a shoemaker who acquired the house in that year from William C. Torrey (The Torrey family started the banks in Rockland. Torrey Enterprises ) . In 1916 Bradford was still living here with his wife Jennie. The house is particularly important to this neighborhood for having served as the Hatherly, Massachusetts, post office from 1895 to 1906. the post office was named for the owner of the first grant in Northern Rockland. It’s reported that this house also was a chocolate store, a tire store (Washburn Tire) and purchased by the Sullivan brothers (the birth of Sullivan tire). BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCE Map of Abington, 1830,1848. Map of Plymouth County, 1857. Atlas of Plymouth Country, 1874,1879,1903. Directory of Rockland, 1867,1916. Campbell, Martha. Research Reporter # 621, 8/9/1979 |
