Broad Oak also known as Broad Oaks, was an estate in

Dedham, Massachusetts Dedham ( ) is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 25,364 at the 2020 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest b ...

owned by

Edward Richards Sir Edward Trenton "ET" Richards (4 October 1908"Sir Edward “ET” Richards"< ...

and his family, and then later

Ebenezer Burgess Ebenezer Burgess (April 1, 1790 – December 5, 1870) was the minister of the Allin Congregational Church in Dedham, Massachusetts. Personal life Burgess was born on April 1, 1790, in Wareham, Massachusetts. He was graduated from Brown University ...

and his descendants. Today the name lives on as part of the Broad Oak Farm which is located on part of the original estate.

History

Though Dedham was intended to be a Utopian commune, and there was little disparity in wealth, Richards went by the title of "Gent" and, unlike others, aspired to a manor. He received large tracts of land, second only to the minister,

John Allin John Maury Allin (April 22, 1921 – March 6, 1998) was an American Episcopalian bishop who served as the 23rd Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church from 1974 to 1985. Early life Allin was born in Helena, Arkansas. He graduated from the Un ...

. One such tract of land was originally owned by a Mr. Cook, who was probably from

Watertown Watertown may refer to: Places in China In China, a water town is a type of ancient scenic town known for its waterways. Places in the United States *Watertown, Connecticut, a New England town **Watertown (CDP), Connecticut, the central village ...

. After Cook's death, the land was sold by his estate to

Anthony Fisher Anthony Colin Fisher (born 10 March 1960) is an Australian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and a friar of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans). Since 12 November 2014, he has been the ninth Catholic Archbishop of Sydney. He served as the ...

in 1652. The next year, Fisher sold it to Henry Phillips. This land eventually became Broad Oak. Richards purchased the property sometime between 1653 and 1670 and, while no record exists recording the transfer, it is suspected it was closer to 1670. Early records of the town indicate that Richards was interested in building a "manor house" on his extensive land holdings. The Broad Oak estate and house were located northwest of the Dedham village, on a bend in the

Charles River The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles b ...

, off West Street near the present day border of Needham. Edward Richards left the property to his son, Nathaniel, and Nathaniel left it to his son, Edward. It then passed down through generations of the Richards family, to Nathaniel, James, Ebenezer, and finally to Deacon Jonathan Richards. Jonathan sold it to his friend and minister, Rev.

of the

Allin Congregational Church Allin Congregational Church is a historic United Church of Christ church in Dedham, Massachusetts. It was built in 1818 by conservative breakaway members of Dedham's First Church and Parish in the Greek Revival style. History The preaching of ...

. The land was surveyed in 1831 and a deed drawn up then, but it was not recorded until 1838. It is presumed that Jonathan Richards, a widower, may have lived on the land for a time after he sold it to Burgess. Burgess tore down the Richards home and built a new mansion on the lot in 1839. Burgess operated it as an "extensive cattle farm." When a horse and buggy were stolen from the estate in 1904, the

Society in Dedham for Apprehending Horse Thieves The Society in Dedham for Apprehending Horse Thieves is one of the "oldest continually existing horse thief apprehending organization in the United States, and one of Dedham, Massachusetts, Dedham's most venerable social organizations." Since its ...

attempted to capture the criminal. As of 1942, some of the original Richards estate was still in the hands of Richards family. The Burgess family remained at Broad Oak at least until the 1940s when State Representative

John K. Burgess John K. Burgess (circa 1863–1941) was a selectmen and state representative from Dedham, Massachusetts. He lived in the Broad Oak estate. At the time of his death in 1941, he was 78 years old and a retired farmer and engineer. Burgess was a se ...

lived there.

Notes

References

Works cited

* * *` {{DEFAULTSORT:Broad Oak Buildings and structures in Dedham, Massachusetts 1670 establishments in the Massachusetts Bay Colony History of Dedham, Massachusetts