The Dedham Community House is a house on the banks of the Charles River 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 and operated by the Dedham Community Association.

Haven house

It was originally built in 1798 for

Judge Samuel Haven Samuel Haven (April 5, 1771 – September 4, 1847) was an American judge. Personal life Haven was the son of Jason Haven and the grandson of Samuel Dexter through his daughter, Catherine. He was born April 5, 1771, in Dedham. On March 6, 1799, he ...

and designed by

Charles Bulfinch Charles Bulfinch (August 8, 1763 – April 15, 1844) was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first American-born professional architect to practice.Baltzell, Edward Digby. ''Puritan Boston & Quaker Philadelphia''. Tra ...

. The land was once owned by Haven's father,

Jason Haven Jason Haven (March 2, 1733 – May 17, 1803) was the longest serving minister of the First Church and Parish in Dedham. Personal life Haven was born on March 2, 1733, in Framingham, Massachusetts. He was graduated from Harvard College in 1754. Whil ...

, and maternal grandfather,

Samuel Dexter Samuel Dexter (May 14, 1761May 4, 1816) was an early American statesman who served both in Congress and in the Presidential Cabinets of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Dexter was an 1881 graduate of Harvard ...

. It was noted as one of the most hospitable houses of the day in Massachusetts. The Havens entertained many distinguished guests, including

Richard Henry Dana Sr. Richard Henry Dana Sr. (November 15, 1787 – February 2, 1879) was an American poet, critic and lawyer. His son, Richard Henry Dana Jr., also became a lawyer and author. Biography Richard Henry Dana was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Novem ...

Elizabeth Peabody Elizabeth Palmer Peabody (May 16, 1804January 3, 1894) was an American educator who opened the first English-language kindergarten in the United States. Long before most educators, Peabody embraced the premise that children's play has intrinsic de ...

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...

and his wife,

Horace Mann Horace Mann (May 4, 1796August 2, 1859) was an American educational reformer, slavery abolitionist and Whig politician known for his commitment to promoting public education. In 1848, after public service as Secretary of the Massachusetts Sta ...

and his wife,

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (; August 29, 1809 – October 7, 1894) was an American physician, poet, and polymath based in Boston. Grouped among the fireside poets, he was acclaimed by his peers as one of the best writers of the day. His most fa ...

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (March 8, 1841 – March 6, 1935) was an American jurist and legal scholar who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932.Holmes was Acting Chief Justice of the Un ...

Washington Allston Washington Allston (November 5, 1779 – July 9, 1843) was an American painter and poet, born in Waccamaw Parish, South Carolina. Allston pioneered America's Romantic movement of landscape painting. He was well known during his lifetime for ...

and his wife,

Charles Folsom Charles Folsom (December 24, 1794 – November 8, 1872) was a classical scholar, librarian, and editor. He was librarian at Harvard College from 1823 to 1826. Folsom, born in Exeter, New Hampshire, Exeter, N. H., 24 December 1794, was the s ...

and his wife, Judge

Theron Metcalf Theron Metcalf (October 16, 1784 – November 12, 1875) was an American attorney and politician from Massachusetts. He was a New England jurist and served as an associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Personal life Me ...

and his wife, and

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

. The house is mentioned in ''The Life of Nathaniel Hawthorne'' by Julian Hawthorne. The rooms on the first floor feature high ceilings, long French windows, tiled fireplaces, carved mahogany mantles and moldings, and original chandeliers. A curved staircase leads to a second floor with smaller chamber rooms. After the Havens, the house was owned by Freeman Fisher.

Community House

In 1922 it was purchased by Charles J. Kimball and a group of civic-minded citizens for use as a community center. Today the Community House is dedicated to "advancing the educational, recreational, cultural and civic interests of residents of all ages of Dedham and surrounding communities." They offer a pre-school, summer camp, and a variety of classes and workshops throughout the year for all ages. In 1924, the House hosted six weeks of supervised play for children during the summer months. The program was expanded and moved to the various neighborhoods of town the following summer. In 2017, a grant from the

Foundation for MetroWest The Foundation for MetroWest is a foundation that supports the 33 cities and towns in the MetroWest region of Massachusetts. It was established in 1995 and as of 2017 had given $14 million to charities in the region, including the Dedham Communi ...

paid to refurbish the 27 windows of the building. As part of that project, old cupboards and cabinets were discovered after having previously been painted shut. The house was shown in the 2014 film The Judge.

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Works cited

* * {{Dedham Charles Bulfinch buildings Buildings and structures in Dedham, Massachusetts Houses in Norfolk County, Massachusetts Houses completed in 1798