The Edmund Fowle House is a historic house and local history museum at 28 Marshall Street in

Watertown, Massachusetts Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and is part of Greater Boston. The population was 35,329 in the 2020 census. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Square, and the West End. Waterto ...

, USA. Built in 1772, it is the second-oldest surviving house in Watertown (after the Browne House, built c. 1698), and served as the meeting place for the

Massachusetts Provincial Congress The Massachusetts Provincial Congress (1774–1780) was a provisional government created in the Province of Massachusetts Bay early in the American Revolution. Based on the terms of the colonial charter, it exercised ''de facto'' control over the ...

in the first year of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. Now owned by the local historic society, it was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1977.

Description

The Edmund Fowle House is located northeast of Watertown Square, on the south side of Marshall Street between Spring and Mount Auburn Streets. It is a two-story wood-frame structure, with a hip roof, central chimney, and clapboarded exterior. It has a five-bay front facade, with a center entrance sheltered by a projecting enclosed flat-roofed vestibule. The vestibule entry is flanked by sidelight windows and framed by fluted moulding.

History

The house was built by Edmund Fowle (1747–1821) in 1772, and was originally located on Mount Auburn St., then called Mill St. Watertown was the seat of

, its ''de facto'' government, during the British occupation of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

. The committees of the 2nd and 3rd Provincial Congress met in this house from April 22 to July 19, 1775, and the Executive Committee met here from July 19, 1775, to September 18, 1776. In 1776 the

Treaty of Watertown The Treaty of Watertown, the first foreign treaty concluded by the United States of America after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, was signed on July 19, 1776, in the Edmund Fowle House in the town of Watertown, Massachusetts Bay. ...

, the first treaty signed between the newly formed

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

and a foreign power, the St. John's and

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the nort ...

First Nations of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, was signed in this house. Sturgis and Brigham Architects (Charles Brigham and John Hubbard Sturgis) purchased the house in 1871, moved it to its present Marshall St. address and converted it into a two family residence. The Historical Society of Watertown purchased the house in 1922. The Historical Society was awarded $500,000 in 2004 and another $200,000 in 2006 by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the restoration of the Edmund Fowle House. The grand re-opening of the house took place in May 2008.

References

External links

Historical Society of Watertown
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Houses completed in 1772 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Historic house museums in Massachusetts Museums in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Watertown, Massachusetts 1772 establishments in the Province of Massachusetts Bay Georgian architecture in Massachusetts

Description

History

See also

References

External links