The Kendal Green Historic District is a rural residential district running along North Avenue (
Massachusetts Route 117
Route 117 is a east–west state highway in Massachusetts, running from Route 12 in Leominster in northeast Worcester County to U.S. Route 20 (US 20) in Waltham in central Middlesex County.
Route description
Route 117 begins in the city ...
) in
Weston, Massachusetts
Weston is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, about 15 miles west of Boston. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, the population of Weston was 11,851.
Weston was incorporated in 1713, and protectio ...
. It extends for about three-quarters of a mile, and includes elements representative of the development of Weston from a rural agricultural community to a residential suburb 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 addition to a variety of predominantly residential and agricultural properties, it includes two formerly industrial sites important in Weston's history: the site of the Hobbs Tannery, and that of the Hook and Hastings Organ Factory.
The district 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 v ...
in 2000.
Description and history
North Avenue is a through street in northeastern Weston that dates to colonial days, now connecting
Waltham to
Maynard. It is roughly paralleled to the south by the
Fitchburg Railroad
The Fitchburg Railroad is a former railroad company, which built a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, United States, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. The Fitchburg was leased to the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1900. The main li ...
, now primarily used as a commuter rail line by the
MBTA
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...
, with a stop labelled
Kendal Green
Kendal Green station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Weston, Massachusetts, US, served by the Fitchburg Line. The station has a single platform serving two tracks; it is not accessible. It originally opened with the Fitchburg Railroad in 1 ...
just south of North Avenue on Church Street. The historic district extends along North Avenue between Hobbs Brook Road in the east to Viles Street in the west, where the
Hastings
Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
commuter rail station is located. Most of the district's properties line North Avenue, with an extension on Church Street to including the historic station building there, and along Viles Street and Brooks Road to include a small industrial area.
The Weston area was first settled in the 17th century, when it was part of
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 ...
, and North Avenue was one of the locuses of early settlement. The oldest building in the district is the c. 1707 Whitney Tavern at 171 North Avenue. In 1729 Josiah Hobbs (for whose family
Hobbs Brook
Stony Brook is a stream largely running through Lincoln and Weston, Massachusetts, then forming the Weston/ Waltham boundary, and emptying into the Charles River across from the Waltham/ Newton boundary. It has two tributaries, Cherry Brook and ...
is named) purchased much of the land in this area, and also acquired a
water right
Water right in water law refers to the right of a user to use water from a water source, e.g., a river, stream, pond or source of groundwater. In areas with plentiful water and few users, such systems are generally not complicated or contentious ...
at which he operated a tannery, one of the first such industries in the
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...
. Five generations of Hobbses operated the tannery for more than an century, and built a number of surviving houses in the district, including 87, 88, and 121 North Avenue. #87, the
Isaac Hobbs House, is separately listed on the National Register.
[
The railroad, which effectively bounds the district to the south, was built through the area in the 1840s, but did not immediately affect development. In the 1880s the E. and G.G. Hook and Hastings Organ Company built a factory on Viles Street at the railroad, which became the town's largest employer and a significant economic force in its development. Although none of the company's industrial buildings have survived, a significant number of houses on North, Viles and Brooks were built either by the company or by others to house its workers.][
]
See also
*
References
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Waltham, Massachusetts
Buildings and structures in Weston, Massachusetts
Historic districts in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts