The Ephraim Potter House, a historic house and former

pest house A pest house, plague house, pesthouse or fever shed was a type of building used for persons afflicted with communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, cholera, smallpox or typhus. Often used for forcible quarantine, many towns and cities had on ...

at 158 Fairhaven Road in

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the conflu ...

, is also known as the Pest House, a name used in the 18th century to describe a building in which to

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

those afflicted with communicable diseases such as

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

, or

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

. The house was built before 1792 and added to 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 1977, where it is listed at 153 Fairhaven Road. John Fitzgerald, the current owner of this old property, describes that it is his "dream is to keep it standing." The booklet, "Old Houses of Concord", by Mary R. Fenn contains the following information on the Ephraim Potter House:Old Houses of Concord, by Mary R. Fenn "Deacon Luke Potter, one of the first settlers, lived on the corner of Heywood Street and Lexington Road. His son Judah was the only one to perpetuate the family name before Judah's death in that house when it burned to the ground (June 20, 1721). Deacon Luke had acquired a large tract of land in the south quarter, in the vicinity of Fairhaven Road. At the time of the second division, houses were built on the property." "In 1752, Ephaim Potter married Sarah Taylor, which probably dates this house. Ephraim was one of the men who stored provincial supplies in his house prior to the Revolution - tents, tow cloth, canteens, etc." "At the time of the smallpox epidemic, vaccination was a newfangled idea; many people thought it was dangerous. When Ephraim's wife died of smallpox in 1792, it was thought to be important to engrave on her headstone that she had taken the disease in the natural way. She was buried in the small cemetery diagonally across from the house (across Route 2). Although hers is the only gravestone, it is thought that there are other graves there as well. The Potter House was used at this time as a hospital for those who were recovering from their vaccination treatment. Dr. Barrett was in the house one day when a traveler knocked on the door and asked if this were the hospital. "Yes," replied the doctor, "and I am one of the patients." "Elbridge Hayden bought the house in the early eighteen hundreds".

Historical Ownership of the House

Ownership records below with references were identified during a review of deeds at the Middlesex County Registry of Deeds. Ephraim Potter, builder ca. 1752. Darius Hubbard – sold the house to Elbridge Hayden for $1,000, “Potter Place” including “Potter Wood” 28 acres on July 18, 1846.Deed - Middlesex Registry of Deeds Elbridge Hayden sold the house to Laura J. Dwelley, July 31, 1894. Laura J. Dwelley to George F. Wheeler, April 25, 1908. Blanche E. Williams, Conservator of the Estate of George F. Wheeler to Leslie L. Keese, April 26, 1924. Leslie L. Keese to Davis et el., December 19, 1941. A.H. Elfner. Robert Venuati, 1971 John MacDonald. Ken Brown. John and Maria Fitzgerald, April 1994 to Present (1.5 acres).

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Houses completed in 1792 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Concord, Massachusetts Houses in Concord, Massachusetts Quarantine facilities in the United States 1792 establishments in Massachusetts

Historical Ownership of the House

See also

References