The Nathaniel Topliff Allen Homestead is a historic house at 35 Webster Street in the village of
West Newton, in
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located roughly west of Downtown Boston, and comprises a patchwork of thirteen villages. The city borders Boston to the northeast and southeast (via the neighborhoods of ...
. The Greek Revival house is notable as the home of
Nathaniel Topliff Allen (1823–1903), an innovative educator in the mid-19th century. Allen's pioneering work influenced the development of new teaching methods taught at the state
normal school (established in Newton, now
Framingham State University
Framingham State University (Framingham State or FSU) is a public university in Framingham, Massachusetts. The university, then known as the Normal School in Lexington was founded in 1839 as the first state-supported normal school in the United ...
). The house is listed in the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
,
and is currently owned by Newton Cultural Alliance.
Description and history
The Allen Homestead, located at the northeast corner of Webster and Cherry Streets in West Newton village, consists of three connected wood-frame structures: Allen's -story Greek Revival house with a temple front facing Webster Street, built about 1848–1852 (probably by Milo Lucas, a local builder); a two-story flat-roofed structure, built in the late 19th century as a dormitory; and a -story gable-roofed schoolhouse.
In 1847,
Horace Mann
Horace Mann (May 4, 1796August 2, 1859) was an American educational reformer, slavery abolitionist and Whig Party (United States), Whig politician known for his commitment to promoting public education, he is thus also known as ''The Father of A ...
, the Massachusetts Secretary of Education, hired Allen to operate a model school in Newton, where students could be taught using methods developed at the nearby
Normal School. Allen had attended
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (; RPI) is a private university, private research university in Troy, New York, United States. It is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere. It was establishe ...
and taught previously in a number of public high-schools before coming to West Newton. Allen's school became an internationally renowned showcase for teaching methods, and rapidly outgrew its facilities. When the Normal School moved to
Framingham
Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a popula ...
(becoming the school now known as
Framingham State University
Framingham State University (Framingham State or FSU) is a public university in Framingham, Massachusetts. The university, then known as the Normal School in Lexington was founded in 1839 as the first state-supported normal school in the United ...
), Allen purchased its building to continue running his school,
West Newton English and Classical School
West Newton English and Classical School, also known as the Allen School, was a model school in West Newton, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1854 by Nathaniel Topliff Allen (1823–1903), an educator and protege of Horace Mann ...
. Allen's innovations included the first-ever
kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...
, and an emphasis on physical fitness, exemplified in part by the school's large (for the period) gymnasium.
Nathaniel Allen married Caroline Swift Bassett of Nantucket in 1853; their daughters also taught at the school.
See also
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References
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Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Newton, Massachusetts
Houses completed in 1848
History of education in the United States
Greek Revival houses in Massachusetts