Bazaleel Taft Jr. House and Law Office | |
Location | 195 South Main Street Uxbridge, Massachusetts |
---|---|
Built | 1807 |
NRHP reference No. | 83004135 [1] |
Added to NRHP | November 7, 1983 |
The Bazaleel Taft Jr. House and Law Office are a historic house and law office building at 195 South Main Street in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. On November 7, 1983, they were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [2] The House and Law office reflect the Georgian Architecture Style.
Elmshade, built in 1807 at 195 South Main Street, was built in the Georgian architecture style, and was a gift for Bezaleel Taft Jr from Bezaleel Taft Sr., on his graduation from Harvard Law School. [3] Bezaleel Jr. was the grandson of Lydia Taft, America's first woman voter. Bazaleel Jr. was practicing law next door in a brick building. Like his Father, Taft Jr. also became a State Senator and a representative to the General Court. [3] He also served on the State Executive Council. He served as President of the Blackstone National Bank, of which he was a founder, for nearly 20 years. [3]
Five generations of the Taft family descendants lived at Elmshade. [3] A number of them had powerful political and legal careers, including George S. Taft, Bezaleel Jr's son. [3] George was a lawyer, District Attorney and private secretary, chief of staff, to U.S. Senator George Hoar in the 1880s. [3] His influence probably led to the Lincoln Square, Worcester Court House being erected., [3] The "Life of Alphonso Taft by Lewis Alexander Leonard", on Google Books, is a particularly rich source of the history of the Taft family in Massachusetts. [4] Elmshade was the site of Taft family reunions such as in 1874. [3] Young William Howard Taft visited this home with his father Alphonso Taft, U.S. Secretary of War and founder of Skull and Bones at Yale. Alphonso Taft, who also served as United States Attorney General under President Ulysses S. Grant, delivered a powerful oratory on the Taft family and its roots in this area at this historic home during the reunion in 1874. [4] Young William Howard Taft, and his brother Charles Phelps Taft, who founded the Chicago Cubs, both likely heard the speech. President William Howard Taft again visited this area, and this home, as a youth when he spent summers and even a term of school in Millbury. He would return here many years later as the American President to visit his kinfolk. The New York Times recorded President Taft's visits to his ancestral homes in Mendon and Uxbridge during his presidency. [5]
In the colonial period of America, the Georgian Architecture style was also built with wood and clapboard, though much of the construction was of brick. Wood clapboard is the style used for the Bezaleel Taft Jr house. The office was a brick style building. The link for Georgian architecture notes these distinctions.
Mendon is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,228 at the 2020 census. Mendon is part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, an early center of the industrial revolution in the United States. Mendon celebrated its 350th Anniversary on May 15, 2017.
Uxbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts first colonized in 1662 and incorporated in 1727. It was originally part of the town of Mendon, and named for the Earl of Uxbridge. The town is located 36 mi (58 km) southwest of Boston and 15 mi (24 km) south-southeast of Worcester, at the midpoint of the Blackstone Valley National Historic Park. The historical society notes that Uxbridge is the "Heart of The Blackstone Valley" and is also known as "the Cradle of the Industrial Revolution". Uxbridge was a prominent Textile center in the American Industrial Revolution. Two Quakers served as national leaders in the American anti-slavery movement. Uxbridge "weaves a tapestry of early America".
Lydia Taft was the first woman known to legally vote in colonial America. This occurred at a town meeting in the New England town of Uxbridge in Massachusetts Colony, on October 30, 1756.
Peter Rawson Taft was an American politician. He was President William Howard Taft's paternal grandfather.
Robert Taft Sr. was the first Taft in the United States and the founder of the American Taft family.
Bezaleel Taft Sr. was an American Revolutionary War soldier, Captain and American legislator from Uxbridge, Massachusetts.
Hon. Bezaleel Taft Jr. was born in Uxbridge, Worcester County, Massachusetts on September 8, 1780 and died in Uxbridge, at age 65 on July 16, 1846. He was a State Senator and Massachusetts politician.
Samuel Taft was a Revolutionary War soldier who later hosted his former commander in Chief, President George Washington, at his home, on his inaugural tour of New England.
Luke Taft was an industrial pioneer in the manufacture of woolens in 19th century New England.
Moses Taft 2nd was born at Uxbridge, Massachusetts. He was significant as an early American Industrialist and financier in the historic Blackstone Valley, and a member of the famous Taft family.
North Uxbridge is a village and a post office in the town (township) of Uxbridge in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The postal zip code is 01538. It is classified as a community or populated place located at latitude 42.088 and longitude -71.641 and the elevation is 266 feet (81 m). North Uxbridge appears on the Uxbridge U.S. Geological Survey Map. Worcester County is in the Eastern time zone and observes DST. North Uxbridge is located about 36 miles WSW of Boston, and 15 miles SE of Worcester. The town meeting in 1885 set aside North Uxbridge as a "special district", since its population had exceeded 1000 people. North Uxbridge appeared to be a separate Census tract in the 1960 census with a population of 1882. In 2013, an Uxbridge DIY show, The Garage, with Steve Butler, went worldwide from Steve's garage in North Uxbridge.
Wheelockville is a village in the town (township) of Uxbridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the village centering on Mendon and Henry streets is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Wheelockville Historic District. Wheelockville appears on the Blackstone U.S. Geological Survey Map. The Village receives municipal services from Uxbridge, for fire, police, EMS, School district, public works, and other services. Worcester's Judicial District includes Uxbridge District Court. The geography of Wheelockville includes several other distinct mill villages, including: Hecla and Elmdale.
The Cornet John Farnum Jr. House, built circa 1710, is one of the oldest homes in the historic Blackstone Valley town of Uxbridge, Massachusetts. On May 7, 1980, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Hon. Bazaleel Taft House is a historic house at 240 South Main Street in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. The oldest portion of this now-large house was built c. 1780-90 by Bazaleel Taft, and is a fine regional example of late Georgian architecture. The house was adapted for use as a restaurant in the 1960s, which has since closed. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The Moses Taft House is an historic house at 50 South Main Street in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. It is a two-story wood-frame structure, five bays wide, with a side gable roof, central chimney, clapboard siding, and granite foundation. Built c. 1850–55, it is a fine local example of Italianate architecture, with paneled pilasters at the corners, paired brackets under the eave, and molded caps above the windows. Additions extend the original house to the side and rear.
The E. Albee House is an historic house located at 217 Chapin Street, in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. Probably built in the mid-18th century, it is a well-preserved example of rural vernacular period architecture. On October 7, 1983, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Taft family of the United States has historic origins in Massachusetts; its members have served Ohio, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, Utah, and the United States in various positions such as U.S. Representative (two), Governor of Ohio, Governor of Rhode Island, U.S. Senator (three), U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Attorney General, U.S. Secretary of War (two), President of the United States, and Chief Justice of the United States.
The history of Uxbridge, Massachusetts, founded in 1727, may be divided into its prehistory, its colonial history and its modern industrial history. Uxbridge is located on the Massachusetts-Rhode Island state line, and became a center of the earliest industrialized region in the United States.
Stanley Woolen Mill is the common historic name applied to a defunct company based in southeastern Massachusetts and to the company's buildings which stand at the southern entrance to the Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park. The mill is an important footnote in the history of the textile industry in America. Stanley Woolen Mill is the centerpiece of the Central Woolen Mills District which is part of the National Historic Register.
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