Ebenezer Hancock House

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Ebenezer Hancock House
John and Ebenezer Hancock House 2023.jpg
Pictured in 2023
Ebenezer Hancock House
Location10 Marshall Street,
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Coordinates 42°21′42″N71°03′24″W / 42.36162°N 71.05676°W / 42.36162; -71.05676
Built1767(258 years ago) (1767)
Part of Blackstone Block Historic District (ID73000315)

The Ebenezer Hancock House is a building at 10 Marshall Street in Downtown Boston, Massachusetts. Located in the city's Blackstone Block Historic District, at the corner of Marshall Street and Creek Lane, the building was erected in 1767 as a home for John Hancock. [1]

Contents

History

Thomas Hancock, who owned the site in the mid-18th century, willed it to his nephew, John, in 1764. Built by John in 1767, [2] he transferred the building's title in 1776 to his brother, Ebenezer, who was Deputy Paymaster-General of the Continental Army. In 1785, the three-story building was owned by a city merchant. [1]

1929 addition Ebenezer Hancock House Addition.jpg
1929 addition

It was later used as an inn where guests such as George Washington and Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, are believed to have stayed. In 1778, the French silver crowns Admiral Charles Henri Hector, Count of Estaing, brought into Boston, as backpayment to Washington's Eastern Continental Army, were stored in the house. A business has occupied part of the ground floor since the late 18th century, including as the nation's longest continuously running shoe store (between 1798 and 1963), established by Benjamin Fuller. [1] As of 2023, it was the home of lawyers Swartz and Swartz.

The remainder of the first floor and, it is believed, all of the upper levels, were a restaurant and tavern during the 19th and 20th centuries. Those floors have also been used as a boarding house, an officer's club and a museum. [1]

In 1929, an addition was added on the left, creating an ell. The ell was extended back in 1942, covering an original window. [1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Ebenezer Hancock House: Boston Landmarks Commission Study Report – City of Boston (1977)
  2. "Ebenezer Hancock House Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved May 4, 2025.