Eustis Estate

Last updated

Eustis Estate Historic District
Eustis Estate, Canton Ave., Milton, Massachusetts.jpg
USA Massachusetts location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location1424 Canton Avenue, Milton, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°13′54″N71°6′27″W / 42.23167°N 71.10750°W / 42.23167; -71.10750 Coordinates: 42°13′54″N71°6′27″W / 42.23167°N 71.10750°W / 42.23167; -71.10750
Area110 acres (45 ha)
Architect William Ralph Emerson and others
Architectural styleLate Victorian
NRHP reference No. 16000099 [1]
Added to NRHPMarch 22, 2016

The Eustis Estate is a historic family estate on Canton Avenue in Milton, Massachusetts. Its centerpiece is the mansion house of William Ellery Channing Eustis, an eclectic Late Victorian stone building designed by preeminent architect William Ralph Emerson and constructed in 1878. The estate also includes several other houses associated with the Eustis family, and a gatehouse and stable historically associated with the main estate. The estate was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district in 2016. [1] Most of the original estate is owned by Historic New England, and was opened to the public as a museum property in 2017. [2]

Contents

Interior of mansion Eustis Estate P1030733.jpg
Interior of mansion
Mansion with Blue Hills in the distance Eustis Estate P1030767.jpg
Mansion with Blue Hills in the distance

Description and history

The Eustis Estate occupies 110 acres (45 ha) of uplands in a rural-residential area of Milton, and abuts the Blue Hills Reservation at its rear. 80 acres (32 ha) of the estate are protected by conservation easements. It is located on the southeast side of Canton Avenue, just east of its junction with Dollar Lane. Set close to Canton Avenue are two houses, one of which is a 1950 ranch house that is not historically significant, but stands on land subdivided from the estate in the 1940s. The other is a three-story wood-frame house, built in Hyde Park by Frederick A Eustis II in the 1890s and moved to this location in 1910. Standing across the street from each other are a stable and gatehouse, both built out of uncoursed stone. These were designed by William Ellery Channing Eustis and built in the late 19th century; the stable is now in separate ownership and has been converted to residential use. [3]

The main house stands well back from the road, and is now accessed via a drive located south of the gatehouse. It is a three-story masonry structure, exhibiting an eclectic mix of stylistic elements from popular late-19th century styles. It is built out of local stone, with accents of red and yellow brick, and is covered by a red tile roof. It has a porte-cochere with Romanesque arches, and numerous gables and projecting sections that are typical of the Queen Anne style. Its roof is pierced by six chimneys, which exhibit multi-colored bands of brickwork. The house was built in 1878 to a design by Milton architect William Ralph Emerson. [3]

The estate was developed beginning in 1878 by William Ellery Channing Eustis, whose family had long owned land in the area, augmented by land acquired through the family of his wife, Edith Hemenway, who was an heir to her father Augustus Hemenway's mercantile fortune. The estate house remained in the family until it was sold in 2012 to Historic New England (HNE), a regional architectural historic preservation organization. HNE has also acquired the Frederick Lothrop II House. [3] [2]

Current uses

The house is operated as a museum that exhibits artwork owned by Historic New England; it can be rented for weddings and other events. [2] In 2021, a sculpture exhibit was installed on the grounds in cooperation with the New England Sculptors Association. [4] [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

Milton, Massachusetts Town in Massachusetts, United States

Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and an affluent suburb of Boston. The population was 28,630 at the 2020 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and architect Buckminster Fuller. In 2007, 2009, and 2011, Money magazine listed Milton as 7th, 5th, and 2nd, respectively, on its annual list of the "Best Places to Live" in the United States.

Milton Abbas Human settlement in England

Milton Abbas is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England, lying around 5 miles southwest of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 Census the civil parish had a population of 755.

Eaton Hall, Cheshire Country house in Cheshire, England

Eaton Hall is the country house of the Duke of Westminster. It is 1 mile (2 km) south of the village of Eccleston, in Cheshire, England. The house is surrounded by its own formal gardens, parkland, farmland and woodland. The estate covers about 10,872 acres (4,400 ha).

William Henry Channing

William Henry Channing was an American Unitarian clergyman, writer and philosopher.

William Ellery Channing (poet)

William Ellery Channing was an American Transcendentalist poet, nephew and namesake of the Unitarian preacher Dr. William Ellery Channing. His uncle was usually known as "Dr. Channing", while the nephew was commonly called "Ellery Channing", in print. The younger Ellery Channing was thought brilliant but undisciplined by many of his contemporaries. Amos Bronson Alcott famously said of him in 1871, "Whim, thy name is Channing." Nevertheless, the Transcendentalists thought his poetry among the best of their group's literary products.

Divinity Hall, Harvard Divinity School United States historic place

Divinity Hall, built in 1826, is the oldest building in the Harvard Divinity School at Harvard University. It is located at 14 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The Old Manse United States historic place

The Old Manse is a historic manse in Concord, Massachusetts, United States, notable for its literary associations. It is open to the public as a nonprofit museum owned and operated by the Trustees of Reservations. The house is located on Monument Street, with the Concord River just behind it. The property neighbors the North Bridge, a part of Minute Man National Historical Park.

William Ralph Emerson American architect

William Ralph Emerson was an American architect. He partnered with Carl Fehmer in Emerson and Fehmer.

Thomas Dawes American judge

Thomas Dawes was a patriot who served as a Massachusetts militia colonel during the American Revolution and afterward assumed prominent positions in Massachusetts's government. His positions included membership and chairmanship of the Massachusetts Governor's Council and representative in both the House and Senate. As chairman of the Governor's Council, Dawes served briefly as the de jure presiding officer of the executive branch of Massachusetts' state government for ten days – May 20, 1800 to May 30, 1800 – following the death of first Governor Increase Sumner and then Lieutenant Governor Moses Gill.

Franklin Benjamin Sanborn

Franklin Benjamin Sanborn was an American journalist, teacher, author, reformer, and abolitionist. Sanborn was a social scientist, and a memorialist of American transcendentalism who wrote early biographies of many of the movement's key figures. He founded the American Social Science Association, in 1865, "to treat wisely the great social problems of the day". He was a member of the so-called Secret Six, or "Committee of Six", which funded or helped obtain funding for John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry; in fact he introduced Brown to the others.

Grey Towers Castle United States historic place

Grey Towers Castle is a building on the campus of Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania which is in Cheltenham Township, a suburb of Philadelphia, USA. The castle was designed by Horace Trumbauer and built starting in 1893 as the estate of William Welsh Harrison. The university purchased the estate in 1929 for $712,500, equal to $10,738,590 today. Classes were split between the two locations until 1962, when the school moved all of its operations to the Glenside area. The castle was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985 for its architecture.

Shirley–Eustis House United States historic place

The Shirley–Eustis House is a historic house located at 33 Shirley Street, Boston, Massachusetts. It is a U.S. National Historic Landmark.

William Channing Whitney American architect

William Ellery Channing Whitney was an American architect who practiced in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He specialized primarily in domestic architecture, designing homes for many prominent Twin Cities families.

Charles H. Tenney

Charles H. Tenney was proprietor of C. H. Tenney & Co., established 1868, and become one of the most successful commissioned merchant and hat dealers in the world. He was also a director of the Bank of the Manhattan Company and life trustee of the Bowery Savings Bank.

Tenney Castle Gatehouse United States historic place

The Tenney Castle Gatehouse is a historic gatehouse at 37 Pleasant Street in Methuen, Massachusetts, United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 20, 1984. It is the only surviving element of the large estate of Charles H. Tenney, a leading local industrialist.

Fisher Hill Reservoir United States historic place

The Fisher Hill Reservoir and Gatehouse are historic elements of the public water supply for the Greater Boston area.

Victor Channing Sanborn American genealogist

Victor Channing Sanborn was an American genealogist whose documentation of the Sanborn line and other genealogical studies continue to be reliable source material.

Merton Hall, Norfolk Country house in Merton, England

Merton Hall is a 19th century country house in Merton, Norfolk, England. The extant north-west wing is a Grade II listed building The 17th-century gatehouse, the 19th century stables and other associated buildings are also listed. The house stands in a park about 2 miles in length.

Scraggy Neck is a peninsula in Buzzards Bay south of the Cape Cod Canal, in Cataumet, Massachusetts, USA. It is south of Wings Neck and southeast of Bassetts Island.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 "Eustis Estate". Historic New England. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "MACRIS inventory record for Eustis Estate". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  4. "Looking Back with 20/20 Vision". New England Sculptors Association. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  5. "Looking Back with 2020 Vision". Historic New England. Retrieved July 31, 2021.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Eustis Estate at Wikimedia Commons