Sawyer Homestead (Sterling, Massachusetts)

Last updated
Sawyer Homestead
A reconstruction of the Sawyer Homestead, Sterling MA.jpg
A reconstruction of the Sawyer Homestead, photographed in 2010
USA Massachusetts location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location Sterling, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°25′59″N71°43′49″W / 42.43306°N 71.73028°W / 42.43306; -71.73028
Area33 acres (13 ha)
Built1756
Architectural styleColonial, Early Republic
NRHP reference No. 00001036 [1]
Added to NRHPSeptember 13, 2000

The Sawyer Homestead was a historic house at 108 Maple Street in Sterling, Massachusetts. With an estimated construction date of 1756, the house was one of Sterling's oldest surviving structures, before it was destroyed by an arsonist in 2007. It was also notable as the birthplace of Mary Sawyer, who alleged she was the subject of the American children's nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb". [2] The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. [1] The Sawyer family, whose descendants still own the property, have had a reproduction of the house built on its site.

Contents

Description and history

The Sawyer Homestead is located in rural eastern Sterling, at the junction of Maple Street and Rugg Road. It is a 1+12-story Cape style wood-frame structure, four bays wide, with an off-center interior chimney, clapboard siding, and a stone foundation. The main entrance is in the second bay from the left. A single-story gabled ell extends to the rear. The property included, prior to the rebuilding effort, an early 20th-century Federal Revival outbuilding, and a barn was located across Rugg Road. The barn was also destroyed by an arsonist, in 1979. [2]

The original house had a complex evolutionary construction history, dictated by the changing demands of the Sawyer family, who occupied the house for more than 250 years. The traditional historical claim is that the core of the house was built in 1756 by Ezra Sawyer, Jr., who died while serving in the American Revolutionary War. Sawyer's granddaughter Mary is believed to be the girl described in the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb," attributed to Sarah Josepha Hale. Sawyers lived in the house until 1889, and owned it and the surrounding farmland for most of that time as well. The property then stood vacant and deteriorating, but remained the property of a Sawyer family trust. [2] It was destroyed by an arsonist on August 12, 2007. [3] The family then decided to recreate the house, beginning construction in 2008. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sterling, Massachusetts</span> Town in Massachusetts, United States

Sterling is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,985 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Had a Little Lamb</span> Nursery rhyme

"Mary Had a Little Lamb" is an English language nursery rhyme of nineteenth-century American origin, first published by American writer Sarah Josepha Hale in 1830. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 7622.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Cullen Bryant Homestead</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The William Cullen Bryant Homestead is the boyhood home and later summer residence of William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878), one of America's foremost poets and newspaper editors. The 155-acre (63 ha) estate is located at 205 Bryant Road in Cummington, Massachusetts, overlooks the Westfield River Valley and is currently operated by the non-profit Trustees of Reservations. It is open to the public on weekends in summer and early fall for tours with an admission fee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Artemas Ward House</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The General Artemas Ward House is a historic house at 786 Main Street in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. Commonly known as the "Artemas Ward House", it was the lifelong home of Artemas Ward, American Major General in the American Revolutionary War and a Congressman from Massachusetts. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Bull III House</span> Historic house in New York, United States

The William Bull III House is on a hill overlooking the Wallkill River in the Town of Wallkill in Orange County, New York. It was built by Bull, who was the grandson of early settlers Sarah Wells and William Bull, sometime in the 1780s. William Bull III was a lieutenant in the American Revolution under Col. Oliver Spencer and was at Valley Forge. He received a brevet commission for merit from Lord Sterling after the Battle of Monmouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jabez Partridge Homestead</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Jabez Partridge Homestead is an historic farmstead at 81 Partridge Road in Gardner, Massachusetts. With its oldest part dating to about 1772, it is one of the oldest buildings in the town, built by an early settler, and is a good example of Federal period architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laflin-Phelps Homestead</span> United States historic place in Southwick, Massachusetts

The Laflin—Phelps Homestead is a historic house at 20 Depot Street in Southwick, Massachusetts. Built in the early 19th century, circa 1808–1821, it is a local example of Federal style architecture. The property was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hoar Tavern</span> United States historic place

Hoar Tavern, or the Hoar Homestead, is a historic tavern and house northeast of downtown Lincoln on Reiling Pond Road in Lincoln, Massachusetts. With a construction history dating to 1680, it was for nearly two centuries home to the Hoar family, a prominent legal and political family in Massachusetts. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolfe Barn</span> United States historic place

The Rolfe Barn is a historic barn at 16 Penacook Street in the Penacook village of Concord, New Hampshire. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. The barn was first added to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places in 2003; additional structures on the property were added in 2005 (homestead) and 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abijah Richardson Sr. Homestead</span> Historic house in New Hampshire, United States

The Abijah Richardson Sr. Homestead is a historic house at 359 Hancock Road in Dublin, New Hampshire. Built about 1795, it is one of Dublin's oldest houses, built by Abijah Richardson Sr., one of the town's early settlers and progenitor of a locally prominent family. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reuben Lamprey Homestead</span> Historic house in New Hampshire, United States

The Reuben Lamprey Homestead is a historic house at 416 Winnacunnet Road in Hampton, New Hampshire. Built in the 1770s, the property is the best-preserved colonial-era farm complex in the town. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deacon Samuel and Jabez Lane Homestead</span> Historic house in New Hampshire, United States

The Deacon Samuel and Jabez Lane Homestead is a historic farmstead at 132 Portsmouth Avenue in Stratham, New Hampshire. Built in 1807, the main house is a fine local example of Federal period architecture, with carvings executed by a regional master craftsman. The property is further significant because the owners at the time of its construction kept detailed journals documenting the construction of it and other buildings on the property. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nutting Homestead</span> Historic house in Maine, United States

The Nutting Homestead is a historic farm complex on Maine State Route 121, south of the center of Otisfield, Maine. The property has been owned by the Nutting family and its descendants since the late 18th century and exemplifies the adaptive use of farm properties over time. The oldest portion of the farmhouse dates to 1796, and other buildings in the complex date mainly to the 19th century. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theron Boyd Homestead</span> Historic farm in Vermont, United States

The Theron Boyd Homestead is a historic farm property on Hillside Road in Hartford, Vermont. The centerpieces of the 30-acre (12 ha) property are a house and barn, each built in 1786. The house, little altered since its construction, is one of the finest early Federal period houses in the state. The property is owned by the state, which has formulated plans to open it has a historic site. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McNeil Homestead</span> Historic house in Vermont, United States

The McNeil Homestead is a historic ferry-related property off Wings Point Road in Charlotte, Vermont, USA. The complex includes a 19th-century house, former tavern, and barn, all built by members of the McNeil family, the first operators of the Charlotte-Essex Ferry, whose eastern terminus is just south of the property. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lamb Homestead</span> United States historic place

The Lamb Homestead is a historic farm property at 47 Lambtown Road in Ledyard, Connecticut. Developed since the early 18th century, it is one of the town's oldest farms, with a long association with the Lamb family, early settlers and important in the development of the Lambtown area of the community. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

The Fowler-Clark-Epstein Farmstead is a historic house and farm complex at 487 Norfolk Street in Boston, Massachusetts. Possibly built sometime between 1786 and 1806, the house on the property is one of the city's oldest surviving farmhouses. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020. It is now home to the Urban Farm Institute, a local nonprofit organization.

The Maple Hill Farm is a historic farm property at 65 Maple Hill Road in Norwich, Vermont. Encompassing more than 40 acres (16 ha) of woodlands and pasture, the farm has more than 200 years of architectural history, including a late 18th-century farmhouse built by Peter Olcott, and two barns from that period. It remained an active farm property until 1966. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redstone School</span> Historic schoolhouse in Sudbury, Massachusetts, U.S.

The Redstone School is an historic one-room school located in Sudbury, Massachusetts. Built in 1798, it is believed to be the school which Mary Sawyer took her lamb to in the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Tyler</span>

Mary Tyler was an American woman who is believed to have been the "Mary" on which the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb" was based, a claim she stated at the age of 70. The authorship of the nursery rhyme itself is also in doubt.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 "NRHP nomination and MACRIS inventory record for Sawyer Homestead". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  3. "Man guilty of arson charges - MassLive.com". 2016-03-04. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  4. "Mary Sawyer house rises from ashes". The Landmark. July 10, 2008. Retrieved 2015-10-21.