Josiah Quincy House

Infobox_nrhp | name =Josiah Quincy House
nrhp_type = nhl


caption = The Josiah Quincy House, Quincy, Massachusetts
location= Quincy, Massachusetts
lat_degrees = 42
lat_minutes = 16
lat_seconds = 18
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 71
long_minutes = 0
long_seconds = 56
long_direction = W
locmapin = Massachusetts
area =
built =1770
architect= Pierce,Deacon Edward
architecture= Georgian
designated=September 25, 1997
added = May 28, 1976
governing_body = Private
refnum=76000285cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service] The Josiah Quincy House (1770), located at 20 Muirhead Street in the Wollaston neighborhood of Quincy, Massachusetts, was the country home of Revolutionary War soldier Colonel Josiah Quincy I, the first in a line of six illustrious Josiah Quincys that included three Boston mayors and a president of Harvard University.

Having inherited the land from father Edmund, Josiah built his mansion on a convert|200|acre|km2|sing=on farm called the "Lower Farm," which had been in the family since 1635. [Information provided by Eastern Nazarene College, history of the Babcock Arboretum, written by Gerry Wood, founder. Another mansion was added in 1848, known later as the Quincy Mansion, but was torn down in 1969 by its then-owner, Eastern Nazarene College.] It was originally surrounded by fields and pasture overlooking Quincy Bay. It is constructed with an unusual monitor roof, the oldest known example of this roof style to survive from the original colonies, and includes a Chinese fretwork balustrade and classical portico. Its attic contains four small rooms for servants, one with a fireplace.

During the American Revolution, Quincy aided General George Washington by observing the British fleet in Boston Harbor from his attic windows. He scratched on a pane of glass in the attic, “October 10 1775 Governor Gage saild for England with a fair wind.” That glass pane has been preserved and now on view in the front hall.

The house is now owned by Historic New England, a non-profit historical organization, and open only five Saturdays a year (May-September) and by special appointment.

References

External links

* [http://www.historicnewengland.org/visit/homes/quincy.htm Josiah Quincy House Website]