Dorchester Illustration no. 2411 16 Howe Street, Bragg-Howe House
We have heard that the Howe House at 16 Howe Street is the subject of a petition to demolish. The City of Boston Assessor’s website shows the lot where the house is located comprises 5200 square feet, and a small separate lot of vacant land at the back has another 1260 square feet. We have heard that the developer has proposed building 6 units on the 2 lots. Reportedly the application to demolish is the subject of a hearing before the Boston Landmarks Commission to determine whether the Commission will approve a 90-day demolition delay.
Today’s illustration shows the house in earlier times. It comes from the Dorchester Historical Society collections and is apparently a published photograph. There is no indication of its source, but it appears to be from the 19th century. There is also a more recent photograph showing its more recent appearance.
Although the 1977 survey produced under the auspices of the Boston Landmarks Commission estimates the construction date as about 1800, it is likely the building was not erected until the mid 1830s. Hannah Bragg, widow of Nahum Bragg, sold the property out of her deceased husband’s estate to Samuel B. Howe in 1842. She referenced a deed from Thomas Bird to Nahum Bragg dated April 8, 1835, which makes no mention of buildings on the land. It is likely that Nahum and Hannah built the house after they acquired the land in 1835. The house appears on the 1850 map of Dorchester.
Samuel Howe was an inspector of leather at 28 N. Market Street, Boston. He conveyed the property to Leonard Howe in 1848. It is unclear what their relationship may have been. Leonard was born in Sturbridge in 1792 and married Ann Evans in Newton in 1811. They were in Dorchester by 1820 when Leonard and his family members were counted in the US Census. Ann died in 1874, and Leonard died in 1879. They are buried in the Dorchester Old North Burying Ground.
Christopher Kingsley, who lived in this house in the past, reported a couple of years ago about the elements of the house that may be original. These include interior details combining Federal-period forms with Greek Revival elliptical moldings and fluted pillars. He says the house is probably the vernacular product of a creative local housewright. However the house does not seem to meet the level of significance that would be required to designate it as a Boston Landmark. A Boston Landmark must be of at least regional significance, and in spite of its age, this house appears to be significant only at the local level. [Note: as of July 26, 2019, it appears that the results of new research may provide the level of significance for the Boston Landmarks Commission to designate the property as a Boston Landmark. The significance may be related to various factors and most probably to Lowell Kingsley’s ownership of the property. Lowell was headmaster of the first special education school in the country, the Kingsley School in Boston, founded by his mother.]
Proposed changes to a Boston Landmark must be approved by the Boston Landmarks Commission. Other designations, including National Register of Historic Places, do not prevent demolition.
We wish the house could be saved. The 90-day demolition delay, if imposed, will give interested parties a chance to come up with a plan that might save the house. If anyone has a bunch of money and wants to buy a historic house, here’s the opportunity.