National Register of Historic Places

Boit, Elizabeth, House

Wakefield, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Listed
July 5, 1989
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
89000720

About this property

The Elizabeth Boit House is a historic house at 127 Chestnut Street in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Elizabeth Boit, co-founder of the Harvard Knitting Mills, also built on the west side, creating an estate compound on the summit of Cowdry's Hill that included three residences, formal gardens, a playhouse, and greenhouse. All three residences, 88 and 90 Prospect Street, and 127 Chestnut Street (1910-1913), were designed in the English Cottage style by Wakefield architect Harland Perkins. The stucco structures have red tile roofs, recessed entries, exposed purlins, and irregular fenestration. This, the main house is 2+1⁄2 stories in height, with an angled three-part layout, and is oriented toward the courtyard formed by the three buildings. This house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989, for its architecture, and for its association with Elizabeth Boit. She was one of the first highly placed female executives in the male-dominated management ranks of textile firms of the period, and is believed to be the only woman in a top executive position in the United States textile industry in 1923. She pioneered improvements in worker conditions, offering health care to factory workers and providing bonuses based on company profits. The compound she built at Chestnut and Prospect Streets is the only surviving estate of Wakefield's leading business executives. The home was listed for sale on September 16, 2021, for $1,990,000 and sold on November 4, 2021, for $2,750,000 to leading technology and Real Estate entrepreneur Marc Trachtenberg.

Location

127 Chestnut St.
Wakefield, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
42.50317, -71.08588

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

House at 90 Prospect Street
Industrial
0 mi
House at 88 Prospect Street
Industrial
0.1 mi
House at 6 Adams Street
Industrial
0.1 mi
Cowdry, Nathaniel, House
Industrial
0.1 mi
House at 22 Parker Road
Industrial
0.1 mi

Nearby Battles

Battle of Lancaster (King Philip's War)
1676Colonial
5.8 mi
Battle of Menotomy
1775Revolutionary War
7 mi
Skirmish at Menotomy (Arlington)
1775Revolutionary War
7.1 mi

Questions about this property

When was Boit, Elizabeth, House listed on the National Register?

Boit, Elizabeth, House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 5, 1989.

What type of historic resource is Boit, Elizabeth, House?

Boit, Elizabeth, House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Boit, Elizabeth, House?

The period of significance for Boit, Elizabeth, House is recorded as the industrial era.

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