The Library of Kirkland House -- The John Hicks House

The Library of Kirkland House -- The John Hicks House

CitationHammond, Mason. 1984. The Library of Kirkland House -- The John Hicks House. Harvard Library Bulletin XXXII (2), Spring 1984: 149-175.

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Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XXXII, Number 2(Spring 1984),

The Library of Kirkland House - The John I-licks House

A1asou Hau11no11d

--.,,. 11 E: ] i brary of Kirk]a nd I-Jou se has the distinction, an1ong H;irvard liLraricsl of (Jccupying one of the t,vcnty-one pre-Revolutionary houses in {:a1nbridgc, and the only one of these south of i\1t. Auburn Street. 1 It \Vas con1pletcd by

one John I-licks in 1762. Both the house and its successive inhabitants have played a ro]c in the hi story of Can1 bridge, at lea st in the area in '1 1hich the house stands. In 1932 F.sther Stevens (l\·1rs. Ccci]) Fraser, ,vho, ,vith her husband~ occupied the house f ronl 1922 to1 probably, car1 y 19 31 , pu bl is hcd a fuJ l account of the house and of those ,vho had preceded her in it. 2 Since this publication is no ]anger readily available 1 needs corrections, .and docs not cover the 1nore t hnn fifty .. years in \vhich the house has served as the library of Kirkland House~ a fresh account seen1s appropriate. The principal sources for the present accdu nt, ,vhich are listed and d iscussc<l in the Appendix., arc cited in the text and notes by author or short title follu,vcd in paren-theses by their nun1bcrs in the Appendix.

l\1rs. Fraser~s article ( 1) remains a prin1ary source. It has been supplcn1cnted and corrected fron1 Yarious other printed sources, fron1 materials in t,vo fo]ders on the house in the i;arvard Uni\'ersity Archives (l 2}, fron1 the 1-Iarvard Department of Buildings and Grounds {Il&G) file of ,vork done on the house in 1931 (14) and plans held by it of changes both in 192 8 and 19 31 ( 15)i f ron1 the publications of the Catnbridgc Historica] C:omn1ission (7 and 8)1 and particularly from its archi\'eS (13) .. .i\1r. Paul llockeln1ani Assistant Director of the

1 ,.J'hc pn.:-scnt anidc is a rc\~nrk~ng of tnl~ g[\Tn to the Senior Con1mon Hoorn of Kirkland 1-Iousc-in iH library on 26 October 1983. The Lihr:.rfan of H;:u·\·ard CoHcgc, \r. 'T. Fcngl a nl(!'mber of the SC Hi suggested that the talk be turned i11lo an article.

i !d rs. Fraser's art idc is i tern I in l he .~ ppcnd L x on the sources, and the j) age nu rn bers given (or it ~re thu~c or the public:uion in Old Time Are-w Englaud.

149


150 l!t11.,...vnrd l~ibrary llulletin

(~on1mission, kindly provided photocopies of the n1atcrial \,·hich it has on the house .. 1\1r. Roberr .r\. Ny 1 and er, ,vho provided n1uch of thi~ n1ateria], kindly al so co1n1nentcd on a first draft of this art ic1e+ The frequency ,vith ,vhich his comments are cited a nests to their helpfu]ness. For the period after Septernber 1931, ,vhcn the house opened as the l{irkland I-louse library~ the present librarian, l\1r . .i'vlartj n !vl. 1\1larks )71 C7 2), has kind 1 y corrected thr trxt fron1 the ... records of the I-louse.

In fl bout J 65 2 one Zechariah I-I irks bought a house \Vh ich had probably been bui1t ear]ier on a quarter-acre lot al the soutbeast corner or the present Boy ls ton and lvlt. 1\ u burn Srreets. 3 This 7 ... echariah died in 1 i02, and in 1727 his four chi]dren deeded the north half of the lot to the son of the oldest of the four, a second Zechariah. The son, nan1ed lohn (born ca. 1697), became thr father of the John ,vho built the I-licks 1-Ious-c. The location ,vas good, because after the building of the first bridge up the Charles f ron1 JJoston I-Iarbor in 1662, Boylston Street (then calJed \~1ood Street) becarne rnorc i1nportant than Dunster Street (then called \Vater Street}, ,vhich ran clu\vn to the to,vn dock.4 The ne,v bridge gave the first land con1n1unication to Boston~ acro.c,s to AHston, around through l{oxbury, and across the Neck into Boston along '\'ashington

3 l'hc DA n G,lidc (J) h:1s b~twccn pp. 34 and 35 a map of what il calls c'Caml.Jrjdgc Village.~· In this the En:sign Zt.:drnrial1 l-licks.San1ucl \Vhtttc-morc-\\'~t_i,;(m J1oi1~t:) described on pp. Jb'-39., is 5ho\.vn no. 41, ~lig~1tl y to th~ south of thl: junct1cm of \\'nod (no\\" Boylston) Street and Spring Lane-(now J\1t. Auburn Street}. Fr,-~~r ( l )., p. 99, speaks of the Zechariah 1-licks form n~ '1thc bnd wh;ch lay between Dunster and I lolyokc-t \Vinthrop and South Strcctsl the l~ucr then running along the Charle~ R1\1.T h~tn~/' l-lowcver, Nylander (1 J), p. 20 1 .srntc~ tlmt du:: \diole .uea was bid out in 1631 a~ house-lots, generally of a quarter acre (a rood), (l 11d f 11 at the fa rm in g lots bd ongi n g to t hl·m were-ca sf of Hthc Town .n The Zc.'c h :1 ria h 1-Jick~ lot 1..\-i'lS one of l'i,·c in the block bounded by i\11. Auburn1 Borlston1 \Vinthrop, and Dunster S1 rc~ts. The house w.as in the northwest corner or [ he lol, al the corner of J\-1t. Auburn nnd Uoylston Screets. A n1odd of 1-hr"ard <..:olkgc ;ind the surrounding area, in ,v,d<..'ncr Li1Jrary, ~hows them as they '-Vere Jn l fi77. '[\\'o houses nppe=ir on tht" lot of Zechariah 1-1 idl'.s1 11:1mely, one numocrcd 14 Jn tl1c att.tched kcr and .said to ha,·c bclongc<l 10 Sanrnel Goffe, and number 36, Ldonging to John Stcd man.

4 Begun :is early as 1632. in 17 51 lt became i\-larre11s \Vharft \\·hich 1-fan·~rd CoH~ge bought in 1812. Tu lht:: college \\'h:lrf in President Kirkland 1s time:~ a ~l•mp chri_i:,;ttncd lhe J lar-iiard brought firewood down fro111 j\fainc to heat th~: c.-o1lcge htdldings. \\rhen Nathaniel llov:d itch~ the ''Na dga tort \i..-.as elec wd to th~ Cu rpura I ion in 18 2 6, he found that firewood could he bought more cheaply in C~mbridge and had the sloop sold: S{~e S:imud Elcot l\lorison 1 Thur CorturfrJ qf Jfarv..Y1rd (Camhridgt"1 i\fass:.: Harnud Unin::rsll}' Pres:s1 1936)1

p. 220, and pp. 12 4 M 12 5.


/jbral)' of Kirkland I luuse 151 Strcct. 5 Until the dan1n1ing of the Charles River at L .. echn1erc Square in 1910, the riYcr ,vas-tidal ,,,iih a r1sc of as n1uch as eight feet off the co11egc ,vharf. The rcsuhing nu1rsh along the rivcrJs edge rench~d up 10 ,,·it.hin a hundred feet of South StreeL, then called .J\1arsh J .. anc~ Fron1 the 16 30s, there ,vcrc house lots bet\\~een ]v1 a rsh Lane and the edge or the IllHrsh. 6

l,he John I-licks \vho built the hou5e \vns, ns noted, a great-grand-son of the firsl Zechariah+ 7 1-f c ,vas born in 1725, probably in his

j Only after the RevohHion wa~ a bridge built fro1n Fast Carnurldgc to CirnrJeslown in 17 86, and the fl rst \\'est I~ o~I on !Jr idgt (prcdeccsso~ to the pre.sent :'.:i u ln~ y or 1 .,ong( d low bridge) in 1793. The laner, as ~hown IJy rm old n1Llcstone now i,1 the Old Burying Ground m..:.\t to the Fir.st Church Unitarian, shortened the distance from E·farv~rcl Square to no~I on from sc\·cn lo four 1ni!es. The dates of the uddgcs arc taken from Ctw1bridge in 1896 (10), pp. 2 and 29.

{i This paragraph is lJast:::d 011 N ylarukr (13), pp. 20.2 I; sec-als-o DAR Guir/r (3), nHtp IJct\\'l•cn pp. 34 and J5t Cnmbritlge ()j 1896 {10), pp. 2-4, and 1S33 m.-p of Cambridge (in Folder, 12). \Vhcn my fothe1.-1 S,unucl I·liimmond, 1881, rowc:d white al 1-Iarvard~ lhc-hoa thous~ s:t ood opposite \vh ere D ll ns tcr l ·[ ou~ e no,~· stands, :1 nd the uoa t $, bee-a use of l ht-t id r ! were hoisted up into il by slings. H l' also recalled tlrnt when rowing 1n th(' prc~~ul hasin in a fog the-cox too~ a \,.Tong turning into a .. 'gully-\\'indc-r'1 in I he mud flats. E,·c:n wlie..:n lhl: pn.:-scnt llo.athou5cs \\·ere buih :1t(nmd lfl(.• turn of the century, t l1c river was still tidal i bl1I they h~d, m1d ha\·ct floats with rarnp.s:; ~cc the Official Guidt (5), Pll· 167- l68. The darn·ming nf he rin.!r in l 910 permitted the cor1s1 ruction, on the Bo.1aot1 ~idl:" of the Ilasin, of an c:.~planf'dc-, which preceded the present Storrow Drh·c (l 93 l)t and 1 on the Cambridge s j d c:-, of l h C prcse.-nt road; 5('(' LJri C {I y 'Va I tcr j\ L \ Vh it~hm ' Br,sJon: A 1 'opns raphical II I! Wr)' (Can1hridgc-l j\·fass.: 1 J"hc Tidknap Press of ( he [ J ~rvan..l Unin.'rsity Press. 1959}i pp. 107-1 ORt with fig. 107, which shows the Ila:sin from lhc.:: C1'mhddgc side ami llOlc 3 2 un p. 2 J ~, \\'hich gi,·cs further uibl1ographic.1.I 1·eferc1\Ccs. ~1·hu~1 when President l .O\.\'cl], 187 7 l com-plc:11.xl t1 is thn:c nc._,. frC"shman dormitoritS i11 1914, namdy, Gore and Sl andtsh (nuw \Vinth-rop 1 Jol1Sc) and Smith H~!ls (now Kirl.:land I lous<.t the fou11dation:s h..!d lo hc.: sunk through tl1c-1n~r~hy deposits on the original ra\'er hnnk to solid footings:. Bt1t twice in my mcmoryt in 1929 (my photo~r~ph dated Julr 1929) and in the summer of l 955 (ju.'ll :ifter my retirement as 1\1astcr), the courtyard of Smith H alb; was fiUcd Ly murc than a foot al che ccnt~r because the nrnrsl1y 1n:1tertith bduw had gr.adua l1 y been compressed. The last fill set[ll!-:i to h:1\·c sta hj l izcd the Jcyc-] .

7 1 n th c third gc n i::-ra t t011 t here ·we re at least three Zedic1 ri ahs. A c-a rpc n ter 1s Hm n nm cd Zechariah gr.adu1tcd frnrn in 17 24, eventually bt?ca1nc mastt!r of the Noni• \VritJng School in Iloslon) and died in 176 t. Another Zcch:ui11h, son of Joseph1 earned his way through Han·ard and i thm~gh ohkr than his cousin~ grildL•atcd in 17 29. I-le beca1nc a Jnarincr and :ship bui1der and died in the \Vest Jndies, probahiy in Antigual IJt:forc 2 3 Fchruary 174 3/ 44. For these two, ,vho aucndcd [-Ian:ardt see Shipton/Sibley { 11 ). v·1 [, 35 7-359, :inn V 111, 585-586. A third Zech11ri1h is mc..:ntioncd in V 11, 3 57. Fra.,cr (I), p. 99, isi according tu ;\Jylandcr ( 13)~ p. 201 wrong to idi.:nt ify Zechariah the \\'rir1ng mJstcr as father of John of the house; as noted in the text, John son of a John, son of a Zechariah, ~on of the o~·igini31 Z{'dlari~1h. J\·fonr of th~ fan1ily "·ere .carpenters:~ i, c.:., perhaps, buitdcrs. For the.; rarious I-l1cksc.s~ sec c-ntric~ to Go:r7,(lldi1s Supplcme111 to Paigl''s }lfrt()ry of Can1hridge (9)i 1 i 3 74•367. This docs not always: gi,.·c the rcbtionships.


152 /Jar·vard lib1-a1y Bulle1i11

. . ! I • J- ••

'. ;_.' I .... i I ;;,. :

I ...... I. . •• • I •• --.i, 'I'".

l~he l·Hcks I-louse in Its Present Location

fa thcr John's house on the original Zech a rial, 's Jot J though the house n1ay not have been the original one. k Acl'.ording to N ylandcr (13), p. 20, father John had n1ovcd to Sutton, J\1as~achusctts, before 1731, \\then he so]d the house and Jot to his sister's husband, Sarnue1 \\'hitte-rnore. \\'hen~ therefore, the younger John ca inc to bui]d a house for hiJ11self in 17601 he bought fron1 one Ca]cb Prentice a Jot \vhich extended along \\'inthrop Street bct\vccn Dunster and 1-Iolyokc and \vhich measured l>et\veen a quarter and a third of an acre. 9

s For the originn~ J-licki; J1emsc, sec.' nutl' l. l~hc Appenl {2}, p. 1, says that Juhn thl: younger \\":ls horn •n what the:: DAR Guide 0}, pp. l 47-1481 describes as the ,\·atson-Dm·-enport 1 iousc~ wl1ich stood beyond Porter Squnc, roughly at the corner of 1\1assachuscns and Hindgc A\'ent1(\~. According to the 1\ppuJ/5 the:,; house had lie{"n destroyed three yc;irs. bcf ore 191 St the datC' or the: Appr!af_ Jn front of this house\ as "·m ;i ppclr hdow,. John ,vas shot in 177 5. l'\1yl:nnkr ( 13), P- 2 l, Ihinks lt ,·cry unlikely, and too coincidenrnl 1 that he should hav(~ IJ4."Cn horn in the sa1nc house in front of ,vhich he died, and therefore thinks it mu~t prol>:1l>lc that he was horn in his fathrr John's hOU$C1 as stated in the text.

Q N ylac~dcr (13.)1 p. 22 s sa~·s that most of the hfrx:1-:. bet.ween \\'inthrop~ Dun~u.~r, South) :ind 1-Iolyole Streets had Lcc>n conso!idalcd into onr holding benn:·cn 16&2 and 1690. ()n p.


Libra,:,, of A''irkland /-louse 153

• .I, ,.J • .

Cambridge /{i.~1orical Con,n1irsio11

The I-licks [-louse jn Its ()rig:inal Location

~rhis younger John is often ca1led a c:irpcntcr~ as ,verc other n1cn of the fan1ily. rn I Jc \Vas., ho\vevcr, a person of sufficient in1port'ancc in Can1bridgc to he appointed ta~ collector and to send his second son to 1-1 arvard. I-I cncc, he n1 igh t nlorc prop rd y he ca] I cd a cont raclor or bui]dcr. I-le 1narried an Elizabeth Nutting of \\ 1rentha1n. They already had at least t\vo sons \vhen he Guilt a house on the non h\vest corner of the Jut, that is, at the southeast corner of the junction bet \Veen J. .. ong (\\rinthrop) and ,v·ater (Dunster) Streets. 11 In 1928 the

3 he gm\'c-s the d~lc of Prcntfr·e.':i pun:hasc of it all as 8 Scptcmhcr 17 59. Pn'nticc subdivided the lot and ~old I J icks his piece on 8 February 1760. l lick~ ,..,·.is thus: in close proxirnit y to bis undc: \Vhillcmorc, a block \\:est, :ind lO otber Hick.~ rdati\·cs whu li\·cd do\\'n Doyl~ton Suec1 orl bnd purdrn:scd by the original Zc:drnri:ih) sec Nybm.lcr ( 13}, pp. 20-21.

rn Pnig-c-(9), pp. 580-581, ghrcs no occupatton for E-licks. Jn the ,·arious deeds of sa!e .ahhreviatcd hy Nybmdc.:r ( 13)l pp. J-5 s John 1-1 tcks i.~ called •1J111slx1ndm,m .s1 Foxcrofl at1d \Villard (below in the text) .::in . .:: \·ariously •1Esq.i, or ~igcnt.~1

11 A photograph in the J )AR Gr1h/e (3}, opposite p. 58t shows the Hicks ]·louse in its original location, this is o nc of the t t •re~ photogrn phs no,v in th c Ca •n brm d ge I I i ~t o-rica l


154 /Jar-vard Libra1J Bullftin house ,vas n1oved to its present Jocation at the southeast corner of the junction hct\veen Boy ]ston and Sou th Strcctsr After the n1ove the huu~c kept jts original orientation, to Le described present1y, andt curiously, the san1e nun1 bcr, 64 1 on lioyJston Street thnt it had had

¥

on l)unstcr Street. ,\s the house is no,v, i L consists of three parts: a three-story piece

,vith a garnlJrcl rooC one roo,n deep, and ,vith six roon1s, t\vo on each floor; this faced on l)unster Street \\'tth the Liter number 64r Ar its back, or cnst side.\ and running east along \Vi nthrop Street,, ,vas a t\vu-story section ,vi lh a hip roof; this had a large ki Leh en on the ground floor and three roun1s on the second (Joor. 1 t a]so had its o,vn stair, bct,veen it and lhc front section. ~l"he stair gave onto an outside door, origjnaHy opening on \\·1inthrop Street. ~A.gainst the south ,vall of the kitchen and c he cast ,vaH of the main section \\!as bu ih at .son1c point a Jean-to of one story ,vith a sloping rooL ()rjginaHy, this seen1s nol tu have had any outside entrance t though no\v it has a door gi\'ing into the passage ,vhich ,vas conslructc<l in 19 3 I to connect the house to C cntrv of l(irkl and I-I ouse . ..

J7rascr ( l ), p. 100, says l hat Hicks'::. original huu sc \\'as only the front section \vith six roo1ns i and (p. I 08) she hazards the guess that the kitchen section ,vas added by Sidney \\ 1il1ard, \vho occupied the house in the car1y nineteenth century. She argues this fron1 the factl a.s she says, that the kitchen section \\'as attached 1 o the main section by t\VO h1rge iron '"'barbs.t or iron pieces ,vhh barbed heads ,vhich \Vere driven into the si1l of the front part and riveted to the foundation of the kitchen pa rt. She never explains ho\v or \\I hen l h c lean~tu ,v hich no,v constitutes the entrance roo1n of the ]ihrary can1e to be added. To this vie\\' it n1ay be ob jcctcd that neither ground floor roon1 in the front section is rea11y suitab]e for a kitchen and that one \vould have

Cummis:s:ion fiks ( 1 J}; ~-1r. Boc-kdman pn;vidf;d copie:; of it. On the map in the DAR (;uidl! (.l), U<.!"tv.·cen pp. 34 and 35, I he-housi...· i~ no. 16, giv~n with tnc names of previou.~ occ11p:1nL,;;; of the site: Simon \Villatd-J\lidu;]sc.m-Grct:n-Coolidgc-Hccks; Hicks should1 of cou1·se, pr<.:-cl!'de \\'il l:lrd and C.rccn ~rid Coolidge do nut ~ppear elsewhere as owners. ]nth~ Appeal of I92~ (2)1 p. l, is a larer phmogrnph, v.-hich shows-the huusC" much tidied up and pait1tcd \.d1fr(.;', prc:s-u m:ably during the- Fr~B;er.•l occ~Ip:1ncy :;ifH~r 192 2. ]n !Joth photographs the und,ucd stone marker which nmv -~tands in tt1c fcnr:c in front uf the house, on Boylston Street 10 I Ii~ le:ft of the gate, appears againsl the north $ide of the ,vinthroplDuristcr Streets corner. This niarke..:-r J~ in dud-rd in a list of markers of histortc hons:c-s, etc., in CamLridge, in the Pub!ittl!iont, r, of the CamLridgc HistorjcaI Socic~y1 v.·hich contain~ the JJnueedirr,g.1· for 19 June 1905-24 Apr~] 1906, a~ r10, l 6 on p . .57, with no date for it~ erection.


l.ihra1)1 ~{ Kirklaud l/011sc 155 expected I-licks, ,\'ith a gro,ving fc1n1i]y., to ha,'e provided his ne\v house \,,ith a decent: ldtchen \\'t th a large fireplace. lvl ore over, plans of 1928 ( 15) call the t,vo roon1s of the \Ving 1'kitchcnn and '1c1l.n Ahhough the latter ,vould not appear fron1 her article to have been 17raser's tcnns~ it dues sound as if ,vhoevcr drC\V the plnn ,vhen the house "'" s n1ovcd kept _the terms then in use~ Subject, t herer ore, to n1orc convincing proof th nl the kitchen ,vns a ]n ter add it ion, I ,vil] assume that Hicks built the kitchen and that the lean-to ,vns the ~ce1l '' added later. 12

In 1771 I-I icks ,vas chosen tax col]ccctor for Can1 hridge 1 hut in 17 7 3 he \Vas behind in his rcmitta nces by a bout £212. n i\1 rs. Fraser ( l ), pp. l 04-107, thinks that as a ''revolution~ ry""' he \Vas un ,villi ng to contrj butc to the support of a governn1enl to ,vhich he \Vas opposed. In any casct he \Vas brought to tria] in !\larch 177 3, and his property ,\'aS declared forfeit to the govcrnn1cnt.. It \Vas sold for £252 to a prosperous (:an1brjdgc ]ando,vncr, John }/oxcroft. But Foxcroft 1noved into it only \\'hen his o,vn house burned do,vn in l 7i7. Thus 1

it is 9uite possible that Foxcroft ,vas sympathetic to Hicks and pcr-tnitted hi1n to continue to uccupy the house unti] his deHth in ] i7 5.

John l licks's t"'o u]dcst sons \Vrr-c, unlike their father, loyal to lhc

12 Support for Fras~r1s dew that the kitchen was not pan of tl1c origim1I house is pro\·idcd by tht:: model of H~u\·ard in 177 5~ in the \Vid{'11er Library (sec note- 3)1 tn it th~ front part appears at the southc::ist corner of Long {\\'inthrop} :ind ,ri.-ncr (Dunst('-r) Strcc-ts without the kitchen wing. 1-Io\\'e\·cr, the n1aker of the mm..lcl may ha\'e lJccn lc<l (:is \\"as ] un~il [ saw the 1928 Plan. 15) 1.Jy rraserts argument to regard the kitchen wjng as a later addition; cf. also notC' 36. A Crimron article of 1928 (photocopy in folder, 12) quotes the Society for the PreseiTation of ~·el,. England Antiquities to the effect tl1at the ''ell (is) prouaLly in part as: old as the houscB; sec also Appeal (2) 1 p. I. I 1cre prcsumaLlr hell 1, refers to the \\·hole kitchen ,ving. No \\'riter seems to di5tinguish the lean-to from the kitchen as a separate and perhaps lc1tcr addition. In s:upport of thi~1 howc\'cr, is the fact that the n1ain south foundations ol' the houst:: cont inuc: under the south \\-all -of the kitchen and do not inch1de the lean-to. r[•he 1928 Plan ( 15') shows the south wall of the lean-to carried on squarC" pillars. As s~en from out~~rle1

it now l'csts :iho\'e gl'ound an a brick '\\'all1 as does the hnuse generally. There 1s no rcndily va~ihle acccs~ to any crawl space under the lean-tot eithe.- fron1 the cellar rn· from out~ide_ The c.:ts:t \\'illl of the nrnin section fa carried on a ,\·all in thC" cellar for about h::1.lf its lc-ngth, i.e. 1 in the work room hack of the cellar st:Jirs. Ah hough all the cellar w.alh arc n1odcrn) the present \\'a 11 suggests that or igi na !l y the cast wa U h.ad its own sup porting ,vall, and not merely a beam carried on colun1ns. In the model mentioned abo\·c, the-house i~ in the key no. 45 1 ~1John Foxcroft (Htcks I-louse}.', t\s "·ill appear in the text, Foxcroft had bought the house in J 77 J and mo\·ed into it in l 77 7.

13 Nylander ( 13}, p. 3, gh·c:s: the judgment against I-lick~ as for £245l5/10, from a ,varrant d a i:-c-d 2 4 l)l'<.Tfn bc-r l 77 2 .


156 Haruard Libra1y Bulletin Brjtish cro\vn. 14 l""hc o]dcr son~ John Junior, apparently did not art end Harvard. lie heca111e a printer in Boston and published a Tory ne\vspapcr. ~J~hc second son, Jonath:ln, ,vas graduated fron1 Harvard in 17 70 and :-1 pprcn ticcd to a physician+ Both fled ,vhen the British cvacua ted Jloston on J 7 1\1arch 177 6+ l ohn returned after the Rcvo-.. lution, as did other ten1purari1y exiled ioyalists, and Jived prospcr-ous]y in Ne,vton+ Jonathan ,vas jai[ed by the rcvo]utionaries in Concord but 1nanaged to escape. I-le got to Ne\vport, H.hode Islandt "'hence he sai1ed to I-I al i fax as surgeon in a Il ritish regin1cnt. r r here he n1arried, perhaps in the sanle ycart and had a daughter. He \vent to the \Vest I ndics and apparent]y never· returned but died at lJcn1c-rara in 1826. His daughter ca1ne to live ,vith her Unc]e John in Nc,vton~ \vhere she died in 1795. This .suggests that perhaps Jona-than1s ,vifc dicd 1 either 1n childuirth or ]ater, and th~t ,vhcn he ,vent tot he \:Vest Indies~ John took charge of the baby or perhaps had her sent to hin1 if he had already returned to Nc\vton. BuL no statcn1cnt of ,vhaL happened to Jonathan's \vife or ho\v the daughter passed into John "s charge h cis Leen found.

John I-I ick~ h in1sc]f active1y supported the rcvo]utionreries~ Fan1i] y tradition report ~d that late in the evening of 15 Dccc1nber 17 7 3,. he ,vent out ,vithout Jetting his ,vif c kno\v and returned in the ear]y hours of the next 1norn ing \Vithout saying ,vhere he had been. l-Io,v-ever, he h(H.l ]cft his hoots do\vnstairs and his \vife, finding them ,vith tea in 1 heir bottoms, \Vas a hle to guess+ 15 C)n 19 April 177 5 John and t,vo friends heard that the British \\'ere retreating fron1 Concord through 1\1orth Can1bridge. l6 They hastened off \Vjth their tnuskets

14 Fraser (l }. pp. l 01-102l ;ind Appeal (2)1 p. J I say that only the oldcsl son, John. \\'as a Tory m1d fled, an(] that the ~i;;cumJ, Jonathan 1 eventually sen·ed us a surgeon in the Revoiution:1ry arn1y. I-]owcn:·r1 neither the H;1rvard Quinquennial Ciitnlogne of l 930, IJsting offircrs and graduates~ nor Shipton/S1bky ( l l)l which gi,·es biogrnphies of :11] \\·ho attended, confatns John. l~he-dtscussioo of Jo11ath:1n i:.,; frum Shipton/Sible}' (1 I), X VJI, 3 88-390, ,vhcrc there is also incidental mention of Jolin.

t5 Fraser ( i ). p. lOlt says that 1-lick~'s n10• her found the tea when .she c:une down c41r1y to prtpi'l re Lt<.:-i1 kfast. Considering the s h~e of J-1 acks' s fo m EI y, it st·l'....ms unl tkcl y tlrn t he ;! l_,;;;o had his n1othcr (if al in;) living ,vith him. Po~s;bly fan1ily crndilion recorded E-1 tcks as calling his wife i•mothcr_11

Lt> For Hicks's d ea 1h) s-ec F rn s<.T (I). p. 102. She says l hat he got his rH uskct and powd c-r horn from under a ]00.5 e bo.ard in the lmtn 1 ,vh ere hC" had kept it hidden from. Hri l is h :search 1

and thM he sadtHcd his horse to ride: to Nortl~ Can1lJr-iJgc. Although ,villia1n Di'l\\'CS had ridden frorn tl1c bridge up Iloylston Street early in lht morning to give the alarm of the British adnrncc .. I licks ,nts apparently not \\'akened and muse ha\'C gonl~ lo Nunh C:in1hddgc later in the day, ;iftcr the: battks at Lexington and C...onco1·d.


Libra1y of Ki1J...Ja11d House_ 157 and took their position in front of a house '"hich stood near the corner of the present l\1 assachusctts and llindge ,\venues. 17 ~fhey she] tercd bchiru1 .so1nc casks, but unfortunately, ,vhen they stood up to fire on the British, the ]a tter rllO\\'Cd do\vn al1 three \vi th a vol1cy. 18 The three bodies \Vere later brought hack and buried together in an u111narkcd grave in the ()]d Burying Ground across the street fron1 !via ssachusctts 1-1 al]. There in I 870 a n1en1oria 1 ,vas erected at the presun1cd place of huriaI to co1nn1cn1orate lhcn1 and three other Cain bridge n1cn slain in the Rcvol ution but hurjed else,,,hcrc. l 9

,\ftcr her husband's death, i\1rs+ I-licks, ,vith Jess money and six or se\·cn children sti l1 at horne'.I 1novcd to a sm a] Irr house. 20 IJu ring the presence of the rcvo]utjonary army in Ca111bridgc, in 1775 and 1776t c;enerals ,v·ashington and J>utnanl con1rnandccrcd 1he I-licks 1-Iousc for quarters for junior offi ccrs and for storage of supp 11 es. 1 t secn1s likcJy (though not stated) that they did so bec.:(1usc it \Vas en1pty; ho\vcver, the con11nandeering n1ay have spurred A1lrs. I-licks to her n1ove. 2 [ The }iousc prcsucnably continued cn1pty after Lhc troops ]cft

17 For th is hotl sc, wrongly idcn tificd in the .A /pr-al (2} ! p. 2 , as that \Vil en: Hicks was Llorn ! sec note 8.

18 Ji'r:JS{:r P)t p. 102, and the DAR Gnide (3 )1 p. 147. ::;ay thin the three men shdrcred behind a pitc of casks. A Crir,1sou ankle (note 12, in Fo!dcr, 12} says ''behind n stone wall.,! Nylander ( 13),. p. 24., .s:-.ys that stone- ,vaH:, Hn:! and were, very rare 1n tin: part of the Cambridge territory l:"a!:i:t uf Alewife Brook. In 1 he C\"cning, ~1rs. Hicl.s sent one of her sons to find her husband's ucxh·.

· c•) For the- 1nrnlumc-nt to 1-lic~s and others, !ICC Cambrid._![f iJi 1896 (IO}, p. 135, where it is said that e~c~vatlon pn.:paraEory to its erection turned up sc~·c-ral skulls ,vith IJl1 lh:t holes, which suggested that llH;_r w~rl' those of Hicks and his l \':O companions. For the rnonumcnt, Scl:" also DAR Guide U)i p. 139. Paige (9), pp. 4 I 2•4141-also gi,·cs th~ story of ]"lick~ and his twQ companions and 111cntior1~ th(.' monunu~nt of 1870; s~c also Gorzald i's Supph•mr,Jt {9)~ I, 3 74&3 7 5.

;.,o Fraser (I )i p. I 03~ spi?al~ of j\·]rs. E-1 icks's new rC"sidenc:c a~ L~hvo blue ks away~' frcnn he, old house and as stil1 ~to.nd1ng on \\'inthrop Street \\·hen sl1c '-\'rOfc. N yl::tr.dcr (13), p. 2 3, says th.at the hous-c is 98 \Vinthrop Street, \vhich was buih in 1806 anti in 1810 hought hy J\ir~. ]-licls 1s daughter, Si1rah Fl.1gg. 'Thu5, ·where J\frs. I 1ick~ lin:d from 177 5 to lf; I 0 is not knuwn. No. 98 n'inthrop Street is at the? \\"est end i on the south side:; sec Camb. l·li~r. Cnmn1. i Su,-i-1-:t· .•. of Old Cambridge (R}, p, 43 \\'Jth fig. 40.

i L Frnscr (1 ), p. 103 . .says that after 1\1r~. l lic~ks muvcd, the 1-l[cks hou~e ~~ood empty until com1rntnd~'.:rc.:d. I 1icks-died on 19 April l 77 5; Jhmkt:r Hill, ,vhcre Pu(nam commanded~ \\':ls on 27 J unt; :-i.nd \Va~hinf~ton took comm:1nd i,1 Cambridge on 3 July 1 l1C[lC(.;1 th~ time span is not gn::at. pl'hc rcvohnionarics appear to h,1\'C commandeered houses alrcHdy empty (\Vads\\'Orth 1-[ou_r;;;c; the Colkg(! had bcC"n :scnl on \·acation 0n J\1sy 1 and rcass~rnblcd in Cone-uni in the fall) or those of Joyulists (Elm\\uod, the \ta~sill and Crnigic l-Iou.scs, Apthorp I-1ousc). l knr.:l:",. it ~cerns likely that ll1c I-lick~ house was already (:mply "vhcn com1nan• decred.


158 H{1rvard Librt1J)' Bullc1i11

until 17 7 7-: ,vhcn John Foxcrof t, o,vner since 177 3, moved in. \Vith the ad\'cnt of Foxcroft~ the house ceased to \Vitness the excite-

n1cnt that the Ilevolution had urought to iL. Foxe.raft died in January 180 3 and left it to a ncphc\v, a second John. I-le in turn sold it in 1817 to Sidney \Villard, ,vho, Fraser {l), p. ]08t thinks, addtd the ,ving or cl1. l-lu"·cvcr, Ny ]and er { 13 ), p. 2, says that in 17 91 F oxcroft h 3d bought a house ad joining the I-licks I-louse. Si nee this does not appear in an inventory of his estate t n1adc in ] 80 3 after his den th, N vi and er

r

suggests that Fox croft had torn it do\vn. -Out he adn1its the possibility that he joined ·it to the I-licks J-]ouse to fonn the pantry, \\'ash roon1t and ,vood house ,vhich appear in the 1803 inventory (p~ 4 and p. 12). 22 If it has been correctly ns.surned a hove that the lean-to, and not the kitchen, is the "ell)' \V hich a pears to have been added I at er to l he hou sc, then it n1a y have been and not \\ 1111 a rd "'ho did so.

\\lillnrd, 1798! served as col1ege ]ibrarian fron1 1800 to 1805 Thus, in a \vay, he presaged the future of the house. J-Ic then spent about a year as a rcplacc1ncnt preacher. In Dcccn1ber 1806, he \Vns chosen as I-Iancock J)rofcssur of I-lcbrc\v and Other Orientg] L.anguages., a chair ,vh i ch he held unti] 18 31 . 23 In 18 39 he sold the housc 1 al though he Jived on clsc\vhcrc until 185 6.

The next O\Vner \\las a painter and glazier narncd John /\. Fulton, ,v-ho occupied the house for the u nusu aJ _ijpan of sixty-one yea rs, u nti] his death in 1900. An1ong various changes, he added the bay ,vindo\v on the sou th side at the first-floor 1 cvel, \Vhich opens into \\'hat ,vas 'probably his parloL l/rascr ( l ), p. l 08, says that also in this roon1 he insta l1cd a black n1arb]e fireplace, ,vhich is no longer there, and other

22 r--.1ylantkr (11), p. 2:l pnin1~ out th~ curious fact that John Fuxc:roh .. Jr., nc-,·er~ and \Villard sddoml appcrar on tl~c lJ\'. lists. Hut he c:omments on pp. 21-22 lh:1l tbt:: t::1.x iists: arc oddly tcmpc:nnncntill for rc-ilsons no longer discernible. lYill~rcl took a mortgage on the house in 11:,24, pcrh:ip.;;:, :1s ~yl.1ndcr (13 )1 pp. 5 and 2. ~uggl'"sls-. lo fin::1.nce the addition of the di.

n For Sid ncy \ Vi Ill rd, sec the Diet io-mU)' of i\ meria.m Hio,Rrapl~y I XX ( 19 J 6), pp. 2 3 9-240. He: ,nts I l1c son of the Re,·. Joseph ,Villard~ I 765, Pn::;cdent of 1-farva.rd from i780 to l804. Duri t1g hi.s pl'ofc:ssorship he had writtc-n fur variol•S rml.gazmnes~ and, on giving up his proks:sorship .. he dt::\nted himself wholly to \\TLttng-. l11 1831, he founded the A mrrirn11 Alonth{y RM,rrw (first issue Jr::nu:uy 183 2). He i:llso c;nlercd into state :md CamLddgc politics. ]-le parttcipaax1 in th!; jncorponuion of Cambridge as a cit)', and ~c:r\·cd ~'.-i it~ maynt frcmi 1848 to 1850. ~rhc J lick.~ ! louse appears on the 183 3 map (in Fuldt.:r~ 12} .:1s HProfcssor \Villard.,, According to [\lylandcr { B) 1 p. 2 :i, \Villard also owned a l1ousc at 30 1-Iolyoke Street from l 811 to 1832; oln"ious:ly he could not han:-lin:d in this after his sale of the I ~icks l-hn1~t:-in 18 39. n\· ::1.hout 1850 he "'as lh·inu somrwln~n~ ne:1r Allston Street in CambriJtrc-0 v port.


l..ibrn,)' ef Kirklaud If ou.w: 159

n1ante]picccs clsc\vhcrc in the house. After his death, his ,vido\v rented the house to students and in 190 3 ~o1d it to the I-larva rd R iver.sidc Trust~ through its represenla tive~ ;\ ugu st us P. l J)ri ng J J 8 7 8. 1,his trust ,vas f or1ned by concerned I Iarvard nlun1ni, Jed by Ed,vard \V. Forbes, 1895 ,vho farsightcd]y thought that the University should have H\'a i]a hlc land sou th of l\·1 t. J\ uLu rn Street. z-a

Ah hough the Charl cs River \VttS not dam n1cd until I 9 IO (note 6), the ground \,·here the houses stood \Vas high and dry enough to ra rry substantia] bu i] dings .. A.1 rcndy by the early r,venticth century a series of expensive, prjvatc ii:c;old C:oast" dorn1itorics, had been constructed along the north side of the street, and student clubs "·ere beginning to rise -along the souih side. 25 1-Io,vever, Lhe arcn around the Hicks I-louse had not been dc\'clopcd~ and the ~I 1·ust, and then the Univer-sity~ continuing tu rent tu studcntst let the hou~c fa11 into considerable disrepair. Indeed, Fra~-cr ( O~ p. ]08! suggests that~ ro\v of holes a]ong the forrnerly exposed ceiling beatn in the ground noor roonl to the north! the old dining roon1, \Vas for pegs to hold the beer n1ugs of so1T1c fraternity. ~l'his bca1n is no\v concealed (or rcp]aced) by ,vooden shea1hing. 26

Correspondence in the Folder (12) sho\VS that f ron1 1917 to 1922 the house \Vas occupied by the CD\\'ley Fathers, the Episcopal Order of St. John the l~vangc1ist, as a no\·iti ate~ 27 In 1918 the University purchased the house as one of ni nc lots from the J-la rvard l{ivcr~idc '"frustl \\'ithout, apparent1y 1 disturbing the lease to the Co\vley Fath-ers {sec note 24 ). llut '" hen the (:o,v]cy Fathers lcf t, J\}1 r. and J\11 rs . •

24 ~fhc I 1icks 1-{ousc is already numbered 64 Dunstc•· Strc:c-t 1n a list ()f propc:rlii:;s sold by the 1-faryard R.i\'cr.sidc lh1s:t to the Uni\'crsity. The li~t is included \\'ith a knc:-r lO lhC' then r] ·r{~J, SU re r of 1--1 a rva rd. Ch i1 r lC"s f rn.nc j s Ad 3 ms~ 18 8S. dat cd 14 0 ct o bcr 1918 (pl lolocop~· in Fol(h.::r l 12).

25 Fort lu; tcrrn '1Gold Coa:;t 11 as npplicd to the- dormitories along ;\h. AuLurn Street, sec J\ b !iml I Iiu Im !Om-I., HA ] I a n·ard A rmu n·: Pan [ l.,i1 I I a f"i.l(Jrd libn.u-}' Bulle Ii u, 2 9 (19 81) 1 3 64; C.a1nb. J-[ist_ C:omn1.~ Snrvcy ___ of Old Camhritf,ge (H}, P-42_

UJ The dining room hc:1m1 which firascr (1) 1 r· 108, calls a ~'sununer bc-a[H/' had ~!n.~ally hc..-cr1 casc.::d {or n:placc.·d ?} by her IJ}' the time that the photograph of the roon\ on p. 10 I of IH..:-r ~rliclt: 'l.\'~S tilkl=tl. The term '1summcr' 1 in thts ust: comes from thr French ''somm,crt a ra tk r, ;~s ,,·c:: II a~ a hc-}tS i n f bu rck·rt. A s1 HH m lT Le~ m is n cc r1tra l floor ti ml.le r \t·h i ch reach cs fro1n one "·all to annthc-r or to anolhcr support; sec Nyl.1rnkr (13). p. 25.

n l can rcmc1nbc1· comlng down Dunster Street, whc-ri 1 rc.,id..:(I in Smith 11alls as a freshman in l 921112~ and seeing a religious lamp hurning in the lop windn\v 011 thl: north· end of cht house. 1 did nm rli~co,·cr \'l,·hcrc the Cowley Fathers mo\'cd to I.Jetwccn 1922 and their occupancy of the new n1onastc:ry comph.::t12d for tbrm on the Chnrks in l {}28 uy Ralph Adams Cram.


160 l~rascr took the house from the University ,vith the agrcc.1nent that it ,vou ld put the structure into good cond itiun ,,·hile they \vouldl so far as ,vas fcasib]c, restore the interior. 1\ photograph in the Appeal (2), p~ 1 , sh0\\ 1S the ext edor during their occu panc.:y very much .spruced up and painted ,vhite, cornpared to its run-do\vn appearnnce in the photograph in the DAR Guide {3), opposite p. 58, in \vhich it is dingy and grcyw 2~ ()thcr photographs both in the Appeal (2) and in Fraser (1) sho\v ho\v n1uch they did to the interior. ]n particular, behind nH1.n1elpieces and door trinl they round exan1ples of tarly ,vaIJpapersi son1e of \\ 1hich they reproduced for the roon1s.i 9

In 1928 the Un ivcrsity gave the Frascrs six n1onths in \\1 hic.h to vacate the hou~c because it \\'as to Le torn d0\\ 7fi to pruyjdc space for a planned Indoor At h let·ic Du i1d ing. The l1~raser.s, \\'ho cared deep I y about the house upon \vhich they had Javished so n1uch affection, persuaded the (~an1bridge J-Iistorical Society to ,vork for it.s preser-vatiunw .. I.he Univcrsjry agreed to provide ha]f the cost of n1oving and a Jot for lucating the house~ The Society agreed to send out an Appeal (2) to raise the other ha]f of the cost., $4,385, before 1 Novcn1ucr 1928. The nppeal succeeded) and n CrintJon nrr icle of 3 Decc1nber 1928 (photocopy in Fo]der, 12), stated that on the fol1o\ving day ,vork \Vas to start on separating ,vhat it cal1s the t\vingn fron1 the main portion of the house, in preparation for muv-jng. 30 This sounds as though the kitchen and Jean-to ,vere moved as one unit, but, of course, r hey ,vould prohnhly have been easy lo separate~ The article

28 Fn1s~r(I}, p. I B~ says 1t1at when 1-Jarvard con\-cTtcd thl:" hou~c loa lilJrary, pn.:-sumably in l 9J 1, it c-h8.ngc:~..l winc.lon· gli~s b~c:k to small p~nc~ ~nd u [~eoi·ercd or rc-plaecd blod"-cd windo,.vs if poss i h k. Th l'. p hot ogr~ ph in the DA H Gm"de {3) sho\'l,·s the f mn i i.va rn.1 O\vS .and thosE.: on the uortb side-with s1nall pane:-~, so thilt it is 1101 c]car ,di:lt window . ., were:: rc:-gla1.-c,.·d or n:placcd. Bunting (13) states in his architectural sun·er of the house that an o]d window in the-scdc gable has smaH panes measuring 8-by.JO inc-hes :.nd that old windon·s in the ell have panes of 6-by-9 inches. Nylander { 13), p. 25, say5 that in the mai[~ huuse: th~ ,vindow.s on the first and srcond floors wou Id proba u] y ha\'c had 24 pa nc:s cacti in stead of the-pr~scnt I1 panes, which arc probably ninl~tecnth-ccntury or hitcr r-cphct.:[~Knls, a11d the-wimlov.s on the third ~tury would ban~ haJ 20 p.u1cs.

29 For the 'l,\'allpHpcrs. :Kc Frnscr { l }, pp. JlO.J 12. Nylander ( 13). p. 25. comn1cnB thar the Socictr for the Prcscn·alion of New England AntiquLtlt"s feels th.·H Fniser dated 1hen1 far too early.

30 Fra.~c.::r ( l), p. ll 2, 5t1ys lhat tlu..: Sodctr for the l-'rc_,:;crv:111on of New Lngbnd Anti-qu1tif::s joined i11 the effort to save the 11ouse. The CrimJ011 article credits the officers of tne Ca mbrid gc-1-1 ist ori ca] Soccct )' for tak c ng the kad in the cff ort and tmdou IJtcd l r th c.:: f h l~n president of the Socictr-. J udgc Holl<.Tt \\1ak-ott .. 1895, w.r1s n prime instigJ.tor.

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XXXII, Number 2 (Spring1984),

Libra,)• oj' Kirkland liouse 16]

csti111atcd six ,vccks for the n1ove, but Fraser (It p. 112, says that it took place in Dcccn1hcr. 31 I>crhaps the article inc]udcd ti1nc cstin1ated for putting the n1oved house back into condition. On 1 he lot \vhich the University proyjdcd, ju~t north of the north,vcst corner of Smhl\ Halls on the southenst corner of 1lov1ston and South Streets, the house no\v stands ,vith the san1c orientation that it had in its original l . }2 ocnt.1on.

-1 ~he mo\·c of the main part of the house ,vas difficult, because it \lras very solid] y built and very heavy~ The \vaHs are filled ,vith bricks behind the ,voodcn outer coatings, laid brt,vccn the studs - a tech-nique \\+1ich Nyland er ( 13 )1 p. 24~ says ,vas standard practice in the

.H Th~ ~hue u~u~liy gin.~n for the move is 19 30, e.g. 1 in the HandbtJok (4), p. 1951 ~od in lMucnJirml tlt. {~)1 p. 70. 'l'li1~1 or cot1r~c1 i~ JfllJX'.l:Ssiulc since the ]ndoor .Athletic Building ,,·as completed in l 930i sec llm,dhook (4}, p. 206, Edurmfott] etc. (6\ p. 7 3. Fr.ascr (I}, opposi~e p. 9(), gh·cs a photograph uf the house in its new location but presumably whik 5h~ ·was still !t\•ing there. ln il lh~ front and ~lCk grlt~s h;wc ornamental lattice work arches m•ct d1cnt. These ha\'c now vanished1 probab!y when llnn•atd lo(~k the hous1; m:cr; thcv Jrc alrc-ad,·

a

gum.:: Jll Fro~t 's lir~wLng of 19 36 {photocopy in Fo~der, 12)1 \·d1id\ misL:i:kc:nly nun1llcrs the house 116 7 l) Ll n st c r t rc-i.:::t .1 r • I ·h1 s nu mi .er i dr{)ppcd in his. I I nrvard o nd Ca mbridgc Skc I che; of 19-tO, p. 20. The pkkct fcn('c still appears along the SaLtth Stn.:~! :,idc; r~ hJ.s sincr- been n.::p l,wc..·d I iy , h._. ~Ort u f fcnc(" wh kn has been traditional at ]-larva rd s1 nee t tie cart y 11 in t.t n.:n \ h ccn.tm·y: 5guarc gra11itc-pf>sts conocckd by two woo::.kn ratl:s. This runs only to the end of th c dl; th crca ftcr there arc siJn ply cement po.~t s lo ket:J-. c:.-nr~ f n: n n h ii ting Brr~ n Hal I.

J '- 1,h t' 1 8 3 3 map (in Fold er 1 12) :s ho\vs t \\ 'O houses on the I ot at the soul I I c..:orm .. T of th~ junction uf South ;1.nd Buylston Streets, to \\'hich tlH~ Hicks I ~oust" \~·.as I'nOYc<l, and thrcE; more iliong th~ sou~h ~~de -t.)f South Strct.:t. 1,hc C;1mb. Hist. Comm., Survey ... ~( 0/1! Cambridge (8), p. 42 ! ng. 3 7B1 dated 18901 :-:hows ,•.:hat ~tm mar ha"c been the same (wo hou:, ~s on th~ hncr H icl:s Hou sc lot. The larger, on l ht corner ()f South and Iloy I sto n Strccts 1 was a ,,\·o-s1ory house.: with a gambrcl roof, like trrnt or the Hicks 1 [0\1sc. Iloth houses \\'ere aligned along South Street. The 183 3 niap shows the area south of the houses ;ilung Soul h Str~ci ns a blfink~ L-ut 1'1ylander ( 13)1 p. l 51 thrn~s that thr s11ri·cyor ,,impty did not plot the lots or complicated owncn::hip ~tnd boundaries on the marsh. An Adns of 1hc City lJ/ Cambridge, publLshed in 1916 at PhH:idelphia by(;. \V, Urocnky, shuws on p~atc 17 only one house on the l-licks: House lot, with a vacant lot bctwe~n it and tbc nortlnn .. ·st corner of Snliltl Hal Is. A sufJscqucnt atlas of 1930 shows, aiso on pl. tj, I-iicks Hous~ already on the lot~ but not the adjace11t (K} -entry of Bryan I faH: i.e., the map was cir.awn before the convcrslcrn to- Kirkland House had begun. Smith Halls lrnd hocri opt:m~l in I ~14 as one of l're,,;;idcnt I .owdl1s three freshman dormitories~ the othc-r two afong the river we-re Stanc.lhh 1

:and Gore, now combined in ,vinllnop 1-rousc; ~L-c HOit; 6. Thr-Official Guitlf (5)t p. 159, :says th~, t•~he runds for Smith l~alls were obtained from the bequest or th~ l.-:.tt.:: Gf..·urgc Smith rc:-c-ei\·ed in 1904~ \\·ith the pro,·islon th~t h shou[d accumulate until it should be ~uff1cknt to Lui!d three dorn1itories the collccth·e si:z.e of the prc:sc1n l ~all.1' The I lrmdbooJ.: (4), p. 193, :.-.dds that the lJ.aJls ,t•crt: '~nanH .. 'il fur their donor., George Smith (A .B. I !\S 3) of Si, Lou isl and for his bcn~factors, James and Persis Smith, who had l)rought him up as a boy and whose wealth he l.1.tc-r inheritc.:d," Thus his s,ipulation for 11 threc dor1nitorics"1 ,vas fnlfiUcd.


162

Sode1_yfot the Pr~~·1·r1..wtio11 ef 1\re,-.i; England Antiquities

Nnrdl Roon1 on th..:: (~round filoor, ;\larch 1931

cigh tecnt h century. The cent ra] brick chirnuey \vas ten feet sg uare. 3 3

i\1orcovcr, I)unstcr Street slopes do\vn considerably fron1 \Vinthrop to South, .so that the parts had to be n1oved along a cribbing or n.1 ih, .. u y ties ,vhich could be ]o\vcrcd front ti n1c to titnc to adjust to tht ~lope. ·34

i\i:-iturnlly, :H the n~\\' site the (011ndalion \Valls and hascs of the chin1ncys \\'CIT Luih fn.:sh~ 35

1\rchitccturaI plans dn1,vn in 1928 in connection \vith the n1ove ( l 5) indicate that the interior la vout ,vas not atrrn:d + In the n1ain .,

J3 l"hc dc:i;ocriptio11 of t1lc-l)1·ick ,1·c1ll.s and chinincy comes from th~ CrimJtJn artrdc (pho-tocopy in thl~ Fo]dcr, ! 2). ~!'his, h0\1,·~vcr, ::irt_r:-: th;u the ch,mn(.:"y 1,1.·a~ t \.,·clvc-h.:d :-·:tJ\!<1rc~ rrw,;er'~ (l), P- 1007 f:ig11rc of ku feet Sf!Llo!H~ W<l~ c-onfirme-d hr pilcingthe-prcsc-nt fonndattons nf the chimnev.

14 l n Di1..'1:.Tmbi;.T 191S l w~1s ii,.·i ng .i:; :1 prm;lor ~n I he prt~-i..:nl SL"il101· 'CLnrn·\; ~~•ik, I) 2 l, of .Srni1li 1-folls. I can n·membcr tlic parL'ii 01 [he house being rno\·cd along South S1reN ot1rnidC" the bC"droorn windows. J (io not rcc-::i.ll th.:u there w;is rmu::h int-erfcrt.:"ncL" \:i.·irb rlw tFJrf1.c by the 1no~·c\ lmt olwiously then there would not ha,·c Leen as many studc-r.ts and can,· as TIO\V use Dun:i.;tcr .1nd South Str{!cts.

H Presnmo.bly when chc rn:u· foundation for 1hc main chimney was LL1ih, the present s~fc was pl1t into it. Pn.~s,dcnl Lo\'i.·dt ~pp8:rcntly lik\..·d s~1f{..·~; la: fHLl three in10 the-i\l~~tt:r1si Rt.:$rdt-11C"-' of 1..: itkl.1.nd I lotEC-.


lihra1y of Kirk{ and Jiouse 163 section, the north roun1 on the ground floor is n1arked c'bed roon1''; apparently its actuu] use \Vas as a dining room, as sho\\'Il in l he photograph reproduced hcrc. 16 ~rhc south t~oon1 is n1arkcd uli\'ing roon1," and this ,vas apparendy jls use sjnc~ Fraser (1), p. 108, speaks of it as a "parlor.'' On the second Aoor the t\\'O roon1 ,vere bed tHot11s, the South and North (:ha111bers, as illustrated in Fraser ( t), pp. 105 and 107. On the third floor arc a spare roon1 to the north and a playroon1 10 the south. In the \Ving the kitchen has its souLh end ,va11 cd off to f urn1 a passngc that leads to a toi I ct to the rjght of the fireplace at t.he en st en<l. This b,·dances the closcl on the other side, and both con1e out flush \\'tth the front of the fircp]acc. Fraseris (I) photograph, p. 103, sho,vs the c]osct and the firep]ace Gut not the ,vall of the passage to the rjght. In it, the furnishings look too elegant to be in a kitchen, though of course the cooking 2rct1 rnay be on the side not sho,vn, opposite the fireplace. In the pl rr n the . lean-to is marked ''cU,n and no furnishings arc indicated. ()nc n1ay \Vonder ,vhether il had been tnadc inLo a kitchen andi since Lhe Fraser's dining roon1 \Vas in the front st."'Ction, a~ noted above, ,\··hcthcr the forn1er kitchen \VHS an additional sitting roon1. On the second floor of the \Ying is 1narkcd a full bathroon1 opposite the head of the back stairs, ,vi th a study next to it on the south side and a n1aid"'s roon1 opposite on the north. Fraser ( 1), p. 112, confirn1s that after the n1ove all 1.hat ,vas needed \vns consider.able cleaning, pain ting, and reha bi lita ti on ,vith no structura] a lterarions. She say~ that the restored ,va 11 pa pcrs survived the nlovc \\1el1. The Frascrs n1ovcd back in and continued thcjr ,vork of restoration.

~fJ fraseris {I) photograph, p. LO[~ of the north room on 1he grou,ld floor sho\,·.1o the south :side..: wLth a dining: table and the fircpfacc. The present door m the sn1aU b:3ck ha[l hct~vter, the- t\tu grouud noor roorns i~ to th-.: left of the fircplac~ and adjacent to it but around the-c~rncr on the ea~t wall is another <loor. This opl:n(:d into 4• dosr~ tmd(;r the stairs in thc-\~·ing; it can strn b-c seen tn the closet, though th1s no\\' ha~ a door into I he snrnlt h~l I Lctwl '~n thC" main section and the o[d kitchen. The door from the north room 1s inconvcnicm ly crossed in lh~ dosc:-t at its npp,::r m,nh coroe!r by the slope of the stairs. h could not be dc-terrnined \\'hc-ther this is c\·idcncc that the door antedates: the stairs ..ind thcn;f on: <.~\-idence tha l the st;-1 i rs and k i tchc rl were added a flcr the ma j n sc::ct ion \\.'as coin pktcd 1 as Fm ~er (l ) arguc:d. The door i~ 1 of e<n1t.i;;e1 in the ca~t Wl~I of tbc main s~ctron. Th(' srnir5 to the cellar run down alongside (east) of the closet and the stairs to the:-s~cond iloor of tht; wing, not under ti1l= latti.::r ;.lS might Ix~ expected. The uriginJ.! house presumably had st~irs to the cellar and it is hard to sec where they n1ight h:1ve bcc:-n in the-n1ain ~ccticm1 ~;i,.ccpl f!Crhaps under the rnain stair~ in frnnt. A car.:ful study Ly an expert on eighteenth-century building ,vould be nrcessary to detcnntnc whether, and how1 ll1e: cellar llnd ~t.:airs ha\'C hc.:-cn altered.


164 l /llrvard Librtny B11lle1i11

lJuh,crsity Arcbivts

o rt!1 Roo1 n on the c_; round FJ oor 1 196 3

I-Io,vever earlv in 1929 the Fr.asers ,verc gjvcn notice Lv Harvard , ' to vacate in t\vc] vc months,. In the fa] l of 1928., J\1 r~ Ed,vard H arknes." had rnade his first generous off er to President Lo,vc11 of funds to hui]d t\vo undergraduate houses, the later 1 ..O\Vell and J)unster. Shortly thereafter, he increased his offer to provide for sufficient houses to receive al] students in the three upper undergraduate classes. The first t ,vo opened in the fall of 19 30; the rcn1ilini ng five (..~<lams, EI i ot, l( irk land, Leverett, and lV int h ro p) j n the fa 11 of 19 31 .. 3 7

Only one or the second group ,vas entirely ne\v, Eliot, located on the she of an o1d po,vcr plant.. The others ,vere adapted fron1 existing

1' For a dcscrmpliont as of l936t of the: I louse Pbn iln<l lht:" ind.kitiua1 I Jm1:;c:s, .~cc HmulhuoJ: (4), pp- 181-196.


Librll1)1 (!{Kirkland/louse 165

dorn1itorjcs,, \Vtth the addition in son1e cases of ne,v buildings and in n cou pie of instances the annexation of adjacent houses. Ki rldand I-louse ,v:=ts con1poscd of the for1ncr freshman dorn1itory crtllcd S_n1rth 1--IaHs (1914; sec note 3 2)~ To this ,vas added in 1,vo stages the !vtnstcr's Residence and Bryan I I al 1, containing four entries along South Street and't as a lihrary, the rcccnt1 y n1ovcd 1-l icks I-I ousc .1a

,\ Jetter in the n & G File ( 14 )1 dated 5 i\1arch 19 3 I , from President Lo\vcll to lv1 r. ,v. Su n1ncr .. -'\ pp]cton, ] 896 't the secretary of the Society for the Pre~erYation of ~Te\v England Antiquities, sho,vs that the society (probably Lasically App]cton) \Vas concerned about \\1 hat ,vold<l he done ,\ 111 h tl~e l--l 1cks 1-1 ouse. >~ Prcsiden t J...u\:vc11 says firn1ly that it should become the l(irk]and I-louse ]ibrary~ and not 1 as lvlr. Appleton had apparently proposed, a rcsidcnce 1 perhaps for a !\·1asteL The house ,vouldl in fact, be too s1nal1 for a !vlaster's Resi-dence, and at the opcnjng of the Houses., no rrutors, CYCn I-lead {no\V Senior) Tut-ors, could live in \\1ith \Vives. Today the house n1ight scr\Tc as a residence for a n1arrjcd Senior ~rutorl \Vhich becan1e possible after '"'orl d '''ar 1 I. f he B & G F'i]c ( 14) a1su sho\vs that the 1vlctro-po1itan J)istrict C:on11nission, \Vhich is responsible for the Char]es l{i\·cr a n<l its ban ks, had to be consu 1 tcd a bout such external changes ns the fence bet \Veen Lhe ~1aslcr's Residence and Sn1ith I-1n!1s and the passage \vhich ,vas constructed to connect the I-licks I-louse to the north "·est corner of Srnith I-I alls.

JS Adjacent to I lick) I ~ousc on South Street wa~ built in 19 31 one cntry 1 KI of l-l proposc..:d :ulditirm for lh-.:-l·lous~.\ :1ml at the Dunsv..~r Strc>ct end was built another -entry, N,. and on the corner the i\·b~tcr's Rcsidr:nci::. t\ 101 irucr\"C.:ning bl:"n.v~~n K and t\' ·was stm occupied uy a pleasant o!d hou~e ill whtch \\'a~, he Dun~llT Book Shnp. 'l'hi~ hou!'-c i:-. notl..!d on the Atlm of I 3 0 (not c 3 2) a:s o,vn ed by El i1.. R. Pi ruski. The :..hop ,~ -us f orccd to mon.: out in 19 3 l; wh3t became of the hollsc, \\·hcthcr rno\·cd or destroyed, \\'-iJS not di.s:co~·c-rc-d. Jn its plttcc were buih h\'o further c1uri-.:-s. L and .'-!, which opcnl'(I in thf..• f.1!1 of l93 3. 'J'hus \,·as completed Bryan Halli whtch was named for the donor of the funlls U~l·d tn l n11h it, Gn~gory Secky Bryan, 1890; s~c J ltmdboak (4), p. 19S. rrhc party \q1lls at either end of L ~Uld -"'-·1 c:ntric-~ ~till hiW'C-a slight inclination bct'tl.us~ of the prop~rty linc5 of tr.l' lot on ,vnich they were- built. A photn,graph in the J/m1dbook (4)~ opposite p. 194, ~ho\n; Bryc:111 J r~li and the J\ fa5t(..'-f 1s Res id-tnc-c from the Ii bra ry cunnl"cting pass:agc. L a rtd _P\ 1 c ntrics arc a story hi g hi::r th4l n K nd N cnt rics and !i.! ightl y uff~ct fur ward. rrh is block is corrcspo nd i ~gl y sci: in from the ea r1 ier end~ on the Sou th Street s !de.

19 Ch:ingc:s in the hous:c arc discu:ss:cd in thrc::e lcucn in Fo~dc-r 1 of the-B & G fik (14), one of v:hich ]\·fr. Appleton wrote on 13 :\·larch 19311 to Judge Jl.oLc::rt \Vakou as pres,dc-nt of the Ca·mbridgc l·li$torical Socitt)\ ~.uJ t"\.,'u of which h-.:-\\TOH.: on 5 and 15 June l 93 l, to i\·lr. A bbutt of the arc-hittcturnl firm of Coolidgt'", Shcpley1 Bulfinch1 and Ahhou. Photn--c::opic,i;; nf thc~c-variou~ lttttrs have: been plan::tl in the: fo!dcr in lh~ Archin."!s on the house (12).


166 I /11rvard I)hra1y /Julletin The phu1s dra,vn in 1931 for the conversion uf the house to a library

( 15) sho,v thnt n1uch n1ore ,vns then done lo it lhan in 192 8. 4D Exter-1u1Uy, a door ,vas opened in the south ,vaH of the lean-to and, as just noted, this ,vr.ts con necteu by a brick passage \Vith Jarge glass \vindo\\'S to C enlry throu·gh a for1ner bedroorn. 1~hc roof \\'cts rcshinglcd ,vith dark asphalt shingles a& a preventive against firer Three dor1ner ,vin-do\\'S ,vere 1nscrtcd into the cast sjdc of the gan1l.Jrtl roof of tbe niain section, one north of its juntlion \\·iLh the roof of the ,ving 3nd t,vo soutlL Fraser (I), p. 113~ thought that this a]tered the appearance not on] y of the exLerior bu L also of the t\VO attic roon1s. I-I 0\\ 7cvcr, only one dorn1cr is visible fron1 South Street; they provide light to the attic ruorus, and Lhe souLhernnlost one gives access to a fire escape.

\:Vithin1 the chief structural change \Vas that the passage at the ~out h tnd of the k1tchen \V3S eli1uinated, and the toi]ct at its end ,vas n,adc to open into the Jean-to ,vhcre further toi1et fixtures and a bruon1 closet \Vere insta11ed in Lhe east end, and the ,vest end bccan1c a.n entrance haU for tht; at tcndan t :-in<l the c:-J ta log. The bnthroonl on the second floor of the ·,ving becarne a toj]cr, original I y for the House secretary, ,vhosc office ,vas initially the forrner n1aidJs rootn; the toilet is no\v for ,von1en gencra1ly .. ·H l,he heating and ]ighting ,vere, of course, thoroughly done uvi:r. The: ctili ngs of six roorns ,vere re plas-tered and 1nuch of the \\'ooden trin1 (including some of the nn1nte]s) ·,vas rcphH.:cd or rc~turcd. l\1e,v furniture and ~tanding lanips ,verc purchased. Oookc.ases ,vcrc set around the ,va1ls of the rooms and steel ones p]accd in the ctllar. The original plan had been ro set the bookcases into the ,vaUs, but !vlr. Appleton, of the· Society for tht Prcser\Tation of N C\V England A nti4 u itie~, objected, and they \Vere set against the ,v:1.lls. Since they h:ive ,vuodcn backs, it is probable

-1-n Tbc U & G FH~ ( 14) cont~ins two c~tirnatc.1, {)f cosr for the-rehabilitation of the Hicks House: iri Apdl 193, r $43,700 ph1s :1 conting~ncy fee of$ J JOO and in ;\1ay only $26,J8~ . Th~ d I ffc-rcrl c('-is not C).; plained. f..'dm:al Fon, etc. { 6), p, 7 0, gi..-cs nn fin a] to.~t for t 11 e Hicks 1 lon~c. On p. 7 5 ! the cost for Kirkland Hous~ (prc-.~aun:ahly including the Hicks House) is g[\·cn 3s $1.,090,000, con.')jsring t1f $780,000 construction cos:t of existing buHding~, i.e., prcsum;1hly aie cost of Smith 1-ls Us as of 1914, and perhaps of mO,-'ing and redoing tbc 1-:1 ic~s Housr- as of 192 8/29, p~us 531 O,UOO, th'-= gift of l·:.ch\·ard S. Harknes:s, for con:struning the J\·1:L~I L.:r'~ Hc~id,c,m:e and remodelJng. On p. 581 the construction I;CJSt of Hryan 1-lall is gi\'en as $2 501000 from the Dryan bc-,1ur.::~L {nott..: 38).

1 The l Jouic office ,1.•;:ts Jno,·cd irt the 1930s from the H i~·ks 1 T u,he lo .-001111\T-Jl, closer to the s.tudy in th~ i\-la~!cr\; Rc~;dc-ncc. ln 19.51-52 the onkc ,\·as again mo,·lxl1 to its pre-sent locatron 1n l-1 entry.


/,,ibra1:y of Kirklt1nd /louse 167 that i\'lrs .. Frascrls restored ,vallpapcrs arc sti11 behind them. -t2 After 19 3 1 the only ,val lpnper vis i bl c \v.as up the f ran 1. ~ta i rs and in the ,ving up the stairs and in the back haH. l"'his ,vas aH of one pattern and looked as though it ,vas not one of i\·lrs. ]1~rascr1s papers uut had been put on in 19 3 I . 1-·1u~ a ltcn1 tions of 1931 ,verc done t3stefu11 y\ so Lhat the cighLcenth~ccntury feel of the house ,vas not changed .. In 1984, as ,viH appear bclo\\·l a nc,v ,val1papcr, in ,vhat \\'as judged to be a tnorc au t hcnt.ica 11 y cighteent h-ccnt ury color, ,vas su bstitu tcd for that of 1931.

During the half century and n1ore that the house has served as a library, there ha\'C been llO n1ajor s1rucn1rn1 changes. The first !\·laster of l(irkl and I louse, Ed ,vard A. \Yh itncy t 17, Professor of I-I ist.ory and l ..itcrature! \vas so convjnccd of the in1portancc of the approach of his discipline to learning that he had Lhe hooks in the Jibrary shelved not by suujcct but uy ccntu rjcs so that each roun1 approx i-111atcly speaking, contained books on al1 subjects and countries rela-tl\'e to a given century. 1 ~he n1aintcnancc of this system of classi ficatjon bccatnc so difficult that in l 947 the (:ollege Library n1adc a grant of $1000 t.o pcrn1h- 1 ts reel assifi-ca tion on the l)c\vey l)cci n1111 Systcn1, \rhich had been adapted for the then ne\v l .. an101u Undergradu8tc l_._ibrary. Another reel a ssification of the I{ir kl and I-louse 1 ibrary - in the l...ibrary of Congress classification - began in the sumn1cr of 198 3.

VVith the coopcratjon of one of the turors j n English, Jlrof cssor Arthur C. Sprague i 17, Professor \t\7hiLney began a co11ection of fine and rare editions, pa rticu la r1 y in Eng] ish ] itcraturc. Bcca use of the risk of theft, these \Vere uhilnatet y kept in the safe and seidon1 dis-played or con~·ultcd .. After the S ccon<l \Vorid \Var., it therefore seemed adv jsablc to turn O\'er to the College J .. i bra ry l hose \vhich it ,vanted and to dispose of the restl ]argely by gift to suitah]e persons connected \Vlt h the 1-J oust~. ()nl y a very fc\v rcn1ai n. 43

i~ second feature of the original collection that has since abandonc<l ,va~ a ~mall collection con1mcmor:=1ting President Theo-

4? For djscussion ahout ~inki1\g thi:,:: 11001..enscs in th~ ,,..J.]h, the -correspondence n:{crrcd to in note 39. For thc- waHpa.perst scr note 29.

4 3-As of Fchru:-.ry 19~41 :1 topy of Johllson\ Dictio1rn:n;1 in two \'olum~s, and onC' of the Kd mscun Char,ccr a re d ls play cd i n =1 sn1a 1 l showc.as-c, at th c ti me in l he south morn of I ht: second lloor of the n\ain house Thcs-c::: arc .appi1rcrnly illl ihat survkc of the origin;1\ rare l1ooks.


168 Harvard libratJ' Bulletin

dorc Roosevelt, l 880. l{oosc\·c]t had lived during his four years at I-Jarvard not far f rorn the Hicks I-louse in a house on the ~outh\vcst corner of the junction of ,vinthrop and I-I ol yoke Streets~ 1 .. his house also had to n1ake ,vay for the lndoor _A.thleLic Bnilding, proh~1bly by destruction but pcrh~ ps by 1novi ng. 1\ bronze p] aquc, originally placed on it Lo conunernorate Roosevelfs residency, ,vas affixed to the cast ,vaU of the northeast corner of the Indoor Athletic nuilding, ,vhcrc it sti U is.

President Lo,vell thought that Rooseve]t had not phlycd a sufficient role in Harvard affairs to justify na1ning unc of the nc,v l-Iou~cs for hinL 44 But he \\!ished to bring Rooseveh into connection ,~,ith his schc1nc ::ind thcrcf ore decided to co1111ncn1ora tc hi n1 in l(irk]and ]-louse. 1 ~o\,·ell caused to be brought do\vrl from the l-Iarvard Union a fu H-Icngth portrait of llooseveh l ,vhich ,vas built into the end ( \Vest) \"vaH of the then sn1aUcr Senior Con1n1on l{oorn+ Also, either he ~r Professor \\'hitney proposed that a coJJection of hooks be placed in the I iurary v.,hich ,voukl represent a gent I cn1an ts library of the la re ninet cent h century. l"'hc J ibr;-1.ry ,vh ich Roosevch had had in his sunHner place on I ...ong Island ca11ed Sagamore J-Iil] ,vas se]ecced as the n1odc]. ~fhis collection ,vas, of course, tota]iv different froln that

r

of books and n1atcrials auout I{ooscvclt n1~dc in Nt,\' )'urk by the Roosevelt ?vi ernorinl Association and in 194 3 tr}Hlsf erred to I-I nrvar<l t \vherc it is most]v shc1vcd in the \Videncr Library. . .

The Roosevelt boo~s for Kirkland House ,vere contributed initinlly hy the ?\1ernoria] Association! and others \Vere added by llooscvclt1s f rj ends and classn1a tcs. 45 I 1o,vc.:vcr, this coHcction \l':lS not kept L1 p and sufficed to fill onlv one bookcase"! bet\\'een the \vindo,vs of the . . north rootn on the second floor of the ell. ~6 After the Second '''or1d

-++ Of the.· first s-c.:n:n l 1ouSc!i, fin· ,n.:rc n~ml.XI for pn.:sidcrrts of J-Jan·a.nJ \'!,·ho had llccn important in its growth: Dunsteri Lc\0erett 1 Kirkland, E!iot 1 :1nd Llwdh and t,vo for farnilic~ who had p!ayed n rok in its historr; Ad::J1n5 :ind \Vinthrop. Of the sh later Houses, two are named for l-brvnrd presidents: J\-bthcr ::.nd Quincy; and -one fur tht!: Gon.-rnor "·ho fusterr-d it:,; inc-tp1ion :ind early Q:r-owth: Dud fey. Of lhc.: three ;n l·bdd i ffc::. nm; <;onnucmuratc,o; lhc daughcer of a donor: Currier; one, fm·merlr c:1llc-d South House, was renamed Cabot as of Fc-uruary 1984, in honor of Thomas Dudky Cabot 'J {} and Virginia \Vdling:tun Cabot, gencrou~ hcncfoclors of H.addi tlc as ,veU as of Han:ard; the third is still, as of Occemher J9S4, m1mt"J Nont1 I ~ou~c.

·H Fnr the l{oost\·dt collection, s:cc HtmdhoaJ:: (4)) p. 19-L 46 After 19+6, the former 1-iouse orfice contained mn onir the Ruu.scYelt colkctiun but

wok, ::ind ohjc:~:t~ rd11.ting lo the histurr of Kirkbnll I-louse c1ml Hiln~rd CoHcgc. A~ of l9R41 it had hrc:orne a m11stc liMrn[ng roonl.


l.ribra1:y ()f Kirkland liouse 169 \\Tar, the collection \Vas stored in a closet off this roon1 and has since slo,v]y been dispersed. Also, \vhen the Senior Con1mon Room ,Yas redecorated in I 948t the portrait, \vhjch had dominated the roon,, \VHS returned to the I-larva.rd Union., ,vhere tl no\v hangs. Thus, the conncctiun of ~fhco<lurc H.ooscvch ,vjth I(irkland I-louse has been eliminated. 47

The library contains t,vo collections of rnatcrials oLher than books. ¥

From before the Second \\'orld \'-'a.r I it had held a coHcction of rec-ords~ n1ost.ly of the 78 r.p. ,n. variety. In the early fifties the collection ,vas enlarged and the o]<l rccur-d~· largely rcpl aced by ]ong-playin g ones. The collection no,v nu1nbers abouL six hundred records, \Vhich can be borrO\\'cd by students for u sc in their roon1s In addition l in the sununer of 1947 a roorn in the hase1nenl o( C tntry \vas equipped ,vith a good record p1aycr. At present the north roorn on the second floor of Lhe eH is eguipped for Lhis purpose, and th~ room in C entry has bccon1e \VhoBy a n1usic practice roo1n. The inlprovement of the record collection has been one aspect of a general progr.rrn1 of sti1n-uladng nn1sic in the I -I onse l in pa rt by the provision of adcq ua te pianos and in part uy arranging n1usica] events.

~fhe second ro]lection is one of reproductions of pictures for rent to students for their roo1ns. This collection ,vas originally proposed in 1946/47 hy .a tutor in English, Stott B+ El1cdgc, and funds for purchases ,verc so]icited. l~he initial purchases ,verc tnade by a tutor in History, Char]cs C. Gil lcspic. At first a charge per picture of a dollar a tern1 ,vas n1:1de l and the resulting inco,ne pern1itttd the steady enlargement of the col1cctiun as ,vcll as necessary nu1intennnce nnd repl ncernent, ,vithout r·he solicitation of f urthcr funds. By I CJ 5 4/ 5 5, the collection had grcnvn to the point that the ha]f-ye.ar charge cou]d be reduced to fifty cents~ 'I 'his col1cction, ,vhich no,v nu1n hers ahout sixty reproductions) continues to be a service of the library n1uch appreciated by the residents of the house.

The staff of the library is headed by a part-thne librarian. 'l"hc librarian has occasionally been a n1en1ber of the staff uf the 1-Iarvard College Library or another senior person I.Jut 1norc genera11y has been a fornler I(irldand I-louse undergraduate enro]led in the La\v School. ~fhc librarian has an undergraduate assistant and a nu1nber of ntten-

47 TJ1ere still hangs in the lihrary .i cnin.1 phite-with i'l rHlrtrait uf Roo.srvdt and a c~py of the hnokpbtc fnr the: colk~c.tion. Some vo!un1es with the bookpfa.te ha\'C he-en jncorponn·~·d in the gc ncral collection.


170 Harvard Library. Bulletiu

dants to coyer the periods \vhen the library is open. These appoint-n1cnts arc naturally for short tcrn1s. ~fhc longest, for a f c,v librarians 't

have been for four ac~den1ic ycarsi and n1any have served for on]y a year. l~hc undergraduates naturaHy serve for at most the three years during \Vh ich they are residents of the I-I ouse and ,rery often for only .a year. Do,vn to 19i 4, so far as the I-louse records sho,v, the 1 ihrarians ,vcrc men; since then there have been three ,vomcn. -18 ... fhc stj pends for the library sta.fC as ,veU as the approprjatjons for books, have been provided by the l-larvar<l Co]lcgc Library through the ]ibrarian of the IJarnont Library. Sjnce 1he inception of that ]ibrary in 1949, save for the years 197 5-76 and 1976-77, a tin1c of transition in the .adn1inistration of Larnont, its ]ihrarian has had general responsibiljry for the I-Io use libraries.

During the last decade~ the appropriations for the House ]ibraries have not been increased enough to keep pace ,vith the rapid inAation in the price of books and services. In consequence, in l(irkland 1-Iousc 1nuch of the annuaJ appropriation has been absorbed by the co.st of staffing the ]iur:1ry"'f ~nd during the recent past the coHection has not been kept up to dale either by the ,veeding out of hooks or by the purchase of nc,v ones. 49 I-Io,vever, during the su1nn1cr of 1984 all the books had to be rernovcd from the shelves to pern1it refurbishing the building, as described be1o,v. The ] ibrarian, lvlr .. l\1artin I-I. i\1arks, took the occasion to c]iniinatc the dcad,voud in the l:ollection and, so far as funds pern1itted, to refresh it by purchases, particuhirly in the area of reference n1aterials. 1;he previous ncg]cct of the library might arguab]y be justified by the :ivililability for studenLs of three \ve11-suppl ied undergraduate ]ibraries, I .zatnont ( 1949)1 I-I i1lcs ( 1966) and Cal.Jot Scicnc__--e (197 3). 1-Iu,\·cvcrt libraries ,vere an essential featnre in the original concept of the I-louses and should still constitute a very important clement in the faci]itics necessary for the full realization of a 1-Iouse)s function as a cohesive con1munity of students ,vj~hin the n1uch ,argcr and more amorphous rnass of the undergraduate college . ./\ House shou]d not onJy provide for the students a milieu in ,vhich

4~ A list of the Kirkfand House liLratia.n.s is IJdng gathered, ~o for j_li possihle., from ll1(" House recnrds anJ ,.,,·ill lie postetl in tbe )-lick§: House.

,JI/ Books 8 re ndd~d from t j me to ti me by donation S. • lr·ali Ill ona II)', grad ll a.t~ Jl g senior~ gi\"e corr<:nt hoo:l~s for whid• lhey fowc no n1orc use,to the I ibra.ry. [n the summer of 1983. the Ii brary of the Extension Schoo) ,,"3 s red need a fl( l s nrpl us l )O-oks di~ t I"i h11 t~d a 1non g t tic 1-lous-c Hhraries; Kirkbnd l-J0-use rc-cci~·ed about a hundred,


Librat)1 of Kirkland /louse 171

to forn1 friendships and to find outlets in social and extracurricular activities~ in i ntran1ural sports t or in cumn1on meals, but it shou]d also foster a con1n1on scholarly ]jfe of discussion ,vith one another and \Vith the I-louse staff~ of sen1inars and other similar House acti\'-jtics, and of study in a ljbrary identified ,vjth the House.

Granted that such a library cannot provide all the hooks that might be called for in undergraduate c,;ourses and tutorial or personal read-ing~ the books tnore co1nn1only desired should he readily available "'ithout the nccessi l y of going outside of the House to a large and itnpersonal centra] ]ibrary. It 1nay therefore he hoped that in connec-tion ,vjth the general ref urbi::,hing of Kirkland 1-Iou se, ,ncludj ng the lioraryt accornplished in the sum1ncr of 1984, funds n1ay be found not only to update the collections in the library but to provide for their future gro,vth. I-licks House provides space for bct\vccn t,vclvc and thirteen thousand books; obviously this prevents unlimited gro\vth. 1-Jo,vever, space for ne,\-' acquisitions can be found by ongo-ing pruning of books no longer of current use. 1"'hus, by adequate financing and revision, the colJections can be maintained to n1cct the current needs of studcnts't and the library can he restored to the

· central posidon that it should occupy jn the intcl1ectual ]ife of the I-louse.

It is a tribute to the strength of John Hicks's building that after some hundred and sixty-six years the house survived a major move; that after nearly one hundred and seventy, it sufficed to bear the "'eight of shelving, books, furniture, and readers; and that sti11,. after over t\,'O hundred and t,venty years, inc]uding a last fifty years of ha rd student use, it rcq uire<l only mi nor repairs and refurbishing. Mr. Bockclmarl, of the Ca1nbridge 1-Iistorical Co1n1nission, kind]y provided photocopies of copic~ in his files (I 3) of letters from .i\1r. A]an J. Po,vers of the 1-IarYard Construction 1\1anagcrncnt Depart .. ment. These describe the \vork done on the house during the summer of 1984. BrieAy'.I on the exterior there hns been replaccn1ent of n1any clapboards 1 repair of gutters and do,vn drains, provision of e]even ne\v blinds \vhich match the existing ones, and reshingling ,vith asphalt shingles. ~0

so i\·1 r, Pov.·ct s l letter suggested tcpl acing th i; asphalt ~h1 nglcs with on es of red cedar in ~ttl I kd over a p 1astic-coned steel fo i I l as giving better fire protectlon. l-lo\1,.-c,·cr I th i was not done-l and ne\\" a~phalt shingles \\·'Crc laid dov.·n, apparently on the::: u:suRl tarred paper u ndcrcOYc r.


l72 llnrvard lihraJ)' 1/11/letin On the interior the electric ,viring h::is been almost "'hoJly replaced.

~rhc architect in charge of the refurbishing, i\lr. Tadhg S,\ 1eeney, consulted \vith the Society fur the Preservation i:lf N e,v EngJand Antiquities. It rcco1n1ncnd cd that, as n1or-c in accordance \l'i th cigh-teenth-cen tu ry t.ast.e~ the ,vnll paper in the front sLg i rs and the stn.i rs and upper halJ in the \Ving be of a textured solid green coior. It also recon1n1ended rhal the floors be colored a \vheat or ne\v honey color to represent the n::1tura 1 color of hard pine. flrobabl y originaJ l y this ,vould have been ''grnined,, around the n1~1rgins left by rugs~ but lhis has not been done in the present floor pa in ting.

Carpen Ler and bu ikh:r John I-licks, ,v her-t\'er he is, nrn.y ,,·ell be proud not on] y of his patriotic death but of his sturdy bequest to the 1nen1bers of Kirkh1nd Hou~t. The .Frasers ,vere naturally disLressed at bci ng f orccd to leave house on ,vhosc restoration they had l::.vj shed so 1nuch 1ntelligent care. J-io\-.1everi they deserve the gradtude of those ,vhu no,,· use the 1 ibrary " 1 here thcv created an am uicncc in \vhich

r •

John Thornton Kirkland) 1789 i President of I-I a rvard f ron1 1810 to 182 8 t n1ight, if he returned, f cc] that he \Vas rcvi siting J>rof essor ,\liUard. Even this article o,ves much to /v1rs. Fraser 1s thoughtful rc\·tc\v of the historv of -the hou sc and its inhabitants. Nor should .. J(i rid and I-louse forget thaL the };'rasers first persuaded the University to restore the extcrjor for their occupancy and then secured the support., financial as \\'CH as n1oral, of the Camhrjdge I--Iislorjcal Society to ind ucc the Un ivcrsity to 1novc rather than dt:stroy it. F'inally, t.he University, presurnahly at the insLigation of President Lo,YcH, con vcrtcd the house into a library ,vithou l undue a1tera tion of its character as a residence. l...ike ,~vads,vorth House~ A pthorp Hou St\ El n1,vood, 3nd the o1dcr buildings in the I-la rvrrrd \rard i I-licks I~Iouse znay serve to re1nind present-day students of the colonial origins and life fron1 ,vhich Harr·ard dcvelopt'<l.

APPE~n1x: SouRCES

1.,hc prindp.11 :sources are numbered herein, ~nd the numbers arc us-ecl in parcn-thcFes after either author onl" or an abbrcrjaccd r1tk in the notes, Sources dtcd .,, on]y once in the notes arc given in full and not l1stcd here.

(i) Esther Stc\·cns (i\1rs. Cecil) Fraser, 1 'Thc John 1-iicks House., Cambridge~ A1assachu.sc-tts.i) This ,vas originaJ!y a talk to the Cnn1bridgc I·listorical Society on 21 J Unt'." 1929. lt was an1pli tied aoJ coordinated for puL1ication in Old-Tin1r !-ltiv England, 2 2 (193 2), 99-1 l 3 t r.n offprjnt is in lhc Folder (12). Old-Time _1Vew Eug!and


lribra,y of Kirkland /-louse 17 3 i~ the Bulletin of The Socicl y for the Prcsc-rvation of New Engl:11,d Antiquili~s:. 'f'hc si~h.liequcnt reference.~ to Fni.~er, follo,\·ed by (1; it.i;;; n11n1bcr here) and page nun1l)ers ref er to f his pu blkucion. Fron1 this firs( pu blict1tion chc nrticic ,vas rcprintc-d in I'ublfral ions of the Cambri~t:e lliswrical Socie1y. 20 (1934t l I O-l 24. A .. n offprint of this is also in th~ F-older (12). Puhliratimis., 20, contains the Pl'occcdingJ of the Cd mbridgc l-lL1•aoricd l Society for 192'7 1928, ~nd 1929. i\-lrs. Fraser's a rlidc doc.i;;; nor hcrcr at the hc.1ci s of its pages (~Ju ncl 1929 t the <lt1tc of dc}ivc-ry, bu~ ~'J ::111.

19 32 .'~ i.e., the dale of first pu blieat;on. ~lrs. Fraser giYe.~ :i full and ha~ic account of John 1-J icks and his house, and of

its architectural and <.k·corutin~ features., pnrticuforly of the old ,va llpapcrs \dlich the- Frase-rs d~scovcrc<l. On p. lOO (of the first publk~uiont lvtrs. Fraser says that :she rccc1\·cd f:::unily trad1tinns jhOLlt John l-lid,:~ and the house from his grcat-grcat-grandson. 1\1r. lierbcrt Saundcrsl a n1cmber of the Cambridge I-listorical Socic-ty.

l'hc puul ication in Old-Tinn A'cv.,-England has nine good iUust r:.-Hions~ uru.~ of th.e house t11 its ncv.-· location, four of rnorns as restor-eJ and f urnislw<l by the Frascrs, .and four of f ragn1l:'nts of old ,,·all papers. But the article bcks any indication of .sot1rces.

(2) An undated thrce-p:ige 1\pptal entitled L, /\1 ust the John 1-i icks I-louse Go? 1

(copy in the Foldc1\ } 2). · t 'his \\'as 1ssucd by the Ca111 bddgc I I iscorica1 Sod ct y to raise-funds to nlcct its lialf of the co .. ~t tlf rnin:ing the hou~c and must cbtc fron1 early 1928~ ,,·hl'n th~ Frasers approached the Society; lhc funds \\'Crc to be con-triburcd before I No\'c111 bcr 192 8 (p. 3). l~hc Appcol contains a brief hi~tory of the house and three phoLographs, one of the house in its original locatioo and t\\'O of fireplaces. It is cited !i~ ApjNnl (2).

(3} An Jiistoric Guide Jo Cambri((!e ! con1pilcd Ly n1c1nLcrs of the 1-lannah \Vinthrop (:l1aptcr of the Daughlcrs of th~ _A.1ncrican Rc,ttJlution, 2nd ed.~ rev. (C11111 bridge, · l\1ass. 1 1907} (photocopic ,~ of pp. 3 81 5 8l and 162 in the fi'oldcr, 12). Cited as DAR Guide (3).

(4) (~. \V. Land') cd., I lar~wrd Uui~)rnity I laudhook (Cambridge, ~lass.: 1-1:uvnrd . U n1\·er~ity Press] 1936). ~l 'his 1 prcp:1;rcd for the 1-I:.rvard lcrccntcnary in 1936, \vtll

be cited as JI and book ( 4}.

(5) [-lan·.nd i\·1emoriat Society 1 Ojjicial Guide lo If aP1.-Y1rd {h1i1Jn':fityl 5th ed. (C:1111-bridge., ~,.,l;iss., 1917). ~rhis ,vill be cttcd as OJ!irial Guidr {5).

(6) EducaJ ionl Britl::; tnul il1ortar (Cl}mbd<lgc, J\1::is.5!. l 949). 'l'his ,i.·iU be cited as Educa1ion (6).

(7) Robert B. Rettig. Guide to Cambridge il rchitecltffc: Ten H0lki1w ·1oars (Ca1n-hridgc~ 1\1ass.: i\11T Press for the Cambridge [-listorica\ (~on11n1ssion,. ! 969). The bu i!d ings- .arrange<l by lettered .~ections corres:pnnding to the urn lks-and \vilhin these by numb~r; there are no page numhers. rfhis \\'lli be cited as Rcuig 1 Guide (7).


174 liar-vard LibraJ)1 BullcJ in (N) rJ 'he Carnhridgc l-:1 isturic~1 Comm ~ss-ion published the co11dusions of i\ 1c\srs. Bunting and N ybnder ( i 3} in a Surrv9• of Architectural l listoTJ i11 Can1hridgc (distrib-uted by the A 11T PrcssJ, in ,vhich Report 4 ( 197 3) ts on Old Cmnbridge. rrhc 1-Iicl.:s J-Jou~e is discw.;~ed on p. 83 ,vjtl1 a photograph (fig. 128) of the house jn its prcscn1 loc4.HJon. rl'he lcst gi\'e~· the d.atc:st clc., as pr~scntcd in this artidc am] ,-;_nious struccun11 dcrni!s. ~rhis is cited ns C:-1mb. Hist. Con1m., S11ri..,·0· ... {f Old lTttm. (R).

(9) Lucius R. Paige.., llistWJ u.f Cml!brir{!fe, Afnr.u,dmtNls) 1630-lh 177 (Boston: l·l. 0. l-loughton 1 aod ~c\v York: l-lurd & 1-loughton.., 1877). l~his js a full and stand~lrd hjsrory of Cnmbr1dge1 ,vith en1phasis on the years lJefurc l 800. It i.~ C"ite<l as Paig~ (9). 1t contains a genealogical register, of which rnuch e1'r.'.pnnded ,;crsion \\'.as prepared hy A·lrs. i\ 1ary lsaln.:lb Goz1.akli and pu blishcd as Supplement and Index., r (Cambrhigc 1 J\-la.~s.: T'hc Cun1bridgc l l istorical Society, 930). The entries u t1dcr I-licks in the lauert pp. 374-376 an: n1ut:h n1ore c:,,,:tcusi\'C trrnn lhos:e ~n Paigc1 pp. 580-581, but ndd nothing to the origi n:-a ! entry on John \vho huilL the hoLi~e.

(10) Arthur ~i lnrnn, ed., The Can,bridge of /:,)gbJcen !Jundrfd tl!!d fi.Snt(}'-Si.r (C:lm-bridg(\ J\ 1:1.i.;s-_: Printed at the R1v(•rsidc Press~ J 896). ~rh is cornrncn1orated the nfticth an11l\'Crs~ry ~f the incorpora;-ion of <:a1nbridge as :3. city'r le \dU be cited as Camhrir/gt· of 1896 { J()).

( 11) Clifton K _ Shipton, Sihl~y1l· I lttr"i.'l(ltd Grnd11nus (Boston, J\ i~ssachu sen.~ His-toric:.l Socicry), vo~s. \' l I ( 1945 ), \ll JI ( l 95 l ), and X\t] l ( 197 5). This \\·HI be ci~ed as Sh;pton/Sibley (11 ).

(] 2} rl \vo folders in tbc I larva rd Uni\'crsily A rehires under I-{ U B l 450. i O and . J 0. 5 contain many of thl! s-ourccs for the h1story of the John 1-Jid~s ]-Jo use that are cited in the notes. prhcsc ~re cited u:-; Folder ( l 2).

· rhl' principal folder (.10. 5) \\'::ls ptH together in l 962/6 3 ,~--h~n tlu: then Senior ~ru cort Peter 1 ). L. Stansky, Ph.D. '61 planned fl con1mcn1on1tion of the t,\·o-hundrcd th nrir11\.'ersary of the coustruction of Lhc house., sin1 ilar to one _held t\l'O

ye11rs. carlicr by ~i\dan1s J-lousc for A pthorp HoL1sc, i1s J\·1m;.tcr~s Residence., buUt in 17 60; see 1 !um/book (4), p. 84. T"he celebration for the I-licks. [-louse was unfortu-na l c-1 y nevc r c;1 rri ecJ out.

Anlong the 1n::1terials in tl1c~e folJers an:: correspondence of 19fi2/63 about the house, il photocopy of 8n :1nide on the nl(n'iitg of the house fron1 tl1c HartY1rd C1imnJ11 (3 Dccr1nbcr J92 8)~ r-(i; an article on the house \Vith a skelch of it in its present location b_v J ~lck Frost rrom an unnan1~d ne,~·sp:1pcr of 2 7 October 1936, ,\·hich w~s repu bl islicd in his llnr:-,_,wrd and {:amb)·i,(((c: ..4. Sketch J-JooJ: (N e,v York: Co\\·ard~.i\·lcCann, 194-0), p. 20, \\'ith a sornc"'h~t rc\'i.sed :-u:coinpanying Tex{; pho-locopics off our photngr.1phs of the hou.~c dated 1936, of \\·hich the originalsi from the I larva rd Fihn Service archive, rirl' in the Unircrsity }\re hives under I-IC \l 664; a photocopy of the pJrt CO\'eri ng the area in ,\ ·hith the house stood., and stands, fron1 a nrnp of c.1·11e \.1i1l.1ge in Old (~:..1n1brjugl/' drmvn by Alexander \Vadsworth in January I 83 3. The \Vholc map is reprodnc--td on a ~nJall scak in the C~nlb. I-list. Co11nn . ., Sur'i.YJ ... of Old l'amb1·idgc (a hove no. 8), p. 2 2, fig. 6. These nrntcria ls


l..ihrnry of K irkla11d /louse 175 \,·iii be cited sin1ply as 1'in Fo1dcr O 2).'' 'The folder IH.:c,\·ise cont a ins photocopies of son1e of the 111atcrials that arc also pn~~cnt in tlu.; original.

( ! 3) The Carn bridge I l istorical Commission maintains a file on J licks I J ousc, \vhich contatns a singlc-pagt2 an.::hilcctura1 sun~cy by J'\·tr. 13ainbddgc B11nting, ancl notes Ly i\1r. Hoben 1-:1. N ylandcr on h1s examination of <.kcd~) ta:x lisls~ and probate records of \rills, \l'ilh conln1cnt by h11n. i\lorcovcr, j\·1 r~ N ylandcr n1adc funner cun1n1cnts on a first draft of d11s artidt::. Th-e pages of !\1r. Ny lander's con1n1ent;S lrc nun1bered continucu1!--:ly for the 1\\'0 ~ct~ in the order in \vhkh photocoptcs of thcn1 ,vcrc rccch·ed frorn 1'.-Jr. Paul Bock cl n1an 1\ssistant Director of the-Con11n~ssion. Pp. l-2 arc notes on the house; pp. 3-6 arc s1..unrnarmcs of the rdc\'3.nt deed_~., tax lists., !ind \t·iUs; pp. 3-17 arc f urthcr notes on th~ house :-ind related properties~ t1 nd pp. 18-2 5 =in.~ (omn1cnts on the drnft of this :i rttdc. ~rbis 1ua.tcrial ;s cilcd as l1ucit111g (11),. ,rid1out page nu1nbcr, and as f\1 yland~r {13 ), folln\1.:ed by the page number nf rhc photocopies:. i\ir. Bockdn1an ~}lys { hat the (:onunissmon has sc\·cr.:.1! photographs: of the house rakcn ~t \'arious ti1ncs:, and h~ pro\'idcd lhrcc photocopic.s of photos of it in it~ origi na.l localion; see note I I. l-J e also provided copie5 of correspondence of J annary 1984, describing rhe repairs to be u ndcrtal.:cn on the house in the ncx~ sun1mcr. AIJ of the nrntcrial so gcncrouslr sent by lv1 r. Ilockd nrnn is dcpos-itcd in the Folder O 2) on the house in the Archh:es.

( l 4) N un1erous boxes of papers: fron1 the I-:1ar\'ird Dcpartn1cnt of BuHdings and Grounds have Leen deposited \dth lhc Archh•cs. Ilox 3 2 (C 1925. 3 2) _ contains papers on the hLl ilding of 1he Indoor Athletic Building and on the a1terations in 1931 10 Sn1ith 1-1 a Us ~nd 1-f i cks 1-iou.sc (}olJ 20 3 ). lJnforlun;itdy these papers arc nlosti y bills f 01· \\'ork done, \Vilhoul hc-lpf u~ details. Fron1 Lhc dates of th~ docu~ men ts i the ai rerHt1on:s to the l-1 ick~ 1-Jou~c "'ere apparcnd r accomplished benvecn .~1ay and Scptctnbcr 193 l. 1\ few docun1cnts relevant to chis artidc \\'i1] be cited as in the- B & G ril~ ( 14}.

( 15) The Dcpartn1cnt of Buildings and Grounds has pians rro1n the archilcctural finn of Coo1idg;e, Shepley) Bu1finch, and Ahhott of the I-licks I-louse hoth n~ moved in I 92 8 and. as adapted to use as a library in 19 J 1. ~rhe forn1cr set appHrent]y gives the fayoul as rcrn.incd by the Frascrs \vhcn the house \vas nlovcd 1 and son1c of tlie n:.ln1.c-s \Vhid1 tllcy app!kd to chc roo1ns. This is partmcufarly i1nportant because Bc1J') LS applied in thi~ artrde on1r to ,\'hat is-al ~o desl"ribed as-8 ulean•tc.l/' and the 1nc1in portion of the \\'ing is caHed 'Ll.:itchen.n ·r he later set sbo\'v the Vilrious aher-atio·ns rnadc- tn the interior- in 1931. Th~sc ,\-'iU be referred lo a~ 1928 Plans ( 15) ::1nd 19 31 Plan~ (15). I "'as allon·cd to con~u1t the.~e through the kin(lness of i\1rs. Anita D. Peterson, " 1ho is in charge of th ctn in the main orficc of the Dcpart1ntnl.


CONTJ{IBUTOJ:lS TO THIS ISSUE

EDWIN BINNF:\\ 3RD, is- ] nnorary Cnr;1lor of Balicl in d1l~ l-lan·ar<l ~rhcalre Coi lcct]on.

j\] A.:SUN I L.\MMOND is Pope Professor oft he Latin La ngu~gc and Liter-~u ure, Rntcritllr, j rid 1-r nnorary As.~ociate of Kirkland I-louse, I lar-,·ard U11 l\'Crsitv . ..

JUAN i\ I A 1uCHAL is Professor of the French and Spn.ni~h 1 .anguages and Lilc.:r~turcs, 11 arvard Vn cn::·rsity.

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The Library of Kirkland House -- The John Hicks House

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Transcript of The Library of Kirkland House -- The John Hicks House