Albert B Wells Residence Main Street Southbridge Massachusetts
Albert B Wells Residence Main Street Southbridge Massachusetts
Item Information
Title:
Albert B Wells Residence Main Street Southbridge Massachusetts
Description:
The home of Albert Bacheller (A.B.)Wells (1872-1953),and Ethel Burnham (1876-1949), at 176 Main Street, Southbridge, Massachusetts. The house was designed by renowned architect Daniel H. Burnham, of Evanston, Illinois whose daughter Ethel, married A.B. Wells, in 1900. Local builder H.U. Bail constructed the house for the sum of $12,600. The home was "situated a short distance from George's home [George W. Wells] - after the removal of the Edwards house. George solved the rest of the dilemma by giving them the money with which to build...I remember we had a tremendous job of foundations to build; the foundations on the west side of that house were twenty seven feet deep." Additions were made to this property to accommodate A.B.'s growing interest in antiques that he called "oddities" or "primitives". According to 'The Wells Family and the Early Years of Old Sturbridge Village' by David M. Simmons: "By 1927, an ell was added containing a 'great room' built of barn timbers and sheathed with weathered boards. This space held a special significance for A.B., who used it as a place to entertain friends and gather the family. Another wing was added in 1930. Later, A.B. took the two bowling alleys he and his brothers had built...to make bays for different kinds of antiques."
Rights status not evaluated.
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Notes:
Is part of the photographic collection of the Jacob Edwards Library Archives, Southbridge, Massachusetts. http://www.jacobedwardslibrary.org
Image from page 50 of the A. H. Pease album #2
