Sitting on a trailer bed in a gentleman’s backyard for nearly fifteen years the Maxcy Fisher homestead – a delightful example of a New England style cape - was originally located in Franklin, Massachusetts. The original 3/4 Cape was built in the early part of the 18th century based upon the frame’s construction. Diagrams drawn during the Cape’s dismantlement show that the homestead was approximately 28’ by 26’ and included a first floor parlor, keeping room, front winding stairs to the second floor and partial attic. There was probably a birthing room off the rear keeping room. The frame consisted of 8x12 corner gunstock posts, supporting 8x8 and 8x12 girts and a 10x12 summer beam extending across the front room into which 3x4 floor joists were joined. All these beams are hand hewn oak. The roof was framed with mortised 5x8 rafters without a central ridge beam – a kind of construction that suggests early rather than late eighteenth century
The Cape was expanded sometime in the late 18th century to complete its current dimension of 38 x 28. (We have found lumber with the initials JF, for Joseph Fisher, Maxcy Fisher’s father, who was a house wright by trade and probably built the additions to the original Cape.) Now, the main house had two front rooms, a large keeping room and two upstairs chambers. Then, sometime in the early nineteenth century, the Cape was expanded again with another keeping room addition – which was expanded one more time, probably in the mid-19th century. This last small addition is different from the earlier Cape in that the framing materials were milled, not hand hewn.
In order to rebuild the Maxcy Fisher homestead, we requested, and were granted, exceptions to current codes regarding ceiling heights and interior door dimension requirements so that we could reconstruct the house to resemble, as closely as possible, the original home. We are grateful for the interest and support which Hollis township has given us in order to reconstruct the Maxcy Fisher homestead within the town’s historic district.
