Don Eriksson deriksson@nashobapub.com
PEPPERELL -- There aren't many history buffs willing to put their money where their heart leads, but Holly Bradman and Sherrill Rosoff are two who are. They are in the process of forming Homestead Restorations Inc., a partnership aimed at restoring historic homes to both preserve the town's rich Revolutionary-era history for future generations and sell for profit.
"We want to do historically correct restorations to bring the houses as close as possible to their era, but with modern conveniences," Bradman said. "The houses will be for sale but we're not trying to make a killing. Our passion is to save historic houses although we won't take on a project that is not worthwhile."
One by one, historic homesteads throughout the region that date back to the American Revolution or before are being demolished in the name of progress. Some of Pepperell's historic houses stand on remaining pieces of former homestead land that lends itself to development. The often run-down condition of the historic buildings can mean low purchase prices that make it feasible to demolish them to make way for newer structures. "Once they're gone, they're gone forever," Bradman said.
Homestead Restorations is funded by equity taken from Bradman and Rosoff's own homes. Bradman, a lifelong Pepperell resident, and husband Robert own an 1850s-era farmhouse at 212 Townsend Road that is named for the Arabian horses they own. Rosoff moved to Pepperell from Pennsylvania a little more than a year ago and purchased the now-restored Hesekiah Winn House on Lawrence Street.
Rosoff was working with an Acton realtor when the two met. Bradman said they "hit it off." She described Pepperell to Rosoff, who went to see the Winn property and promptly bought it. Bradman is the "motivator" in the partnership and described Rosoff as the "researcher and accountant." Bradman said her husband is solidly behind her efforts.
The partners have begun developing a list of people they'd like to approach to help them. "All would be chosen for their expertise," Bradman said. One such is contractor Charles "Penn" Burnham who, Bradman said, "knows antiques and lived in a house that belonged to the Boynton Family." Burnham currently lives in the Jonathan Butler House on West Street.
Burnham helped Rosoff buy and restore the Winn homestead. The house now has more open space with exposed beams and a restored fireplace. "He was an inspiration to me, a sort of tutor in helping me understand old homes," Rosoff said. "Being able to work with such people , and there are many in town, would be wonderful. It's our feeling that it's these local craftsmen of all types that would assure quality workmanship."
Bradman said they are interested in any pre-1900 buildings. She and Rosoff are frequent visitors to town hall, where they pore over property plans with assessor Susan Smith. Within the past week they have looked at two antique houses and will be looking at more. They have talked to potential investors in their business as well.
The one home they want to restore more than any other is the Joseph Heald Homestead (the Heald-Tucker Homestead) on Heald Street. It and its property were recently sold by John R. Reese, son of former owners Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Reese, to William Fuller of David J. Fuller & Sons Development Corporation of Wilmington.
"Heald Street could be a good example [of the future of old houses]," Rosoff said. "All these old houses have land, and development runs up against the oral and non-written history of families."
Fuller has filed plans for a four-lot subdivision with the Planning Board. The run-down historic house that appears to be abandoned sits on one proposed lot than includes a right of way to the rear lots on the plan. Much of the land is wetland and the developer currently has filed an application for a variance on the rear-most proposed lot with the Zoning Board of Appeals. It is quite possible that Fuller will demolish the house.
"We were inspired by the Heald House to start our business," Rosoff said. "Under our current business plan we can't move forward with [trying to purchase] it, but perhaps someone might want to restore it and live in it. This house, as forlorn as it is, is potentially a wonderful home, and I would hope that even though Homestead Restorations can't be the vehicle for turning this house into a home, perhaps somebody else would."
Rosoff said the pair's business plan includes purchase, restoration and carrying costs on projects. "As we considered Heald St. [the former Reese property] and ... costs, it probably makes more sense for a private party to purchase the home," she said.
"It breaks our hearts to even look at [the house] because it is so historic," Bradman said.
The Joseph Heald Homestead is listed as one of Pepperell's historic homes in the Pepperell Reader. It is constructed with chestnut beams which, Bradman said, are no longer available. "A wide board leading to the attic slides back to allow access to a space where slaves were once harbored," she said.
It is not the only safe harbor house in Pepperell. The Josiah Shattuck House on Jewett Street has a trap door in the ceiling of a linen closet that leads to the attic.
Old records indicate that the land was owned by Joseph Blood, who once had a camp on the east side of Heald Pond, then known as the Joseph Blood Pond. The brook that feeds the pond is still known as Blood's Brook. David Wetherbee purchased the property from Blood and, in May of 1777, sold the then 100-acre parcel to Joseph Heald, who was known as "Squire Heald," according to the Reader.
Heald represented the district (long before Pepperell became a town) at the General Court in Boston for 21 years and was the equivalent of town clerk. He dabbled in chemistry and made large collections of herbs and roots for medicinal purposes. In the 1780s, Heald contracted with a member of the Jewett family to dig a mine which since has been an object of interest in town. According to stories, he worked mostly at night, carving out the rock by building fires against it, then throwing water on it to crack it.
Squire Heald died in 1831. His grandson Joseph Gerry kept the property until 1838, when he sold it to Luther Tarbell. Samuel Tucker bought it in 1839. Tucker was a selectman and town clerk at differing times, raised hops and made fish barrels. He walked the finished products to Boston with an ox-cart and brought home supplies.
Tucker transferred 20 acres on the west side of his farm to his son, Samuel E. Tucker, who erected the existing house that faces the pond about 1850. Samuel dammed the brook and built a planing mill mid-way between the pond and an old dam that an earlier generation had built. Both are gone, but the cellar and raceway walls of the planing mill remain.
Tucker also sold a piece of land behind the entrance of the mine, called Breakneck Hill, to a miner named Willoughby, who sought gold and silver but stopped trying to sink a shaft on the hill about 1860. Upon Tucker's death in 1876, his widow Clarinda (Ames) kept the property until her death in 1891. It was sold to Alta Shattuck, a grandson of Samuel Tucker, who kept it for nine years, then sold it to Clarence C. Tucker, another grandson, in 1900.
The property then passed to Maud (Tucker) Maxwell, Clarence's daughter, who turned it over to their daughter Elizabeth and her husband Eugene Reese in the early 1940s. Now, after standing nearly unused for some time, it is owned by Fuller.
A number of Indian relics such as stone hatchets and hammers have been found on the plot between Heald St. and the pond, which is thought to have been a camping ground.
