Quincy, Mass. Historical and Architectural Survey

47 Billings Street

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
The Atlantic neighborhood in North Quincy is bordered by the Neponset River to the North and Quincy Bay to the East. It was once part of Dorchester and with the Old North Precinct that had split off from Braintree, became part of the Town of Quincy in 1792. The Jockey Club of Boston set up the first mile track course in the state in 1812 in a section of Atlantic known as Billings Plains and less than one hundred years later the track was filled in with new homes. Like its neighbors, Montclair and Wollaston, most of the community of Atlantic was built in the first third of the 20th century. From colonial times until the Civil War North Quincy was referred to as "The Farms" and it was the large Newbury, Wilson, Billings' and Glover farms that were split up for residences by real estate developers David H. MacKay, Henry Hunt, Maurice E. Kilpatrick, John E. Poland, Henry J. Grass and Charles M. Conant, Henry Blackwell, and Walter Webb. The development process was greatly accelerated by the Old Colony Railroad which began operations in 1845, eventually establishing stations in Atlantic, Norfolk Downs (the southern section of Atlantic), and Wollaston as well as by the advent of Quincy's extensive street railway system.

Stephen O. Moxon, prominent citizen, architect and builder, was probably the builder of this house having purchased the land from the Hathaway family before 1888. It is unclear, however, whether Moxon ever lived here. An article in the Quincy Patriot Ledger of 1937 states that Moxon lived in the old William Rawson House on Hancock Street from 1875 to about 1887. By 1923 the house was purchased by a Ralph M. Gillman, a manager, and the Gillman family continued to live there for at least another fifteen years.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Assessors Records.
H. Hobart Holly, Quincy Historical Society.
H. Hobart Holly, ed. Quincy: 350 Years, 1974, p. 4.
William S. Pattee. A History of Old Braintree and Quincy, 1878, p. 55.
Quincy Patriot Ledger. 100th Anniversary. January 7, 1937, p. G-14.
John Ramsdell. "Historic North Quincy". ["Written about 1934"]. Typed manuscript at Historical Society.
Daniel Munro Wilson. Three Hundred Years of Quincy 1625-1925. 1925, p. 280-281.

ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:
This late Greek Revival cottage located amidst late 19th century residences in the Atlantic area is a reminder or Quincy's agricultural past. It is set on an unusual brick foundation (the majority or foundation material in Quincy up to 1900 is granite) and is oriented gable end to the street. As it is was built late in the style period, its ridge roof is steep and has only returns instead of having a closed pediment. A large dormer pierces the side slope. The facade is an archetypal Greek Revival facade composed of a side entrance, two tall window on the ground floor and two windows in the gable. Fronting this is a columnar portico with Doric columns which are probably replacements, for they have bases and are not fluted. It is a fine example of a Quincy late Greek Revival residence and a contributing factor in the Billings Street streetscape.

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