Quincy, Mass. Historical and Architectural Survey

42 Bicknell Street (Brown-Hodgkinson House)

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Germantown, on the eastern shore of the Town River, was originally called Shed's Neck. It was one of the first planned industrial developments in the country and its present name dates from around 1750 when German craftsmen were brought here to manufacture glass and other commodities. Eight industries were planned and operated by Joseph Palmer and Richard Cranch and the town laid out on paper in named squares like a European community. The early industrial development faltered after a few years and it wasn't until the 1830's that a prosperous fishing community developed when a group of fishermen migrated from the outer Cape Cod. Some whaling voyages departed from Germantown shores in the 1840's and in 1856 the maritime character of the village was further enhanced by the establishment of the Sailors Snug Harbor. a retirement home for active seamen. Meanwhile Michael Hodgkinson, one of those who had come from the Cape, started buying up land and developed a sizeable well-known dairy farm which passed through the Hodgkinson family until operations ceased in 1948.

The house at 42 Bicknell Street is historically one of the most important in Germantown. It was built by Captain Charles A. Brown who with his next door neighbor at 52 Bicknell Street, Captain Elisha Holmes, was one of the two principals in the development of the fishing community in the 1830's. In 1852 it was purchased by Josiah Bacon for the superintendent's residence for Sailor's Snug Harbor. In 1882 Benjamin F. Hodgkinson bought the Brown house for his residence and in 1900 the Holmes house as well. Both houses remained in the Hodgkinson farming family until 1955.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Assessors Records.
Bartlett, Martha Maude. "Ancient and Modern Germantown". Quincy Patriot Ledger, January 1937, p. B-8.
"Germantown Heritage Days" Program. September 24, 25, 26, 1976.
H. Hobart Holly. Quincy Historical Society.
H. Hobart Holly, ed. Quincy: 350 Years, 1974, p. 51-52.

ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:
The Brown-Hodgkinson House was built in 1832 in the then prevailing Federal Style. One can still note the granite foundation, the brick end chimneys, the double hip roof, the longitudunal orientation, the plain corner boards and the simple window enframements of the period. It probably ressembled 52 Bicknell Street, without the front porch. During the Queen Anne period, towards the end of the 19th century, probably in the 1880s, the owners enlarged the house by adding a cross gable on the side elevation, complete with the typical overhanging gable cornice, decorated inset panel and cut-off windows. Further additions and embellishments were made in the Colonial Revival period, probably in the 1910s. At that time, the house received its elegant front porch with columns supporting a dentiled roof. The pedimented entrance is the focus of architectural ornamentation of particular note is the unusual balustrade composed of baroque outwardly curving balusters, and square paneled bases for the columns. The house is an important component on historic Bicknell Street.

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