Quincy, Mass. Historical and Architectural Survey

4 Brunswick Street

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Squantum, Quincy's northern peninsula, is bounded by East Squantum Street (west), Dorchester Bay (north), and Quincy Bay (south, east). Like its North Quincy neighbors, Atlantic and Montclair, it was once part of Dorchester. These three neighborhoods, along with the Old North Precinct, which had split off from Braintree, became part of the Town of Quincy in 1792. At least two notable historic events took place at Squantum: In 1621 Myles Standish, and the Indian Squanto, from which Squantum takes it name, made their first landfall in Squantum and in 1812 the lively Pilgrim's Feast, commemorating the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers at Plymouth. took place. Also like North Quincy. the land surface of Squantum was primarily taken up with large farms. It was farms like the large Edmund Pope, Captain James Hutchins farm and Titus spreads that were subdivided by such developers as C. E. Carlson and John R. Wilson. As late as 1907, Squantum was less than one third developed with the major growth occurring between 1907 and 1923. Although Squantum had been an destination summer resort since the mid 19th century, it was not until after World War I that it truly became a year around community.

Number 4 Brunswick Street was built in 1908 for John R. Nelson, a local lawyer and realtor. The architect for the $4500 structure was Henry Wilson and the builder, Henry J. Eklund. The Nelson family remained, in residence until after 1935 with Emma Nelson carrying on the real estate business after John R.'s death. The house is built on land which was either the Pratt or Huckins estate in 1876, either the Pratt estate or Titus farm in 1888 and 1897, and belonged to "S. B. Hinckley" in 1907.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Assessors Records.
Building Permit.
William Churchill Edwards. Historic Quincy, Massachusetts, 1957, p. 23, 61-62.
H. Hobart Holly, ed. Quincy: 350 Years, 1974, p. 50.
Paul Robert Lyons. Quincy: A Pictorial History, 1983, p. 16, 23.
John Ramsdell. "Historic North Quincy [written about 1934]." Quincy Historical Society.

ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:
The "Prairie Bungalow" Style, a Cambridge Historical Commission label describes residences built in the early 20th century which espouses elements from both the California based Bungalow Style and the Middle West based Prairie Style. Architects of both styles sought to escape from the historicism of the past and the emphasis on classicism; there were interested in building simpler and more functional houses which also reflected the climatic conditions of their respective areas. The California Bungalow is characterized by a low pitched gable roof with a shed dormer and covered veranda while the Prairie type house has a predominantly horizontal appearance which relates to the rolling prairies. Materials used include stucco, contrasted with dark wood trim, cobblestones for foundations and chimneys and wood left in its natural state.

The residence at 4 Brunswick is a fine elample of a summer bungalow cottage characterized by the porch formed by the lower slope of the ridge roof, the low front shed dormer, the wide bracketed overhang of the roof over the side gables and the fun length front porch. It is one of two Prairie-Bungalow houses listed in the Squantum area. The pleasant porch with a solid rail is supported by posts made of the same scored cast stone as the foundation, a typical treatment of the early 20th century. The fenestration is irregular; there are single windows, double windows and a band of small windows on the left elevation The bungalow is an attractive and picturesque component of the Bellevue Road Streetscape.

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