Quincy, Mass. Historical and Architectural Survey

53 Bicknell Street (Naaman B. Holmes 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 land on which 53 Bicknell Street is located belonged in 1836 to Captain Elisha Holmes, 52 Bicknell Street, who with his next door neighbor at 42 Bicknell Street, Captain Charles A. Brown, was one of the two principals in the development of the fishing community in the 1830's. About 1840 either Elisha Holmes built a house for his son, Naaman B. Holmes, the captain of the "Cambrian", a whaling vessel, or Naaman built it on his father's property. A Julia A. Rich purchased the property in 1888 and in 1898 the new owner was the prosperous Hodgkinson farming family who retained it 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 Naaman B. Holmes House is a simple Greek Revival one and one half story cottage. The residence still retains its gable end to the street orientation, large returns at the front gable, and wide cornice board on the side elevations. Hence, it has kept its architectural identity. However, it has lost its architectual integrity when the original walling material was removed as well as the corner pilasters or the corner boards in the process of being sided with aluminum. During the Italianate Period, the 1860s and 1870s, a door hood with shaped decorated brackets way added over tbe entance which gives it a picturesque look. A large rear wing was added later. Set on a granite foundation, it has a steep ridge roof pierced by one small chimney. The house is an attractive component on historic Bicknell Street.

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