History of Ownership and Use

The farm’s earliest owner was Thomas Pierce (1705 – 1789), son of Francis and Hannah Pierce of Weston. He married Mary Hayes (d. 1778) in 1728). It is believed that the present front portion of the main house was built by Thomas about 1760 as a typical 2 1/2 story, five-bay, center-entry, center-cimney, gable-roofed dwelling. Thomas and Mary had several children, as least one of whom served in the Weston Company in the Revolutionary War. According to town records, Thomas Pierce held the office of field driver in 1763 and 1766. He was one of the town sureyors and collectors in 1761. . . .It appears that Thomas and Mary fell upon hard times at about the time of the Revolution and may have been forced to sell the farm in 1770, when it passed to John Brown of Cambridge for one hundred pounds. At that time the farm was described as a homestead of about seventy acres “with all the buildings thereon.”

Following the sale of the farm to John Brown in 1770, the homestead remained in the Brown family for over one hundred years, being owned successively by Thomas Brown, Marshal Brown, and finally by Samuel F.  Clarke, a son-in-law. Durng the Brown family ownership, the main house was more than doubled in size, and perhaps converted to use as a two-family dwelling. Samuel F. Clarke was born in Orange, Vermont to David and Lydia Clarke in 1820. He married Louisa Brown (1823-1842) of Weston in 1847. When Samuel F. Clarke sold the farmstead in 1899, the Waltham Daily Free Press-Tribune reported that

Mr. Samuel F. Clarke of Wellesley St, Weston, has sold his estate to a well-known Boston merchant, who intends to improve the property and occupy the same as a summer residence. It contains about 140 acres, the greater portion of which is grassland. The buildings consist of a large, old-fashioned house and barn, which have always been kept in excellent repair. Among the principal attractions of the place are the grand old maple and elm trees which were planted by Mr. Clarke over fifty years ago. This has been a favorite resort for persons seeking rest and recreation during the summer season. The estate has been in the family since 1795, being owned by Mr.Brown, the grandfather of Mrs. Clarke, who was one of the early settlers and active in town affairs. Mr. Clarke has owned and occupied it since 1847.  [February 10, 1899]

The Boston merchant to whom Clarke sold the house was Robert B. Blodgett, who owned the property until 1905-07 and may have been responsible for some of the many turn-of-the-century changes. In 1906, the farm passed to William E. Barrett of Boston through Samuel Hudson, who may hae been Blodgett’s executor. In 1907, the farm passed from the estate of William Barrett to Evelyn L. and Arthur Wight Wellington of Medford. Arthur W. Wellington made his career at the U.S. Leather Company in Boston, starting out as a messenger boy, and retiring at age 65 as president. The Wellingtons moved to Weston because their family homestead in the Wellington section of Medford was taken by the city and is now the Wellington Circle traffic area. When the Wellingtons moved to Weston, they continued to raise horses and cattle, switching from the Brown Swiss to the Guernsey breed. The farm remains in the Wellington family ownership through Arthur and Evelyn’s daughter, Nancy Wellington Danforth, and her descendants, who continue the farming operations.