Historical Properties

Jeremiah Whittemore House - 153 Church Street

The Jeremiah Whittemore House is significant historically because of its history of ownership by only two families, including nearly 200 years of ownership by the Coburn family. Three generations of Whittemores lived here between 1726 and 1801, including Jeremiah, his son Capt. Isaac Whittemore, who served in the Revolutionary War, and Isaac’s son Aaron.

The house is one of the oldest houses in Weston and is very significant because of its age, intact condition, and prominent location in a picturesque rural setting (c.1726, Map #3, MHC 13). The 2 1/2 story, 5 x 1 bay clapboard house faces south, and the front entrance faces the fields behind the house rather than the street. This entrance is marked by a pedimented entrance porch extending out about 12-feet from the facade and supported by late 19th century turned posts. The house has a large central chimney and 8/12 windows on the first floor and 8/8 on the second, with shutters. To the northeast is  a one-story attached barn once used as a wagon shed, with vehicle entrance on the south side. One former owner of the house, the first Arthur L. Coburn, felt that there was deed evidence to suggest that the house pre-dated 1726. His research indicated that the house originally had a lean-to roof over a rear kitchen, and that, in 1830, the  roof at the back of the house was changed to the present 2 1/2 story ell. The rear of the house has an irregular form and fenestration pattern which adds to its picturesque character.

The Coburn Barn - 154 Church Street

The massive, irregularly-massed clapboard structure is located directly across from the Whittemore House (Map #2, MHC 12) and dates from 1841. It would be considered by many to be the most important barn in Weston because of its size, visually interesting configuration, and prominent location. The barn consists of three parts: a large 2 1/2 story central section, sited with gable end to the street, and two smaller, two-story side gable sections on either side. Atop the central section is a large hipped cupola with weather vane. The arched doorway on the street side of the center section is particularly notable for its wide-arched double doors constructed with diagonal boarding and heavy iron hinges. Windows are irregularly placed and generally consist of single sash 6, 8 or 12 panes, with some 6/6.

an old red barn known as the coburn barn on church street

The Coburn Cottage

Set back from the street, and dwarfed by the large barn, sits the Coburn Cottage also at 154 Church Street (c. 1902, Map #1, MHC 12). The 3 x 1 bay side gable house has a simple entrance shelter and a one-bay rear ell. Windows are 6/6 on the first floor and half that size on the second story.

Coburn house at 171 Church Street

Edward Coburn House - 171 Church Street

The house was built the same year as the Coburn Barn and is Greek Revival in style (c. 1841, Map #4, MHC 10). The visual importance of the house stems not only from its architecture but also from its site atop a low hill overlooking the Coburn meadow. The 2 1/2 story, side gable, clapboard house is missing the one-story, hip-roofed porch which originally extended across the front. 

Three comparable examples remain in Weston of five-bay Greek Revival houses with full front porches: 

  • 39 Crescent Street
  • 137 Wellesley Street
  • 178 Boston Post Road

Although the porch has been removed, the house retains many tine Greek Revival exterior details including the sidelights, paneled corner pilasters, and wide entablature. The house has 6/6 windows and two interior chimneys behind the ridge on the main block and another on the large four-bay rear ell. Two bay windows are located on the south gable end.

179 Church Street

The next house to be built in the area is a 1 1/2 story Mansard cottage (Map #6, MHC 11), one of only three examples of this housing type in Weston. The clapboard structure has a 2 x 2 bay main block with wing. The entrance door is located offset left, sheltered by an Italianate-style shaped hood, and a bay window is located offset right. Above the door is a single dormer and above the bay window, a double dormer.