James A. Leonard House, Then & Now

 

The James A. Leonard House on Center Street opposite the present Sacred Heart rectory was built in the early 19^th century and for a century and a half was a landmark in the neighborhood. James A. Leonard (1800-62) was a prominent shoe manufacturer of mid-19^th century Middleborough.  In 1860, Leonard proposed developing the land to the rear of his house as thirty to forty individual house lots.  The sale of the lots by auctioneer Sylvanus Hinckley was advertised on September 8, 1860, and headed “Rare Chance.”  The land was described as being situated “on the high ground near the House of James A. Leonard, in about equal distance from the Four Corners and depot.” The Gazette opined: “No person who desires a building lot in this place on reasonable terms will fail of attending the auction.”

Following Leonard’s death in 1862, the house was owned by his son G. H. Leonard until 1876 when it was purchased by C. D. Kingman and Edson Ellis. That same year Kingman sold his share to Ellis who operated a marble yard on the property. In 1896, Dr. G. E. Ellis had the brick wall on Center Street constructed.

Shortly after the house’s demolition in December 1974, the Middleborough Antiquarian documented the later history of the home:

“In the memory of most of the older generation, the house recently demolished on Center Street, next to St. Luke’s Hospital, is known as the ‘Dr. Ellis House.’  Dr. George E. Ellis is listed as the owner in the 1884 Middleboro Directory, the earliest one on file at the Middleborough Historical Museum.  He was a very colorful character and can be vividly remembered pacing back and forth, hands behind his back, before the high brick wall that fronted his property….

“Dr. George E. Ellis came to Middleboro in 1879 and probably purchased the house at that time.  After his death in 1933, the property was owned by Mrs. William W. Wheeler, and to within a year’s time was owned and occupied by her son George E. Wheeler.  The house was demolished in December, 1974, and there are rumors that a professional building is to be erected on the site.”

 

 

Images:
James A. Leonard House, Center Street, Middleborough, photograph, c. 1900

James A. Leonard House site, Center Street, Middleborough, photograph by Michael J. Maddigan, November 30, 2015

James A. Leonard House, Center Street, Middleborough, photograph, 1930s

James A. Leonard House, Center Street, Middleborough, photographic half-tone, 1974

James A. Leonard House, Center Street, Middleborough, photographic half-tone, late 1974

Another View from Easter 1915

The intrepid photographer that ventured out to capture the scene of Center Street covered by snow on Easter Sunday (April 4), 1915, also took this photograph of Peirce Academy with the Central Baptist Church in the background. (Thatcher's Row is just out of the image to the left). The Middleborough Post Office now occupies the site of the Academy building which at the time housed the district court for Middleborough.

Easter Sunday, 1915

One of the more historically notable snowstorms in Middleborough's past was the blizzard of Easter Sunday 1915. Described by the Middleboro Gazette as one of the worst in years, the storm in early April dumped a considerable quantity of snow on the town leaving church-goers on April 4 to confront the remarkably un-spring-like scene in the photograph above. The view depicts Center Street taken from in front of what is now Santander Bank. Recognizable is the Glidden Building at the right of the view. Though little plowing has been done, the street railway has managed to clear its tracks and the owners of the T. W. Pierce hardware store (the building at the immediate right with the sign marked "SHOES") have shovelled the sidewalk in front of their building, now the site of Benny's. The image below shows nearly the same view without snow.

Center Street, 1930s

The photograph above originally appeared in the rotogravure section of the New Bedford Standard-Times in the late 1930s. "The scene is typical of Main Street, Anytown, but in this instance it happens to be Center Street, Middleboro, looking west", read the caption that accompanied the photo. Though "typical" the view may have been, it preserved for posterity a glimpse of the business section of Middleborough which was both unique and special to its residents.

Proceeding westward along Center Street, the first building at the right is the Fish Building, constructed in 1934 by Robert and Alphonso D. Fish. For years it housed the Walk-Over Shoe store which had been established in the early 1930s. In 1934, proprietor Roger W. Kelley sold the business to Daniel Besse and Fred Lang. Walk-Over would operated for many years at Middleborough center and would later be known as Stile's.

Adjoining the Fish Building was the Woolworth block constructed in 1927-28. The building was purpose built for the F. W. Woolworth Company to that company’s specifications by Arthur Shactman of Brookline, the owner of the property in 1927. Woolworth’s proposed leasing the building for a period of twenty years commencing May 1, 1928, and ending May 1, 1948, with yearly rent at $3,600 for the first ten years and $3,900 for the final ten years, and requested that the building be “the same in workmanship and material as the premises now occupied by the lessee at 297-297A Harvard Street, Brookline, Massachusetts”

Woolworth’s first came to Middleborough in 1911, establishing a store in the American Building on South Main Street as Middleborough’s first chain department store. This building was built the same year that Woolworth’s principal Middleborough competitor W. T. Grant arrived in town. Woolworth’s initially took a 20 year lease on the building commencing May 1, 1928, occupying the southernmost store.

In 1948, Woolworth’s expanded to occupy the entire building, but at the time of the photograph, the northern half of the building was occupied by the Park Café. The café’s owner, Nicklas Zervas, took a ten year lease on space in the building commencing April 1, 1928. His establishment occupied the northernmost of the two spaces.

Next is the woodframe building once occupied by Sparrow Brothers men’s clothiers which operated for nearly 50 years from 1880 through 1929. The Sparrows continued to own the building through 1945 during which time they rented it to various business concerns including the Economy Grocery Store and Town Cleansers.

Beyond Sparrow Brothers is the drugstore of Jesse F. Morse, housed in the former William S. Pierce House. This building has the distinction of being the oldest extant structure on Center Street in downtown Middleborough, having been built about 1833. Originally occupied as a dwelling by Pierce, in 1875, the structure was converted to commercial use by druggists Shaw & Childs which operated in the building until 1906. This firm was succeeded by Jesse F. Morse who operated the drug store until his death in 1948. At the time the photograph was taken, M. L. Hinckley and Son operated a jewelry store in an ell to the rear of the building which is presently occupied by Hollyberries.

Next to Morse’s and conspicuous by the “First National Market” sign extending from its façade is the Ryder Block. Built in 1927, the block was occupied immediately by stores housing a First National grocery market and a W. T. Grant store. The First National would remain in the block until 1941 when it had its own store building erected on the corner of Center and School Streets (now Benny’s). Grant’s would relocate to North Main Street in the 1950s. The Ryder Block would later be long occupied by The Boston Store.

The large wood-frame building beyond the Ryder Block was occupied at the time of the photograph by Ryder’s Department Store (the store name can be made out on the side of the awning hanging from the front of the building). Constructed in 1883 and demolished in 1968, the building housed a succession of “dry goods” firms including Whitman’s, Ryder’s and MacNeil’s. The site is now occupied by a branch of Sovereign Bank.

At the corner of Center and School Streets, a portion of the T. W. Pierce Hardware Store building can be glimpsed. Originally built as a shoe manufactory for Perkins, Leonard & Barrows in 1853, the building was occupied after 1872 by hardware dealers and tinsmiths Pierce & Paige. Following 1881, the business was operated exclusively by T. W. Pierce and remained in business until 1941. In 1940 the building was demolished to make way for a new First National.

Across School Street, the Glidden Building is conspicuous, and has been a Center Street landmark since the late 19th century. Beyond it is the so-called Klar Building which was built in 1895 for bakers and confectioners Pasztor & Klar. In 1911, Pasztor & Klar erected a new fire-proof building of brick on the next lot north, and it is barely visible in the photograph. Later occupied by Shaw’s Furniture, this building was occupied by a wide variety of businesses over the years, including Pasztor & Klar (from 1911 until 1920), Gliddens, and the Middleboro Bowling Alleys. It is presently being rehabilitated for use as a local theatrical venue.

The large building behind with the two visible dormers is the original School Street School dating from about 1850. At the time the present school building was constructed in 1907, the original school building was relocated to Center Street and converted to commercial use. Above the roofline of the school, just above the left-hand dormer, the roof of the Leonard & Barrows shoe manufactory tower is visible.

At the left side of the photograph, a small portion of the Thatcher Block is visible. At the time the block was erected in 1877, the Old Colony Memorial reported: “A large two story block has been erected on the Thatcher estate on Center street, containing four roomy stores, a hall to be used by the Sons of Temperance, tailor shop, etc. This adds much to the appearance of the town.” Over the years, the block would be occupied by a variety of businesses. The building still stands, although the second floor, which once housed the local Y. M. C. A. has since been removed.

Illustration:
Center Street, Middleborough, MA, 1930s, from "Rotogravure Section", New Bedford Standard-Times

Center Street Winter Scene, c. 1900

This view depicts Center Street as seen looking northwestward from the corner of School Street after a mid-winter storm. On the left is the snow whitened front of the Church of Our Saviour at the corner of Center and Union Streets, while a portion of the Benjamin F. Tripp House is readily visible at the center of the photograph . At the far right is the Glidden Building, known at the time of the photograph, however, as the Sullivan Building. The building's owner Dennis D. Sullivan had a law office on the second floor and his sign is prominent on the corner of the building. The other buildings in the photograph have long since disappeared.

Illustration:
Center Street, photograph, c. 1900.

Center Street Snow Scene

Piles of plowed snow flanking the sides of Middleborough streets following this weekend's snowstorm call to mind past scenes of Center Street in winter. Here, one amateur photographer nearly three-quarters of a century ago captured the scene on Center Street from a window in the Savings Bank Building. While the number of automobiles is few, several pedestrians make their way along the sidewalk, undeterred from shopping by the heavy snow. Awnings have been unfurled to keep store entrances clear of snow, including those for Walk-Over Shoes, F. W. Woolworth's (in the building now occupied by Reedy's Archery), Stop & Shop, Jessie F. Morse's Rexall pharmacy, W. T. Grant, the First National and Whitman's department store. Those seeking to take a break from shopping could always rest for a moment or have a snack at the Park Cafe next to Woolworth's.

Center Street, 1930s

Despite the towering piles of snow which line the sidewalks, it was business as usual for the stores along Center Street in the aftermath of this late 1930s snowstorm. Pictured is at the center of the photograph is the Ryder Block which had three tenants at the time including the First National grocery store and the W. T. Grant Co. In 1940, the First National had a new building constructed for itself on the corner of Center and School Streets (the building now occupied by Benny's) and relocated there. Grant's absorbed the former First National space and occupied the two stores until moving to North Main Street in 1957. The main space in this building was later long occupied by the Boston Store operated by Alton and Eunice Kramer. It has since been occupied by antique stores. The smaller space historically has been tenanted by various businesses including the Work Basket, a sewing store, and by florists. It is now the home of Honey Dew Donuts.

The building at the far right, presently occupied by Hollyberries gift shop, has the likely distinction of being the oldest building remaining on Center Street having been built about 1833. Originally occupied as a dwelling house by William S. Pierce of New Bedford and later Dr. Chapin, in 1875 the pharmacy of Shaw & Childs leased the house for use by their business. Shaw & Childs, a partnership of Jacob Shaw and Abbott Childs, built an addition to the front of the house, sacrificing what had once been a spacious front lawn surrounded by a white fence. Following Shaw's death, Abbott continued to operate the firm until 1906 when it was acquired by Jesse F. Morse, a pharmacist formerly with the Smith & Hathaway drug store at the Four Corners. Morse operated the store as a Rexall pharmacy until his death in 1948 after which he was succeeded by Leo P. LaForest (who operated the store from 1948 to 1963) and Ronald Craig. During this period, from 1920 through 1965, jewelers M. L. Hinckley & Son also occupied space in the ell of the building. In 1985, the Colonial Office Supply established operations in the building which it disguised under a facade designed to resemble a barn. Antique dealer Sam Pierce later renovated the building to resemble its earlier appearance. For several years now, the building has been occupied by Hollyberries Country Gifts and Collectibles.