No. 11990 250 Ashmont Street, photograph from Andrew Saxe.
Date of construction: 1893 mentioned in published material, but no cited reference; deed to Denton 1893, but Denton’s entry in the Boston Directory shows that he lived on Beach Street in 1894. The house appears in the 1894 atlas.
Architect: Charles Haywood Inspection report cited by Shand-Tucci
Style: Colonial Revival/Georgian Revival
Building permit: none found
MACRIS (Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System) mhc-macris.net accessed [date]
BOS.5655 Eben Denton House
Tucci, Douglass Shand. Second Settlement: A Case Study in the Development of Victorian Boston. 1974. Although this book is about Jones Hill, the appendix has a list of properties built in the 1880s and 1890s.
Inspec.Rep. 1893 C. W. Haywood 250 Ashmont, cost $12,000; owner E. Denton. Estimated cost to build $12,000
The following is from Ashmont: An Historical Guide to Peabody Square, Caruth’s Hill, and Ashmont Hill and the Architecture of Edwin J. Lewis, Jr. and John A. Fox. By Paul Douglass Shand-Tucci. Dorchester, Dorchester Historical Society, 1991. p. 68
[From the corner of Ashmont and Carruth] Three houses on the other side of Ashmont Street face General Drake’s house. The house in the center entirely of clapboards, carries with surprising ease a heavy burden of just about the complete vocabulary of Georgian pomps. Designed by Charles Haywood, a South Shore architect not otherwise known to have worked in Boston, the Eben Denton House, 250 Ashmont (named after the chief executive officer of the Reversible Collar Company of downtown Kirby Street), was erected in 1893. It took its cue as to siting from 256 Ashmont …
The following is from the Area Form for Carruth Street/Peabody Square, Boston Landmarks Commission.
250 Ashmont Street was built for Eben Denton, chief officer of the Reversible Collar Company of Boston in 1893. It was designed by South Shore architect Charles Haywood. By the early 1930s, Mary E. Burgess, an employee of the Massachusetts State House lived here.
The following is from the Dorchester Historical Society’s Dorchester House Tour booklet , June 11, 2017
Year built: 1893
Architect: Charles A. Haywood
Style: Colonial Revival
250 Ashmont Street is a fine example of a mansion-scale Colonial Revival residence. Built in 1893 for Eben Denton, CEO of the Reversible Collar Company it is said to have been designed by Charles Haywood, a South Shore architect not known to have done other work in Boston. The symmetrical facades feature Classical elements such as Ionic pilasters on each corner, a dentillated entablature, and modillion blocks. The entry bay of the elaborate (and recently restored) front porch is supported by clustered Ionic columns and topped by a delicate, finely-detailed railing. A bowed bay at the second floor is flanked by even more clustered columns that support yet another elaborate, bowed, rail in front of the large enter dormer, whose fanlight caps off this complicated composition.
Inside, the house is grand and beautifully detailed. The four principal rooms open onto the central foyer, which, like older Colonial-era houses, has a stair ascending along one sidewall. A jog at the foot of the stairs provides an opportunity to show off a nicely-detailed oak balustrade that, along with the bracketed archway at the ceiling, helps define a more public area t the front of the foyer. The paneled oak wainscoting is carried all the way up to the second floor, and all of this wood is set off beautifully with the lovely patterned wallpaper.
The parlor to the right has an impressive mantelpiece and a broad, glazed door that leads to a conservatory. Behind this, the original dining room is now a billiard room. To the left, two large parlors are connected by a wide doorway with pocket doors. Each room has a corner fireplace; the green tile of the front parlor is particularly beautiful. The rear parlor is now used as the dining room. At the top of many doorways, note the round scars left by hardware for rods to hold “portieres.” These heavy draperies were common decorative and practical treatments in the late 19th century; they added the color and interest of textiles but also gave some privacy and kept i the heat without the need to fully close doors. The kitchen and former service areas of the house are in their own wing off the rear; the three-story deck beyond provides a pleasant outdoor space.
The current owner has not only shown her dedication to the daunting task of preserving the exterior of this 18-rom house, but her collections and interior decoration suit the spirit of the era in which this houise was built and feel right at home in this grand setting.
Street history: entry for Ashmont Street in
A Record of the Streets, Alleys, Places, Etc., in the City of Boston. (Boston, 1910).
Ashmont Street, Dor., 1849; from 760Washington Street to 263 Neponset Avenue (formerly turnpike), and from Wentworth Street, easterly nearly to Washington Street, and from Wentworth Street, westerly nearly to Milton Avenue; laid out by County Commissioners, December, 1849, for a part of the way through a private way called Ashmont Avenue, authority to open portions from Wentworth Street easterly and westerly, given by Street Commissioners, April 29, 1898. Plans in Boston Engineering Dept. L 881, L 976, L 1856, L 2189
owners from atlases:
1831 land belongs to Newhall
1850 land belongs to C Newhall
1874 land belongs to Cheever Newhall
1884 land belongs to Cheever Newhall
1889 land belongs to Emma M Estabrook
1894 house on its own lot owned by Eben Denton
1898 Eben Denton
1904 Eben Denton
1910 Eben Denton
1918 Eben Denton
1933 M. E. & L. M. Burgess (Mary Burgess and Louise M. Burgess)
Boston Directory
1894 Eben Denton, treas, 27 Kilby, rm.14, h. 19 Beach, Dor
1895 Eben Denton, treas. 27 Kilby, rm. 14, h. 250 Ashmont
1896 Eben Denton, treas. 95 Milk, rm. 38, h. 250 Ashmont
1897 Eben Denton, treas. 95 Milk, rm. 38, h. 250 Ashmont
1898 Eben Denton, treas. 95 Milk, rm. 38, h. 250 Ashmont
1899 Eben Denton, treas. 95 Milk, rm. 38, h. 250 Ashmont
1900 Eben Denton, treas. 95 Milk, rm. 38, h. 250 Ashmont
Dorchester Blue Books
1894 no entry for 250 Ashmont
1896 S. E. Denton
Mr. & Mrs. Eben Denton
1898 Mr. & Mrs. Eben Denton
1900 Julius Pratt
Miss S. E. Denton
Mr. & Mrs. Eben Denton
1902 Mr. & Mrs. Eben Denton
Miss S. E. Denton
Julius Pratt
1904 Mr. & Mrs. Eben Denton
Miss S. E. Denton
Julius Pratt
Archibald D. Pratt
Harold S. Pratt
Miss Helen J. Pratt
1906 Mr. & Mrs. Eben Denton
Miss S. E. Denton
Julius Pratt
Archibald D. Pratt
Harold S. Pratt
Miss Helen J. Pratt
1908 Mr. & Mrs. Eben Denton
Miss S. E. Denton
Julius Pratt
Archibald D. Pratt
Harold S. Pratt
Miss Helen J. Pratt
1910 Mr. & Mrs. Eben Denton
Miss S. E. Denton
Julius Pratt
Archibald D. Pratt
Harold S. Pratt
1913 Miss S. E. Denton
Miss H. T. Jennings
1915 Miss S. E. Denton
Miss H. T. Jennings
Census 1900 250 AShmont Street
Eben Denton, 79, b. Mass, retired
Susan C. Denton, 70, b. Mass
Susan Denton, daughter, 42, b. Mass
Julius Pratt, son-in-law, 52, b. Mass. life insurance agent,
Archibald Pratt, grandson, 18, b. Mass, at school
Harold S. Pratt, grandson, 16, b. Mass, at school
Helen J. Pratt, 16, b. Mass, at school
Jennie Gillis, house servant, 26 b. Canada
Belle Cambell, house servant, 25, b. Canada
Census 1910 250 Ashmont Street
Eben Denton, 88, b. Mass, retired
Susan E. Denton, daughter, 52, b. Mass
Julius Pratt, Son-in-law, 61, b. Mass, Insurance account
Archibald D. Pratt, grandson, 28, b. Mass, Traveling salesman, Iron & Steel
Harold S. Pratt, grandson, 25, b. Mass, Accountant, Thread Co
Carrie M. Richardson, nurse, 48, b. Vermont, Nurse, Private Family
Margaret Cosgrove, servant, 38, b. Ireland, house work
Death Record
Eben Denton, 17 Feb, 1911, 89, est birth year: 1822 buried Forest Hills
FindaGrave shows is gravestone with birth date May 12, 1821
Denton was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution.
Census 1920 250 Ashmont Street
Susan Denton, 60, b. Mass
Harriet T. Jennings, cousin, 60, b. Mass
Gladdes M. Sisson, maid, 25, b. Mass
Census 1920 45 Waumbeck Street
Angelo Terruso, 45, b. Italy, wholesale merchant groceries
Josephine Terruso, wife, 26, b. Italy
Josephine Terruso, daughter, 11, b. Italy
Hanna Terruso, daughter, 9, b. Illinois
Rose Terruso, daughter, 7, b. Illinois
Elinor Terruso, daughter, 1, b. Mass
Gertrude Nichols, servant, 18, b. Newfoundland
Census 1930 250 Ashmont Street
Louisa Burgess, 60, b. Mass, teacher
Mary Burgess, sister, 57, b. Mass, clerk in store house
Laura M. Bates, lodger, 48, b. Mass, sales lady in store
Ella Bates, lodger, 39, b. Mass, stenographer in a bank
Ann D. Florie, lodger, 63, b. Canada
Erne A. Macauley, lodger, 34, b. Canada, manager in dept store
Census 1940 250 Ashmont Street
Louisa W. Burgess, 70, b. Mass
Mry Burgess, sister, 66, b. Mass
Deed
June 20, 1893 Martha T. Estabrooks to Eben Denton book 2138 p. 92 Dorch. Ashmont St pl. 1711.508
Ancestry index screen 127; actual deed is on screen 48 of book 2138
Boston Residents Lists aged 20 and older as of April 1st
Ward 20 Pct
1922 Angelo Teruso, merchant 45, formerly lived at 45 Waumbeck
Josephine Teruso, housewife, 43