No. 5236 Deacon & Mrs. James Humphreys House, painting on brick.
Edward A. Huebener, a former Board member of the Dorchester Historical Society, was a collector of materials relating to Dorchester history including a very large collection of graphic materials, including prints and photographs, now owned by the Society. His very own contribution to this group of materials was the idea of taking a brick from a house that had been demolished and asking a local illustrator to paint a picture of the house upon the brick. The painted bricks may be viewed at the Dorchester Historical Society.
No. 4360 Detail from the 1898 Bromley atlas.
No. 3383 Photograph in the collection of the Dorchester Historical Society.
No. 3391 Photograph in the collection of the Dorchester Historical Society showing the right end and back of the house.
No. 3385 Photograph in the collection of the Dorchester Historical Society.
No. 5368 In 1917 the family sold the property and moved from the old house, allowing its demolition. They had already apparently sold the back part of the property for the construction of the Dorchester Fireproof Storage Warehouse, so it is not surprising that they decided to move out of the old home.
On the occasion of leaving their home, the Humphreys family published a pamphlet entitled The Humphreys Homestead, 1784-1917. It comprises a poem of which a few scattered lines are reproduced here:
We are leaving the dear old Homestead …
The timber of their dwellings all
Grew near by on their land;
It was cut and hewn by those sturdy men
And the nails were made by hand …
The old, old hearthstone still is there
Of the house they first did build.
The brook did flow through the meadow low
And its waters the tanpits filled …
In Dorchester once fine fruit did grow
And the Humphreys quince orchard made a fine show
One hundred and fifty bushels or more
Have been seen in the fall on the great barn floor …
The old, old gun chests still remained
Of the war of Eighteen twelve.
They hid the silver of the church
In the tanpits they did delve …
The Dorchester Historical Society has a copy of the pamphlet.