The Harry and Alice Sawin House, c. 1900
From the late 19th through early 20th centuries, residential construction continued to infill on limited open sites in the Town Center, usually on subdivided parcels, occasionally replacing earlier structures; these encompassed an eclectic variety of architectural styles. Most dramatically, a group of very fashionable and substantial homes was developed on open farmland at the northern end of Latisquama Road at the turn of the twentieth century. Early residents of this largely upper middle-class neighborhood were typically professionals who worked or owned businesses nearby. These included a shopkeeper, general store owner, coachman, grain dealer, physician, and an officer of the Fay School. 10 Latisquama Road was built for Harry W. Sawin proprietor of C.B. Sawin & Son, grain dealers on Boston Road.
Narrative
In 1899, William R. Winchester defaulted on the mortgage he owed on the rest of the acreage on the east side of Latisquama Road, and in that year the probate court orchestrated the sale of 41 acres in two lots to Waldo Burnett Fay. The son of Sylvester Chamberlain Fay (1825–1891) and Eliza Burnett Fay, the latter one of the founders of the Fay School, Waldo B. Fay was born in 1858 and married Fitch A. Winchester’s sister Mary E. Winchester in 1885. He and his mother ran the Fay School together until her death in 1896, when he became headmaster. In addition to pursuing a fairly aggressive expansion plan for the school, Fay subdivided nearly nine acres of the property he acquired on the east side of Latisquama Road into eleven house lots, all with at least 100 feet of frontage on the street; they ranged from nearly 16,000 square feet to more than 47,000 square feet and were clearly aimed to attract affluent buyers.
About a month after recording his subdivision plan, Fay sold the first three lots on June 29, 1899. He sold Lot 1, bordering Sullivan Ball’s 8 Latisquama Road property, to Harry W. Sawin for $700. Sawin’s grandfather Moses Sawin had moved to Southborough from Natick in 1832 and acquired Southborough’s first mill site, the former Peter Bent sawmill on Stony Brook, and owned and operated a saw- and a gristmill on the site. His son Charles B. Sawin and Charles’s son Harry later ran the mills, and Charles and Harry together operated a grain business in town. Harry Sawin had probably built the house at 10 Latisquama Road by 1900. The federal census for that year appears to show Sawin in this neighborhood with his wife Alice G. Ingalls Sawin, whom he married in 1895, and their children Olive, Ethel, and Ruth. Sawin and his family owned and occupied 10 Latisquama Road until 1945.
The Sawin family at 10 Latisquama and the Caldwells at 14 Latisquama were related. Ada M. Caldwell’s mother, Lydia Augusta McMaster, and Harry Sawin’s mother, Louisa McMaster, were daughters of Thomas McMaster (1795–1875), who had moved from southwestern New Hampshire to Southborough by 1855. Their brother Henry Austin McMaster (1844–1910) lived at 46 Main Street, and Henry’s son and their nephew Harry Austin McMaster (1876– 1953) built 13 Latisquama Road across the street from his aunts. These houses were also built just at the turn of the 20th century.
Architectural Description
At the turn of the twentieth century, several large stylish, square two-story houses with high hipped roofs were built (on Latisquama Road). All are well-preserved, have symmetrical three-bay facades with large-scale windows, and retain their well-crafted Colonial Revival details. A few also display some lingering Queen Anne features in the presence of bay windows, wraparound porches, etc. 10 and 12 Latisquama Road each have double hip-roofed dormers on the roof slopes, and transomed windows at the first -story facade. #10 and #12 have leaded half-sidelights at the entry. #10 has a simple square-light over panel type front door. 10 Latisquama has paired windows at the second story, and a tripartite window with diamond panes in the center of the second-story facade. Its first-story facade windows are early transomed picture windows. This house has a wide facade porch with paired Tuscan colonettes, ending in a circular section at the north end. The third house of this type, 13 Latisquama, like #12, retains its clapboard siding, along with the roof balustrade at the top of the roof. Like #12, it has a prominent modillioned cornice, and employs the circular form in a handsome corner veranda at the northwest rear corner. Like #10, it has a polygonal bay window at the center of the second-story facade—here located under a projecting, gabled dormer. Its entry has a large-light, glass-and-panel door with single-light sidelights over panels, and is sheltered by a pedimented wraparound porch on Tuscan colonnettes.
This history was taken directly from:
- National Register of Historic Places, Southborough Center District
- Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, SBR.AG, Southborough Town Center
Narrative
In 1899, William R. Winchester defaulted on the mortgage he owed on the rest of the acreage on the east side of Latisquama Road, and in that year the probate court orchestrated the sale of 41 acres in two lots to Waldo Burnett Fay. The son of Sylvester Chamberlain Fay (1825–1891) and Eliza Burnett Fay, the latter one of the founders of the Fay School, Waldo B. Fay was born in 1858 and married Fitch A. Winchester’s sister Mary E. Winchester in 1885. He and his mother ran the Fay School together until her death in 1896, when he became headmaster. In addition to pursuing a fairly aggressive expansion plan for the school, Fay subdivided nearly nine acres of the property he acquired on the east side of Latisquama Road into eleven house lots, all with at least 100 feet of frontage on the street; they ranged from nearly 16,000 square feet to more than 47,000 square feet and were clearly aimed to attract affluent buyers.
About a month after recording his subdivision plan, Fay sold the first three lots on June 29, 1899. He sold Lot 1, bordering Sullivan Ball’s 8 Latisquama Road property, to Harry W. Sawin for $700. Sawin’s grandfather Moses Sawin had moved to Southborough from Natick in 1832 and acquired Southborough’s first mill site, the former Peter Bent sawmill on Stony Brook, and owned and operated a saw- and a gristmill on the site. His son Charles B. Sawin and Charles’s son Harry later ran the mills, and Charles and Harry together operated a grain business in town. Harry Sawin had probably built the house at 10 Latisquama Road by 1900. The federal census for that year appears to show Sawin in this neighborhood with his wife Alice G. Ingalls Sawin, whom he married in 1895, and their children Olive, Ethel, and Ruth. Sawin and his family owned and occupied 10 Latisquama Road until 1945.
The Sawin family at 10 Latisquama and the Caldwells at 14 Latisquama were related. Ada M. Caldwell’s mother, Lydia Augusta McMaster, and Harry Sawin’s mother, Louisa McMaster, were daughters of Thomas McMaster (1795–1875), who had moved from southwestern New Hampshire to Southborough by 1855. Their brother Henry Austin McMaster (1844–1910) lived at 46 Main Street, and Henry’s son and their nephew Harry Austin McMaster (1876– 1953) built 13 Latisquama Road across the street from his aunts. These houses were also built just at the turn of the 20th century.
Architectural Description
At the turn of the twentieth century, several large stylish, square two-story houses with high hipped roofs were built (on Latisquama Road). All are well-preserved, have symmetrical three-bay facades with large-scale windows, and retain their well-crafted Colonial Revival details. A few also display some lingering Queen Anne features in the presence of bay windows, wraparound porches, etc. 10 and 12 Latisquama Road each have double hip-roofed dormers on the roof slopes, and transomed windows at the first -story facade. #10 and #12 have leaded half-sidelights at the entry. #10 has a simple square-light over panel type front door. 10 Latisquama has paired windows at the second story, and a tripartite window with diamond panes in the center of the second-story facade. Its first-story facade windows are early transomed picture windows. This house has a wide facade porch with paired Tuscan colonettes, ending in a circular section at the north end. The third house of this type, 13 Latisquama, like #12, retains its clapboard siding, along with the roof balustrade at the top of the roof. Like #12, it has a prominent modillioned cornice, and employs the circular form in a handsome corner veranda at the northwest rear corner. Like #10, it has a polygonal bay window at the center of the second-story facade—here located under a projecting, gabled dormer. Its entry has a large-light, glass-and-panel door with single-light sidelights over panels, and is sheltered by a pedimented wraparound porch on Tuscan colonnettes.
This history was taken directly from:
- National Register of Historic Places, Southborough Center District
- Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, SBR.AG, Southborough Town Center