William Butters II Farm
c. 1682 • Wilmington, MAThe Past Story of the Farm
In the spring of 2005 it came to the attention of the Wilmington Historical Commission that the William Butters II Farmhouse, located at 165 Chestnut Street, was about to be purchased by Northeastern Development Corporation, a real estate developer with the intention of demolishing the “Farmhouse” and creating a suburban subdivision on the property, which included approximately five acres of land. However, under Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 61A, Section 14, the town of Wilmington had the right of first refusal on this transaction; in other words, the property was available until August 25, 2005 for the town of Wilmington to purchase from the original owner at fair market value. The Town was not in the position to purchase the property at that tie so on August 26, 2005 Northeastern Development Corporation purchased the William Butters II Farmhouse for $450,000 from the original seller.
Alarmed that a house known to have been built before the incorporation of Wilmington as a town (1730) was threatened with demolition, the Wilmington Historical Commission undertook a campaign to alert the public to the existence of this threat. Fundraising efforts began, in an effort to raise the money required to purchase the house from the original seller before the town’s statutory option expired.
After some public outcry regarding the possible loss of this building, on June 27, 2005, before the statutory option had expired, Northeastern Development Corporation offered the Town of Wilmington an “Option to Purchase” the Farmhouse parcel of the property which effectively extended the Town’s statutory option; in essence, the option stated that if the town “does not exercise its Right of First Refusal,” thus allowing Northeastern Development Corporation to become the new owner, Northeastern Development Corporation would extend to the Town of Wilmington an Option to Purchase the house for $450,000, which was the purchase price Northeastern Development Corporation would be paying to the original owner. This new option would expire on June 1, 2006. This option was later extended to November 30, 2006.
In January of 2006 an assessment of the property was conducted by a historical consultant specializing in 1st period homes. Her report included statements such as, “Many of the rafters over the west chamber have carpenter’s assembly marks and are bridle jointed at the ridge. The sequence runs of numeral runs from the west end, II, III, IIII, VIII, V, VI, VII, with one or two unnumbered rafters interspersed. “Perhaps the most interesting piece in the house is what is apparently a seventeenth century joist reused to support one of the rear rafters in the chimney bay. The timber is carefully finished with a delicate shadow molding along the edge. Only a few such decorated joists remain in situ in New England, one example being those at the Witch House in Rockport, Massachusetts of 1711. Though rare in New England, decorated joists like this were common in Old England.” Her reported ended with this statement, “In summary, the Butters House is an important early resource for the town of Wilmington.” “…The Butters House deserves to be preserved for its architectural features and for the evidence of the social and agricultural history of Wilmington families embodies in its structure and setting.”
In conjunction with a campaign gain support in the Spring of 2006 the HC hired another consultant to study the building, file a Massachusetts Historic Building Inventory Form, and, if applicable, file for possible inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. In July of 2006 the Massachusetts Historical Commission issued a statement which concluded that the William Butters II Farmhouse, located at 165 Chestnut Street, “is a 2-1/2 story half house with interior framing details that reflect its First Period construction” MHC also stated in this report that the house is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, to be designated as a “first Period House of Massachusetts” This opinion was based on the fact that the house “retains sufficient characteristics of First Period building practices – exposed timber-frame construction, simple plan, decorative treatment of structural members…It also is likely to yield information about patterns of construction and may yield further architectural information in presently hidden First Period features as an above-ground archaeological resource”
As confirmation of the historical significance of the building became firmly established, The Wilmington Historical commission stepped up its campaign to save the building. At Wilmington’s regular Town Meeting on April 22, 2006, the town voted overwhelmingly, (225 to 8) to purchase the Butters Farmhouse. The Town purchased this house from the 165 Chestnut Street Realty Trust, Joseph Langone as Trustee, on October 20, 2006. Monies received as part of the $70,000 Emergency Grant from Massachusetts Historical Commission were instrumental in allowing the Town to proceed with this purchase.
Thanks to the efforts of Representative James Miceli and Senator Bruce Tarr, the Town of Wilmington received a legislative appropriation in the amount of $450,000 to purchase the Butters Farmhouse and the surrounding property. This appropriation allowed the Town to purchase the property at no cost to the taxpayers of the Town of Wilmington.