Architectural History

The Job Lane House is a wonderfully clear illustration of a New England farmhouse that has grown and adapted to changing times and tastes. The house shows two major phases, and each phase is clearly distinguishable in terms of structural practice and decorative style. There is only a small overlap of stylistic treatment (e.g., a Federal mantel in a Georgian room) and a few secondary phases of development represented by late Victorian and twentieth century windows, and the westernmost shed of late nineteenth century origin (the Garden Club shed).

The Great Hall, Restored by the Bedford Minuteman Company

The room originally had vertical feather edge paneling and a large mantel-less fireplace. The room shows a sample of its earliest appearance in the area of vertical feather edge paneling to the right of the fireplace, which was concealed behind plaster until recently, and in its beams exposed below the plaster. You can see the original extent of the fireplace by observing the fill-in panel to the right of the fireplace. The chimney was rebuilt and the fireplace “Rumfordized” at the time that the West side of the house was built. The Federal mantel was also added at that time.

Count Rumford, whose ideas are demonstrated in the fireplace, was a brilliant physicist born in Woburn, Massachusetts in 1753 who began the modern theories of heat. He was a loyalist during the Revolution and went to England, where he was knighted. He later went to Bavaria where he was made a count. Prior to his studies, fireplaces were grossly inefficient. Most of the heat went up the chimney. Shallow fireplaces with sides at a 45-degree angle reflect far more of the heat into the room.

Ziba Lane was given this house as a wedding gift – a “gift of love” -from his father on January 5, 1778 (Registry of Deeds Book 104, p. 236). Minor architectural changes are mentioned. This would be consistent with the period of the Georgian paneling, and the cupboard in the Southeast corner of the room. The main aspect of the room is late Georgian from the remodeling. The rebuilt fireplace and mantel date from the time of the nineteenth century addition to the house. The windows have been replaced and altered several times.  more…