Built 1911 Architectural style English Cottage NRHP Reference # 89000720 Area 7,285 m² | Architect Perkins,Harland O. MPS Wakefield MRA Opened 1911 Added to NRHP 6 July 1989 | |
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Location 127 Chestnut St., Wakefield, Massachusetts Similar E Boardman House, Flanley's Block, Nathaniel Cowdry House, Emerson‑Franklin Poole House, House at 20 Lawrence | ||
The Elizabeth Boit House is a historic house at 127 Chestnut Street in Wakefield, Massachusetts.
Elizabeth Boit, co-founder of the Harvard Knitting Mills, also built on the west side, creating an estate compound on the summit of Cowdry's Hill that included three residences, formal gardens, a playhouse, and greenhouse. All three residences, 88 and 90 Prospect Street, and 127 Chestnut Street (1910-1913), were designed in the English Cottage style by Wakefield architect Harland Perkins. The stucco structures have red tile roofs, recessed entries, exposed purlins, and irregular fenestration. This, the main house is 2-1/2 stories in height, with an angled three-part layout, and is oriented toward the courtyard formed by the three buildings.
This house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989, for its architecture, and for its association with Elizabeth Boit. She was one of the first highly placed female executive in the male-dominated management ranks of textile firms of the period, and is believed to be the only woman in a top executive position in the United States textile industry in 1923. She pioneered improvements in worker conditions, offering health care to factory workers, and providing bonuses based on company profits. The compound she built at Chestnut and Prospect Streets is the only surviving estate of Wakefield's leading business executives.