Arnold Arboretum - 1090 Centre Street
Address1090, Centre Street, Boston (Jamaica Plain), MA, United States of America, 02130
Site Number136
Alternate Names
Jabez Lewis Farmhouse,
Lewis-Dawson Farmhouse
Building Root Number
00025
Architect (Original)
Jabez Lewis
Constructed
1822
Building Acquired 1927
Land Acquired 1927
Building Acquired 1927
Land Acquired 1927
StatusActive
Site Name HistoryThe site is named after its address. The Arnold Arboretum is named in honor of James Arnold, a merchant from New Bedford, Massachusetts, who died in 1868 leaving a bequest to be devoted to the advancement of agriculture or horticulture.Historical NotesBuilt as a farmhouse in 1822 by Jabez Lewis, the 1090 Centre Street property has been associated with the Arnold Arboretum since 1885 when it was first leased from the Adams Nervine Asylum to house the arboretum's first plant propagator and Superintendent, Jackson Thornton Dawson. Harvard acquired the house between 1924 and 1927. The building housed members of the Arboretum staff until 1990. Considered an important example of a Federal period, two-story, New England farmhouse the Jabez Lewis Farmhouse was designated a Landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission in 2007. It is also considered a National Historic Landmark by its inclusion in the designation received by the Arnold Arboretum in 1966.Additional Information
Boston Landmarks Commission. Environment Department. The Lewis-Dawson Farmhouse at the Arnold Arboretum. City of Boston, 26 June 2007, p. 59.
Dreilinger, Danielle. “Hollow Victory for Farmhouse Saviors: [3 Edition].” Boston Globe, 12 Aug. 2007, p. CW.4.
Through the Arnold Arboretum. Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, 1934. ProQuest, http://search.proquest.com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/docview/46484739?accountid=11311.
Sargent, Charles S. A Museum of Trees : The Arnold Arboretum. , 1915. ProQuest, http://search.proquest.com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/docview/46800667?accountid=11311.
Sargent, Charles S. The First Fifty Years of the Arnold Arboretum / C.S. Sargent. s.n, 1922. ProQuest, http://search.proquest.com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/docview/48526993?accountid=11311.
Schultz, Christine, and Kindra Clineff. “A Garden of Wisdom & Wonder.” Yankee, vol. 61, no. 4, Apr. 1997, p. 44. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9708205057&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Allen, Daniel. “The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University.” Yankee, vol. 69, no. 4, May 2005, pp. 14–15. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=16791230&site=ehost-live&scope=site.