FORM B - BUILDING Form no.
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICALCOMMISSION :2. I
Office of the Secretary. state House _ R()~t()n
..,<.~. s, '-'I'
vn···H~rlbo r o'ugh
_.:.,
-2
lress Lf.S-1 Eaz e r COU1~t
~ ~« ".:J
ne Stephen Eager Homestead
.sent use Residence
sent owner Mr. Robert Dimatteo
cription: 2~ Story \Ilood Frame
1290
.ource Pub. Local Histories
e Colonial
4. Map. Draw sketch of building location Architect None
in relation to nearest cross streets and
other buildings. Indicate north. Exterior wall fabric Ttlood Clapboard
Outbutldings (describe)_N_o_n_e. _
Other features House. is one room
wide ~v.Lth twin chimneys placed
at the rear of these rooms
oft
Altered Date
O~ Moved Date
OM
5. Lot size:
ct: E
o I< 0
One acre or less
Approximate frontage
Over one acre X
200 Feet
ns 0 Approximate distance of building from street
T
20 Feet
6. Recorded by Ernest Ginnetti
Organization Marlborough Historical
COmnl1ss~on
Date 6/24/78
(over)
• •
7. Originalowner (ifknown) Stc:)hen •..j"' •••.• ITo--
.•..JeLl.) '- J..
Originaluse ':"'anll.
-------------------------------,-----_._-
Subsequentuses (ifany)and dates ~(esid.ence
---------------------------
8. Themes (checkas many as applicable)
Aboriginal Conservation Recreation
Agricultural _x_ Education Religion
Architectural _X_ Exploration/ Science/
The Arts settlement invention
Commerce Industry _x_ Social!
Communication Military humanitarian
Community development x Political Transportation
p
9. Historicalsignificance
(includeexplanationofthemes checked above) \
,f
The Eagers were not among the first settlers of Marlborough but ••
vlilliam Eager came from Malden and settled in lvlarlborough in 1682
and I believe the ell to the east of the large section could very
well answer the description of a 17th century dwelling even though
the chimney has long since been remove.d. He had fourteen chi1.dren
by three wives, Lydia Cole, Ruth Barrett and Lydia Hill. From Wil-
liam, Zachariah, Aaron, Bailey, we find in the Fifth generation,
Stephen who married in 1790, Elizabeth Gates. Stephen was dro,voed
in Boons Pond in 1820. His widovl .•vas on the list of pew holders of
the Springhill Q1urch in 1835.
Hollis Eager son of Stephen and Elizabeth, was a farmer by trade
cultivating a few acres of excellent land obtaining crops which to-
gether with his labor in the tan-yard of Captain Daniel Brigham,
gave him and his family a bountiful support. His three sons Emerson,
Uilliam and Stephen all loved music and were the first to inaugurate
a brass band in the to,vn of Marlborough. His son William was also
a respected citizen whose son Charles B. Eager was superintendent of
Rice & Hutchins' manufactury at the turn of the century.
10. Bibliographyand/or references(suchas localhistories,
deeds, assessor'srecords,
·earlymaps. etc.)
Historical Reminiscences of Marlborough, Ella Bigelow, Marl., 1910.
History of Marlborough Mass. Charles Hudson, Boston 1862.
1803 Map of Marlborough SiLas Holman Surveyor •
• •
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Community Property
Marlborough Eager House
Massachusetts Historical Commission
80 Boylston Street Area(s) Form No.
Boston, Massachusetts 02116 AA 21
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE, cont.
The house then passed to Stephen and Elizabeth's son, Hollis Eager, who, like many sons who
remained on the family homestead, along with the ownership of the house, was charged with the
support of his mother until she died. He owned the farm, probably from the time of his father's
death in 1820, until the middle of the nineteenth century. After Hollis Eager died, both this house
and the Greek Revival house then just east at 11 Eager Court (demolished) belonged to his son,
WilHam Eager, who owned them until at least 1889. Beginning in 1852, William and his brother,
Stephen, like several other entrepreneurs in the East Main Street area, manufactured shoes for a
few years in a small factory nearby on Hosmer Street.
ADDITIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Maps and atlases: 1803, 1830, 1835, 1853, 1856/57, 1875, 1889, 1900.
Marlboro vital records.
Marlboro directories and tax valuations.
Bigelow, James. "Photographs and Descriptions of Some Old Houses in Marlborough, Mass."
1927.
Hurd, D. History of Middlesex County. 1890.
[X] Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. I] checked, a completed
National Register Criteria Statement form is attached.
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Community Property
Marlborough Eager House
Massachusetts Historical Commission
80 Boylston Street Area(s) Form No.
Boston, Massachusetts 02116 AA 21
Additional infonnation by Anne Forbes, consultant to Marlborough Historical Commission,
6/21/95:
ASSESSOR'S #45-47 2.02 acres PHOTO #95-17:
ARCHITECfURAL DESCRIPTION.
Probably the second-oldest surviving house in this neighborhood, the Eager House is a one-room-
deep, 2 1I2-story, side-gabled house with a long 1 1/2-story ell on the east end. Abutting the rear
west end of the ell is a short one-story ell. The building may be a hybrid of several periods, and
the result of many expansions and remodelings. It is believed that the east ell may predate the rest
of the building, and may possibly have been built as early as the late 1680's. The main part of the
house, with its pair of rear chimneys, is likely to have been built in the late eighteenth century. A
long porch on lathe-turned posts, (which were formerly bracketed), wraps around from the main
facade to the front of the side ell. Most of the windows, many of which have replacement l-over-l-
sash, have molded surrounds. The main entry has a replacement door with a molded surround.
A late-nineteenth-century glass-and-panel door appears in the ell facade. The main part of the
house is clad in wood shingles, and stands on a granite foundation. The ells are clapboarded, and
the east ell has a fieldstone foundation.
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE, cont.
An interior inspection of the structure of this house would be necessary to confirm whether the east
ell does indeed date to the time of early settler William Eager. Like his neighbor, Samuel Stow,
(see Form 12, 33 Spoonhill Avenue,) he was one of the residents of Marlborough who, as a
proprietor, joined in the 1684 purchase ofthe Ockoocangansett (Indian) Plantation, (a transaction
the General Court regarded as illegal), and consequently received 30 acres of upland in its division
of 1686. If he did build part of this house as his residence, then it is likely that the progression of
ownership is as follows.
William's son, Zachariah, may have been the next owner. He died in 1742, and the property was
apparently inherited by his son, Aaron Eager (1713-1756). If he and his family lived here while his
father was still alive, it is likely that some expansion of the house, possibly the addition of at least
part of the 2 1I2-story main house, took place during that time. Alternatively, the house could have
been enlarged under Aaron's son, Bayley (Bailey) who lived from 1741 to 1790, and married
Catherine Warren in 1765. Bailey and at least two of his brothers, William and Solomon, like many
young men, and even teenagers, of their generation, served during the French and Indian War of
the late 1750's-early 1760's. At the age of sixteen, Bailey was a member of Captain John Weeks'
Company.
The general proportions of the building, however, along with the presence of a pair of rear
chimneys, indicate the likelihood that the main house was built or enlarged around the time of the
marriage of Bailey and Catherine's son, Stephen (1772-1820) to Elizabeth Gates in 1790. (see 1978
inventory form). (Cont.)
Massachusetts Historical Commission Community Property Address
80 Boylston Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02116 Marlborough 45 Eager Court
Area(s) Form No(s).
AA 21
National Register of Historic Places Criteria Statement Form
Check all that apply:
[x] Individually eligible [ ] Eligible only in a historic district
[ ] Contributing to a potential historic district [] Potential historic district
Criteria: [x] A [] B [] C [] D
Criteria Considerations: [] A [] B [] C [] D [] E [] F [] G
Statement of Significance by _An
__ n_e_F_o_r_b_es _
The criteria that are checked in the above sections must be justified here.
Although this is a fairly well-preserved house, its major significance, making it eligible for the
National Register under Criterion A, lies in its association with what were apparently at least seven
generations of the Eager family. If deed research or a structural inspection confirms that that is the
case, then this buiding is a rare survivor from the days of the 1684 purchase of the Ockoocangansett
Plantation.
With the exception of some siding, window and door replacement, the property retains integrity of
location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association.
