Bazaleel Taft Jr. House and Law Office facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Bazaleel Taft Jr. House and Law Office
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The building in 2009
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| Location | 147 South Main Street Uxbridge, Massachusetts |
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| Built | 1807 |
| NRHP reference No. | 83004135 |
| Added to NRHP | November 7, 1983 |
The Bazaleel Taft Jr. House and Law Office is a historic house and law office building located at 195 North Main Street in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. This important building was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 1983. It is a great example of the Georgian Architecture style from a long time ago.
Contents
The Taft Family's Historic Home
Who Was Bezaleel Taft Jr.?
The house, called Elmshade, was built in 1807. It was a gift for Bezaleel Taft Jr from his father, Bezaleel Taft Sr.. Bezaleel Jr. received this gift after he finished his studies at Harvard Law School. He was a lawyer and had his office in a brick building right next door.
Bezaleel Taft Jr. came from an important family. His grandmother was Lydia Taft, who was America's very first woman voter! Just like his father, Bezaleel Jr. became a State Senator and a representative in the Massachusetts General Court. He also helped lead the state government. For almost 20 years, he was the President of the Blackstone National Bank, which he helped start.
A Family of Leaders and Presidents
Five different generations of the Taft family lived at Elmshade. Many of them became powerful lawyers and politicians. One of them was George S. Taft, who was Bezaleel Jr.'s son. George was a lawyer and worked as a private secretary for U.S. Senator George Frisbie Hoar in the 1880s.
This house was also a place for big Taft family reunions. In 1874, a young boy named William Howard Taft visited Elmshade with his father, Alphonso Taft. Alphonso Taft was a very important person. He was the U.S. Secretary of War and later the United States Attorney General under President Ulysses S. Grant. During the 1874 reunion, Alphonso Taft gave a powerful speech about the Taft family's history and their roots in this area.
William Howard Taft's Visits
Young William Howard Taft and his brother Charles Phelps Taft, who later helped start the Chicago Cubs baseball team, probably listened to that speech. William Howard Taft visited this area and this home many times as a young person. He spent summers and even a school term in Millbury. Years later, he returned to visit his relatives here, but this time he was the American President! The New York Times newspaper even wrote about President Taft's visits to his family homes.
What is Georgian Architecture?
The Bezaleel Taft Jr. house is built in the Georgian Architecture style. This style was very popular during the colonial period in America. Many Georgian buildings were made of brick. However, the Bezaleel Taft Jr. house uses wood and clapboard, which is a type of wooden siding. The law office next door was built with brick. Both styles are part of Georgian architecture.
