Glen Road Historic District facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Glen Road Historic District
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | 233-317 Glen Rd., Weston, Massachusetts |
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| Area | 27 acres (11 ha) |
| Architectural style | Federal, Second Empire |
| NRHP reference No. | 06000783 |
| Added to NRHP | September 6, 2006 |
The Glen Road Historic District is a special area in Weston, Massachusetts. It's a place where you can see how land changed over time. First, it was used for farming. Later, it became a vacation spot with a hotel and cottages. Finally, it turned into a neighborhood with homes.
This area is also important because the Jennings family owned the land for a very long time. They were involved in all these changes, from farming to building homes. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. This means it's a place worth protecting because of its history.
Contents
Exploring the Glen Road Historic District
The Glen Road Historic District covers about 27 acres (11 ha). It stretches along Glen Road in southern Weston, between Oak Street and Pembroke Road. Glen Road is a winding country lane. Today, it has many suburban homes along its sides.
Homes in the District
All 28 houses in the district are made of wood. They are either one-and-a-half or two-and-a-half stories tall. Most of them have wooden shingles or clapboards on the outside.
The oldest house in the district was built around 1732. It's a farmhouse and is thought to be the oldest building still standing in Weston! Many other homes were built later. Some were part of a hotel complex from the early 1900s. Others were built as part of new neighborhoods in the early 20th century.
A Look at the Land's History
The land along Glen Road has a long and interesting past.
The Jennings Family Legacy
The land was first given as a grant in 1642 to William Jennings. At that time, this area was part of Watertown. A descendant of William Jennings, named Nathaniel, built the oldest house here. You can find it today at 266 Glen Road.
The second house in the district was built around 1812 by Paul Pratt. This house is now at 317 Glen Road.
From Farm to Resort
In the late 1800s, most of the land in this area was owned by Edward Jennings. He ran a dairy farm called Glen Farm. Edward's brother, Willard Jennings, was also a farmer. He started letting summer visitors stay at his home. This was the beginning of a small tourist business.
The house at 245 Glen Road was made bigger to become a small hotel with forty rooms. Willard Jennings also added five cottages to create a small resort. Four of these cottages are still there today! Sadly, some parts of the hotel were destroyed by fire in the 1920s.
New Homes and Neighborhoods
The dairy farm business started to slow down in the 1910s. Because of this, the Jennings family began to divide their land into smaller plots. This led to the building of many more homes in the area. These new houses helped create the suburban neighborhood we see today.
