Howe-Kingsley House Study Report

The Howe-Kingsley House is a locally and regionally significant two-and-a-half story vernacular house that displays elements of both Federal and Greek Revival styles. It was built c. 1836 by Nahum Bragg. In 1842 the house entered a period of ownership by the Howe family, where it would remain for the next century as it was passed down through several descendants of Leonard Howe.

The house is also significant for its association with Lowell and Charlotte Kingsley, who made important contributions to childhood education in Boston and the field of special education through their work at the Kingsley School, which is considered by some to be the first special education school in the nation. The Kingsleys lived at 16 Howe Street from 1948-2017.

The house is a rare surviving example of a Greek Revival style farmhouse in Dorchester, and the changes to the property over time reflect the transition of Dorchester from farming community to dense suburban landscape. The house maintains a high level of integrity on the exterior and interior and retains an unusually high proportion of original materials. As a result, it is architecturally significant on a regional level as an unusually intact example of early nineteenth-century farmhouse architecture in New England.

READ THE HOWE-KINGSLEY HOUSE STUDY REPORT

(Report amended as of September 30, 2022)

The proposed designation will be discussed and voted upon at a public hearing on October 11, 2022. Please look for the meeting notice in the public notices section of our website.