Developer Plans to Divide Historic Hannah Adams Property

If Hannah Adams were alive today, she'd likely be writing about this development herself.

Considered by historians to be "Medfield's Most Famous Female," author, historian and women's group founder Hannah Adams was born in 1755 at 49 Elm Street in the house built on a property known as South Plain Farm, which also includes a historic barn built in 1900.

The structures are currently standing on virtually untouched former farmland, and the Hannah Adams homestead has been deemed eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. A marker sits on the front lawn noting the historic significance of the five-acre site.

An uncertain fate for historic Adams property

In mid-August, Medway developer Dover Mill, LLC (with documents signed by manager Matthew B. Smith) purchased the Hannah Adams property, plus two adjacent undeveloped lots across the street, for a total of about 20 acres at a cost of about $1.6 million through a trust created under the name of Raymond Green, according to Norfolk County Registry of Deeds documents.

Based on plans submitted to the Medfield Planning Board showing Smith's name only (but an Aug. 17 meeting notice that stated "Matt & Beth Ann Smith" for a plan "to create one additional building lot"), on Sept. 1 Medfield Planning Board ultimately endorsed the plan for dividing the historic property into three house lots.

As indicated in the submitted plans, the historic barn and house would be separated with each structure located on different lots; the in-ground pool west of the home would be filled in. As part of the consideration for eligibility on the National Register of Historic Places, the Hannah Adams property was noted for its "integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship and associations."

Medfield Planning Board seemed to have little choice but to endorse plans for the Hannah Adams property subdivision at 49 Elm St. since they adhered to "Approval Not Required" regulations. However, other town boards may need to review the plan, as well as pending plans for adjacent undeveloped wooded lots at 48 and 50 Elm St. Other Medfield town board reviews could include Zoning Board of Appeals, Conservation Commission, Board of Health and/or Historical Commission. (At the time of this writing, no public hearing notices for related Elm Street properties have been posted on the town website.)

In addition to the historic significance of the Hannah Adams homestead, the section of Elm Street east of Wheelock School stretching to the Walpole border is considered to be one of the most historic and scenic parts of Medfield. Multiple generations of the Adams family owned land in the area, and it also experienced action during King Philip's War in 1676, including the death of Henry Adams, Jr. in the doorstep of his home at 72 Elm St. A large section of Elm Street is also part of an Archaeological Protection District due in part to Native American activity in the area.

About Hannah Adams

Hannah Adams began writing at an early age, and became what many consider to be the first American female professional writer who was self-supporting through her work. At the time of her death in 1831, she had authored or co-authored more than 10 non-fiction books, and was best known for her scholarly studies of world religions and the history of New England.

Adams, who was a distant relative of U.S. Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, was also the founder of the first club for women believed to be the precursor to the current Hannah Adams Woman's Club in Medfield, founded in 1894.

Hannah Adams was among the first to be buried at Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, and was the first to have a gravesite monument erected in her name. According to the Cemetery website, the monument was "financed by her female friends to honor her life and achievements."

Read more about Hannah Adams in a 2011 Patch article by Town Historian Richard DeSorgher.

Read more about the historic significance of Hannah Adams House here.