Located on Central Square in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, this two story gray building known as the Tory House is easy to miss.
But a historical marker attached to the side of the building tells a portion of a story of the history of this house - a history that connects the Mayflower, the Revolutionary War, and the Civil War.
Built in in 1698 by Jacob Leonard, a fifth-generation descendant of Mayflower passenger James Chilton, the house eventually came into the ownership of Colonel Josiah Edson a few years before the Revolutionary War. At that time, Colonel Edson was the head of the local militia. But when he chose to side with the British, the house was confiscated by the Continental Congress.
Many years later, before the outbreak of America's Civil War, some local Bridgewater residents with strong anti-slavery sentiments established the building as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Slaves William and Ellen Craft (
visit link) were sheltered here on their way north.
Today the building is a private home, and not open to the public. But the house and the historic marker located on the side can be viewed by the public from the sidewalk out in front.
The text on the marker reads:
Tory House
Built about 1698 by Jacob Leonard
sold to
Rev. Allen, Minister of the First Parish Church, who under pressure for his Tory sympathies, sold the property to Col. Josiah Edson, a Tory who occupied it until 1775, when it was confiscated by The Continental Congress.
Prior to the Civil War it was a station on the Underground, helping runaway slaves escape to Canada.