Baker Homestead - Westwood MA - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

At 4.8 m., opposite 948 High St., is the Baker Homestead (private), one of three houses to receive the Better Homes of America award in 1928 for excellence in design, equipment, construction, and grounds. Here in 1798 at the age of 12, Betsey Metcalf Baker, so taken with a beautiful bonnet one of her girl friends had received from England that she was determined to have one for herself, devised a method of splitting and braiding straw. Soon she was making hats for her friends; but because she considered it irreligious to patent her process, she realized little money from her device, which soon caused the development of one of the leading industries in the East.

American-Guide-Series - Massachusetts: a Guide to its Places and People, p.440

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This WM is a bit confusing and required me to go back to the site a second time. The AGS in the paragraph refers to two facts; A) The Baker Homestead referred to a home that received Better Homes of America award and B). Betsy Metcalf Baker, who developed a method for making straw hats. The default picture is the home that won the award and is the Baker Homestead. The other pictures in the gallery is the Obed Baker House (red house) who married Betsy Metcalf. This house was located at the site of the Baker Homestead which was moved to 1007 High St in the 1924 to make way for the house that won the award. Then the Obed Baker house (the red one) was moved again to 909 High Street where it sits today. The WM is marked at 979 High St, which is across the street from 984 High Street, which is referred to as 948 High St in the AGS. I believe they transposed the numbers when they printed the book. Phew.

Additional info at ( LINK )

Book: Massachusetts Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 440 Year Originally Published: 1937

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