Home of the Week: Four-bedroom antique was Underground Railroad stop
The four-bedroom, three-bath home sits on the banks of the Skug River near Harold Parker State Forest. Search the latest listings at realestate.boston.com.
8 Douglass Lane, Andover
$749,900
Style: Antique Colonial
Year built: 1765
Square feet: 3,553
Bedrooms: 4
Baths: 3 full
Sewer/water: Private/town
Taxes: $9,120 (2018)
Greater Boston is rich in historic properties, and one such place is this 253-year-old home in which giants of American history once walked. Built in 1765 for the Jenkins family, the house was home to William Jenkins and his wife, Mary — and a stop on the Underground Railroad. Dedicated abolitionists, the Jenkinses counted Frederick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and William Lloyd Garrison as visitors and friends.
In the attic, there’s a spot near the chimney where fugitive slaves once hid.
But this is a home, not a museum, so it has been updated for modern comfort, with central air, new electrical, and an improved fieldstone foundation. The roof, windows, and clapboard siding are new. The resurfaced flooring, most of which is original to the home, is rough-hewn and wide planked pine, Douglas fir, and oak.
Located on a cul-de-sac of mostly young homes, the house is reached via a long driveway. To the left of the foyer is a music/living room with a fireplace, one of 10 in the home. They need to be checked out before they are used, according to the listing agent. The one in this room was constructed of gray soapstone harvested from a quarry the Jenkinses operated for decades.
To the right of the foyer is a second living room with a soapstone and carved-wood fireplace, a built-in-china cabinet, and a closet. Both living rooms offer access to the dining room, which has French doors to a brick patio and a brick fireplace used for cooking.
To the right of the dining room is the kitchen. The brick fireplace is a nod to history. Painted a shale gray, it sits perpendicularly to a granite-topped breakfast counter with seating for two. The kitchen also offers cherry cabinets (some with glass fronts and others with bead board), white appliances, and an apron sink.
Off the kitchen, there’s a full bath with a shower and a single granite-topped vanity.
On the other side of the dining room, a study with a picture window connects to a family room lined with windows.
The second floor can be reached by two sets of stairs — one in the foyer, the other back near the dining room.
The master is in a private section at the rear of the house. It features a vaulted ceiling with the original exposed beams. The fireplace has a white wooden surround with built-in storage. The bath also has exposed beams, as well as tile, a granite-topped vanity, a shower with glass doors, and a walk-in closet.
The second bath on this floor offers a pedestal sink, a claw-foot tub, and a wood floor. Each of the three remaining bedrooms has a fireplace.
The laundry is in the unfinished basement, and the ceilings throughout most of the home are about 7 feet high.
The property sits on 0.99 of an acre overlooking Skug River in a neighborhood with access to Harold Parker State Forest.
The listing agent is Ron Carpenito of the Prime Property Team at Keller Williams Realty in Andover.
View additional photos of the home:
Follow John R. Ellement on Twitter @JREbosglobe. Send listings to [email protected]. Please note: We do not feature unfurnished homes and will not respond to submissions we won’t pursue. Subscribe to our newsletter at pages.email.bostonglobe.com/AddressSignUp.
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