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A revolutionary real estate listing: John Hancock’s former Boston home is up for grabs
The house is the only remaining property associated with the founding father in Boston.
It’s not everyday that a founding father’s former domicile is open to buyers, but after half a century, John Hancock’s old Boston home is back on the market.
The Ebenezer Hancock House, a Flemish bond brickwork building located at 10 Marshall St., was built and owned by John Hancock in 1767.
Hancock, known for his sweeping signature on the Declaration of Independence, served as the first governor of Massachusetts.
The house is the only remaining property associated with the founding father in Boston, according to the property description. It sits near the Green Dragon Tavern, another historic establishment.
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John Hancock sold the house to a Boston merchant in 1785, according to a report by the Boston Landmarks Commission. It is currently owned by law firm Swartz & Swartz, who purchased it in 1974.
The 5,748 square foot house holds a spot on the National Registry of Historic Places, according to the property description.
Hancock’s younger brother, Continental Army Deputy Paymaster Ebenezer Hancock, lived in the house. According to the property description, he stored 2 million silver crowns loaned by the French Government there before the money was distributed to troops.
The house, brimming with history, still has its Late Gregorian interior details, according to the property description. Its first floor was the former site of the longest continuously operating shoe store in the country from 1798 to 1963. The upper floors have also served as a boarding house, officers club, and a privately operated museum, according to the Boston Landmarks Commission. It holds 12 private offices and is located near City Hall and two MBTA stations.
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The real estate company LandVest has not publicly listed a price, but Boston assessed the property at $1.6 million, according to the Boston Globe.
“We’re looking for an owner occupant that loves the building and loves the history and is enthusiastic about being the steward of a landmark site like this,” realtor Dave Killen told the Globe. “And the highest and best use for that owner occupant is likely to be some version of mixed use.”
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