Hurd-Newell House
New Ipswich Historical Society
The House Behind the Wall
Description of property #57 in Registry of Center Village Historic District
This house was built by Nathaniel Hurd circa 1806, shortly after this stretch of road connecting the Turnpike and Old Country Road was opened. In the mid-19th century, the house belonged to Joseph Newell (c. 1780- 1862), the first landlord of the present 1808 House, the Tavern on the Turnpike (#8). After his death, the house passed to his daughter and son-in-law, Mary and Ephraim Fox (1814-1903), who remained here until about 1900. The property was purchased about 1912 by James Cummings Barr (1898- 1942). Barr was a grandson of Dr. James Barr, whose daughter, Caroline Frances Barr (his aunt) was still living in the family house just to the east on King Road (#33). James' sister, Elizabeth Keyser, lived in the next house on King Road (#30), and another sister, Laura Maria Barr, owned the Charles Barrett House (#70), and another sister, Caroline Barr Wade,inherited the Barrett Mansion (#71) from her stepfather, George Robert Barrett. All were summer residents, living in the winter in the Boston area. James Barr eventually purchased the land on either side of his house, relocating the William Hassall House (#18) to its present site on the Turnpike. The Barr family eventually owned all the property from the present 1808 House down Main Street and up Old Country Road through King Road (#30), except for the Library and the Corner Store. Barr owned the Homestead Inn, a large Federal house at the junction of Main Street and Academy Road, which he planned to reopen as a Hotel, but it burned on Christmas Eve 1929. The site remains vacant and has been incorporated into the Harris-Barr House property (#33). Barr constructed the river stone wall along the street during World War I. Under the Barr ownership, their houses shared extensive, beautiful landscaping and perennial and rose gardens, linking all the Barr properties in this area. During the intervening years, the houses passed into separate- ownership, and the landscaping has mostly disappeared.
Landscaping
Before the Wall
On this day - June 20, 1908
James Roger diary entry
20th (Saturday)
Warm day wind west. David, Mother, May and Bairns went to Club House this morning and cleaned up. Mr. Ripley of Newton Center called about fixing the “Davis” lot in cemetery. David went to Lonie’s in afternoon. I went to mail in afternoon.
On this day - June 20, 1897
William Jurian Kaula diary
Yesterday I was guilty of an action that might question my sanity - I painted on a small study for the second time and packed up my materials and went back to our "petit atelier" and then set about to inspect the morning's work when I discovered that my painting was missing. I went back on a search, met Hazard, and we both hunted for that sketch and went over the whole scene of my wandering but without avail. Hazard has enjoyed the joke so much that he adds greatly to my discomfort by reciting the story to everybody I know here - The haying season is in its prime. I notice and mention it because most of my "foregrounds" have dissapeared [sic].* Over here in France we expect such things and can paint four different effects in one half-day. Our sketches represent everything from the flaming poppy-fields to the subtle and subduded [sic] tone of a grey-day. We are now ready to tackle a few twilight effects which lasts so much longer than is the case at home. The sun to-day does not set until eight o'clock and at ten the light is strong in the western sky.
*It is not as bad as what once happened to me at Camden, Maine, a few summers ago. I was sketching a part of the town which contained a church steeple. Suddenly I looked up and discovered that the steeple had dissapeared [sic] - it had been lowered by men with ropes who were repairing the church and changing the style of architecture. I did not learn these facts until I made a journey in search of the church to see if I was in my right mind, and to sit down in the street with an exclamation of joy that astonished the men at my apparent affection for an old belfrey. I hastily added the missing article to my faithful sketch and hurried back to the original position, and found that during my absence, two schooners had left the scene, several trees had been cut down, one house repainted, and the tide had gone out.
[Petit atelier = small workshop]
Still waiting to hear what happened to his painting.
The part where he recounts steeple disappearing had me thinking the fog had rolled in. His version is much better.
I had a friend in the early 50s named Roy Newell. I suspect he was a descendent. He was a few yrs older than I (age 15 or so). We used to swim at the bridge near the intersection of Old Country Rd and River Rd. One day in 1955 he drowned in Water Loom Pond. He knew how to swim. It was later determined that he had bubble gum lodged in his throat. In 1967 my brother named Roy also drowned in Water Loom Pond.