PATRIOTS' COUNCIL CHAMBER RESTORED

by Rick Heller

THE EDMUND FOWLE HOUSE, WATERTOWN

A piece of Revolutionary War-era history is soon to reopen to the public after being closed for six years. The Watertown home where the Massachusetts Provincial Congress met while the British occupied Boston is nearing the end of a state-funded renovation.

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The Edmund Fowle House, owned by the Watertown Historical Society, was taken off public view in April, 2001 after a building inspector identified dangerous conditions in the home, including a sagging ceiling and water leaking into electrical fixtures.

The home, which was built in 1772 and moved to its present site in 1871, has been owned by the historical society since 1922. With an annual budget of $15,000 and no paid staff, however, the historical society was not able to keep up with needed repairs.

Joyce Kelly, who chairs the Building Restoration Committee of the Watertown Historical Society, said the society had the dubious distinction of owning the worst-kept home on the block.

"The paint was peeling off the house in spots so badly it was rotting the wood away," she said. "All those houses on that street have pretty much been restored in the last seven years or so, and our house stuck out like a sore thumb."

Enter state Sen. Steven Tolman. The Watertown Democrat introduced legislation that authorized a $500,000 grant administered by the Massachusetts Historical Commission. It provided the funds for planning and construction restoration.

But when that proved not quite enough, a $200,000 grant was secured from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism.

That's a pretty large sum of money to restore a home, when the median value of owner-occupied housing unit in Watertown was $270,600 according to the 2000 census. But new homes don't come with associations with such historic figures as John Hancock and John Adams.

The Watertown Historical Society now has a showpiece. No state money has been allocated for ongoing maintenance of the home, however. Without a steady income stream, will the society be able to keep the state's investment from falling back into disrepair?

"We are in the midst of doing a marketing package," Kelly said. "We have to create an endowment."

The Edmund Fowle is expected to reopen to the public in spring, 2008.