Historic House Expected to be Purchased at Town Meeting

When Hopkinton’s Reverend Elijah Fitch built the house at 97 Ash St. in the 1700s, few would have imagined it would still be standing today.

Several well-known Americans have occupied the house, including children’s author Lucy Fitch Perkins and architect Edward Goddard.

Most recently, in 1954, the house was bought by Bill and Rose Abbott who lived there until their deaths in 1997 and 2001 respectively.

While living in the house, the Abbott’s started a program called Food for the Needy. The program was a community farm group that worked with the Worcester Food Bank.

After the death of the Abbotts the house and the 80 acres surrounding it became part of the Abbott Realty Trust.

The house and the land are currently up for sale, and at next month’s voters will have the opportunity to support an article that would purchase the land for $1.8 million.

Before becoming part of the town’s public land, the property will first go to the Trust For Public Land who will divide it into two parcels, one being the house and approximately 10 acres surrounding it which will be sold to a private byer. This will leave the majority of the land, 70 acres, to become public land owned by the town.

The money to fund the purchase will come from the Community Preservation Act (CPA), a two percent surcharge on that is collected based on property taxes.

The town approved the CPA funding in 2001, thus this project will not require any increase in taxes.

“The CPA money has been around 2001,” Chris LaPointe, senior property manager for the Trust for Public Land, said. “You’re already paying it and you’re going to keep paying it unless someone mounts an effort against it.”

LaPointe said he has had conversations with different parties in town, including abutters and members of the town’s governing boards.

“I have no sense that there is any organized opposition to this,” LaPointe said. “Everyone I’ve talked to seems to be in support of it.”

The house is currently being rented by Scott Richardson and Anita Sandberg who are living in a newer portion of the house that was built as the Abbott’s were growing older and became unable to get around as easily.

Richardson, an architect, and Sandberg, an interior designer, have been renting there for almost two years and the pair said they have been working on restoring the older portion of the house and want to continue what they’ve started.

“If we can buy the house, we’d like to,” Richardson said.