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A historic home at the center of Sudbury is the subject of multiple Community Preservation Act funding applications this year. The projects, if approved by Town Meeting in May of 2025, would invest in everything from the Hosmer House’s grounds to its roof.
The Hosmer House was given to the Town of Sudbury by Florence Hosmer in 1959. According to the Town website:
“Florence was still living in the home when she died in 1978. In 1959 she had given the deed to the Town of Sudbury stipulating that the house, its contents, her personal belongings and many of her paintings would be on display to the public as a memorial to her father after her death.”
But the arrangement was a bit more unique than you might expect, functioning almost like a reverse mortgage just a couple years before reverse mortgages were invented. During a Special Town Meeting in 1959, town meeting voted overwhelmingly (212-6) to authorize the Select Board to enter into an agreement with Florence Hosmer. That agreement included payments from the Town, and terms allowing her to live in the house for the remainder of her life:
…the Town shall pay to her annually during the remainder of her life the sum of $2,000.00 in equal monthly installments, and that the said Florence Armes Hosmer may, at her election, continue to use the said real estate and personal property in the same manner and to the same extent during her said lifetime as of the date of such conveyance; and upon such further terms and conditions as shall seem proper effectively to carry out the purpose and intent of Florence Armes Hosmer in establishing the memorial to said Edward Barrett Hosmer…
Article 29 – Page 65
These days, the house opens to the public on various dates throughout the year, and is overseen by the Sudbury Historical Commission. It even has a virtual tour online.
The Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding applications cover a lot of ground. The first application, called the Hosmer House Exterior and Grounds Preservation Project requests $500,000. The application says:
The Hosmer House, built in 1793 and bequeathed to the Town of Sudbury in 1959 currently has rotten trim, clap boards, missing and damaged shutters, deteriorated brick sidewalls, overgrown trees and rotten arbors in the historic gardens. This CPC Funding request is to replace the deteriorated wooden clapboards and trim, any rotten infrastructure, prep, prime and paint the wooden clapboards and trim; gently clean and re-point the brick sidewalls; clean and restore the brick patios and walkways, remove overgrown and volunteer trees; replace historic arbor on the grounds.
CPA Application
The project is based upon the Historic Structure and Cultural Landscape report, which is included in the application. (Page 3)
The second application is for roof replacement, with a twist. The current asphalt roof is not historically accurate and at the end of its life. The project requests $386,000 and would completely replace the existing roof with a cedar shingle roof:
“The Hosmer House, built in 1793 and bequeathed to the Town of Sudbury in 1959 currently has a failing 32+ and 22+ year old non-historic three-tab asphalt roof system that is at its end of life. This CPC funding request is to remove the asphalt roof from the structure in its entirety and replace it with an historically correct cedar shingle roof assembly which will include water barriers, roof insulation, copper flashing, copper drip edge, copper gutters and copper downspouts. This request will also include the repointing of the chimneys as needed to provide a watertight roofing system with a five percent (5%) contingency. Pricing is valid as of August 2024.”
Application
Rounding things out is an application from the Historical Commission to take the preservation work inside the house to the collection. It requests $119,500 to implement the hight priority recommendations that stem from the Hosmer House Collection Study, which was nearing completion at the time the application was submitted. Here’s how the Historical Commission described the project:
In 2023 Town Meeting approved CPA funding for the Historical Commission to conduct two HosmerHouse historic preservation projects as recommended in the 2021 Sudbury Town-wide Historic Preservation Plan: 1) a combined Hosmer House Historic Structure Report/Cultural Landscape Report, and 2) a Hosmer House Collection Study of the home’s historical contents. The Hosmer House Collection Study (Study) commenced in early spring 2024 and is in the final stages of completion.
This current proposed project for which the Historical Commission seeks CPA funding is to implement the high priority Study recommendations for the protection and preservation of the Hosmer House Collection, and in particular, historical family papers, manuscript materials and photographs, and for overall management of the breadth of the collection including the development of a professional Collection Management Policy Plan outlining processes to affect its protection and preservation. The project will be the first phase in implementing the Collection Study’s recommendations.
CPA Application Page 2
The Historical Commission describes why they think the collection is significant in their application:
“…the Hosmer family’s possessions, which include Ms. Hosmer’s paintings and varied household contents – such as furniture, books, farming implements, art supplies, textiles and costume, ceramics and glass, silver, photographs, manuscripts, letters and other archival materials. Hosmer House with its historical house collection reflects a family’s life in Sudbury and provides an opportunity for an historical interpretation of Sudbury. Most publicly owned historic houses are empty and do not contain the possessions of former residents. Hosmer House is a rare exception as it contains the historical collection of the Hosmer’s possessions.”
CPA Application Page 2
In total, the three projects would amount to a $1,000,000 investment in this historic asset. But the project costs aren’t the only financial consideration. The roof project, for example, would improve the insulation in the Hosmer House, and in turn could reduce the operating costs. That was a consideration when the project was presented to the Historic Districts Commission recently. (1:09:00) During that discussion, members noted how important and visible this building was in Sudbury’s historic Town Center, and voiced support for the cedar shingles, while providing suggestions on ways to enhance insulation without compromising some of the unique architectural details of the house.
There’s a long way to go before Annual Town Meeting in May of 2024. First, the projects would need to get the support of the Community Preservation Committee. They will begin reviewing applications on Wednesday, October 16. Applications can evolve based on feedback and questions from the committee. If the committee opts to put them forward for Town Meeting, residents will have the opportunity to vote them up or down during Town Meeting.
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