The Colorful History of 37 Pond Circle

The Rice Estate Carriage House and its Colorful History 

On Moss Hill, less than 2 blocks from Jamaica Pond is a delightful u-shaped street, peppered with Colonial Revival and the occasional Tudor-style single family homes. It is a favored street, close to Jamaica Plain Center, nearby the Emerald Necklace parklands and bike path, and with easy access to the roads that lead to Downtown Boston & Brookline. To stroll along Pond Circle today while looking at the houses built mostly between 1925 and 1935, residents may not be able to imagine the grand mansion that at one time occupied all of the land where those homes now sit - except for one. In a glen of towering trees above a stone wall, sits a dramatic home - the original carriage house of the mansion. With its sweeping wings, slender cupola and original weather vane, the architecturally notable stable is the only surviving structure from the Elizabeth G. Rice estate from 1900. In the Classical Revival style, the former enormous barn belies some of the secrets of the grand home it once served. A plethora of interesting details remain intact and have been lovingly cared for by the current owners who renovated the stable.

The land, now bordering on Billings Lane to the west and Pond Circle to the East, had been part of Josiah S. Robinson’s large estate in the 1870’s – 1890’s. He was in the tea importing business and by 1896, Robert C. Billings (of Faulkner and a Dry Goods Company, Page & Co., once located on Franklin Street) had an estate on part of the Robinson land, and the main Robinson house was owned by Elizabeth G. Rice, with an original land parcel of  land 212,426 sq. ft. owned by Mr. Edward Rice, and formerly by Mr. John J. Low (of Shreve Crump & Low.) Architects Peabody & Stearns were commissioned to design the large, attractive stable in 1901. Edward D. Rice lived in the now lost mansion in 1905 when he was in business with E.E. Rice & Co., once at 620 Atlantic Avenue). In 1920 it was noted that the nearest street to the Rice estate was Rockwood St to the west and Jamaica Pond to the east, and Elizabeth Rice was the owner as late as 1924.

And as if vision of this grand manse is not enough, we come to know that “prior to the beautiful Rice Estate, [this setting had] been the seat of several beautiful residences.”  In the Annals and Reminiscences of Jamaica Plain, we learn about an even more fabled and glorious residential past in this location dating as far back as 1760. “...here ready fancy rears again the vanished walls of a stately mansion, three stories in height, first occupied by another of the Tory gentry, Sir Francis Barnard, the Royal Governor of Massachusetts from 1760 to 1769, -- the period of our greatest historic interest. The beautiful sloping lawn, shaded with lofty English Elms gave a charming setting to the house, while broad acres highly cultivated, filled with choice fruit trees, plants, and shrubs, including orange, lemon, fig, cork, and cinnamon trees, and other rare exotics, added grandeur and beauty to the landscape. One can easily call back the old-time scenes within this mansion, of stately official pomp, of social gayety, of dinners and balls, where the brocade and satin and lace, and where the cavaliers rivaled the ladies in their powdered wigs, gorgeous velvet coats and stain waistcoats, ruffled shirt-fronts, small breeches and silken hose. We catch a glimpse of them as they troop through the broad hall (fifty-four feet long and twenty feet wide), and the wainscoted tapestried rooms, on the stately minuet or the livelier contra-dances, and possibly recognize the forms and faces of Adams, Hancock & ...Quincy...During the siege this house was also occupied by the patriotic troops, and later used as a hospital. The soldiers who died here were buried on the hill in the rear of the house. This property was confiscated in 1779 by the State, and purchased by Mr. Martin Brimmer, a Boston merchant, who died here in 1804. Captain John Prince next owned it, and took down the old house, a part of which had stood one hundred and forty years. [Then] erected [was] a very attractive mansion which has recently given place to the one [eventually] occupied by Mr. Rice. Mr. Prince opened the street, which bears his name through his estate to Perkins Street.” In 1920 it was noted that the nearest street to the Rice estate was Rockwood St to the west and Jamaica Pond to the east.

The owner of the stable after Elizabeth Rice and post the demolition of the mansion, was Arthur Crew Inman (1895-1963), who used the carriage house as a writer’s retreat. Originally a Southerner, born to one of Atlanta’s wealthiest families, Inman moved to Boston. He published  7 volumes of poetry & one of the longest diaries documented in America - 155 volumes in all.

Now the current owners who renovated and cared for this piece of Jamaica Plain history are ready for the next stuarts to purchase and add to the story of this setting. With its colorful past, there are not many homes in Jamaica Plain nor anywhere in the city that can boast 3 quarters of an acre. For residents seeking proximity to Boston and the space and privacy of a country house, 37 Pond Circle is sure to dazzle the next inhabitants.

Written by Constance Cervone, all rights reserved.

Source: The Annals and Reminiscences of Jamaica Plain, 1897

 By Harriet Manning Whitcomb