James Blake House

James Blake, who was baptized in England in 1624, came to the New World with his father William and settled in Dorchester. He married Elizabeth Clap in 1651, and a decade later built himself a substantial home which today is the oldest surviving house in Boston. (Dendrochronology testing determined it was, indeed, built in 1661.) After Elizabeth died in 1694, James remarried in 1695, to widow Elizabeth (Smith) Hunt.

 

James Blake was a prominent member of his community. According to the Dorchester Atheneum, “From 1658 to 1685 there is scarcely a year when his name does not appear in connection with some official duties in the town. He was selectman thirteen years, rater, constable, deputy to the General Court, clerk of the writs, recorder, and sergeant in the military company. He also served as deacon about fourteen years, then as ruling elder for the same term.” James Blake died in 1700 at the age of 76. The house remained in the Blake family until 1825.

 

In the 1890s the house was set to be demolished during the widening of Massachusetts Avenue and creation of Columbia Road. The Dorchester Historical Society convinced the city to grant them the house, which they then moved 400 yards, at a cost of $295.00, to its present location on Columbia Road. Says the DHS, “This seems to be the first recorded instance of a historic private residence being moved from its original site in order to rescue it from demolition.”

 

We include this beautiful house on our sites tour not only because of its importance as Boston’s oldest. Although we have not found any reference to the Salem witch trials in records of the Blake family, it is fascinating to think about their thoughts and reactions as the tragedy unfolded, particularly with the involvement of Dorchester’s own William Stoughton, Chief Justice of the Court of Oyer and Terminer, and two generations of Mather ministers.

 

735 Columbia Road