Search billions of records on Ancestry.com
   
 
 
 
 
Peter & Sarah Clayes -657 Salem End Rd., Framingham, MA (c1693)
 
 
SAVE THE CLAYES HOUSE IN FRAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS
Introduction by Janice Thompson ©2006
 
The house stands, windows boarded, unoccupied and in desperate disrepair on 657 Salem End Road. Not many people notice it. Very few Framingham residents are aware of how this single house represents the deepest roots of their town.

The original house was built in 1693 by Peter and Sarah Clayes, who had fled the witch hysteria that had terrorized Salem Village the year before. Known in that town as Cloyce, Sarah, along with her sisters Rebecca Nurse and Mary Esty and countless others, had been accused and jailed for witchcraft. It is unknown why Sarah escaped the noose while her sisters were not so lucky. Whether she escaped or was set free from jail is not certain, but we do know that she and her husband Peter, along with members of her extended family, settled in an area 40 miles away, in the early part of the following year.

Their new home was in a region known as "Danforth's Farms," so named because it was owned by Thomas Danforth, Deputy Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Danforth himself was, in fact, one of the magistrates who oversaw Sarah's pre-trial examination in April of 1692. Later on, Danforth was known to change his opinion about the trials, and worked behind the scenes to put a stop to the madness.

We don't know for sure the true connection between Danforth and Sarah and Peter Clayes. Did Danforth invite them to settle on his land out of some feeling of guilt? Or was the move just a coincidence? But what we do know is that the Clayes, along with their brethren Towne, Barton, Bridges and Nurse, were among the first residents of a town newly-incorporated in the year 1700 as Framingham (after "Framlingham," Danforth's home in Suffolk, England); indeed, these surnames can be found in many early local government records as elected officials and leaders.

 
The Enormous Importance of the Clayes House to Framingham
The Clayes House is a tangible reminder of these early stories, preserving for new generations the connection between Salem and Framingham. It has tremendous potential for a public resource, one that could provide vital education in history, architecture and culture to the local, regional and national community. Stephen Herring, recent Town Historian, has called the property "one of the five most important houses in Framingham" (see attached feature written by Herring for the Spring 2005 edition of Framingham History). It is likely one of the very last houses with first-period details that has not been preserved or razed in the entire New England region.
 
The Current Situation
Unfortunately, the state of the house is in crisis. It has been empty for years and is now in such poor condition that it may not be able to withstand another winter without falling down. This progressively bad situation is the result of many variables, including a divorce of past owners, difficulties with possible liens, problems between potential buyers and the bank, and back taxes. In the meantime, local teenagers were using the place for a gathering and drinking hang-out, vandalizing windows and doors.

Over the past year, a group of local concerned citizens, including Selectmen, members of the Historical Commission and Planning Department, and the Framingham Historical Society and Museum, have gathered to try to save the Clayes house from destruction. We have made tremendous progress. Among our successes have been:

  • Boarding up the fIrst floor windows, thus deterring any future trespassing and vandalism by local youths;
  • Garnering, through the non-profIt organization The Framingham Preservation Trust, the $65,000 lien and the right of fIrst refusal from the divorced wife of the last mortgage holder
  • Enlisting the help of Vanessa Redgrave, who played Sarah in the 1984 PBS production entitled Three Sovereigns for Sarah
  • Discussing the case with local officials and funding sources including The National Trust, Historic New England and The Trust for Public Land
  • Getting the story out to the media through several articles (see attached)
  • Working with the Town to name the property a single property local historic district (expected fall 2006), to prevent any future owner from razing or signifIcantly changing the appearance of the house
  • Enlisting the cooperation of the last mortgage holder
  • Establishing a relationship with the last auction's highest bidder, working with her attorney to track the bank's actions vis-a-vis the property (which have been nonexistent, at least as far as we know; we have not been able to make our own contact with any bank representative)
  • Working with the Town to extend the demolition delay from 6 to 12 months for all houses on the Cultural Resources Inventory, including the Clayes house
  • On occasion making emergency repairs to the house.

Through these moves, we are fairly certain that the house will be saved from destruction. However, the property is still in foreclosure, held by the Wells Fargo Bank in California, who could attempt to auction the house at any given moment. At the same time, now that the house itself is protected and it is in such terrible disrepair, our group does not believe any private buyer will want to purchase the place: the property costs, the back taxes, our lien, and the enormous costs of renovation are now too high.

Thus, we are very fearful that the house will continue to remain in limbo, and will be destroyed by neglect.

 
Our Plan
It is our group's sincere hope that we can raise the capital necessary to:
  • Purchase the property from the bank
  • Pay any existing obligations
  • Restore and preserve the house and grounds
  • Build an endowment in order to make the place self-sustaining into the future
  • Look into the possibility of gifting the property to an organization, such as the Framingham Historical Society and Museum, that will run and maintain the place as a house museum, open to the community for education purposes.

We can envision the house being open to researchers interested in tracking architectural changes in a single house, from first period to modem day; to schoolchildren who can see history come alive by seeing, hearing and touching the very environment their town's founders built for themselves; to people from near and far who are fascinated by Sarah's story in particular and the history of social injustice in general.

While many funding organizations have expressed interest in the project, we have not been able to initiate the capital campaign because we do not own the property. In addition, some grant programs will only support projects that have been funded in a significant way by members of the community the house museum will most immediately serve.

We are now seeking a lead donor who will initiate the project through a gift that will, we hope, cover a majority of the campaign goal. We would not be able to move forward without such a substantial commitment because the Framingham Preservation Trust does not have the infrastructure to hold the property for any length of time.

Such a lead commitment will ensure the success of the project, serving as the key that will open the house to the community. The significance of this step and the gratitude that will result will be immeasurable.

Because we are not yet owners, and because we have no current funding, we have not been able to order the architectural and preservation assessments necessary to determine actual costs of the project. We do know that the repairs will be substantial (see attached photos). In addition, the septic system will have to be replaced. For now, we estimate that the entire purchase and restoration, including operating costs (legal and professional fees), to be roughly $1.5 million. In addition, we are seeking $500,000 in endowment (the Framingham Historical Society and Museum will accept the management duties of the property only if it comes with a sufficient endowment).

 
In Closing
As we stand at the beginning of the 21 st century, in a futuristic era of constant change, high technology, and amazing advances in medicine, business and communications, it is more important than ever to preserve our roots. In order to know where we are going, we need to understand where we come from. In a time of everquickening pace of communications, travel and entertainment, we have a more urgent need for a sense of place.

This is the moment of truth, when we have the opportunity to save what Framingham has left of its vital history, of its connections to this nation's beginnings. In a very significant way, the Sarah Clayes House can preserve these stories for future generations of our neighbors and friends.

 
 
Janice welcomes correspondence regarding the Sarah Clayes home.
Email Janice Thompson
 
 
SOURCES
 
 
 


HOME

Updated 07 Jun 2008
Web Content Contributed by Janice Thompson © 2006
Web Pages Designed & Maintained by P. Davidson-Peters © 1999 All Rights Reserved.