The Fox House
The Property Timeline
318 Metropolitan Ave, 'The Fox House', was built by Patrick and Isabella Fox between 1899 & 1901. Here, we look at the land and how it developed up to where we are today.
In the 1880 Census, Patrick Albert Fox & Isabella Fox, are registered as living on Poplar St with their two daughters, Francis & Blanche. Albert works in a newspaper office, and Isabella keeps house. The house in which they live is, according to 1880 land maps of the time, owned by Daniel Dunn, a Scottish Canadian piano maker and Isabella's father.
A Mr. Chamberlain, George Weeks and his family close out that section of Poplar St near Met Ave. These names are not indicated on the same land map.
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The 1880 census also shows, the 300-block of Met Ave is occupied by the Cliffords, the Pratts and the Mansurs. Land maps show the 318 plot is then owned by Willam E Weeman, although he is not mentioned on the census. The neighboring plot is owned by Samuel Mansur (a flour & grain speculator). William E Weeman was married to Amelia B Haskell - who, as Amelia B Weeman, owned a small section of land on Met Ave a short distance west of William's lot.
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From the 1880 Boston Business Directory, Daniel Dunn and Albert Fox are listed as both living together on Poplar near Metropolitan Ave. In 1901 Albert Fox had finally moved to the new house, as indicated by the Boston Directory (but not before).
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Land maps from 1890 show that the Weemans have disappeared completely, with the 318 lot owned by Lizze F MacDonald (b. Nova Scotia), and the smaller lot owned by Jones & Dunton. 449 Poplar St is still owned by Daniel Dunn. The 1880 census shows Lizzie and here husband Edmund A MacDonald live there with 2 children and an Irish servant. No census for 1890 exists (fire)
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1880 census
1880 map
1880 Boston Business Directory
1901 Boston Business Directory
1890 maps
We have yet to find any details on Lizzie's property, but according to the 1898 business directory, in that year Edmund lived at 677 Cambridge St. This was likely the year the Macdonalds sold the land to the Fox's.
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The only other mention of Lizzie is from the City of Boston records, dated 1906/7, where she lives in Boston (Brighton), at 677 Cambridge St., and is looking for help removing the pest gypsy moth - confirming she is off Met Ave by then. The earliest City details of 677 Cambridge St is from 1915 (still a single family).
In 1899, Patrick Albert Fox applied for 2 permits from the City of Boston to build a house and in a separate permit, a stable, on the corner of Metropolitan Avenue and Maynard Street. His current residence on the permit application is Winthrop, Mass. He is not found in any Boston directories at Met Ave until 1901.
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If the dwelling sketches on the maps are to be believed, the humble abode of the Weemans, was supplanted by a larger structure from Lizzie. The new Fox property seems to occupy some of this old footprint, although no mention of this is made in the permit application.
The architect on PAF's permits is James Murray, who was an active architect in the City of Boston, around the turn of the century. According to the 1910 census, James was born in Scotland, and moved to the USA with his wife Ellen T Murray. He designed a number buildings in Boston and Cambridge, including the City of Cambridge Fire Station, 38 Spring Park Avenue, Jamaica Plain, 47 & 55 Patten St, 71 Walk Hill St, Jamaica Plain, as well as the Congregational Church on Cummings Highway in Roslindale Square.
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He had offices at 120 Tremont St. Boston, but lived locally - at 104 Poplar St, where the Roslindale High School is now standing. Interestingly, Albert Fox is listed as the builder in each permit application.
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One must wonder if the shared Scottish heritage between the Dunn family (Isabella) and James Murray, helped Albert get his house designed by someone relatively famous.
1899 map
1899 permits
From Ruth Carroll's autobiography kindly provided to us by Mary Anne Doyle (Ruth Carroll Doyle's niece), she describes the house thus:
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"Three Eighteen, as we called the Big House, had more than sixteen rooms, most of them large ones, on three floors. There was a big basement for the furnace, the laundry, and a room for egg-keeping, preserving, and my father's beer-making apparatus. Upstairs was a music room where my Chickering ebony baby grand piano stood, a drawing room, a library, and a conservatory filled with plants. The front entrance hall was bigger than most living rooms. On the first floor there were five fireplaces, one which was paneled in oak. Above the mantel of this one was carved the Scottish saying "East Or West, Hame Is Best" in Celtic lettering. I remember, too, that on the floor under the dining table there was a bell that was used to call the maid. A panel of bells in the kitchen also connected to rooms upstairs, a forerunner of the intercom system, I suppose. On the top floor was a big ballroom and the maid's quarters. We held many parties and dances there, and played games like Spin The Bottle."
Ruth lived in the house from 1920 to 1940. Again, the Scottish theme comes to the fore.
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Ruth also mentions the stable, in the closing paragraph of her autobiography, suggesting that it was still used in the '20s.
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"Long ago, after we moved, the house was divided into two separate dwellings, along with the barn where Richard kept his beloved sway- backed horse."
From the 1900, 1910 and 1920 census data, we know that the Fox's lived at 318 throughout these years. Isabela and Albert had 7 children, 5 of whom survived out of childhood.
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In1922, through a permit application, and from land maps dated 1924, the Fox's had moved on and Barbara I Carroll was now land owner at 318 Met Ave, where the house was still as Albert had built it, 20 years ago. The maps indicate Barbara 'I', but the permit apps show Barbara 'A'.
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The permit applications were to fix damage from a fire, which occurred in 1922 - most likely on the evening of the 19th October. Fire damage can still be seen in the rafters today.
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Their occupancy of the house is confirmed by the 1924 Business Directory entry.
Again, Ruth's autobiography provides us some insight into the Fire:​
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"We had a fire break out at Three Eighteen that seriously damaged the old house. I lost my piano and a diamond ring, and heavy water damage caused even more loss. The family had to move to a seven-room house for about six months, and that was quite a squeeze for all of us."
We are unable to find the cause of the fire in any records, however the fire was reported in the Globe, which tells us that Francis Carroll was a previous Commissioner for the Boston Fire Department. Doh!
From the 1930 census we can see that Francis Michael Carroll (then 55) and his wife Barbara Carroll (née Blum)(46), lived in the house with their children Ruth (21), Francis (19), Barbara (16) and Mark (5), as well as the Irish maid, Mary D Gavin (20).
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Francis at that time was a lawyer.
1930 census
In 1937, 318 Met Ave was likely hooked up to the city water and sewer supply. A report was sent to HQ by an inspector, reporting on the condition of the house, pre-installation. The inspector went round every room of the house looking for damage, which gives us a list of rooms.
Sewer comssion inspection report. 2.5 story 1 family. Cellar. 1st Floo, kitchen, Dining room, study, living room (west), music room. 2nd floor. Bedroom (NW), bedroom (SW), sewing room (S), Bedroom (SE), bedroom (NE), Stairway 2nd to 3rd story. Attic checked. Barn (used as garage).
In process...