PPS Records for 86 Taber Avenue
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PPS RECORDS FOR
86 TABER AVENUE
PLAT 39, LOT 531
JOHN E. and JESSIE L. HILL HOUSE
Built 1902
Norman Isham, Architect
T.H. Doane, Builder
DESCRIPTION:
“An unusual 2-1/2 story, cross-gable-roofed, shingle-clad dwelling in an eclectic revival
style combining later medieval and classical Renaissance features in the English Queen
Anne manner. Projecting from the façade are a pair of rectangular, end-gabled, firststory bays with large rectangular windows containing Palladian motifs surmounted by
small diamond panes filling out the corners. The tall gables, with Gothic pinnacles at
the peaks, overhang the second story, and the main entrance is on one side, now
sheltered by an unsympathetic modern post-and-beam porch extending forward beyond
the façade. John E. Hill was a Brown University professor.”
Robert O. Jones, “Historic and Architectural Resources of the East Side,
Providence: A Preliminary Report,” RI Historical Preservation & Heritage
Commission (1989), p. 96.
The house stands on a 10,000 square foot lot on the west side of Taber Avenue; the lot
measures 100 feet wide on Taber Avenue, and 200 feet deep. The block is bounded by
Taber Avenue (east), Irving Avenue (north), Arlington Avenue, (west), and Humboldt
Avenue (south).
HISTORY:
In February, 1902, Brown University professor John E. Hill (then living at 361 Gano
Street) purchased this property as a vacant lot from the Beverly Land Company. 1 Hill
took out a building permit in April 1902, and the house at 86 Taber Avenue was
constructed shortly afterwards. Professor Hill and his wife Jessie lived here until his
death in early 1935; Mrs. Hill continued to own the house until 1946, when she sold it to
James and Ruth Darke. The house has changed hands nine times since then. The
present owners, Harlan and Beverly Rich, bought the house from Faye I. Mandell in
2002.
In 1902, the entire length of Taber Avenue – from India Street in Fox Point, north to Laurel Avenue -was renamed Gano Street. The following year, in 1903, the portion of Gano Street north of Angell Street
had its name changed back to Taber Avenue. Angell Street continues to divide Gano Street and Taber
Avenue today.
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PPS Records for 86 Taber Avenue
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DEVELOPMENT CONTEXT2:
In the 18th century, Moses Brown’s Elm Grove Farm covered more than 300 acres on
Providence’s East Side; Brown’s country home once stood near the intersection of
today’s Humboldt and Wayland Avenues. One of four brothers in a very wealthy and
prominent family, Moses Brown was a Quaker and abolitionist. Among his many
accomplishments, he helped to found a boarding school for Quaker youth (now the
Moses Brown School), and he was a primary sponsor of Samuel Slater’s cotton mill in
Pawtucket, which brought the Industrial Revolution to America.
Elm Grove Farm was bounded by today’s East Manning and Pitman Streets on the
south; Laurel Avenue on the north; Arlington Avenue, Lloyd Avenue and Hope Street on
the west, and the Seekonk River on the east. Moses Brown died in 1836, leaving the
farmstead to his granddaughter Anna Almy Jenkins; she died in 1849, and in 1856 her
two surviving children split the estate in half, divided at Angell and South Angell Streets.
Anna’s son Moses Brown Jenkins took the northern portion of the estate and in 1865
subdivided it for residential development as the Elm Grove Farm Plat. In 1868, the
entire Elm Grove Farm Plat (over 6 million square feet of land) was sold to Charles C.
and Henry M. Taber of New York City (Deed Book 184, Page 74). The Tabers replatted
their land as the Moses Brown Farm Plat in 1870, and again in 1872 and in 1891. The
family remained one of the East Side’s major landowners for more than three decades,
gradually selling off hundreds of vacant lots to individual owners and to real estate
speculators. Taber Avenue is named for them.
Taber, Humboldt, Arlington, and Irving Avenues all existed by 1875. By 1895, the entire
block had water and sewer lines, and the Angell Street streetcar line ran just two blocks
to the south, both improvements facilitating development in the area. Seven years later,
John E. Hill built his home at 86 Taber Avenue.
DESIGNATIONS
Located within the proposed Wayland Historic District, nominated for listing on the
National Register of Historic Places in 2003; not located in a local historic district zone.
RECORDS
(All records are found in Providence City Hall unless otherwise noted.)
Maps and Atlases
1798: “A Map of Owners of Lots in Providence,” compiled by Henry B. Chace in 1912:
Plate V shows Moses Brown’s farm occupying over 300 acres north of today’s Angell
From “Historic and Architectural Resources of the East Side, Providence,” by Robert Owen Jones,
published by the R.I. Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission, 1989; and previous PPS Marker
Reports.
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PPS Records for 86 Taber Avenue
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Street (then called “Moses Brown’s Road to the Central Bridge”), between what is now
Hope Street and the Seekonk River. (Archives)
1857: “Map of Providence,” by H.F. Walling, Plates B5 and C5 show Moses Brown’s
Elmgrove Farm, not yet platted for residential development, bounded by “Friend Street,”
now Arlington Avenue, on the west, Angell Street on the south, the Seekonk River on
the east, and property of Candace Allen on the north. (Archives)
1865: “The Elm Grove Farm Plat Belonging to Moses B. Jenkins,” surveyed and drawn
by Charles E. Paine, recorded in Plat Book 8, Page 15, and copied on Plat Card 215.
This plat contained over 6.3 million square feet of land, and was divided into three tracts
numbered 1, 2 and 3. Tract #1, containing 3,260,245 square feet of land, was bounded
by Wayland Street on the east, by Angell Street on the south, by Asylum Street (now
Arlington Avenue) on the west, and by land of Mary H. Robeson, Phebe Allen, Henry C.
Dorr and Crawford Allen on the north. Taber, Irving, and Humboldt Avenues were not
yet laid out, and no buildings are shown on this map. (Registry of Deeds)
1870: “The Moses Brown Farm Plat,” surveyed and drawn by Charles E. Paine,
recorded in Plat Book 11, Page 2, copied on plat card 281. Shows the block bounded by
Taber, Irving, Arlington, and Humboldt Avenues. The future site of 86 Taber Avenue
lies within Lot #16 on the west side of Taber Avenue, two lots south of Irving Avenue,
which measures 100 feet on Taber Avenue and 200 feet deep (20,000 sq. ft.); no
buildings are shown. The map notes that “purchasers of lots are prohibited from placing
any buildings on this plat with 20 feet of any street or avenue, and all their deeds are
subject to this agreement.” (Registry of Deeds)
1872: “The Moses Brown Farm Plat,” surveyed and drawn by Cushing & Co., recorded
in Plat Book 11, Page 10, copied on plat card 286. Shows the same configuration as on
the Paine plat map of 1870, with Lot #16 being the second lot south of Irving Avenue,
measuring 20,000 sq.ft. (100 feet wide by 200 feet deep); no buildings are shown.
(Registry of Deeds)
1875: “Atlas of the City of Providence,” by G.M. Hopkins Co., Vol. 1 (Wards 1, 2 and 3).
Plate J shows the block bounded by Taber, Irving, Arlington, and Humboldt Avenues. A
40,000 sq.ft. lot (composed of lots 15 and 16) on the west side of Taber Avenue is
owned by a Robert H. Ives.3 That lot was vacant in 1875; only two houses stood on the
entire block at that time, at the corner of Arlington and Humboldt, and the corner of
Taber and Humboldt. Arlington Avenue had sewer lines by this time. The map
references the Moses Brown Farm Plat. (Archives)
1882: “Atlas of the City of Providence” by G.M. Hopkins Co., Plate 4, shows the block
bounded by Taber, Irving, Arlington, and Humboldt Avenues. Lots #15 and 16 are
3
Robert H. Ives was the son of Thomas Poynton Ives and Hope Brown Ives (daughter of Nicholas Brown,
niece of Moses Brown). At various times in his adult life, Robert Ives owned considerable property
derived from his great-uncle’s former farm on the East Side.
PPS Records for 86 Taber Avenue
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shown as individual lots (not combined) owned by Mrs. E.A. Gammell;4 both are still
vacant, and lot sizes are not indicated. Lot #16 is the future site of 86 Taber Avenue.
The block still only has two houses standing on it. The map references the Moses
Brown Farm Plat. (Archives)
1891: “The Moses Brown Farm Re-Plat” by Charles E. Paine, recorded in Plat Book 19,
Page 17, copied on Plat Card 640. Within the block bounded by Taber, Irving,
Arlington, and Humboldt Avenues, the lot on the west side of Taber Avenue previously
designated as Lot #16 has been subdivided into two, 10,000 sq. ft. lots. The future site
of 86 Taber Avenue is now the 4th lot south of Irving Avenue, identified as Lot #41,
measuring 50 by 200 feet (10,000 sq.ft.). No buildings are shown on this map.
(Registry of Deeds)
1895: “Atlas of the City of Providence” by Everts & Richards, Plate 6 (pages 32-33),
shows the block bounded by Taber, Irving, Arlington, and Humboldt Avenues. The
entire block has sewer lines, and the Angell Street streetcar line runs 2 block south of
Humboldt Avenue. Additional houses have been built all along the Humboldt Avenue
edge of the block, and at the corner of Arlington and Irving. The future site of 86 Taber
Avenue is a vacant 10,000 sq.ft. lot; the owner’s name is not indicated, nor a lot
number. (Archives)
1902: Assessors Plat Maps, Plat 39 shows the block bounded by Taber, Irving,
Arlington, and Humboldt Avenues. The site of 86 Taber Avenue is a 10,000 sq.ft. lot
numbered 531 (the present assessor’s lot number). No buildings or owners’ names
appear on this map. (Archives)
1908: “Atlas of the City of Providence” by L.J. Richards Co., Plate 7: The house at 86
Taber Avenue has been constructed and stands on a 10,000 sq. ft. lot (no outbuildings).
The owner is J.E. Hill. The entire block now has water lines, in addition to sewer
services, and is almost completely built out by this time. (Archives)
1918: “Atlas of the City of Providence” by G.M. Hopkins Co., Plate 20: The house at 86
Taber Avenue still stands (no outbuildings) on a 10,000 sq.ft. lot, still owned by J.E. Hill.
The map references the Moses Brown Farm Plat. (Archives)
1926: “Atlas of the City of Providence” by G.M. Hopkins Co., Plate 20: The house at 86
Taber Avenue stands (no outbuildings) on a 10,000 sq.ft. lot, still owned by J.E. Hill.
The map references the Moses Brown Farm Plat on plat card 640. (Archives)
1937: “Atlas of the City of Providence” by G.M. Hopkins Co., Plate 20: The house at 86
Taber Avenue stands (no outbuildings) on a 10,000 sq.ft. lot, still owned by J.E. Hill.
The map references the Moses Brown Farm Plat on plat card 640. (Archives)
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Elizabeth Amory (Ives) Gammel was the daughter of Robert H. Ives, and inherited the bulk of her
father’s real estate holdings.
PPS Records for 86 Taber Avenue
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Intent to Build Records (Archives)
Although no reference to 86 Taber Avenue was found in the index to building permits, a
building permit was found in the 1902 book (page 179) of Intent to Build records:
Permit #357, dated April 19, 1902, issued to John E. Hill to construct a 2-1/2 story,
wood frame, single-family house on Taber Avenue, at an estimated cost of $10,000.
The architect was Wright & Isham; the builder was T.H. Doane.
Deeds (Registry of Deeds)
Deed Book 444, Page 432: On February 25, 1902, the Beverly Land Company5 sold to
John E. Hill of Providence a tract of land on the west side of Gano Street, formerly
Taber Avenue, being Lot #41 on the Moses Brown Farm Plat replatted in August 1891
by Charles E. Paine and recorded in Plat Book 19, Page 17, and copied on plat card
640. (The exact measurements and boundaries of the lot are not specified in the deed.)
The deed notes that any new building on this lot must observe a 20-foot setback from
the street (as per the development restrictions governing the entire plat, noted on the
plat map). The deed does not mention any structures on the lot at the time.
Directories (Archives)
Providence city directories, first published in 1860 and annually since then, contain a list
of all existing streets; a residents’ directory (organized alphabetically by last name); and
a business directory. A house directory, listing residential buildings by street address,
was included within the city directory from 1892-1894, and then was published
separately, and biannually, from 1895-1935. After 1935, the house directory was again
incorporated within the larger city directory.
1901 City Directory: John E. Hill, “prof. B.U.,” is listed as residing at 361 Taber Avenue.
1902 City Directory: Taber Avenue is renamed Gano Street. John E. Hill’s home
address changes to 361 Gano Street. His occupation remains “prof. B.U.”
1903 City Directory: Gano Street is renamed Taber Avenue from 416 Angell Street to
Laurel Avenue, but retains the name Gano from 338 India Street to 415 Angell. John E.
Hill, prof. B.U., now lives at 86 Taber Avenue.
1903 House Directory: no listing for 86 Taber Avenue.
1905 House Directory: 86 Taber Avenue first appears, occupied by John E. Hill, prof.
The Beverly Land Company was formed by Elizabeth A. Gammell’s heirs to dispose of her real estate
holdings.
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PPS Records for 86 Taber Avenue
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Tax Records (Archives)
Tax records are available from 1827 to the present. Prior to 1854, tax records were
published in a book listing the property owner alphabetically by name, the total
assessment for any real and personal property (without specifying where real estate
was located), and the total tax due. Beginning in 1854, the city kept ledgers (organized
by property owner name) indicating the plat and lot number of any real estate and the
assessed value and taxes therefor.
1902: Neither the Beverly Land Co. nor John E. Hill nor Jessie L. Hill is listed as the
owner of Plat 39, Lot 531.
1903: John E. Hill, “prof. In Brown University,” owned Plat 39, Lot 531, which was
valued at $12,100 – recall that the building permit estimated the cost of the house at
$10,000, so it appears that the house was included in this valuation. The ledger notes
that $10,000 of this value was exempt from property taxes.
Assessor’s Chain of Title Cards (Assessor’s Office)
Field Card for AP 39, Lot 531: Taber Avenue
Elizabeth A. Gammell
Elizabeth A. Gammell Estate
Beverly Land Co.
John E. Hill
John E. Hill Estate
Jessie L. Hill, widow John E.
James R. Darke and wife Ruth P. Darke
Marcia Pliner
David M. Adams and wife Elizabeth C.
Elizabeth C. Adams
Audley Clarke and wife Ellen S.
Peter Farago and wife Daphne
James H. Herndon and wife Geraldine G.
(Deed Book 1213/Page 400)
Mark S. Mandell
(DB 1835/30)
Faye I. Mandell
(DB 3015/144)
owner as of April 15, 1891
owner as of May 1, 1897
owner as of November 1, 1899
owner as of March 1, 1924
owner as of January 1935
owner as of March 1935
owners as of April 1946
owner as of May 1948
owners as of December 1955
owner as of December 1957
owners as of December 1960
owners as of December 1960
owners as of June 1, 1979
owner as of June 30, 1988
owner as of September 12, 1994
[Note: the chain of title cards have not yet been updated to include the present owners,
Harlan & Beverly Rich. The 2002 Grantor Index in the Registry of Deeds indicates that
Faye I. Mandell sold the property to Harlan & Beverly Rich on April 10, 2002, DB
5101/252.]
Research compiled by Kathryn J. Cavanaugh, November 2002