Josiah Quincy House

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The Josiah Quincy House (1770), located at 20 Muirhead Street, Quincy, Massachusetts, was the country home of Revolutionary War soldier Colonel Josiah Quincy I, the first in a line of illustrious Josiah Quincys that eventually included three Boston mayors and a president of Harvard University.

The Quincy house was originally surrounded by fields and pasture overlooking Quincy Bay. It is constructed with an unusual monitor roof, the oldest known example of this roof style to survive from the original colonies, and includes a Chinese fretwork balustrade and classical portico. Its attic contains four small rooms for servants, one with a fireplace.

During the American Revolution Quincy aided Gen. George Washington by observing the British fleet in Boston Harbor from his attic windows. He scratched on a pane of glass in the attic, “October 10, 1775 Governor Gage saild for England with a fair wind.” That glass pane has been preserved and now on view in the front hall.

The house is now owned by Historic New England, a non-profit historical organization, and open only five Saturdays a year (May-September) and by special appointment. See house website [[1]].