Mount Vernon Proprietors
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Mount Vernon Proprietors is a real estate firm located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded at the end of the 18th century, it is located in the Beacon Hill area.
[edit] History
In 1795 a group formed by Harrison Gray Otis sought to speculate on land development around the newly formed government buildings on Boston’s Beacon Hill. The Mount Vernon Proprietors, as the group was named, purchased an 18.5 acre cow pasture for the total sum of $18,450 from the esteemed painter John Singleton Copley who was living in England at the time. (The Colonial Society's House 87 Mount Vernon Street, Boston by Elton W. Hall, www.colonialsociety.org)
As probably the first organized real estate syndicate in Colonial America, the Proprietors' contribution to real estate development formulated the model by which much of America was built.
The Copley tract comprised an area of Beacon Hill now bound by Beacon Street, Walnut Street and Mount Vernon Street and the area called Louisburg Square. After agreeing to the sale, Copley reconsidered the offer and tried unsuccessfully for ten years to break the sale contract. (www.iboston.org)
Once the sale was upheld, architect Charles Bulfinch set out to pattern streets, design mansions, and create an elegant urban setting.
Membership in the Proprietors changed frequently but the founders and major partners included Charles Bulfinch, Henry Jackson, Dr. Benjamin Joy, Jonathan Mason, Harrison Gray Otis, and Hepsibah Swan. (Beacon Hill: Its Ancient Pastures and Early Mansions, by Allan Chamberlain, 1925)
