Vanishing Hill

by Bill Tobin

There is a large old house on a hill that rises thirty feet above Washington Street, with 2 barns, overlooking the cranberry bogs in East Holliston, on the Sherborn line.

Wait a short while, and it will be “There was a large old house on a hill….”

This house has been on that hill for many years, but for the past several years it has been unoccupied and barely visible from Washington Street. Now that the overgrowth has been removed, the house is again in view.

In time, the house and the two barns will be demolished, and the hill will be leveled. There is an existing machine shop on the lower side of the property, on Whitney Street that will remain.

Bristol Development of Natick has approved plans to construct two single story buildings on the site. Six tenants, as yet unknown, will occupy the buildings. They most likely will be in the contracting/construction fields.

When the landscaping and construction are completed, the “hill” will be about 4 feet above the Washington Street level, which is considerably less than the existing thirty-foot high hill. The new buildings will be accessible from Washington and Whitney Streets, and about 35% of the new site will be covered with assorted vegetation.

The house is old and intriguing and surely must have claim to an interesting history. If anyone has knowledge of the background or related stories on this property, please share them with us at hollistonnetnews.com.

We would all be grateful.

From a prior article in HNN:
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Posted on:1/13/2007
Disappearing Holliston:The Wrecking Ball Cometh
by Bobby Blair

The boarded up house at 86 Washington Street (pictured left) looks like something out of a Gothic horror film sitting high atop a hill and almost invisible to passing motorists. If Bristol Development which is in the permitting stage, gets approval for its several commercial-office buildings at the site, this late 1800’s building will likely meet the fate of the wrecking ball.