Then & Now: Dewey Mansion, 71 Elm St., Worcester

Mike Elfland, Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Updated ·2 min read
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The mansion was converted into offices in the mid-1970s.
The mansion was converted into offices in the mid-1970s.
The stately house at Elm and West streets was built in 1913, the work of noted Worcester builder E.J. Cross Co.
The stately house at Elm and West streets was built in 1913, the work of noted Worcester builder E.J. Cross Co.

Before lawyer Francis Henshaw Dewey II commissioned a mansion on Elm Street, blocks from downtown Worcester, the spot was home to Edward L. Davis.

Like his father, Davis was a mayor of Worcester, first elected in 1874. His father, Isaac Davis, ascended to the corner office in 1856.

Edward Davis, a lawyer, built an estate at Elm and West streets with riches from his standing as a director of the Boston and Albany Railroad. He was a major stockholder.

His home, at 71 Elm St., was in a neighborhood of stately houses. It was there that he died in March 1912.

Within a year, another prominent Worcester attorney, Francis Dewey II, purchased the Elm Street property from the Davis estate.

Dewey II had grand ideas for the land once owned by Edward Davis. And he had the means. Like Davis, he was involved in the railroad (director, Springfield Railways Co.) and for 32 years he served as president of Mechanics National Bank of Worcester.

Dewey II hired Little & Browne architects of Boston to design a replacement to the Davis house. E.J Cross Co. of Worcester built the Flemish Revival style mansion in 1913.

The stately home was filled with panel-walled rooms, with mahogany, oak and gumwood detail. There were seven fireplaces and an elevator.

Francis Dewey II and his wife, the former Lizzie Davis Bliss, eventually moved to Elm Street from their home on Main Street. Francis died in 1933 (warranting an obituary in The New York Times) and his widow remained in the home until her death at 94 in 1950.

A son, Francis H. Dewey Jr., lived in the house from 1950 to 1974. His four children, including his namesake, Francis H. Dewey 3rd, had no interest in keeping the house after the death of their parents.

(The noted Worcester law firm of Bowditch & Dewey is tied to Henry Dewey, known as Harry, a brother of Francis Dewey 3rd. Dewey Street in Worcester, between Pleasant and May streets, is named for the first Francis Henshaw Dewey.)

In 1975, the Elm Street property was sold to William V. Masiello, who ran Masiello and Associates architects. He soon sold it to restaurateur Carl Schwarzer. Other sales followed, with the property most recently held by a trust, 71 Elm Street Nominee Trust.

Eventually, a carriage house at the rear of the mansion was razed. The building was noted for the turntable used to reverse the position of cars.

The old mansion remains an office building, its many tenants now including law and health offices.

Thank you to David Dewey, great-grandson of Francis H. Dewey II, who built the mansion, for his assistance with this story.

Last week Then & Now: Hooper Street Apartments, Worcester

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Then & Now: Dewey Mansion, 71 Elm St., Worcester