Briggs, George I. House

The George I. Briggs House, also known as the Briggs-McDermott House, on Sandwich Road in Bourne, is a 2-1/2 story wood-frame Greek Revival dwelling on a granite foundation, believed to have been built around 1800 as a 1-1/2 story Cape-style cottage and substantially remodeled around 1830 by carpenter Moses Keene II into its present form, with a facade of paneled pilasters and an entry frame derived from Asher Benjamin's pattern book "The Practical House Carpenter." Its most notable occupant, George I. Briggs (1843-1909), was instrumental in Bourne's incorporation as a separate town in 1884 and served as the town's first school committee chairman and as selectman from 1893 to 1905. The house's music room also contains a ceiling mural stenciled by marine artist George Sidney Raleigh, a Bourne neighbor who painted portraits of figures including President Grover Cleveland and Admiral George Dewey, making it the only surviving "Raleigh Ceiling" in town. The property retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials, and workmanship and reflects both the town's Greek Revival vernacular architecture and its early civic history.

Briggs, George I. House is a landmark in Bourne, Barnstable County. It is one of 6,558 landmarks documented in Barnstable County, among 6,897 historic sites cataloged across the county on MassRoam.

The site sits at 41.7419, -70.5972 near Bourne. The nearest cataloged historic site is Bourne, Jonathan Public Library (landmark), about 0.1 miles away. Others within a short drive include Bourne High School, Aptucxet Trading Post Museum - Gray Gables Railroad Depot, and Aptucxet Trading Post Museum - Hoxie School Flagpole.

This record is drawn from public historical records. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.