This is the house of General William Hyslop Sumner (1780-1861) the man who developed Sumner Hill. It’s the earliest house in the neighborhood, dating from 1852. You can see he chose a spectacular sight for his country house, on the crest of the hill – the prime location of the 50 acres of Greenough land he would turn into one of the first planned suburbs in Boston.
The house itself is Greek Revival – a style that was just losing its popularity in this timeframe. It has a “temple front” on the façade facing out onto Roanoke. But you can also see some hints of the new architectural styles creeping in: Italianate paired brackets under the eaves, the Regency style windows (that reach from floor to ceiling) on the first floor. But mainly you see the heavy, solid, white construction of the Greek Revival house here. The porch is typical with two Doric columns holding up a triangular pediment.
General Sumner was Adjutant General of the State Militia (serving before the Civil War). An Adjutant General is the chief administrative officer of an army. William was the son of Governor Increase Sumner, who served from 1797 to 1799. Through his mother Mehetable, William took possession of Noddle’s Island (what is now known as East Boston) and developed that area. He also had extensive land holdings in Chelsea and in downtown Boston. The Sumner Tunnel that runs to East Boston commemorates him.
Sumner was a Harvard man and one of his classmates there was the artist Washington Allston (for whom another Boston neighborhood is named). Sumner had a large art collection at his death and his will notes “a landscape picture painted by my friend Washington Allston on a part of one of his old shirts and given to me when we were in college together in 1798.” On the back of the painting is a caricature of President Joseph Willard of Harvard. This dualistic art on a shirt was bequeathed to the Boston Athenaeum in 1862. The Sumners also donated the land for Saint John’s Church across the street.
Sumner’s vision transformed the landscape of Jamaica Plain, as he created the neighborhood we are touring. Not to mention the landscape of Boston through his land development endeavors in East Boston, Chelsea and downtown.