56 Patten is the Olney House. In 1864 Richard Olney bought 10 acres next to the Minot Estate and built this house – in fact, it is the oldest building on the tour. It's been greatly altered from its 19th century appearance. Reportedly, Mr. Olney had one of the first tennis courts in Boston at his house here and the neighbors would come over to play a few sets.
Olney graduated from Harvard Law School in 1858. He joined a law firm located at 23 Court Street and started working in wills and trusts. He got married and built this house. Eventually, he became a corporate lawyer specializing in railroad law in 1875. His work as General Counsel for the Boston & Maine Railroad brought him to the President’s attention. He was the US Attorney General (1893-95) and then Secretary of State (1895-97) under President Grover Cleveland (during his second administration).
He actually sold his land and house here in 1884 to his law partner Andrew Peters and moved into Boston (to the then newly created Back Bay neighborhood). Even in Back Bay, he still lived next door to the Minots, the site of whose estate we’ll see in a few stops.