The neighborhood of East Rochester in the mid-1880s when the East Rochester church was being built stretched out along what is today, County Rd., but was then called Division St. At this time there were at least two mills which provided jobs to those living in the area. Some of the buildings that housed these people are still there along the road today.
This area was suited to water-powered mills with readily available running water and proximity to transportation. Nahum Morse was one of these mill owners, producing shingles and boxboards. Remember, prior to the creation of cardboard and/or plastic manufactured items were shipped in wooden boxes and barrels.
In 1885, Nahum’s sons, Savery and Nahum, were busy building and while their father’s mill is long gone, the two houses the brothers built can still be found along County Rd. Savery had at first lived in an old house on the Wareham side of the road. When a piece of property that had once held the Leonard house became available, he built a home there at 489 County Rd., making him a Rochester resident. Like the East Rochester Congregational Church, it was built in the Greek revival style with a symmetrical, five-bay facade and also, like the church has cornice returns. It’s believed that in building his house, Savery may well have incorporated certain elements of the original Leonard house.
We know that Savery resided at this home until at least 1907. A picture of the house as it looks today is included with the article. Tradition had it that a stone in the front yard of the house was used as a grinding stone by Native Americans when they were traveling from hunting inland to Narragansett.
Brother, Nahum, was also a builder. His house, built at about the same time, was no more than a quarter mile from his brother’s and is still there at 577 County Rd. Nahum Morse, the son, also built the Advent Church during the same time frame. There is a third Morse house at 531 County Rd. which was built by their father for their sister, so that she would always be near to her brothers.
It goes without saying that these Morses built houses to withstand the march of time.
By Connie Eshbach
