Brent went to the Groveland in 2003 in search of the Hardy House. He said, "I went to the door and knocked. A friendly lady answered. I told her my name and asked if we could look at "Our House". She was very generous and invited us in."
When Brent went in 2003 the owners of the house were Rob and Nancy Webster. They are still the owners in 2010. She remembered Brent and his wife and was happy to show us the house. She said she has had a few come that she would not let in the house. But she was more than happy to give me and my daughter Heather a tour and let us walk around the property and take lots of pictures.
Nancy gave Brent an article about the Joseph Hardy House. The article was printed by the Groveland Eagle Tribune dated 10 Oct 1997. (Article is Typed Below)
In the newspaper article it mentions that this house built to replace the original Thomas Hardy cabin which was... "located farther back from the road and a short distance on the side of what became know as Perry's Hill."
Here are some of the photo's that I took 11 Jul 2010
Fireplace in the bedroom
As you can see they don't have much room. The house has three open fireplaces, they did a great job adding the bathroom .... around all the bricks
Brent said there were some conflicting information in the newspaper articles compared to other records. One such discrepancy is in relation to who the land grant was given to. Other records say it was Thomas Hardy. The second article, which Brent has in his files, says it was to Joseph. However since the original dwelling (the cabin) was Thomas Hardy it would be safe to assume that Thomas received the land grant and not Joseph who built the house to replace the Cabin.
Also, the article says that... "Joseph who was the grandson of an earlier Hardy of the same name... "Assuming that Joseph was about 35 when he built the house he would have been born about 1641. This would require his father to have been born about 1610 and his grandfather 1585... using standard figures to estimate generation. We have no records of Joseph in the Thomas Hardy families until 1642 when Thomas Hardy had a son named Joseph. This Joseph (1642) would be in the proper time period to be the one who built the 1676 house. Also, it would seem logical that Joseph, a son, would build a house to replace the original dwelling, the cabin. (This was all taken from a book printed by Brent Hardy) He has made these assumptions which he is still researching.
The Joseph Hardy House
(This is a typed version of the Article Printed by Groveland Eagle Tribune 10 Oct 1997)
This house, the oldest in Groveland, was built in 1676. The date appears on the exterior of the house, high up on the white clapboards on the side nearest the road, and , inside, above a door leading from the living room into the front entrance hall.
The builder was Joseph Hardy, a member of one of America's earliest families, who chose as his site a point near the center of the original Thomas Hardy land grant.
Today the address of the house is 93 King Street,although the dwelling does not face the road. In keeping with the custom of the period, the house was placed in the valley facing south, with the lean-to roof sloping north.
The owners in 1957 were Miss Barbara Baldwin, a second cousin, of the late Miss Maud K. Goodwin, from whom she inherited the property in 1953, and Miss Gene Diehl, who, in 1954, became co-owner of the house and the personal property it contains.
Thomas Hardy came to America from England in 1630 the Governor John Winthrop and 11 others. He settled in Agawam but sold his holdings a few years later to develop a tract if approximately 1,000 acres in a section of Groveland, which was then a part of Rowley. Hardy took up residence on the grant, marking the beginning of the Hardy family settlement in Groveland.
Joseph, who was the grandson of an earlier Hardy of the same name, is said to have built the house to replace a log cabin occupied by the Thomas Hardy family. The earlier dwelling stood farther back from the road and up a short distance on the side of what became known as Perry's Hill.
Many other Hardy's lived in the house in later generation. Lawrence Hardy, a direct descendant of Joseph, was the occupant as last as 1933, when a Hardy family pilgrimage was held in the area.
The Hardy family Association of America was founded in 1930 and, years later, was said to be the largest family organization in the country. The association held meetings in Hollis, N.H. which, next to Groveland, had the largest Hardy family settlement.
Other families who lived in the house in past generations bore the names of Whittlemore, Fairbanks, Willey, Bond, Pulsifer, Knox and Fuller. Miss Goodwin bought the property in 1942 from Charles A. Frost, the owner since 1905.
The white house, with its small-paned windows, green shutters and big white chimney, is handsomely situated on what still is a sizable land tract. Although several trees have been lost during hurricanes, many still remain, including two towering maples not far from the front door. A large barn, now used chiefly for storage, stands in back of the house, near the driveway.
Inside the house, evidences of the 17th century date are apparent on all sides. The three open fireplaces are fine examples of their kind. Two rum cupboards above the fireplaces in the living room are of unequal size, proof of the sometimes rudimentary construction of the early period. There are similar cupboards above the dining room fireplace. Unusually broad gun stock corner posts, with diagonal supports, can be seen in some of the rooms. Heavy oak beams extending through the center of the house have corners cut in a manner commonly known as lamb's-tongue. Doors of several types are in use in the right rooms and there is much early hardware. The broad from door was constructed in recent times to replace an early, narrower door. The house has a "secret room," a fairly sizable area next to the big central chimney, which was discovered by Miss Baldwin. Early stories of the construction of the old Hardy house disclose that a workman, Samuel Millicksen, was killed in a fall as a huge beam was being lifted into place for the upper story. The beam is seen today as one ascends the stairway from the entrance hall. Among 19th century residents of the house was Ezra Hardy, called by some the Hardy prophet. According to family histories, he prophesied that in his generation a machine would be built in which a man could fly from Groveland to Boston. Late in life he became so obsessed with the belief that he could walk on water that he tried and was drowned in the Merrinack river, near Cottle's Creek, in the Savaryville section of Groveland. Miss Baldwin and Miss Diehl, who are making the Hardy house their permanent home, have been in business together as artists for more that 15 years. They formerly maintained a studio in New York, where they designed and made lamps and garden pieces, which were sold through New York shops. Several examples of their work have been used in furnishing the house. Miss Baldwin also is a portrait painter.
